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Create, install, and update a managed solution

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Applies To: Dynamics CRM 2013

You create a managed solution by exporting an unmanaged solution as a managed solution. The organizations that use your managed solution will install it and any updates that you create for it.

For more information, see the Customization Guide topic: Using Solutions.

In This Topic

Create a managed solution

Install a managed solution

Update a managed solution

Create a managed solution

Before you can create a managed solution you must first create an unmanaged solution. For more information about how to create an unmanaged solution, see Create an unmanaged solution.

You create a managed solution by selecting the Managed option in the Package Type dialog box when exporting the solution.

A managed solution only includes any customizable solution components that have been customized. Not only does this prevent unintentionally changing existing solution components on the system where the solution is installed, it also keeps the size of the managed solution smaller.

Before the final step of creating a managed solution, you must decide whether there are any customization capabilities that you do not want to allow people who install your managed solution to perform. Each solution component contains a set of managed properties that control which customization capabilities you want to allow. The default settings allow all customization capabilities. More information: Use managed properties

You can create a managed solution programmatically by using the ExportSolutionRequest message. More information: Export or package a solution

You may choose a target version when you export a solution. You can export a solution that is compliant with earlier versions. More information: Export a solution for a specific CRM version.

Important

You should not import a managed solution back into the organization you used to create it.

Install a managed solution

You install a managed solution in the same way you import an unmanaged solution. The difference is in how the solution has been packaged.

Important

Installing a solution or publishing customizations can interfere with normal system operation. We recommend that you schedule solution imports when it’s least disruptive to users.

If the solution did not import successfully, you can click Download Log in the dialog box to download a report that will provide information about errors that occurred that prevented successful import of the managed solution. This file is an XML document configured to be opened by using Microsoft Office Excel.

You can import or update a managed solution programmatically by using the ImportSolutionRequest message. When using this message, you can request a reference to an ImportJob entity record that will include details about the success of the import. More information: Install or upgrade a solution

The ImportSolutionRequest can be called using the ExecuteAsyncRequest. More information: Execute messages in the background (asynchronously)

There are limits to the size of a solution you can install. More information: Maximum size of solution to import

Update a managed solution

When you install a managed solution that already exists in the organization, the import solution dialog will provide the following options:

  • Maintain customizations (recommended)
    This option maintains any unmanaged customizations performed on components, but also implies that some of the updates included in this solution will not take effect.

  • Overwrite customizations
    This option overwrites any unmanaged customizations previously performed on components included in this solution. All updates included in this solution will take effect.

Note

You may want to direct people who install your managed solution to use the Overwrite customizations option when investigating issues where the customizations conflict with the behavior of your solutions. They should always export their unmanaged solutions first so that they can re-apply them if they need to.

See Also

Package and distribute extensions using solutions
Introduction to solutions
Plan for solution development
Dependency tracking for solution components
Create, export, or import an unmanaged solution
Uninstall or delete a solution
Customization solutions file schema