How to fix the "Attribute: parentid cannot be set to NULL" exception in Dynamics CRM 2013 (2011)

1. In this article we see how to fix the "Attribute: parentid cannot be set to NULL" exception in Dynamics CRM 2013 (2011) .
   
   

How to fix the "Attribute: parentid cannot be set to NULL" exception in Dynamics CRM 2013 (2011)

1. This error appears in Dynamics CRM 2011 - 2013 custom Plugins or custom Workflows, or any C# code calling the Organization Web Service WCF endpoint using late binding. Specifically we're creating a new address for an Account or a Contact entity. The CustomerAddress CRM entity has a reference field which points to the "ParentId" , the Account or Contact to which belongs this new address :
   
   
2. The C# code above instantiates the "ParentId" field with the actual Account ID (guid) . The guid is guaranteed to contain a Value, elsewhere the code inside the brackets wouldn't be executed :
   
   
3. However, there is an exception raised , expressing that the value is null : the error message is misleading, since the data type of the CRM SQL column is indeed "uniqueidentifier" , therefore a Guid, which we tried to insert in the attribute:
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5. You wouldn't imagine that that is not enough for CRM, and that it is expecting to get another Type at all: an "EntityReference" CRM type, and not just a Guid:
   
    

     /*  CREATE PARENT REFERENCE FOR CUSTOMER ADDRESS  */
                    EntityReference parentID = new EntityReference();                    parentID.Id = guidParentAccount.Value;                    parentID.LogicalName = "account";
                    oAccountAddress.Attributes["parentid"] = parentID;
                        /***************************************************/

This way you get rid of the error, giving to the CRM Organization Service exactly what it needed.
There is another way to write the code above, shorter, as follows:

      /*  CREATE PARENT REFERENCE FOR CUSTOMER ADDRESS  */
          oAccountAddress["parentid"] = new EntityReference("account", guidParentAccount.Value );                                            /***************************************************/

That's all...Enjoy Dynamics CRM

by Carmel Schvartzman

כתב: כרמל שוורצמן