The Dynamics GP Blogster

The folks at MSDynamicsWorld.com have picked up on my Table Import article and are running a header in their customary " From the Blogs " section. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com

This was a very active week over at Developing for Dynamics GP . David Musgrave brings 6 excellent articles that, once again, cover a number of interesting topics from ways to execute scripts across multiple GP company databases, all the way to the impact Microsoft's new Statement of Direction for Dynamics GP will have on everyday product features. So let's get started! Article 1 : David first article -- Running SQL scripts against all GP company databases -- explores a batch file he had developed in conjunction with his friend Robert Cavill in the past. This batch file makes use of the OSQL command line utility application ( OSQL.EXE ) provided with SQL Server to execute a query against all Dynamics GP company databases. In summary, a T-SQL SELECT statement is executed against the Company Master table ( DYNAMICS..SY01500 ) to retrieve the INTERID column values. These values are then used to execute a script repetitively for each company. Remember, you can always achiev...

I hope you have been following the series of interesting Project Allocation articles with Mark Polino, MVP. In this third installment, Mark explores the allocation of payroll benefits across projects in Project Accounting guiding you through with a full example with detailed steps and screenshots making sure you are clear on the process. The following is the complete list of topics already covered by Mark on the subject of allocations: · Project Accounting Benefit Allocations · Project Accounting Unit Allocations · Project Accounting Expense Allocations Be sure to read these articles to enhance your knowledge on the Project Accounting series, but also to be familiar with some of the core features delivered with Feature Pack 1. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

Before Integration Manager , eConnect , Web Services , SnapShot , SQL Server Data Transformation Services ( DTS ), SQL Server Integration Services ( SSIS ), or any of the supercharged, techno-geek tool you can quickly think of, there was Table Import . Considered by many at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to integration tools, the fact is, it still holds its weight in today's XML-plagued world. Background In past releases of Microsoft Dynamics GP, Table Import was an absolute best (and fast!) approach to import data, especially because tools like the ones mentioned above have never been able to cover the entire spectrum of Microsoft integrating products and third party applications available. Take for example Manufacturing or Field Service. While these products have long been around, there's little in the form of tools that can actually get data into their tables in a safe and validated way. You may be thinking or asking, "well, how do I know what tables I need ...

In the past days I had been struggling with a programming issue that I thought could be resolved very easily with standard cross-dictionary development techniques. In fact, I was convinced that most of what I needed could be found in past materials published by my dear friends David Musgrave and Mark Rockwell . In reading through the material and going through the recipe of steps to implement third-party lookup filtering, I realized the technique was using reject record statements to avoid displaying records in the scrolling window, and while I was able to implement it, performance quickly became an issue. Business Situation In principle, I am developing a new piece of code for one of my clients that would allow them to transfer Project Accounting contracts to Field Service contracts. However, I needed to limit the contracts in Field Service only to the contracts for the selected customer. Challenges With the implementation of the technique outlined in Pushing the Limits III , the ...

In his series of Weekly Dynamic articles, fellow MVP Mark Polino continues to explore Project Allocations -- he first delivered an introductory overview on Project Allocations a couple of weeks aback. In this installment, Mark dives into how to allocate project costs based on units . He delivers important pointers on how to setup unit based allocations and clearly explains the options available as well as the pitfalls when configuring the associated cost categories. Please stop by Mark's blog and let him know what you think about his article. Remember: these features have been delivered as part of Microsoft Dynamics GP Feature Pack 1 . You must install these features from the DVD image. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

Ok, this may be funny, but trust me, if you have to keep up with David Musgrave , Mark Polino , Victoria Yudin , and all the other talented Dynamics GP bloggers out there you would soon understand why it's best to do a summary on these guys posts. So today, I will summarize David's post for the week. Ever wonder why you receive an Illegal Address for field 'PowerUser' exception? Are you going balistic trying to find Dex.ini file after your upgrade to Dynamics GP 10.0? What are you going to do with your Dexterity customizations now that Micrsoft has changed up the Sales Transaction Entry interface buttons for the more sexy SOP Action button ? Keep wondering why your DEXSQL.LOG file refers to an inexisting desSPRkmhBBCreh column in some table? Well, all answers are at Developing for Dynamics GP! Be sure to check David's posts and drop him a note on what you think about the articles. For more information on some of the above topics please check my articles on Dex.in...

Microsoft has released (on time) Dynamics GP Service Pack 3. The direct link to the version 10.0 Service Pack 3 page is: https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource/downloads/servicepacks/MDGP10_ServicePack3.htm . If you are upgrading from previous versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP, Business Solutions-Great Plains, or eEnterprise, be sure to check my new post on available upgrade paths . Also, please make sure to visit fellow MVP, Victoria Yudin's blog who is polling her readers on their intent for Service Pack 3. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MVP Maximum Global Business, LLC. http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

The Report Writer user-defined rw_SelectAddrLine function script is a very handy function that allows most Sales Order Processing documents to display addresses without those pesky blank lines in between say the first address line and the city, state, and zip code, especially when the second address line is empty. For this explanation I will use the Bill To Address Lines on the Sales Blank Invoice Form, which is one of the most commonly modified reports throughout the system. The current address lines on this report are predicated on 3 calculated fields (Bill To Address Line 1, Bill To Address Line 2, and Bill To Address Line 3). In turn, these calculated fields call a Dexterity script -- the rw_SelectAddrLine script -- that displays the address lines based on the parameters that are passed in. The implementation of this script is as follows: function returns string rw_SelectAddrLine; in integer nLineNum; in string sLine1; in string sLine2; in string sLine3; in string sLine4; in strin...

This is the time when many people start to consider and plan upgrades, on the verge of a new release. According to Rich Miller of Microsoft Dynamics GP Product Marketing, in a recent interview with MSDynamicsWorld, " more and more people are migrating since the release of [Dynamics GP 10.0] Feature Pack 1 ", and it will be no surprise that upgrade will increment with the release of Microsoft Dynamics GP 11. In addition, it has been one of those topics that frequently show up on the Microsoft Dynamics GP newsgroup . With this said, I figured I would put together a list with the possible upgrade paths for each version of GP since Dynamics 6.o and eEnterprise 6.0. You can update to Great Plains Release 8.0 from a previous release by using one of the following paths. 6.0.XX >> 7.5 >> 8.0 eEnterprise 6.0 Dynamics 6.0 for Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 >> 8.0 eEnterprise 7.0 Dynamics 7.0 for Microsoft SQL Server 7.5 >> 8.0 Great Plains 7.5 For a complete list of ...

Microsoft Convergence 2009 , to be held in New Orleans from March 10 to March 13, is Microsoft's premier customer focused event. Convergence has become the central point for customers to meet and learn about everything Microsoft Dynamics GP, from projects in the make, to interesting and fun keynotes, to action packed sessions, to future product releases. Registrations will begin on December 3, 2008. Be sure to sign up for email reminders to take advantage of early registration discounts and secure a spot in what is already expected to be one of the best Convergence events yet. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

I was very intrigued by the Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP ( VSTM ) application created by my friend David Musgrave . I studied the sample code provided in the PDF documentation submitted with the product and after a few hours of careful reading, it dawned on me that if I could expose the VSTM assembly to COM interop other developers, including VBA developers could also have their native VBA forms called as part of Dynamics GP menus. After a few attempts over a few days to register the assembly with COM by using the Microsoft Assembly Registration tool , I abandoned the effort due to an existing issue registering the Microsoft.Dexterity.Bridge assembly which is referenced within the VSTM assembly to be able to make calls to Dexterity . This however, did not discourage me from seeking other alternatives. Going back to basics, I realized that the VSTM assembly methods are just references to function scripts implemented within the VSTM dexterity dictionary. In ...

Ok, you may think this is some sort of new Vegas casino gambling gimmick. Not far from reality! Fellow MVP Mark Polino is about to prove to the world that he can hand out 50 Microsoft Dynamics GP tips in 50 minutes at I.B.I.S's iSight customer conference to be held in Atlanta, GA on Wednesday, October 15, 2008; and Charlotte, NC on Thursday, October 16, 2008. Whether you are an I.B.I.S. customer or not, you will not want to miss this electrifying display of knowledge coming at you at bullet speed from one of the best darn Dynamics GP consultants in the United States -- and let me tell you, on an individual basis there aren't too many of us :-). Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC. http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

How many times have you wished a particular feature to be incorporated into the Dynamics GP application? How many times have you wished you could have some input on how a module should work or how it could be changed to work more efficiently? My dear friend Scott Stephenson, team manager for the Microsoft Dynamics GP Developer Support team in the US joins the Developing for Dynamics GP blog with a compelling article on providing product feedback . Microsoft Connect was created with this purpose and has been a vehicle for users and developers alike to have their voices heard with Microsoft product mangers and developers. If you haven't done so, please visit Connect and register to begin entering your suggestions today. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

David was busy overnight (daytime for him) releasing three great articles: a) The first one introduces the concept of Dexterity table Auto Stored procedures and how they are used to perform table operations. b) His second article provides 13 known techniques for finding and retrieving tables and fields information in Microsoft Dynamics GP, exploring simple options as the GP's built-in Resource Descriptions all the way to his new Support Debugging Tool's Resource Explorer. David also provides a good number of other sources from fellow bloggers. c) Finally, David explains the VST LineFill events by taking a look at how Dexterity fills scrolling windows and why the VST LineFill events weren't effective in accessing Dexterity table buffers. At David's publishing rate, I will have to start a weekly summary section solely dedicated to compile his work as I am finding it hard to keep up with him. Please stop by David's blog site and let him know what you think about the...

Fellow MVP, Victoria Yudin has pur together a great article and a support matrix with links to Microsoft's CustomerSource showing the scheduled timeline for each Dynamics GP product version support. Did you know that if you are still running GP 6.0 your support expired some 4 years ago? This means that you will also pay additional fees to become compliant again. If you have a need to upgrade (you think?) and would like to get started visit my site or contact me for more information. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

In his new MSDynamicsWorld article , fellow MVP Mark Polino explores the importance of identifying a project champion during the Dynamics GP implementation phase. In addition, he provides key pointers on how to spot one and retain that person during the implementation. Being a project manager myself, I can say that a project champion is generally that person from within the client's ranks who will drive a project to completion and will make use of his/her skills and charisma to get the entire organization motivated towards the end goal. Think of the project champion as a cheerleader, the person who will advocate the benefits of the project. For those of you project champions, you know who you are, you know you are eager to come out and "show off" a little while ensuring everyone in your organization that GP was the right choice. Come forward and give us a hand! Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbus...

Recently I had a chance to look into a post on the Microsoft Dynamics GP newsgroup where the consultant required the ability to upload hundreds of payments into PayPal as a business process using the EFT for Payables module. At first, I thought the issue was more related to the interfacing abilities with PayPal, but soon discovered this was not API-related -- PayPal also provides an API that can be called via web services. It turns out, PayPal allows its customers, in its simplest form, to upload a mass payment tab-delimited text file containing the email of the payee or recipient, the amount to be paid, currency, a unique identifier for the recipient (which can easily be the vendor ID from GP), and a note or transaction description. For more information on PayPal's formatted file click here . Knowing this, the first limitation with EFT Payables is its ability to generate tab-delimited files. However, it does provide the ability to create fixed length files and XML files which can...

David Musgrave answers the most common questions about Microsoft Dynamics GP user password implementation by exploring a number of topics including, but not limited to the history of passwords in GP, password encryption, password policy enforcement, and Windows authentication. Be sure to check this article, because this is a very frequent topic that comes up in various newsgroups and discussion boards and the answers are as varied depending who you ask. Until next post! MG. Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

Hi folks! After a long writing hiatus from MSDynamicsWorld.com, my new article has finally made it to the headlines. In this edition, I discuss 8 comprehensive strategies to improve your purchasing to disbursement business process and match the Microsoft Dynamics GP application components required to effectively support the proposed strategies. As always, please let me know your thoughts and/or let me know what you would like to see posted on this site. Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MIS, MVP, MCP, PMP Maximum Global Business, LLC http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com

I love a challenge when I see one, but more important, I love to share my knowledge when I get to the bottom of it all. On the Microsoft Dynamics GP Newsgroup a user expressed her interest in seeing more integration between GP's letter writing capabilities and Microsoft Outlook as it relates to Customers and Vendors. While one could argue that you could use already built-in email submission capabilities in Microsoft Word to send documents from there, the fact remains, that all the customer internet information would be ignored, forcing the user to switch between Outlook and GP to retrieve and manually enter email contact information into Outlook and perhaps even having to click through mounts of directories for files just previously saved with the Letter Writing Assistant . Implementation 1) With the Customer Maintenance window open, press CTRL+F10 to open Modifier. 2) Move the INet1 and INet2 fields to the window area on the Customer Maintenance window. Do not be concern...