Create a service activity without checking for conflicts

Can I do this task?

If you save a service activity without finding available times in the schedule, then Microsoft Dynamics CRM displays the service activity in the schedule without checking for conflicts.

One reason to force a service activity into a time slot is to squeeze another service activity into the leftover time from a previous service activity.

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar.
2. In the New group, click Service Activity.
3. On the Service Activity form, you must enter the following information:
   • Subject

     You must enter a subject.The first 12 characters appear on the Service calendar and the calendar in your Workplace.

   • Service

     Locate and select the service you want to schedule. You can click the Lookup button to search for and select records.

4. You can enter additional information about the service activity.
   • Customers

     If this service activity is for a customer, you can locate and select the account or contact. You can click the Lookup button to search for records or to select records.

   • Resources

     Locate and select the user or facility or equipment that you want to schedule. You can click the Lookup button to search for records or to select records.

   • Location

     Enter an address or room number where the service activity will occur.

   • Show Time As

     If you want to change the initial status of the service activity, select a status from the list. If you select any of the statuses under Scheduled, that block of time on the schedule is set so that another service activity or appointment cannot conflict with it during automatic scheduling. Forced service activities and appointments might conflict.

   • Site

     Locate and select the site for the service activity. Sites are defined in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and assigned to resources. Only resources from the same site will be selected. To record the specific room or address of the service activity, enter information in the Location box. You can click the Lookup button to search for records or to select records.

5. Under Scheduling Information, you must enter the Start Time and End Time, but the other information is optional.
   • Start Time and End Time

     Select or type in the date and times the service activity starts and ends. The Duration box is updated to the length of the service activity. If you select a different duration, the End Time is adjusted. If you type in both the start and end times, the duration will change.

     If this is an all-day event, click All Day Event. An all-day event is actually the entire working day of the selected resource. If the resource works 8 a.m. to noon, then an all-day event is four hours.

   • Duration

     You can add additional time to the end of a time slot by changing the duration. The maximum duration of an activity is 10 days. The default duration is determined by the selected service.

   • Notes

     You can add additional information about the customer and service activity in this area. For example, you could enter the symptoms of a problem, special requests by the customer, or any messages to pass on to the resources providing the service.

6. Under Information, click Common, and then select and locate a record in the Regarding box to link to this service activity. You can also set a Priority for the service activity, and indicate a Category and Sub-Category.
7. Click Save or Save and Close.

   The service activity appears as a color block on the Service calendar, as well as on the calendar in the Workplace and Activities areas.

Tip

Notes

• If at any time before you save this service activity you want to search the schedule for an available time, you can click Schedule in the Actions group to open the Schedule Service Activity dialog box.
• To check the schedule for conflicts, in Service Calendar, in the Actions group, click Conflicts.