If we want to completely empty a Table or Entity within Dynamics CRM, we can use the Bulk Delete Tool to run a task over time to systematically remove the unwanted records.
This can be useful if we want to start from a clean slate, or if we intend to refresh the data held in CRM from an external system. (in the absence of a more formal integration routine)
In this scenario, this can be implemented by completely deleting all the existing records prior to importing the new records.
To do this:
1. Navigate to the Settings area of CRM
2. Navigate to the Data Management subarea of Settings.
3. This will open a range of options for how we handle Data within CRM, we want to open the Bulk Record Deletion area.
4. This shows us the list of previous Bulk Delete Operations that have been run.
5. We want to record a new Bulk Delete by clicking ‘New’
6. This will open the Bulk Deletion Wizard, this wizard has a number of stages:
a. The first step is to remind us that this wizard is capable of deleting data from CRM and so should use carefully, we can click NEXT to continue.
b. The second step asks us which records in CRM we want to delete – crucially we want to select the correct Entity (i.e. Price Files) we want to remove all data for.
c. This second step will also allow us to perform a selective delete, in only deleting records that meet a particular Advanced Find filter – for us, we simply want to delete all records in the Price File Entity, but this can also be used for a limited bulk delete to delete all records for a particular Advanced Find.
7. The third step will also allow us to specify a Name for our Bulk Delete job, and specify whether the system should email us when the job is finished.
8. The fourth will review the settings we have specified so we can confirm we are happy with the operation before beginning – as once we have asked the system to delete these records, there is no going back! We can click Submit to finish:
9. This will launch the Bulk Delete Job. We can then track this Job in the Bulk Record Deletion List:
This will track the number of records deleted, and if failures in deleting a particular record.
With our Entity Records all deleted, we are then ready to begin using from scratch or to import a new set of data into CRM.
