Bulk Delete Launcher

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 has bulk delete feature and a dedicated view to see the progression of a bulk delete operation. Nevertheless, there is no feature that allows you to execute a bulk delete operation. There is only a class in the SDK, nothing else more users friendly.

This tool comes to correct that lack. It is just an interface that implements the SDK class. Nothing more…

First of all, you need to understand that the Bulk Delete feature of the SDK requires an xml string that represents a filter of the items to delete. It is, in fact, a FetchXML query. To make the tool easier to use, the query part of an advanced find view is used to do the filter. So, you need to create an advanced find view that will filter the items to delete.

Also notice that as soon as the bulk delete job has been created, the CRM server is the only one to work, the tool is no more involved in the success or the failure of the bulk delete job.

How to use the tool

1. Define the entity for which you want to delete items and click on the button “Retrieve Views”. This action will query the existing advanced find view for the specified entity.
2. Select the view that filters properly the items you want to delete.
3. Define a name for the bulk delete job.
4. If you want to schedule the job to be run at a specific date, you can tick the checkbox and define date and time.
5. If you want the job to be recurrent, tick the corresponding checkbox, select the interval type and interval value.
6. You can choose to be informed when the job is complete. Just tick the checkbox. You can also notify other CRM users. To do so, click on the browsing button (“…”) and select the users.  
   NB: The checkbox is enabled only if the current user account has an email address.
7. Click on the button “Launch Bulk Delete” to create the job on the CRM Server.

Follow the execution of the bulk delete job

As defined earlier in this page, as soon as the job is created, the tool is no more involved in the bulk delete operation.

Nevertheless, if you want to follow the running job, navigate to the CRM web application then go to “Settings”, “Data Management”, then “Bulk Record Deletion”.  A view lists the bulk delete job.