Dynamics CRM Environment Confusion

Currently I'm working with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, extending the platform, writing custom code & web services and the like. And here's a small problem that I've run in to...

If your company is anything like my company, you don't just have one CRM environment. In fact, we don't just have two CRM environments, we have five environments, each progressing one step up from Development, through QA, and into Production. Even though the Internet Explorer address bar clearly shows which environment I'm in when it's maximized, I frequently get confused, or worse, I can't see which environment is which in the status bar preview.

However, I have discovered how to solve this problem. It's not supported, technically, but we're talking about testing & development environments, not a production one. Also, the change is so minor, it's easy enough to undo it and make sure it isn't the cause of a problem, before calling the Microsoft support line.

If you look in the CRMWeb\_imgs folder in the installation directory (ours is C:\Microsoft CRM\CRMWeb\_imgs), there is a file called "masthead.jpg", that looks like this:

If you update this image, replacing it with one of the exact same dimens

ions, like this one:

it will be seamlessly integrated into CRM. See for yourself:

Voila! Instantly recognizable environment indicators. And if you're just a little OCD like me, I also set the background color on those servers' desktops to the exact same color as the masthead, just so that when I remote into them, it's clear where's I am.