Author: Ian Grieve

Ian is a Microsoft Dynamics GP certified consultant specialising in the delivery of Microsoft Dynamics GP projects and currently the Lead ERP Consultant for ISC Software Ltd., a Microsoft Partner, VAR and ISV in England. Ian has worked with Microsoft Dynamics GP since 2003 and, over the nine years since, has dealt with all aspects of the product life-cycle from presales, to implementation, to technical and functional training, to post go-live support and subsequent upgrades and process reviews. In his spare time, Ian runs the azurecurve | Ramblings of a Dynamics GP Consultant blog dedicated to Microsoft Dynamics GP and related products.

Verifying the Install Of Web Services For Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013

Ian Grieve2 minute read1 Comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPNow that the web services are installed and configured it is time to make sure that they have installed correctly. The Microsoft documentation for Web Services Installation and Administration Guide starts by checking the services are running via the browser and I’ll come to this in a moment, but I always prefer to start with making sure the services are actually running.

This is done in the Services window (Windows Start menu » All Programs » Administrative Tools » Services).

The first service to check for is the Microsoft Dynamics GP Service Host. If the service has a Status of Started then the service is running correctly;

Services - Microsoft Dynmaics GP Service Host

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How To Configure Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Services Runtime

Ian Grieve1 minute read3 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPIn the last post, I took a look at installing the Web Services Runtime; in this one I’ll step through the initial configuration of the web services.

This is done using the GP Web Services Configuration Wizard (Windows Start menu » Microsoft Dynamics » Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 » GP Web Services Configuration Wizard .). Once launched click Next on the Welcome screen;

Welcome to the Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP Configuration Wizard

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How To Install Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Services Runtime

Ian Grieve2 minute read9 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPMicrosoft Dynamics GP 2013 was released on December 19th last year which means that not only do I have a new version of GP itself to install and play with but also lots of related products such as Business Analyser and Integration Manager.

I am also going to be taking a look at some more of the related products, included the new Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Client, over the coming few weeks/months depending on how spread out they get due to other commitments. I am going to cover the Web Services in this and the next few posts (perhaps allowing for a couple of non-sequitur posts to slip in).

The first step in installing the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Services is to install the runtime components which is done in the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 setup utility by selected the Web Services Runtime;

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 setup utility

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Prerequisites For Installing Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 Web Services

Ian Grieve3 minute read0 comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPThe next few posts will cover the installation and configuration of the Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, but, first, I thought it might be useful to give an overview of the prerequisites.

First, the operating system; Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard or Enterprise editions are supported. According the the documentation, Windows Server 2012 is not yet supported although the install does work.

Second, a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or later to host the security database. This could be the same or different SQL Server which is hosting the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 system and company databases.

Third, Microsoft .NET Framework 4 is required and will be installed by the Microsoft Dynamics GP setup utility.

Fourth, a service user account is needed to run as the Microsoft Dynamics GP Service Host which is the Windows service host. If you’re running web services on the SQL Server then you can use a local user account but if the web services are on a different machine to the SQL Server then a domain user account should be used.

Fifth, the is two bits of setup which needs to have been completed in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013:

  1. A Functional Currency needs to be configured in the Multicurrency Setup window (Microsoft Dynamics GP menu » Tools » Setup » Financial » Multicurrency)
  2. All currencies need to have a unique ISO currency code (Microsoft Dynamics GP menu » Tools » Setup » System » Currency)

The next post will take a look at the installation of the Web Services Runtime

Error Starting Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 In Dexterity Debug

Ian Grieve2 minute read2 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPI’ve recently started taking a look at Leslie Vail’s book, Developing Business Applications for Microsoft Dynamics GP which was published in December by Packt Publishing. The book was written using Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010; this is not a criticism as the book will have taken a fair time to write and was published two days after Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 was released so there wasn’t time to do an update to the latest version.

However, Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 was available I’ve decided to perform the practical examples using this version rather than GP 2010 because I had just finished building a customisation environment with GP 2013 installed in it and I could easily add Dexterity and the other tools used in the book to the environment.

As I was following the steps in Chapter 3 of the book, which is an introduction to Dexterity, where common errors and issues encountered in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and how to resolve them are explained, I came across an error which was specific to Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013;

AZCProject.dic - Could not load file or assembly. 'Microsoft.Dynamics.GP.BusinessIntelligence.Homepage' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specifiedAZCProject.dic – Could not load file or assembly. ‘Microsoft.Dynamics.GP.BusinessIntelligence.Homepage’ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified

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Management Reporter 2012 Rollup 4 Released

Ian Grieve1 minute read0 comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPOn the 28th January, Rollup 4 for Management Reporter 2012 was released via the Dynamics Corporate Performance Management blog.

It can be downloaded from CustomerSource (CustomerSource or PartnerSource login required).

For Microsoft Dynamics GP users there is improved performance with the data mart integrations and new Quick Links in the Web Viewer which allows users to easily jump to key areas of a report.

EFT File Format Import/Export Error

Ian Grieve2 minute read3 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPI’ve recently been creating an HSBC Standard 18 BACs file format for a client in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 R2.

Unfortunately, once I released it to their system, they reported an error with the import where the Creditor’s Cheque Name wasn’t being output on the resulting file.

I did some testing and it turns out to be a bug in the export function of the EFT File Format (Cards » Financial » EFT File Format) window in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 R2; I have subsequently tested on GP 2010 SP3 and GP 2013 and the import/export works fine. I realised something odd was going on when I looked at the template in the EFT File Format window (Cards » Financial » EFT File Format) and saw that while the Series was defined as Purchasing in the header, the scrolling window for the Data Field only had Receivables Management tables and fields available to it and not the Payables Management tables and fields I would expect;

EFT File Format

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Review of Developing Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Applications – Part 1

Ian Grieve5 minute read3 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPAt the end of December, Developing Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Applications, written by Leslie Vail and published by Packt Publishing was released.

Developing Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Applications by Leslie Vail

I got a copy of the book in order to do a review and have decided to break the review down into multiple parts. The reason for this is that the book includes some practical examples which I have decided to do and then include the results of this in the review; after all if it is a book on developing how can you accurately review the book if you don’t use what you learn to build something?

The book is aimed at developers new to working with Microsoft Dynamics GP, so bear in mind that I am not a developer when reading my reviews. Quick synopsis of my background: I started my career as a trainee developer and moved through a variety of roles such as developer and support analyst before moving to my current position as consultant and project manager.

I oversee development teams working on additions or amendments to Microsoft Dynamics GP as well as personally undertaking some modifications using Report Writer or Modifier with VBA. So despite not being a developer, I am used to working with them and did, once upon a time, be one myself.

The first chapter of the book covers the Microsoft Dynamics GP Architecture from a high level perspective.

It covers the history of the GP interface from it’s origins with Great Plains Software, an overview of Dexterity and the development environment. There is a detailed explanation of the launch file (Dynamics.set), which included a couple of points of which I wasn’t aware, and the configuration/preferences file (Dex.ini).

The explanation of the Dex.ini file included the ExportOneLineBody switch which I didn’t know about, but for which I have an immediate use.

Leslie then goes on to explain about the structure of the tables in the SQL Database which always strikes newcomers as arcane and overly complex. Leslie explains this well with plenty of detail on both the structure, including both the physical and technical names, and how transactions move between tables as their state changes.

Chapter 1 wraps up with a detailed explanation of the UI covering how forms are constructed, how the scrolling windows work and the common buttons used on forms, scrolling windows and individual buttons.

The second chapter of the book focuses on the fundamentals of integrating applications with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

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Support Debugging Tool Build 17 hotfix released

Ian Grieve1 minute read1 Comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPHe somehow slipped it out without me noticing, but David Musgrave of the Developing for Dynamics GP blog released Support Debugging Tool Build 17 before Christmas; this is the build which added support for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013.

He was back yesterday with a hotfix release to fix a couple of issues.

Partners can download SDT from PartnerSource (login required); if you’re a customer you’ll need to contact your partner to obtain it for you.

David has links to SDT for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 and 2010 here.

Integration Manager 11 Installation Errors

Ian Grieve1 minute read6 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPWell, the old ones are often the best. I needed to install Integration Manager onto a system earlier and got an access denied error message the first time I tried to start it;

Integration Manager - Could not create all default application data due to the following error: - Access to the path 'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Dynamics GP\11.0.0.0' is deniedCould not create all default application data due to the following error: – Access to the path ‘C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Dynamics GP\11.0.0.0’ is denied

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