Codename GP "12" Preliminary Features Series - 1 of 4

Codename GP "12" Preliminary Features - Part 1 

This is article is part 1 of 4 from the series Codename GP "12" Preliminary Features. Some images and content reproduced with express permission from Microsoft Business Solutions, a division of Microsoft Corporation.

DISCLAIMER: These features are subject to change.


I am only repeating what I have heard so please don't shoot the messenger. With GP "12" to be released "sometimes next year" - and yes, December 31, 2012 is still within that time frame - there may still be features on the following list that may not make the cut. However, it was fairly clear that the boys and girls on the Microsoft Dynamics GP development team in Fargo are working their rears off to get the feature list to a state where they feel pretty comfortable, meeting the demands on the shopping list.

Straight out of GPUG Summit's closing session, comes some of the top features being worked on, based on the traditional 4 pillar goals:

4 Core Design Pillars
Each pillar allows the engineering team to showcase a list of features that will support the objectives behind pillar.

Simplicity
The PM Reprint Check Remittance, for instance, will allow users to re-print the check remittance without having to generate the check.

Improvements have also been considered for the FA Calendar Setup feature. In this case, the Fixed Assets calendar does not have to match the fiscal calendar. You can now have multiple calendars, for example, having an asset depreciate on a fiscal year for tax purposes, if tax year and fiscal year are different, and depreciate calendar year for financial reporting purposes.
  
The Journal Entry History Inquiry will see enhancements too. In today's world, the existing window only looks at the open tables. The plan for GP "12" is to have it look at both open and/or history.

In the reporting area, you will be delighted to know that you will now be able to choose a printer at print time. This feature was only 20 years in the making, but it's finally here! Hey, I remember like if it was yesterday, when Windows True Type fonts became a standard part of Report Writer reports. Before that, we only had 4 fonts to play with. Challenge: name the 4 fonts available prior to the introduction of True Type fonts.

SSRS Simplicity

In addition to the printer at print time, one of the most awaited features is the ability to print SSRS reports from right within Microsoft Dynamics GP, this is, you will no longer need to wait for the Internet Explorer browser to load Report Server to display the report and will rather see the report from within GP as if you were looking at a Report Writer report in the report layout window... ah, and before I forget, Report Writer will eventually be phased out as the predominant options to render reports.

I don't know how this plays with all that Word Template functionality released fairly recently, but I am sure a lot of you will jump on one feet in happiness knowing that you no longer will need to suffer through the tortuous process of customizing a report. My instinct tells me, that Report Writer will mainly subsists as a data delivery mechanism for XML files needed for your beloved Word Templates. If history and memory serve me well, Microsoft rarely gets rid of a working function within its products, except it becomes as annoying as the Office Paperclip Assistant. Now that I come to think, Report Writer is got to be up there for a lot of you.

I will continue tomorrow with the Productivity pillar.
Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
IntellPartners, LLC
http://www.IntellPartners.com/

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