After you upgrade Microsoft CRM 1.2 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, you cannot rename or delete custom attributes that contain extended characters in their schema names

In Microsoft Business Solutions CRM version 1.2, you specify extended characters in the schema names of custom attributes. However, after you upgrade Microsoft CRM 1.2 to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, you cannot rename or delete custom attributes that contain extended characters in their schema names.

This problem occurs because you cannot use extended characters in the schema names of custom attributes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Hotfix information

This problem is fixed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Update Rollup 2. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Update Rollup 2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to use this hotfix after you install it

This hotfix includes the Rename Attributes tool (Mscrmrenameattributes.exe). Use this tool to rename custom attributes.

Note We recommend that you create a backup of the OrganizationName_MSCRM database and the OrganizationName_Metabase database before you use the Rename Attributes tool.

If you use the Rename Attributes tool to rename a custom attribute that is either a Picklist type or a Boolean type, you must rename two attributes. The first attribute that you must rename is the main attribute. The second attribute that you must rename is the name attribute that is associated with the main attribute. The following are two examples.

• If you rename a custom attribute that is a Picklist type, you must rename the following attributes:
  • New_PicklistField
  • New_PicklistFieldName
• If you rename a custom attribute that is a Boolean type, you must rename the following attributes:
  • New_BooleanField
  • New_BooleanFieldName

To use the Rename Attributes tool to rename a custom attribute, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the Mscrmrenameattributes.exe file to start the Rename Attributes tool. The tool contains the following two options:
   • List all custom attributes
     This option displays all custom attributes.
   • List attributes with special characters
     This option displays only custom attributes that contain extended characters.
2. Click List all custom attributes. In the list of custom attributes, the original names of custom attributes appear on the left side of the screen. The suggested new names of custom attributes appear on the right side of the screen.
3. Click a custom attribute in the list.
   
   Note If you do not click a specific custom attribute in the list, the only option that is available is the Rename all listed attributes option. This option renames all custom attributes. Use this option with caution.
4. Type the name that you want in the New name box, and then click Change new name.
   
   Note When you click Change new name, the name of the custom attribute is updated in the tool. The name of the custom attribute is not changed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM until you click Rename the selected attribute.
   
   By default, the Remove the attribute(s) being renamed from the ColumnSetXml field in SavedQuery check box is selected. This option removes the attribute or attributes that you rename from the ColumnSetXml column in the Savedquerybase table of the Mscrm database.
5. Click Rename the selected attribute.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 to rename the custom attributes that you want.
7. Publish customizations to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Log on to Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an administrator.
   2. Click Go To, point to Settings, and then click Customization.
   3. Click Customize Entities.
   4. Click More Actions, and then click Publish All Customizations.

Important If you use the Microsoft Dynamics CRM laptop client for Microsoft Office Outlook and if you use the Rename Attributes tool to rename a custom attribute, you must reinstall the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook. After you reinstall the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook, re-create the associated offline subscription. If you do not reinstall the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Outlook, you cannot go offline because the name of the custom attribute has changed.

For more information about the terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: