As of Cobalt version 4.1+, uploaded files and attachments (e.g. documents, images, notes, process logs) are stored in an external storage account rather than inside the Dynamics database itself. This is intended to reduce database size and assist with lowering storage costs. Instead of storing the actual file in Dynamics, it stores a reference link to the file’s location in the external storage. The file itself is stored in a storage account, usually Azure Blob Storage. Staff members will still be able to download these files from within the Dynamics interface.
View the Document Reference Type entity article and the Document Reference entity article for additional details about the entities and fields used for this functionality.
Containers
A storage account consists of containers, which are used to organize the data that is uploaded and stored. You will need to create and name containers that documents are uploaded to by the system.
Container names follow strict guidelines and must be formatted in a specific way - for more documentation on container name limitations, read the Microsoft article here.
Document Reference Type (Container) name guidelines:
- Container names must start or end with a letter or number, and can contain only letters, numbers, and the hyphen/minus (-) character.
- Every hyphen/minus (-) character must be immediately preceded and followed by a letter or number; consecutive hyphens aren't permitted in container names.
- All letters in a container name must be lowercase.
- Container names must be from 3 through 63 characters long.
Expired Documents
To ensure only relevant documents are stored in the container, you can set the Retention Length in Days on the Document Reference Type entity. Based on the retention length, each Document Reference will have an expiration date automatically set.
There is also a "Delete Expired Documents" cron job automation (this will already exist in your system in the 4.1 version) that will deactivate the Document Reference as expired and remove the link to download the document from the CRM. The document will be deleted from the container upon expiration.
