Export, prepare to edit, and import the ribbon in MSCRM

Dynamics CRM 2015

Applies To: CRM 2015 on-prem, CRM Online

To edit the ribbon, you must perform the following steps:

1. Export the ribbon
   
2. Prepare to edit the XML
   
3. Edit the <RibbonDiffXml> (RibbonDiffXml)
   
4. Import the ribbon
   

Export the ribbon

You export the ribbon by including it in a solution and then exporting the solution. You can choose to export all the customizations, but that can represent a large amount of data. We recommend that you use an existing unmanaged solution or create a new solution.

Create a new solution

1. On the nav bar, choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings.
2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)
3. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)
4. Click or tap New.
5. Type a meaningful Display Name, Unique Name and enter a Publisher and type a Version number.

   Note
   You can usually use the default publisher for the organization.
6. Click the Save icon.
7. If you want to edit the ribbon for specific entities:
   1. Click Add Existing and then click Entity.
      
   2. Select the entities you want to include in the Solution and then click OK.
      

      Note
      For the purpose of editing entity ribbons, you do not have to include required components. If you intend to export this solution and apply it to another system, you should include required components.
8. If you want to edit global ribbons or add a custom group to all entities, click Add Existing and then clickApplication Ribbons.
9. Click Save and Close.

Use an existing solution

1. On the nav bar, choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings.
2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)
3. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)
4. Double-click a solution to open it.
5. If you want to edit the ribbon for specific entities:
   1. Click Add Existing and then click Entity.
      
   2. Select the entities you want to include in the Solution and then click OK.
      

      Note
      For the purpose of editing entity ribbons, you do not have to include required components. If you intend to export this solution and apply it to another system, you should include required components.
6. If you want to edit global ribbons, such as to add custom button to all entities: click Add Existing and then click Application Ribbons.
7. Click Save and Close.

Export the ribbon

1. On the nav bar, choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings.
2. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)
3. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)
4. Select the solution you want and then click Export.
5. If you have made recent changes that have not yet been published, click Publish All Customizations. Otherwise, click Next.
6. With the Unmanaged option selected, click Export.
7. Click Save in the File Download dialog box and then click Open Folder in the Download complete dialog box.
8. Right-click the compressed .zip file that you downloaded and select Extract All... .
9. Select a location to extract the files and then click Extract.
10. The customizations.xml file is the file that you will edit.

Prepare to edit the XML

For a better experience, edit the customizations.xml file with an application that can use schema validation to provide IntelliSense support. For more information, see Edit the customizations XML file with schema validation.

Import the ribbon

1. After you have edited the customization.xml file, from Visual Studio or Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2010 Express, right-click the customization.xml tab and select Open Containing Folder.
2. Select all of the files or folders that were included when you extracted the solution. Right-click the selected files, select Send To, and then select Compressed (zipped) folder.

   Note
   This creates a compressed .zip file in the same folder. The name of the file may vary, but it will be the same as one of the other files in the folder - except with a .zip file name extension.
3. On the nav bar, choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings.
4. Go to Settings > Customizations. (How do I get there?)
5. Go to Settings > Solutions. (How do I get there?)
6. Click Import.
7. Click Browse and locate the compressed .zip file that you created in step 2 of this procedure.
8. Click Next and then click Import.
9. After the import has finished, you will see the message indicating that the import completed successfully. Click Close.
10. After you have successfully imported your solution, you must publish customizations before you can see the changes. In the Solutions list, click Publish All Customizations.

Dealing with errors on import

1. If you receive a notification that there were errors that caused the import to fail, click Export Log.
2. Save the export log file. Select the file and right-click it. Choose Open With and then select Microsoft Office Excel.
3. Select the Components worksheet and note any messages in the ErrorText column.

   Tip
   The most common type of failure is an error when referencing a dependent element in the RibbonDiffXml. Perhaps you forgot to include a LocLabel that was referenced somewhere. Perhaps there is an extra blank character included at the end of an XML attribute referencing another element. All references must match exactly.
4. After you have corrected the error, complete the steps to import the Ribbon again