Development Matters Blog

Microsoft Dynamics AX is a compelling and attractively priced solution to companies now facing a technological crossroad and need to update legacy systems.

To lower the cost and make migrations easier when upgrading to Microsoft Dynamics AX, we utilize the straightforward migration methodology supported by Microsoft tools. Using the Sure Step migration process together with the new Migration Tool for Microsoft Dynamics AX,  we can help companies speed up the implementation process.

Our proven processes lessen the risks inherent in many implementations, providing increased transparency, delivering improved accuracy, and easing the pain that can take place when migrating to a new system.

I recently had a problem with the CEO role center, specifically the KPIs on that role center which were always loading. I have set up IE security as it was described in this MSDN article.

KPIs and Business Overview keep loading all the time and never end.

If the whole Role Center content in enterprise portal comes up except the Business Overview webpart and it keeps displaying the loading progress image for a long time with no error message in the event log, it may be because IE security setting prevents the webpart from asynchronously getting the data. To resolve this issue add the EP site to the intranet site zone in IE or disable IE Enhanced Security Configuration from Add / Remove programs -> Add / Remove Widnows Components. It still did not show the KPI web parts, but just kept loading it. I have used win2008R2.

The other problem I had with this Installation was that I was not able to modify any role center page. Whenever I would try to modify it I would receive an error message from SharePoint: Error occurred contact your administrator.

A strange thing was that when I tried to view the Role Center through Google’s Chrome browser, I could see the KPIs and modify the role center web parts. That was really frustrating.

In the event viewer I had a message:

An unexpected error has occurred.
Validation of viewstate MAC failed. If this application is hosted by a Web Farm or cluster, ensure that <machineKey> configuration specifies the same validationKey and validation algorithm. AutoGenerate cannot be used in a cluster.

Then I saw this other article on MSDN.

EP Site creation is successful and able to view most of the pages. But when trying to access lookup or sorting on grid (any postback to the page) it gives an unexpected error and in eventlog it has:

An unexpected error has occurred.
Validation of viewstate MAC failed. If this application is hosted by a Web Farm or cluster, ensure that <machineKey> configuration specifies the same validationKey and validation algorithm. AutoGenerate cannot be used in a cluster.

Check and make sure the Machine name or the host header does not contain any non alphanumeric characters such as “_”or “-“ etc. The machine name should just contain only alphanumeric characters.
For example mey1 is a valid machine name. mey_1 is not. If you have any other character in the machine name, then validation of viewstact MAC fails. So to resolve this issue, check and make sure the machine name contains only alphanumeric characters and EnableViewStateMac is set to true in the web.config and in case of load balancing, the same machine key is used in the web.config of all participating web server machines.

And see that I have the character _ in my computer name.

When I changed the name of my computer so I have only alphanumeric characters, I was able to see the KPIs from IE and I was also able to modify my role center pages with IE.

My opinion is that this step should be included on the AX Installation guide and put it on first place there, because it is very hard to change the name of computer when you install all of EP in AX 2009.

Merit Solutions is proud to announce a 10% discount on all Microsoft Dynamics AX Development projects engaged by October 31, 2009! Maximize your investment in Microsoft Dynamics AX while reducing your operating costs. Reap the benefits of hybrid fixed-price offshore custom development while enjoying the security and simplicity of working with a local 2009 President’s Club Member. Contact Merit Solutions to take advantage of this opportunity - or visit us at the AXUG Summit in Booth 512!

I found a nice article on the Art of Creation Dynamics AX Blog. It discusses things you can try (in the order the author does it) to resolve issues while developing for Dynamics AX.

Here are a couple of ideas discussed:

Close the debugger
Sometimes, when the debugger is active, AX will keep executing ‘old’ code. Close the debugger to make sure the latest code is executing.

Synchronize data dictionary
You may have made changes to application objects that haven’t been synchronized with the database. Open the AOT, right click on the Data Dictionary node and choose Synchronize.

Refresh AOD, Dictionary and Data
You can flush cashed information using three option in the Tools > Development tools menu: refresh AOD, refresh Dictionary and refresh Data. This can be useful when you just imported an xpo file, or when you are developing for the enterprise portal.

Remove .aoi file
When the AOS is stopped, you can delete the .aoi file from the application files. This file will be rebuilt when the AOS starts.

Use the link above to see the rest!

Microsoft will discontinue the X++ based Web User Interface in Enterprise Portal effective with general availability of the next version of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 (current release), is the last that will include the X++ based Web User Interface. In future versions, the Enterprise Portal ASP.NET Web User Interface Framework will be the only one included.

Enterprise Portal X++ Web User Interface Framework, a development and runtime component of Enterprise Portal, is used for building and rendering the Web user interface.

Dynamics AX 2009 contains no dependencies on the Enterprise Portal X++ Web User Interface Framework, and future investment is focused on technologies built on the ASP.NET Framework-based Web User Interface. Enterprise Portal X++ Web User Interface Framework will not ship in future Microsoft Dynamics AX releases.

The purpose of the Dynamics AX batch job system is to be able to run certain processes according to a predefined schedule or simply during off-peak hours. Many system forms including jobs and reports in Dynamics AX have a tab named Batch, where users can set up the process to execute as a batch job.

Because executing batch jobs can significantly impact the performance of a system, it is common practice in the Dynamics AX community to dedicate a physical server to this purpose, commonly designated as a batch server.

The most common problem with job processing is that users forget to attach a job to the batch group.
In order to process batch jobs you need the batch server running.

Goto Basic -> Inquries -> Batch -> Batch processing and select the batch group you want to process.

Your job must be attached to this group. Click OK and you will get your job running in the scheduled time.

Microsoft Convergence is rapidly approaching, taking place next week in New Orleans. For Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 users - this is great news!

The Vendors Journal Snap In for Dynamics AX 2009 is launching next week in Booth #840. This FREE Snap In enables offline visibility into vendor attribute information within the Dynamics AX 2009 system by capturing that information in a Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 form. This gives employees the ability to capture all the information needed about a particular vendor, take that information with them, view it and update it, all while remaining offline from the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 system. Users can then update the system when back on the network.

Be sure to stop by the booth to be the first to see the Snap In in action. Make sure you ask a Merit Solutions Representative for your download card. Booth attendees will be given exclusive access to the Vendors Journal before general availability on April 1.

If you cannot attend Microsoft Convergence, but are interested in downloading your FREE copy before general availability, request your free Snap In download online. Valid requests will be sent further information on download options.

Merit Solutions is proud to announce the development of the Vendors Journal Snap-In for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. A leading Microsoft Gold Certified IT consultancy and software development firm specializing in Microsoft Dynamics, Merit Solutions will launch the Dynamics AX 2009 Vendors Journal at Microsoft Convergence 2009 Booth #840.

Today’s business environment requires more on-site visits and time spent out of the office in meetings, and, therefore, off of the network. To optimize the time spent at these meetings, it is essential for your employees to know as much as possible about the history of the relationship and the status of all on-going transactions. Additionally, any commitments made during the meeting need to be accurately recorded for future reference.

The Vendors Journal Snap-In allows an employee to quickly view and capture a complete view of your organization’s relationship with a vendor from data within the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 system. This data is available to be taken to a meeting in order to view, add to or edit that data all while off of the network. Once back on the company network, the employee can easily update the changes into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. The ability to work offline provides your employees many benefits:

• Increase the productivity of meetings, providing access to important information when needed.
• Increase the accuracy of your records by updating them while offline.
• Minimize duplication of effort and possible errors in data entry by uploading changes when online.

The Vendors Journal Snap-In functions by capturing the vendor information in a Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007 form that pulls the data from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. This gives you the ability to capture critical data from the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 system and then refer to it from within the Office environment whenever offline. Make edits to the profile, and easily update all changes once back in the office.

Stop by Convergence Booth #840 to be one of the first to see the Vendors Journal in action. Be sure to ask our representatives how you can get a copy of the Vendors Journal FREE.

Contact Merit Solutions to request a meeting at Convergence.

About Merit Solutions

Founded in 1999, Merit Solutions, Inc. is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and a leading provider of Microsoft Dynamics and custom application solutions. Based in the western Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL, Merit Solutions is a Certified Microsoft Solution Developer, offering Microsoft Dynamics AX Development services to companies in need of customized software.

http://www.meritsolutions.com/axsnap/

Layers are a hierarchy of levels in the application source code that enable you to make modifications and additions without interfering with the application objects in the next lower level. When you make an object modification on one level, the modification overshadows the object on a lower level. You could, for example, decide to add e-mail information to a standard form. The addition would be saved on your level only. The revised form replaces the standard form. However, you can always return to the original form at the next lower level by removing the new form.

Three customer groups have an interest in adding and modifying application objects:

• Application developers who create the standard application.
• Business partners.
• End users of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Here are descriptions of the application object layers in Microsoft Dynamics AX:

USR - User - Individual companies or companies within an enterprise can use this layer to make customizations unique to customer installations.

CUS - Customer - Companies and business partners can modify their installations and add the generic company-specific modifications to this layer.

VAR - Value-Added Reseller - Business partners use this layer, which has no business restrictions, to add any development done for their customers.

BUS - Business solution - Business partners develop and distribute vertical and horizontal solutions to other partners and customers.

SL1-SL3 - Certified solutions - Partners certified under the Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solution (MDIS) program distribute their solutions in the SL layers.

HFX - Hotfix - The Dynamics AX team delivers critical hotfixes using the HFX layer.

GLS - Global solution - The Dynamics AX Global Development and Localization team provides a set of GLS layers that contain country-specific functionality for regions in which Dynamics AX is released.

SYS - System - This is the lowest model element layer and the location of the standard Dynamics AX application. Only Microsoft has access to the element definitions at this layer.

Objects defined at higher levels of the stack override objects defined at lower levels of the stack. That means USR Layer Object will cast a shadow on the same object in, for example, the VAR Layer. Objects are stored in a separate file (*.aod) on each layer whenever they are saved from the MorphX development environment client. Element definitions are read from these files and dynamically composed by the Dynamics AX runtime. Object instances are created on either the server or the client based on the model element definition.

Generally speaking, ensuring that an ERP application works after it is deployed at a customer site is a very challenging endeavor. The base application, which is both broad and deep, has a multitude of modules, features and hardware configurations. ISVs extend or modify the base application to provide functionality for specific market needs and verticals. As a final point, implementation partners or customers do point customizations to address specific customer needs. This combination of base application, one to more ISV add-ons and point customizations that operate in a unique hardware and software configuration, is what businesses depend on for mission critical financial data and company operations.

There hasn’t been an easy way to provide QAs with means of testing. A limited amount of guidance or number of tools have been available. Although there are some announcements as this need has been recognized by the Visual Studio Team System group - in particular, that test case management and support for the manual tester will be available in ‘Rosario’ release of the product - right now there is a tool available directly in the product for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 - the Task Recorder.

Task Recorder is a tool that can log and create documentation and workflows of user activities in the application. The tool can output this transcript of activity in several Microsoft Office system formats. Task Recorder can be used as a powerful tool to help manual testing. Since it records screenshots and user actions into Word, a QA person that creates a test script could easily enhance the document with expected results and other notes to fully document the script.