How To Obtain the Total Record Count in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Often times, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM user would like to know the total record count of a View listing or an Advanced Find query result.  However, the view shows the number of records listed on each page only with a maximum of 250 records at a time.  So how does a user obtain the Total Record Count (more than 250 records) in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 or CRM Online using out of the box methods?

Here are two approaches:

Export to Excel - from any view, click Export Data to Excel.  Then either scroll to the very bottom of the Excel to find out the total rows count or use the Excel function ROWS(array)

OR

Report Wizard - use the built-in Microsoft CRM Report Wizard to create a report to display the record count.  This report is then available in the corresponding CRM entity's view or form record.  Plus, it supports filtering (like Advanced Find) to drill down on the record counts dynamically.  I prefer this approach in most cases – it is simple and flexible. 

Here are the steps to create a Contact Total Count Report in Microsoft CRM 4.0 or CRM Online:

1. Create a new custom attribute "Total Count" type "nvarChar".  This field is not going to be use for any data storage - just for grouping the contacts together to easily display the total count.  Alternatively, you can use an existing "nvarChar" attribute that is not being used for storing any data

2. Create a new Report.  CRM Client >> Workplace >> Report >> click "New"