CRM 2011 Entity modelling. Creating custom entity based on OOB entity

Question

I'm just looking for a bit of clarity on the correct way to model custom entities and activities in CRM 2011.

I have to model a custom activity which is called a Submission. It is really just a Case with some additional properties.

When creating this in my Solution, is it best practice to base it on the Case Entity and then add the properties, or would it be better to create a new activity instead?

We have other types of activities which are similar, so I would also be basing them on the Case entity if that's the best way to go.

Many thanks, John

Answer 1

I usually err on the side of creating a new custom entity (or activity), especially if you think you might have "case types" that are significantly different. It isn't fun writing a bunch of javascript that shows/hides fields based on type.

You might pick the one activity type (perhaps Submission) that is most like a "Case" and then create custom activities for the others that are close. But then you'll have subtle differences (the Customer lookup on Case, for example, can be either a Contact or Account, but you can't add your own "Customer" lookup to your custom entities).

Unless you really need something that the built-in Case entity provides that you can't do yourself, my vote would be for new entities (activities) and then just hide the built-in Case entity by security roles.