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Free storage space in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

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Applies To: Dynamics CRM 2013

These are ways to reduce the amount of storage space used by removing or deleting different types of information from Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Use one or more of these methods to control your total data storage usage with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can delete certain categories of data as the need arises, or you can set up bulk deletion jobs to reoccur at set intervals.

Warning

The suggestions in this topic include deleting notes, attachments, import history, and other data. Before you delete data, be sure that the data is no longer needed because you cannot retrieve deleted data. There is no “undo” to restore your data once it has been deleted. This means it may make more sense for you to increase the amount of storage space you have with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online subscription instead of reducing the amount of storage space used.

Note

Except for methods 3 and 5, all these methods require that you have an administrator Microsoft Dynamics CRM security role, such as System Administrator. This gives you permission to delete records in bulk and to delete system jobs.

In This Topic

Method 1: Delete bulk email and workflow instances using a bulk deletion job

Method 2: Evaluate and delete suspended workflows

Method 3: Remove email attachments using Advanced Find

Method 4: Remove email messages with attachments using a bulk deletion job

Method 5: Remove notes with attachments using Advanced Find

Method 6: Remove notes with attachments using a bulk deletion job

Method 7: Remove bulk duplicate detection jobs and associated copies of duplicate records

Method 8: Delete bulk import instances using a bulk deletion jobMethod 8: Delete bulk import instances using a bulk deletion job

Method 9: Delete bulk deletion job instances using a bulk deletion job

Method 10: Delete audit logs

Method 1: Delete bulk email and workflow instances using a bulk deletion job

Warning

If you delete this data, you will no longer be able to tell if an email was sent through bulk email or if a workflow rule ran against a record. The emails that were sent and the actions that ran against the record in the workflow will remain.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Data Management > Bulk Record Deletion. In the menu bar, click or tap New. This opens the Bulk Deletion Wizard.

  2. Click or tap Next.

  3. In the Look for list, select System Jobs.

  4. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    System Job Type – Equals – Bulk E-mail; Workflow;

    Status Reason – Equals – Succeeded

    Completed On – Older Than X Months – 1

  5. Group the three criteria rows:

    1. Click or tap the arrow next to each criteria row, and then click or tap Select Row.

    2. With all three rows selected, click or tap Group AND.

  6. Click or tap Next.

  7. In the Name text box, type a name for the bulk deletion job.

  8. Select a date and time for the job start time; preferably a time when users are not in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  9. Select the Run this job after every check box, and then in the days list, select the frequency you want the job to run.

  10. If you want a notification e-mail sent, select the Send an e-mail to me ([email protected]) when this job is finished check box.

  11. Click or tap Next, review the bulk deletion job, and then click or tap Submit to create the recurring job.

Method 2: Evaluate and delete suspended workflows

Sometimes workflows will enter a suspended state because there is a condition that will never be met or some other reason that will not allow the workflow to continue.

Warning

Some workflows will be in a suspended state because they are waiting for a condition that has not yet been met, which is expected. For example, a workflow may be waiting for a task to be completed.

  1. Click or tap Advanced Find.

  2. In the Look for list, select System Jobs.

  3. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    System Job Type – Equals – Workflow

    Status Reason – Equals – Waiting

  4. Group the two criteria rows:

    1. Click or tap the arrow next to each criteria row, and then click or tap Select Row.

    2. With all three rows selected, click or tap Group AND.

  5. Click or tap Find.

  6. In the results window, you can open each item to determine whether the workflow can be deleted.

Method 3: Remove email attachments using Advanced Find

Warning

If you delete this data, the attachments will no longer be available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. However, if you have them saved in Microsoft Office Outlook, they will still be there.

  1. Click or tap Advanced Find.

  2. In the Look for list, select Email Messages.

  3. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    Email Attachments (Item)

    File Size (Bytes) – Is Greater Than - In the text box, type a byte value, such as 25000.

  4. Click or tap Results.

  5. Under Activities, you will now have a list of email messages that have attachments that are larger than ‘X’ bytes. Review the emails and delete the attachments as needed.

Method 4: Remove email messages with attachments using a bulk deletion job

Warning

If you delete this data, the email messages and their associated attachments will no longer be available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. However, if you have them saved in Microsoft Office Outlook, they will still be there.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Data Management > Bulk Record Deletion, and then in the menu bar, click or tap New. This opens the Bulk Deletion Wizard.

  2. Click or tap Next.

  3. In the Look for list, select Email Messages.

  4. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    Status Reason – Equals – Completed

    Actual End – Older Than X Months – 1

    Email Attachments (Item)

    File Size (Bytes) – Is Greater Than – In the text box, type a byte value, such as 25000.

  5. Group the first two criteria rows:

    1. Click or tap the arrow next to each criteria row, and then click or tap Select Row.

    2. With both rows selected, click or tap Group AND.

  6. Click or tap Next.

  7. In the Name text box, type a name for the bulk deletion job.

  8. Select a date and time for the job start time; preferably a time when users are not in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  9. Select the Run this job after every check box, and then in the days list, select the frequency you want the job to run.

  10. If you want a notification e-mail sent, select the Send an email to me ([email protected]) when this job is finished check box.

  11. Click or tap Next, review the bulk deletion job, and then click or tap Submit to create the recurring job.

Method 5: Remove notes with attachments using Advanced Find

Warning

If you delete this data, notes and their associated attachments will no longer be available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  1. Click or tap Advanced Find.

  2. In the Look for list, select Notes.

  3. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    File Size (Bytes) – Is Greater Than – In the text box, type a byte value, such as 1048576.

  4. Click or tap Results.

  5. You will now have a list of attachments that are larger than the size you specified.

  6. Select individual or a multiple attachments, and then click or tap Delete (X).

Method 6: Remove notes with attachments using a bulk deletion job

Warning

If you delete this data, notes and their associated attachments will no longer be available in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Data Management > Bulk Record Deletion, and then in the menu bar, click or tap New. This opens the Bulk Deletion Wizard.

  2. Click or tap Next.

  3. In the Look for list, select Notes.

  4. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    File Size (Bytes) – Is Greater Than – In the text box, type a byte value, such as 1048576.

    Created On – Older Than X Months – 1

  5. Group the two criteria rows:

    1. Click or tap the arrow next to each criteria row, and then click or tap Select Row.

    2. With all three rows selected, click or tap Group AND.

  6. Click or tap Next.

  7. In the Name text box, type a name for the bulk deletion job.

  8. Select a date and time for the job start time; preferably a time when users are not in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  9. Select the Run this job after every check box, and then in the days list, select the frequency you want the job to run.

  10. If you want a notification e-mail sent, select the Send an email to me ([email protected]) when this job is finished check box.

  11. Click or tap Next, review the bulk deletion job, and then click or tap Submit to create the recurring job.

Method 7: Remove bulk duplicate detection jobs and associated copies of duplicate records

Every time that a duplicate detection job runs, a copy of each duplicate record is stored in the database as part of the duplicate detection job. For example, if you have 100 duplicate records, every time that you run a duplicate detection job that finds these duplicates, whether it is manual or reoccurring, those 100 duplicate records will be stored in the database under that instance of that duplicate job until the duplicates are merged or deleted, or until the instance of that duplicate detection job is deleted.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Data Management > Duplicate Detection Jobs.

  2. Select the duplicate detection job instances you want to delete and then click or tap Delete (X).

To avoid wasting storage space, make sure duplicates are resolved promptly so that they are not reported in multiple duplicate detection jobs.

Method 8: Delete bulk import instances using a bulk deletion job

Every time you perform a bulk import, there is a system job associated with that import. The system job details show which records imported successfully and which records failed.

Warning

After you delete these bulk import jobs, you will not be able to see what data was imported and you cannot roll back the import.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Data Management > Bulk Record Deletion, and then in the menu bar, click or tap New. This opens the Bulk Deletion Wizard.

  2. Click or tap Next.

  3. In the Look for list, select System Jobs.

  4. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    System Job Type – Equals – Import

    Status Reason – Equals – Succeeded

    Completed On – Older Than X Months – 1

  5. Group the three criteria rows:

    1. Click or tap the arrow next to each criteria row, and then click or tap Select Row.

    2. With all three rows selected, click or tap Group AND.

  6. Click or tap Next.

  7. In the Name text box, type a name for the bulk deletion job.

  8. Select a date and time for the job start time; preferably a time when users are not in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  9. Select the Run this job after every check box, and then in the days list, select the frequency you want the job to run.

  10. If you want a notification e-mail sent, select the Send an email to me ([email protected]) when this job is finished check box.

  11. Click or tap Next, review the bulk deletion job, and then click or tap Submit to create the recurring job.

Method 9: Delete bulk deletion job instances using a bulk deletion job

When you are bulk deleting data, such as in many of the methods described in this article, a bulk deletion system job is created and can be deleted.

Warning

After you delete these jobs, you will lose the history of the prior bulk deletion jobs that you’ve run.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Data Management > Bulk Record Deletion, and then in the menu bar, click or tap New. This opens the Bulk Deletion Wizard.

  2. Click or tap Next.

  3. In the Look for list, select System Jobs.

  4. In the search criteria area, add criteria similar to the following:

    System Job Type – Equals – Bulk Delete

    Status Reason – Equals – Succeeded

    Completed On – Older Than X Months – 1

    Note

    You could also delete jobs that have failed or been canceled.

  5. Group the three criteria rows:

    1. Click or tap the arrow next to each criteria row, and then click or tap Select Row.

    2. With all three rows selected, click or tap Group AND.

  6. Click or tap Next.

  7. In the Name text box, type a name for the bulk deletion job.

  8. Select a date and time for the job start time; preferably a time when users are not in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

  9. Select the Run this job after every check box, and then in the days list, select the frequency you want the job to run.

  10. If you want a notification e-mail sent, select the Send an email to me ([email protected]) when this job is finished check box.

  11. Click or tap Next, review the bulk deletion job, and then click or tap Submit to create the recurring job.

Method 10: Delete audit logs

When you enable auditing, Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates audit logs to store the audit history of the records. You can delete these audit logs to free space when they are no longer needed.

Warning

When you delete an audit log, you can no longer view the audit history for the period covered by that audit log.

  1. Click or tap Microsoft Dynamics CRM > Settings > Auditing.

  2. In the Audit area click or tap Audit Log Management.

  3. Select the oldest audit log, then click or tap Delete Logs.

  4. In the confirmation message click or tap OK.

Note

You can only delete the oldest audit log in the system. To delete more than one audit log repeat deleting the oldest available audit log until you have deleted enough logs.

See Also

Manage your data
Data encryption
Manage Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online instances

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