Development Matters Blog

Subscription on Custom Microsoft Dynamics AX Reports
Note: This is not supported by Microsoft

1. Select one custom report or standard Microsoft Dynamics AX report without analytical (OLAP ) data.

2. Save Credentials which will be used for Report execution. You need to set this on Report-Properties – Data Sources:

a) Make sure to use Connect using Credentials stored securely in report server.
b) Enter user name and password under which this report will be executed (Note: please use DOMAIN\username format).
c) Select checkbox “Use as Windows credentials when connecting to the data source”.
d) Click Apply.

3. Create a shared folder in which you will save the file with your subscription:

You will need to give rights to users which can be set up on the Subscription tab so that users can write files to the folder.
After you have shared folder try to access that folder in format: \\\

4. On the opened report, select option Subscriptions on the top level bar:

5. Create a new subscription or edit existing one:

6. Setup report delivery options:

a) In Delivered by list select Windows File Share option.
b) Enter the name of the file which you are going to deliver.
c) Check the box to add the file extension on delivered file.
Define the path where the file is going to be delivered. Note: Please use UNC path for this in example: \\\
d) Chose format type in which the file will be delivered.
e) Enter the credentials for the user which will execute this report and will have enough rights to write that file to selected location. Please refer to point 3.
f) Select desired Overwrite option.
g) Setup Subscription Processing option.
a. Create schedule

h) Make sure that you have Report parameters value according to this: subscriptions do not maintain the default company. Uncheck the “Use Default” in the AX_CompanyName parameter and set the Company name.
i) Click OK to close page (You could be asked to confirm password entered in point e))

If you are using Management Reporter with Microsoft Dynamics GP Provider (GP Provider), it is possible that you have encountered an issue with the GP Provider wizard not displaying the list of your GP system databases. The server name is good, your credentials are valid, but still, the list of GP system databases is empty.

Here is the trick. GP Provider has a DYNAMICS database filter built-it. In other words, if your GP system database is not named DYNAMICS, or if it does not contain DYNAMICS within its name, GP Provider will filter it out and you won’t be able to proceed. Keep in mind DYNAMICS should be in all capital letters.

The Merit Solutions Development Team uses the Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 template for TFS and it has proven to be a great improvement in leading projects based on the scrum methodology. Its usage makes tracking project progress easier and also gives our team a great opportunity to have all project related documentation in one place, easily reachable and editable by all team members.

The ease of using it and opportunities it provides has been received with very positive feedback by our team members. In fact, it has started to be used for non-scrum projects also, which in turn developed the need for improving existing templates and creating more suitable ones.

There are two ways for customizing a TFS Template. The first one is based on changing the XML code directly and the second one allows us to simplify that process by using Team Foundation Server Power Tools.

The whole process of customization is automated and consists of downloading the template, editing it by directly modifying the interface and uploading a new template version on the TFS server. The most important thing is to predict all things needed for a project and include them in a template, as the template is chosen at the project creation and cannot be changed or modified later on.

Customizing a template is very simple. The user does not have to work with xml code anymore. With this tool, the template interface can be modified directly by adding or deleting text properties or tabs to already existing backlog items, adding new item types, new drop-down fields and relations, linking new and already existing product backlog items or directly changing the layout by moving and positioning controls in proper groups or columns.  This tool also gives an opportunity to adopt already existing terminology for states and processes to the terminology familiar to the team which uses it.

This is a link for downloading Team Foundation Server Power Tools.

To start learning the sample rules for editing the template, here is a very useful blog article.

Recently, the Merit Solutions’ Development Team has been using the Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 template for TFS and it has proven to be a great improvement in leading a project based on the scrum methodology.

Artifacts from Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 include work items, reports, and team queries, so the team can use them to track information, analyze progress, and make decisions.

This way all team members can easily track and update the project status. They can also be updated about all changes made and about progress of the other team members. Through the big range of work items, the team is allowed to track, monitor, and report the development progress of a product and its features.

All the artifacts can be accessed either from the team project node in Team Explorer or on the team project portal. 

The other benefit is the big range of reports which offers a capability to monitor team progress and velocity during the whole project. This is a great way to track how quickly the team has completed work or how much work remains in a product backlog or in a sprint backlog. It can also predict how much backlog effort your team can exert in future sprints if the team composition and sprint duration stay constant.

Using the Microsoft Visual Studio Scrum 1.0 template make tracking project progress easier and also gives our team a great opportunity to improve leading projects in future and predict the possible problems.

More info about Scrum 1.0 template for TFS can be found on MSDN.

The Gov 2.0 Summit defined innovations from the government and the private sectors to highlight technology and ideas that can be applied. The next generation of government (also known as Open Government/Government 2.0) is focused not only on bringing government information, data, and transactions to citizens, but also on connecting the relationships between government and the communities it serves. Social media, cloud computing, web, and mobile technologies all provide new capabilities that government agencies are beginning to utilize in order to achieve much better results at lower costs.

One of the most important improvements Microsoft made with SharePoint 2010 is their dedication to establish SharePoint as a secure, strong and reliable government platform. By using Web 2.0 interoperability – information sharing and integrated collaboration in form of wiki pages, discussion boards, and interactive dashboards - Microsoft is putting SharePoint in front of traditional competitors like Google, IBM, Cisco, Drupal etc.

The tool that will support Microsoft on that road is the new Gov 2.0 Kit. The Gov 2.0 Kit allows users to fast-track their Gov 2.0 deployments. By utilizing Gov 2.0 Kit accelerators, government agencies are able to integrate their sites in the eGovernment’s trends.

The enhancements include Microsoft SharePoint accelerator templates, which streamline site development and design. By focusing on both internal and external collaboration and integration with social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, the Gov 2.0 Kit helps make government more transparent and collaborative. Using the kit, you can provide an enhanced user experience to citizens who search or browse federal or state and local government sites that will help them quickly find information and complete services with increased ease and satisfaction.

Features

‘MyPeeps’ – Gov 2.0 Kit ‘My Peeps’ templates enable social sharing of information within government entities and allow optional promotion of this information to public facing social networking sites. The major advantage of ‘MyPeeps’ is that it is hosted on-premise for “government-only” social networking and all information is kept internal unless otherwise tagged to be posted to Internet sites like Twitter or Facebook.

Improved User Experience – Gov 2.0 public facing portal templates maximize portal experience by featuring the most relevant information and allowing site users to find information quickly. We have incorporated Twitter Feeds, RSS, Social Networking, and Video News parts right into the page.

Connect With Your Constituents – Allow communication channels through idea, complaint, question formats as well as blog participation – all of which give the community a voice and allows you to serve the community even better. This integrates directly with Constituent Relationship Management software for your office staff to track correspondence and critical constituent issues.

Intranet – Use Gov 2.0 intranet templates to enhance your back office experience by quickly bringing technologies such as Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics, BI, Live Meeting (and more) together in one place!

Here is an example of using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Outlook Connector to locate information you need.

Lets say one of your Users gets an notification email as a result of a workflow, which informs the user that a previously created case has been Canceled. In the email, the workflow contains only the data about the case ID, case name, and the related technology.

As the case owner, the user needs to see more details and the reason why the case has been marked as canceled. Instead of searching for the case in Microsoft Dynamics CRM… if CRM Outlook is installed, the user can open the notification email, click the “Track in CRM” button:

 and then “View Regarding” in the CRM tool bar:

The regarding case will be opened and the user will be able to see all of the case details.

SQL Reporting Services 2008 R2 provide some new cool functions, including: Lookup, LookupSet and MultiLookup.

Those functions are the most useful for getting data from two different data sources (like one from CRM fetch, and the other from GP data base). A couple of times, I have needed to collect data from CRM based on some values from Dynamics GP (like collecting all open opportunities from a CRM customer which is also available in GP). This is the right place to use LookupSet function. However, since it only returns a list of objects, it is hard to get sum of, for example, the estimated values of open opportunities for a specific user.

To calculate the lookup values you will need to add some custom code:

Function SumLookup(ByVal items As Object()) As Decimal
If items Is Nothing Then
Return Nothing
End If
Dim suma As Decimal = New Decimal()
suma = 0
For Each item As Object In items
suma += Convert.ToDecimal(item)
Next
Return suma
End Function

So, if you want to use those sums in a report table you just need to call the SumLookup function

Code.SumLookup(LookupSet(CUSTNMBR,customername,estimatedValue,”CRM”)).

Merit Solutions has been selected by Microsoft as 1 of 6 Worldwide Partners to participate in their Partner Business Systems (PBS) Pilot Program, effective July, 2010. The Partner Business Systems is part of the Microsoft Dynamics Partner Readiness Strategy, which represents Microsoft’s commitment to deliver subsidized advanced training, guidance and systems to set a trajectory for profitable growth.  Partner Business Systems helps partners monitor, manage and scale their businesses.

Merit Solutions has been chosen as the pilot partner for Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft SharePoint integrations.

What is Partner Business Systems?

• CRM and  ERP applications that help Partners automate, manage and track key business processes
• Systems that incorporate Microsoft’s best practice sales, implementation and financial processes
• BI tools that provide insight into business results and critical KPIs, both leading and lagging
• Web services that ease integration and collaboration with Microsoft

Why Partner Business Systems Matters:

• Partners need complete insight into business critical KPIs
• Partners’ systems need to capture key performance data
• Partners need proper infrastructure to enable scalability and growth
• Collaboration capabilities are needed across the Dynamics eco-system
• Partner Business Systems improves business insight/oversight and enables scalability
• Partner Business Systems automates and supports best practice business processes

Merit Solutions team members will be present next week at the Microsoft Convergence 2010 Europe event in Prague!

Microsoft Convergence 2010 Europe is the premier, targeted Microsoft Dynamics event where you can experience the strength of the local Microsoft Dynamics community. Now more than ever, Microsoft Convergence offers an easy-to-attend, cost-effective opportunity for you to explore Microsoft Dynamics and the full range of Microsoft product offerings to learn how you can improve your business applications infrastructure, enhance your productivity and ultimately improve your bottom line.

Microsoft Convergence 2010 Prague takes place on Monday, October 18th and Tuesday, October 19th at the Clarion Congress Hotel.

Take this opportunity to participate in an exceptional program including a variety of speakers, detailed product demonstrations and educational learning sessions. You will learn how to enhance your Microsoft investment now and in the future, and gain a stronger sense of community through interacting with industry leaders, Microsoft team members, partners and other customers.

Contact Merit Solutions to set up a live meeting with one of our representatives!

Here is sample code which can be used to automatically copy Dynamics AX application files to an archive. This step is really important if you want to ensure that you safely backup your Application files.

To restore your application, you should copy the application files from the backup to the proper application directory and then start service and compile all objects in the application.

This is the sample batch file which you can run using Task scheduler or any other similar program.

@echo on

for /f “tokens=1,2,3,4* delims=.:/- ” %%i in (‘date /t’) do (

  for /f “skip=1 tokens=1-4 delims=/-,().” %%x in (‘echo.^|date’) do (

  set weekday=%%i&set month=%%j&set day=%%k&set year=%%l))

REM stop aos service

net stop “Dynamics AX Object Server 5.0$01-XXXXX”

REM maps to folder where backups are stored

net use z: /d /y

net use z: \\Backup

REM creates folder with day and time stamp

z:

cd \

mkdir %weekday%%month%%day%%year%

REM copies app folder to the backup location

XCOPY “c:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics AX\50\Application\Appl*.*” z:\%weekday%%month%%day%%year%\app\ /K /O /Y /F /I /E

REM start aos service

net start “Dynamics AX Object Server 5.0$01-XXXXXX”

You should replace the “Dynamics AX Object Server 5.0$01-XXXXX” with your service name.