Category: eOne Solutions

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; Node Builder is a product which allows additional eConnect nodes to be easily created for use with SmartConnect.

I was somewhat surprised that the most recent version available was the 2011 version; I think this shows that Node Builder is not a very popular product, but I am slightly surprised by this as SmartConnect seems to be a popular choice for integrations. I have manually written eConnect stored procedures for new nodes and Node Builder is an easier and quicker way of creating the nodes.

I assume though that people are generally either creating the stored procedures manually or are doing direct updates to the database. If this is the case, then it would seem that the people mainly using SmartConnect are more technical users.

It does not need to be this way and, for a lot of the SmartConnect projects I’ve had a hand in delivering, it hasn’t been this way as we have installed and configured SmartConnect and then trained users on creating and maintaining integrations.

Node Builder compliments this approach by allowing non-technical users to create new nodes as required rather than needing a SQL develop with experience of Microsoft Dynamics GP and eConnect.

I’ll do a series in a few weeks on using Node Builder to create a node for use with SmartConnect.

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; in particular I m creating a node to add EFT Bank information when adding a creditor.

The first time I installed Node Builder I received an error when trying to log in:

Connection Failed
A connection error occurred while trying to connect o the Node Builder database. Check the server settings to ensure Node Builder is pointing to the correct server.

Continue reading “Implementing Node Builder: Connection Issue”

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; Node Builder is a product which allows additional eConnect nodes to be easily created for use with SmartConnect.

With Node Builder installed we can now launch and register it. Node Builder will be available via the Windows Start menu. When launched, you will be prompted to enter the SQL Server and a user account to connect with; this is making a connection to the SQL Server so you will either need to use the sa account or another SQL account (which is not a Dynamics GP user).

Continue reading “Implementing Node Builder: Registration”

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; Node Builder is a product which allows additional eConnect nodes to be easily created for use with SmartConnect.

With Node Builder downloaded, we can now start the implementation. The download is a zip file containing NodeBuilder.exe. Extract and run this file.

On the Welcome step, click Next:

Continue reading “Implementing Node Builder: Installation”

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; Node Builder is a product which allows additional eConnect nodes to be easily created for use with SmartConnect.

Node Builder can be downloaded from the eOne Solutions website; there is no requirement to leave your email address when downloading:

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; Node Builder is a product which allows additional eConnect nodes to be easily created for use with SmartConnect.

The version of Node Builder available to download, is Node Builder 2011. Neither the online nor downloadable manual specify any system requirements other than Microsoft Dynamics GP.

It’s important to note that Node Builder 2011 is not compatible with a named system database as it precedes this functionality.

A 2015 version of Node Builder is semi-available if required; I found this out by speaking to eOne’s support team. If you need to develop custom nodes against a named system database, you will need to contact eOne support to get a copy of Node Builder 2015.

This post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder.

Node Builder is a complimentary product to the SmartConnect integration tool (which I blogged about a few months ago); SmartConnect works by providing an integration layer on top of eConnect which allows non-developers to create integrations for Microsoft Dynamics GP; Node Builder allows these same non-developers to create additional eConnect nodes which can be used in SmartConnect.

An eConnect node is a specific stored procedure that knows how to populate a table or set of tables within Microsoft Dynamics GP. A node also contains all of the Microsoft Dynamics GP business rules and validation which are applied if you were to update those tables through the Dynamics GP user interface.

Node Builder is an easy to use interface that is a lot like SmartList Builder; it allows you to choose the tables you want to populate and then choose the fields which will be available to be populated with the node. Node Builder lets you define your own rules about data validation; for example, you could check that an inventory item exists before you create a specific in transit inventory transfer.

The Node Builder Overview gives more details on the capabilities.

Earlier this year I did a series of posts on the SmartConnect integration solution from eOne Solutions; I then followed up with a post on creating a simple General Journal integration.

In this series of posts I am going to take a look at the Node Builder product which allows you to easily create additional nodes for integration.

Continue reading “Implementing Node Builder: Series Index”