CRM Notes can update the Regarding Record ModifiedOn Date

Changes in CRM record data is a common part of business process, and clients often use the “ModifiedOn” field in views as an indication of new information in a recordset. However, adding text in an entity “notes” field does not update the “ModifiedOn” date. A client using this pattern were looking for a simple configuration-only solution using Workflows. The following example describes how to implement the solution for the Opportunity entity.

Step 1. Add a Custom DateTime attribute to the Opportunity Entity.

Opportunity attributes

This attribute does need to appear on the form or in any views, it’s just some hidden field that the workflow can use to cause an update. For example I called it “HiddenNoteUpdatableField”.

This field will be updated by a workflow, causing the entity record to be modified, updating the “ModifiedOn” attribute.

Step 2. Create a new Workflow (Process) that executes on the “create” event of the “Note” entity. The workflow logic will be required to trigger when a new note is added and if the Note “RegardingObjectId” is set to an Opportunity, update the related record using the HiddenNoteUpdatableField. To ensure that the field contains new data, use the CreatedOn date of the Note.

The workflow should resemble the screenshot below

Step 3. Activate the workflow. If you open an existing opportunity and add a new Note, the workflow process will execute, marking the related Opportunity as updated.  You cant see the workflow under the Opportunity Processes as it belongs to the Note Entity but you should be able to see the Workflow job in the Settings…System Jobs