Portal2Case

The Microsoft Parature Portal2Case for .NET allows you to integrate a Parature Portal with Dynamics CRM's Case tracking system. It is a C# sample implementation for exposing a client-facing API for Dynamics CRM's normally CSR-focused Data Services. The functionality looks to mimic the Out-of-the-box functionality of Parature Portal Ticketing:

• Users can log into a website (the Parature Portal) to track their service requests (Cases)
• Cases can be created in real-time
• Status and history can be tracked for all of their Cases
• Answers from the Knowledgebase auto-suggested during Case creation
• Manage fields visible on Portal using CRM Saved Views

Contribute

Please see the separate documentation on contributing to the ParatureSDK.

Configuration

Configuration is a bit of a winding path with a lot of small steps. Bear with it - this integration is configuration-heavy but maintenance-light by design. Keep notes, and record logins - for each of the systems accessed. There's a lot to keep track of and due dilligence will save a lot of time. The overall configuration can take approximately 2 hours, and a lot more if any issues arise. Understanding the core technology will help tremendously. Configuration will be split into two sections: development and production. There are some minor configuration changes necessary when migrating to production, so this will be highlighted and commented upon.

Caveats

• This does not cover the methodology for importing CRM contacts into parture. See the [architectural overview documentation] for more information. In summary:
• Contacts must exist in both Parature and CRM. SSO (recommended) or data Import both valid options
• Contacts need to be related in some fashion (recommendation: Username in Parature = GUID from CRM)
• Provided styling most likely won't work with many Portal Templates out of the box. Some minor changes will be necessary.
• Portal2Case does not work as-is with Safari. It relies on 3rd party cookies, which are disabled by default in Safari.

Preparation

1. Ensure you have environments for:

• Parature
• Dynamics CRM 2013/2015 (2011 should work but is not guaranteed). On-prem, non-IFD deployments is out of scope of this documentation.
• Hosting (localhost is fine for testing)

2. Apply for SSO through the Parature Partner Portal
3. Get familiar with "PortalAsIdP" SSO - check a sample with SAML
4. Establish primary Unique Identifier between CRM Contacts and Parature Customers.
5. Read through the architectural overview documentation. It'll help with any troubleshooting

Initial Development Configuration

CRM [It is recommended to test on a Trial Version first]

1. Import the managed (recommended) or unmanaged solutions ([documentation](http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn531198%28 v=crm.7%29.aspx))

• Found in /crmSolutions. Order for install:

1. Portal2Case_1_0{_managed}.zip
2. Portal2Case_Comments_1_0{_managed}.zip

• Remember to publish the customizations after import

Parature [It is recommended to not develop on a live environment. Develop before Go-Live or in Sandbox]

1. Style your portal. You can find templates here
2. Request "PortalAsIdP" SSO for the development environment. See README here under Usage section

• For the Url and Port of the testing environment, provide "http://localhost:64659/" (default for this project)

3. In the Portal bottom file, link to all JS and css files under the /portal folder

• Order is important
• initScript.js needs to be modified
• See a guide here

This Service It's assumed that this site will be hosted locally during development, then moved to a production server during production. This section will focus only on running on Localhost with the default port settings.

1. Modify Global.asax to include SSO redirect and Session management for users.

• This is a complex topic so see the guide here

2. In the Web.Config file
3. Modify the Xrm connection string to point to your CRM environment. Guide on simplified connection strings here.
4. Modify the "CorsDomainAllowed" under the appSettings section

• This will be the base url of the portal. Example: "http://{farm}.parature.com" in a default configuration

Moving to Production

If you made it here, congratulations! Hardest part is done. Sadly, some parameters will have to change.

Checklist Make sure you do all items before moving to production.

• Domain mask the portal
• Determine the hosting location (and url) of this service that is internet-facing
• Complete portal design and test locally with this integration

Changes

1. Point this integration to your production CRM system.

• Same steps as in development section.
• Remember to import the CRM solutions! Definitely use the managed solutions!

2. Request/modify "PortalAsIdP" again.

• This time, the Url and Port won't be localhost - it'll be the url of your hosting environment (called the "ACS url")

3. Change the portal bottom file to poing to the JS/CSS files (see step #3 under the above Parature section) to the production server

• Before you may have had "http://localhost:64659/portal/js/classes.js"
• Now it needs to be "http{s}://{your-hosting-url}/portal/js/classes.js"
• This needs to be changed for 5 files: p2c_styling.css, classes.js, initScript.js, jquery.p2c.js, ui.js

4. Modify initScript.js on the production server to use your production server's url

• Before you may have had "http://localhost:64659"
• Now it needs to be "http{s}://{your-hosting-url}"

5. Go through the "This Service" section again from above

• Double check the CRM connection string
• Change the "CorsDomainAllowed" in the Web.config to your Parature Portal's url

6. In ~/Auth.aspx, change the "originRestriction" object's properties to use the portal's url

• Was: "*"
• Now: "http{s}://{portal-url}.com"