SharePoint (and Project Server) Shenanigans

The Get-CrmConnection method can be used to  return connection to a CRM instance. The syntax to call the method is

Parameter Set: OnLine
Get-CrmConnection [-OnLineType] <OnlineType> [[-Credential] <PSCredential> ] 
[-DeploymentRegion] <String> [[-ProfileName] <String> ] -OrganizationName <String> [ <CommonParameters>]

Parameter Set: OnPrem
Get-CrmConnection [-ServerUrl] <Uri> [[-Credential] <PSCredential> ] 
[-OrganizationName] <String> [[-HomeRealmUrl] <Uri> ] [[-ProfileName] <String> ] 
[ <CommonParameters>]

Parameter Set: UIOnly
Get-CrmConnection [[-InteractiveMode]] [ <CommonParameters>]

I wanted to get the crm connection with the current user’s credentials without any prompts. The first and second options required the object PSCredential which can’t be created using logged current user’s credentials. The third option with the switch InteractiveMode  displays a dialog box prompting to enter connection details. All three options were not appropriate for the requirement.

The method returns the object Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.CrmServiceClient. From the msdn article, it can be constructed using the NetworkCredential object.

The constructor’s definition in C#

public CrmServiceClient(
	NetworkCredential credential,
	AuthenticationType authType,
	string hostName,
	string port,
	string orgName,
	bool useUniqueInstance = false,
	bool useSsl = false,
	OrganizationDetail orgDetail = null
)

In PowerShell, the current user’s credentials can be retrieved using [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultNetworkCredentials.

There is no way the [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultNetworkCredentials can be converted to the PSCredential object.

The below syntax can be used to create the Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector.CrmServiceClient using logged in user’s credentials. Replace the variables $serverName, $serverPort, $organizationName with the respective values.

 $crmConnection = New-Object `
 -TypeName Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector.CrmServiceClient `
 -ArgumentList ([System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultNetworkCredentials), 
 ([Microsoft.Xrm.Tooling.Connector.AuthenticationType]::AD),
 $serverName,
 $serverPort, 
 $organizationName, 
 $False,
 $False,
 ([Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.Discovery.OrganizationDetail]$null)

from reshmeeauckloo http://bit.ly/2eNVYJF

Reshmee Auckloo – Reshmee is a certified Microsoft professional and has been involved in delivering solutions across a wide variety of industry sectors in a range of assignments from SSRS to Microsoft SharePoint, Project Server development, CRM Dynamics and .Net including business requirements gathering and software quality assurance. This article has been cross posted from reshmeeauckloo.wordpress.com (original article)