Development Matters Blog

Recently I received a request from a customer to join a transferring order to an invoice and print a packing slip form after transferring the order to the invoice on the SOP Entry form. This form has already been modified and some processes have been added to it through triggers. At first, it looked like a small request, but after the first testing process I realized that it worked correctly only in simple situations. The main problem was that the original print button of the Dynamics GP window needed to be in focus before it is called. When a few operations which call different windows are joined, the focus can be lost because of the delay of opening windows or printing reports. There are also some unexpected windows which pop up and stay open, disturbing some of the following operations.

Another problem appeared when I tried to debug the code I wrote. During debugging process it worked worse than in the previous situation. Using the debugger, the focus is always kept on the debug script and none of the focuses can be reached, which means that none of the reports can be printed.

The main problem was printing reports from different forms. We needed the possibility to join one printing report from one form to another printing report from a different one. There is a small delay between the moment when options for printing are chosen and the moment of printing the report, especially if the screen is chosen for report destination. In that case, the second window already gets a focus on the print button when the first report starts to be printed. Focus on the second window is lost so the printing and processes added to that window through triggers would not be done completely.

In such situations, the only way I found to be efficient is good knowledge about processes we are working with. We need to count every possible situation which can happen during the process we need to implement, which is in most situations pretty complicated and sometimes impossible.

On a recent project I was on, we needed to access areas of Dynamics GP that were protected with a system password. However, we didn’t know the password on that particular environment, so I needed a way to reset it. I looked up for a solution and found an interesting answer.

I know that the system password is stored in SY02400 table and that this should be my point of interest. The query should be something like ‘UPDATE DYNAMICS..SY02400 SET PASSWORD =’. However, the interesting part is how to set the password to blank. The code segment “0×00202020202020202020202020202020″ represents “Blank” string in binary.

Therefore, in case you forgot your system password, just execute this query:
UPDATE DYNAMICS..SY02400 SET PASSWORD = 0×00202020202020202020202020202020

I found a useful link for getting into naming conventions for physical names in Dynamics GP. There is a good explanation how table and field names are created in the Dynamics GP original code and we should use the same rules for new ones. You can find the article on MSDN:

 Understanding How Microsoft Dynamics GP Works With Microsoft SQL Server Continued

Based on the success of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 Vendors Journal Snap In, developed by the Merit Solutions team and available as a free download, we are currently considering developing a Snap In for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

We received valuable feedback from Customers and Partners when we began the process of developing our Dynamics AX 2009 Snap In, and we are hoping to receive the same this time around!

What kind of Microsoft Dynamics GP Snap In do YOU want?

How can we enhance your work with Dynamics GP by seamlessly integrating it with other Microsoft Office products, like Word, Excel, and SharePoint?

Please use this as an open forum to discuss / debate ideas for a Microsoft Dynamics GP Snap In. Who knows, your idea may be the next Snap In we develop!

In Microsoft Dynamics GP, we are able to add shortcuts to the navigation pan manually.

We got the idea to improve our Merit Solutions’ Starting Project, which we use as a base for all other projects created in Dexterity, and to write code for automatically adding shortcuts of new windows to the navigation pane during the installation process. It is possible to be done using procedures from syScBarObj form. However, we came up to a problem.

When it is done manually, shortcuts are added the same moment we add them. When it is done by coding, we need to reset the Dynamics GP window and shortcuts will be shown then.

We could not find other solutions, so we agreed that the best way for resolving the problem is asking a client if they want to add shortcuts and warning them that Dynamics GP needs to be restarted before using them.

The Dictionary Control is one of the features of Advanced Mode from the Support Debugging Tool.

To access the Advanced Mode features, you must have SQL administrator or database owner (dbo) privileges. If you do, then you can open the Dex.ini Settings window by selecting Dex.ini Settings from the Options button drop list on the main window of Support Debugging Tool and enabling Enable Debugger Advanced Mode Features option.

You can open the Dictionary Control window by selecting Dictionary Control from the Options button drop list on the main window of Support Debugging Tool.

Dictionary Control can be used to troubleshoot issues with third party dictionaries. You can effectively remove dictionaries from the system one-by- one until the issue stops. The last dictionary removed can be investigated.

You can use Trigger Status to disable Dexterity triggers for a specific Product in a similar fashion to the Customization Status window in Microsoft Dynamics GP. The added benefit of Dictionary Control is that it can remember the settings and automatically disable the product on the next login.

Dictionary Control can also disable alternate windows for third party dictionaries using the Alternate Status option. This does not change any security settings.

Using Dictionary Control to disable the triggers and alternate windows for a third party dictionary can produce the same effect as removing the dictionary from the Dynamics.set launch file without requiring any backups or manual editing.

The Support Debugging Tool is a Dexterity-based suite of utilities and tools created to assist with the task of supporting Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Some examples of purposes where the Support Debugging Tool can be used are listed below:

• To identify the specific series of events which lead up to an issue or bug in the code occurring.
• To quickly and simply turn on all logging and profiling capabilities without restarting the application. This can be useful when looking at performance problems.
• To find details about dictionary resources.
• To identify resources (forms, reports and tables) causing security access issues.
• To enable and disable third party products or change the order of the products in the launch file.
• To export data from and import data to any table.
• To run SQL or Dexterity scripts without needing Dexterity or SQL Administration Tools installed.
• To capture and email or save screenshots of all open windows and a system status report.

The Support Debugging Tool is installed by copying the Debugger.cnk (self-installing dictionary), Debugger.txt (readme file) and Debugger.pdf (this user guide manual) to the Microsoft Dynamics GP application folder. When Microsoft Dynamics GP is next launched, select “Yes” to include new code. The Support Debugging Tool requires the version 8.00 Dexterity Runtime update 8.00m88 or version 9.00 Service Pack 3 or later. The Support Debugging Tool works with all builds of version 10.00.

Resource Information is one of the Standard mode features of the Support Debugging Tool.

By selecting Resource Information from the Options button drop list on the main window of the Support Debugging Tool, you can open the Resource Information window.

You can use the Resource Information window to show technical, display, and physical names and resource IDs for any form, window, field, table, table group or report resource in any dictionary currently installed in the Microsoft Dynamics GP application.

If you know any information about a resource, you can enter it into the appropriate field and the rest of the fields will be populated with the details for that resource.

For example, entering a window’s display name will identify the window’s technical name and resource ID; or entering a table’s physical name as it appears in SQL Server will identify the table’s dictionary,
technical and display names as well as the resource ID.

This window can be useful when working with table and column names in SQL Server, because it will quickly convert the physical names used in SQL back to the technical names used in Modifier, Report Writer and Dexterity.

We have recently added two new white papers to our Microsoft Dynamics GP Development page.

Microsoft Dynamics GP Architecture White Paper
This document describes the architecture for Microsoft Dynamics™ GP. It explains how the architecture’s features make Microsoft Dynamics GP an outstanding solution for organizations implementing a business management system today. The document also describes how the architecture allows Microsoft Dynamics GP to grow with these organizations in the future.

Microsoft Dynamics GP: Choosing a Development Tool White Paper
Several development tools are available to be used when creating integrations with Microsoft Dynamics
GP. This paper provides guidance when choosing which development tool to use to create an integration for Dynamics GP. A detailed description of each tool is provided in this document. You can use this information and the comparison charts at the end of the document to help you make a decision about the best tool to use for a specific integration.

Merit Solutions Advanced Lot Management (ALM) is the application that allows efficient control of lot tracked materials (raw or finished goods) within Microsoft Dynamics GP (versions 9 and 10).

The system requirements correspond to requirements of Microsoft Dynamics GP. ALM version 9 requires Dynamics GP’s Manufacturing module to run, while ALM version 10 does not require the Manufacturing module.

Lot Attribute Maintenance

The Lot Attribute Maintenance window is arguably the most used window of the ALM application. Its main purpose is to provide information on the lot properties of an item, including the Lot Status, Expiration Date, and Vendor Lot, as well as other lot attributes defined in the Lot Category for the item (Cards > Inventory > Item (Maintenance) > Item Maintenance Options > Lot Category) and provide a place for editing those attributes.

In the Lot Attribute Maintenance window, both types of lot tracked Items (Cards > Inventory > Item (Maintenance) > Item Maintenance Options > Track), Non-QA Controlled and QA-Controlled (Cards > Inventory > Item (Maintenance) > Additional > ALM Item QA Control Setup), are listed.

For Non-QA Controlled items, the default Lot Status always will be set to Approved and default Expiration Date always will be set to 0/0/0000. These settings for Non-QA Controlled (but lot tracked) items can be changed on Lot Attribute Maintenance window.

For QA Controlled items, the default Lot Status will be inherited from the Advanced Lot Management Configuration window > Default Lot Status for New Lots () option.

On the same window, the default value for Lot Status Attribute can be changed. The Expiration Date is by default set to the value of: System Date minus one day (for example: for all lots received on 5/7/2009, default expiration date will be 5/6/2009). This means that Item Lots can’t be forwarded along, before their attributes are reviewed by QA personnel, and the Expiration Date is at least changed to the present or any date in future.

Filter By option on the Lot Attribute Maintenance window affects only QA Controlled items. Set the Filter By value to “Rejected”, click Refresh and check lots of both QA Controlled and Non-QA Controlled items.

By the way, any changes made on this window to Lot Attributes, have to be saved by clicking Save button. Simple leaving or closing the Lot Attribute Maintenance window is not enough.