Mariano talks about Dexterity & Intellisense and why it would benefit us. Read that article and vote for it here: Vote For Dex & Intellisense.
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Intellisense in Dexterity – An Awesome Feature – Vote For It
Monthly Archives: June 2010
Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2010 (64 Bit) – Don’t Rush Till Nov’10
While Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2010, which is terrific compared to earlier versions, Crystal Reports got it’s Free Edition for VS2010 as well. But now it’s a separate download from SAP Business Objects site.
That’s not the intention of this post at all. I wanted to caution all Consultants/Developers who are planning to develop applications on VS2010 platform along with Crystal Reports.
Read this post before you plan for 64 Bit Crystal Reports based Apps using VS2010: Update on the CR for VS 2010 Release
I would recommend the following specs for such Apps:
1. Visual Studio 2008
2. Crystal Reports Basic for VS2008 (Including SP1)
3. Crystal Reports .NET Redistributable Runtime 64 Bit
For GP Consultants, we have a product already from Flex-Solutions, GP Report Viewer, which does exactly what we require.
I got a Trial Fully Functional license from Flex-Solutions and running short of time for my evaluation. I am still going on with my evaluation on all aspects which I currently require, as and when I get some time.
So far, such a great product and excellent work by Flex-Solutions team. I would recommend to anyone who need hassle-free Crystal Reports substitute for GP Documents.
VAIDY
GP Blogs for Useful SQL Views
We are now having three blogs helping us out in SQL Views for varied needs.
1. Victoria Yudin’s Blog
2. Mark Polino’s Blog
3. Ron’s Blog – Real Life Dynamics User
To my best knowledge, the above are the active blog till now and continue to enrich us with more SQLs.
Do follow these blogs without fail.
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Smartlist Builder View Returning Nothing – David Musgrave
David explains why Smartlist Builder View may not return records and on which scenario.
Check out his post here: SmartList Builder based on SQL View not returning Data.
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How to simulate TOP 100 PERCENT in SQL 2005/2008 – Steve Endow
This one’s very good trick to Force SQL Server 2005 / 2008 to sort of use ORDER BY in Views.
Never knew this till Steve’s article. Good one for all SQL Developers (also for Part Time ones).
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How to tackle Chunk Upgrade with Modified Forms/Reports?
This post an extension of Sivakumar’s post on How to Deploy Chunk Files.
Let’s consider, we have a Custom Product chunk file which has been deployed already on a Customer’s site. And we are suppose to deploy an update to that product. Now this particular Custom Product has been modified either the Forms or Reports or Both.
I am going to talk about two scenarios:
1. The developer who has developed this customization, maintains a version to each release.
2. The developer do not maintain the version for releases.
Let’s first take the #2 scenario: The developer do not maintain a versioning for releases. Which is very difficult and time consuming when we deploy. How to deploy this chunk without harming the Forms AND / OR Reports Modifications? David just explained it to Siva, which is clearly explained in Siva’s post.
Let’s first take the #1 scenario: The developer maintains a versioning for each release. I would salute such developers. It’s very rare to see developers maintaining a version for small customizations. If it’s a Dex Customization, it MUST have a version, a proper version. Versioning Dex Customizations have got so many advantages. One such advantage is the one which I am going to explain below.
If we have a version for a chunk and we are trying to deploy an update (which will logically have a higher version than the one which was deployed earlier), then GP Utilities will take care of deploying this chunk and upgrading the Forms & Reports Modifications.
Steps are as follows:
1. Install the chunk on GP Site (copy the chunk on to GP Application Folder and launch GP). You won’t be able to log on, if there is a Modified Form(s) for this product.
2. Close GP.
3. Launch GP Utilities.
4. Verify GP Dynamics Version and Company Databases Versions.
5. Then select the option “Update modified forms and reports” when this window is shown up:
6. Just make sure that you have backed up Dynamics.set file and Modified Forms Dictionary for that Customization chunk.
Important Note: You must copy the Previous version Modified Forms dictionary to another folder (remember, COPY and NOT Move). And follow the instructions shown in the subsequent wizard steps.
For more details, just refer to GP Utilities Help File (Click on that BLUE ? Button shown in the above screenshot and read the instructions).
Hope this helps.
Sivakumar’s Article on How to Deploy Chunk Files – A Note To Remember.
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Importance of PM Module in GP – Belinda
Belinda explains us what’s more important in Payables Management (PM) as opposed to how it’s been used generally.
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Clients Hiring Project Manager For Implementation – Pitfalls
This one’s very realistic, Mark. I must admit that I am more than convinced.
Implementation is much more than a Project Management and it certainly requires someone who do not compromise on anything for the Quality & Safety of Project Implementation.
It certainly depends. If a Client could hire a really successful PM for an Implementation, they get more out of that single right move. But they also have to make sure that, that single move should not lead them to more destructive results.
Read Mark’s article here: Realistic Expectations: How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Outside Project Managers for Implementing Microsoft Dynamics GP
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CRM GP Adapter Series – Versions & Improvements
Till now, Microsoft Dynamics Team has released 4 versions of this CRM GP Adapter:
1. CRM Adapter Base Version – GP 10 & CRM 4
Details of this release can be read by clicking the above link. There is a terrific list of FAQ and much needed information. As the title says, it’s the base version and did what it was meant to. Read all CRM fields and make it available for GP integration and vice versa.
2. CRM Adapter FP1 – GP 10 & CRM 4
Tremendous improvement with this FP1. Below are the notable ones:
2.1. CRM Custom Fields are made available for Integration Mapping.
2.2. Critical fixes pertaining to previous release.
2.3. Integration Status messages are more meaningful and logging of those messages (from GP Web Services) are comprehensive.
2.4. Picklist Synchronization Utility – We will discuss this utility as a separate topic. Trust me, this is certainly a boon to this Adapter.
3. CRM Adapter FP2 – GP 10 & CRM 4
With this release comes the power of choice (as mentioned in the release article). You can select the integration configuration between:
3.1. CRM On-Premise Integration alone.
3.2. CRM On-Premise and CRM Hosted Integration.
More technical details are clearly explained in the release article. So I have got nothing more to say.
4. CRM Adapter FP3 – GP 10 / 11 (GP2010) & CRM 4
With this release, we have got an Adapter which is Dual Compatible. It now supports GP10 / GP2010 along with CRM4 (Hosted / On Premise).
I have not implemented this version yet and am scheduling it at the earliest.
Question: Why do I have to know the history of this Adapter? I will just download the latest one, follow the instructions to implement it. What’s the big deal in that?
Answer: The first release of this Adapter was in October 2009. The FP3 release was in May 2010. Now that’s what I admire. This tool has been taken seriously by Microsoft Dynamics Dev Team and they have given us a tremendously important and easy-to-use Integration tool. People may think that I am advocating for this Tool without knowing it’s complete character. But for me, till I have seen it, it’s awesome. What you need as a basic integration between GP and CRM, scope of the integration is very well defined and quite contenting.
This article is aimed at instilling a Confidence in Consultants & Customers that this tool is certainly a good one for real-time implementations.
More to come.
VAIDY
View Smartlists with SQL Tables
Have you ever wondered why your Smartlist, created using Smartlist Builder and a SQL Table / View (which is not part of any of GP or 3rd Party Products)?
This may be the issue:
The above screenshot shows Security Task form, where you have to select the option “View SmartLists with SQL Tables” for the users who wants access to this Smartlist.
This particular point is very much covered in Smartlist Manual, but I bet most of us would have overlooked this.
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Dynamics GP - Learn & Discuss 