Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: First Run of Business Analyzer

Ian Grieve2 minute read3 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPNow that Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM is available, I thought I could follow my usual pattern of posting a series of posts on how to install and configure both Dynamics GP, but also the additional products which ship with it. You can find the series index for these posts here.

In the last post, I took a quick look at the install of Business Analyzer, so in this post I m going to take a look at running Business Analyzer; I have titled this post “first run”, but it is an action that each user would do as they configure Business Analyzer for use.

Launch Business Analyzer from the Windows Start screen, or search for it if necessary:

Windows Search - Business

Continue reading “Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: First Run of Business Analyzer”

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

Blast From The Past: Conditional Company Logos

Ian Grieve4 minute read4 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is a bit of a “blast from the past” which I am posting as it seemed quite hard to find and you never know when I’ll need it again.

A client on Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 (we’re talking to them now about an upgrade to GP 2015) is in the process of setting up a new company and needs to be printing out a few of reports (SI, SR, PO and Remittance) with different logos for the new company.

If you’re a new GP user you’re probably used to the Word Templates which have the logo supplied from the library in Template Configuration (Administration » Reports » Template Configuration) or by assigning different Word Templates to the different companies.

However, as longer time GP users are aware, the Word Templates were introduced in Dynamics GP 2010; before that all reports were produced using the modified reports created in Report Writer where it wasn’t really possible to have different logos.

That is, it wasn’t possible to have different logos in the same place. Way back in 2008 David Musgrave (while a Microsoftie) did a post on the Developing for Dynamics GP blog on how to have a conditional logo on the modified report by using a conditional field to show or hide logos.

It’s not really a solution that can be called elegant (hey it involves Report Writer!), but it was most certainly a useful one. So until this client gets their upgrade performed (hopefully first quarter 2015) I need to get their modified reports customised to hide the logo for their main company when producing documents and the exact steps had faded from memory somewhat.

So I needed to hunt out the old post I remembered David writing (I also remember using it back in 2008) and it actually took a little finding (found it through a question on the Community Forum).

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Business Analyzer Installation

Ian Grieve2 minute read0 comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPNow that Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM is available, I thought I could follow my usual pattern of posting a series of posts on how to install and configure both Dynamics GP, but also the additional products which ship with it. You can find the series index for these posts here.

In my experience, one of the lesser used add-on products for Dynamics GP is Business Analyzer. For the clients I deal with, the majority of them don’t make much investment in creating SSRS reports; instead they use SmartLists, Excel Reports or BI products such as QlikView.

However, even just using the out-of-the-box SSRS reports can make the Business Analyzer program useful, so I figured I’d give a run through of the installation process. Business Analyzer is installed from the same media as Dynamics GP itself. Start setup.exe and, under Additional Products, click on Microsoft Dynamics GP Business Analyzer:

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015

Continue reading “Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Business Analyzer Installation”

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

MS Connect Suggestion Sunday: PTE Approval Workflow

Ian Grieve2 minute read2 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPWorkflow 2.0 was a fantastic addition to Microsoft Dynamics GP; I’ve expressed before my delight at the retirement of Business Portal. Workflow 2.0 was introduced in Dynamics GP 2013 R2, was then further enhanced in GP 2015 and the roadmap shows further enhancements will be coming in future.

However, there is always room for user suggestions for improvements to functionality which is where the MS Connect site. Penny Compton has logged a suggestion that the workflow for PTE Timesheets be expanded to allow individual lines to be approved by the relevant project manager.

The suggestion can be found here where you can also cast your vote.

If you have an MS Connect suggestions you want publicised, contact me with details.

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Web Services Management Tools Installation

Ian Grieve2 minute read3 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPNow that Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM is available, I thought I could follow my usual pattern of posting a series of posts on how to install and configure both Dynamics GP, but also the additional products which ship with it. You can find the series index for these posts here.

In the last few posts, I’ve covered the installation and configuration of the web services and rounded off with verifying that they are working correctly. The final item I’m going to cover is the optional installation of the Web Services Management Tools; which means the installing the Dynamics Security Console on another machine. Doing this is best practice as it means you don’t have to give access to the server running the web services themselves to all users who might maintain security.

To install the Web Services Management Tools, open the setup.exe from the installation media and, under Additional Products, select Web Services Management Tools:

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015

Continue reading “Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Web Services Management Tools Installation”

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Web Services Security Verification

Ian Grieve1 minute read1 Comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPNow that Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM is available, I thought I could follow my usual pattern of posting a series of posts on how to install and configure both Dynamics GP, but also the additional products which ship with it. You can find the series index for these posts here.

In the last post, we verified that the web services service was running and that the web services were working; in this post we’re going to verify the security was correctly deployed.

To do this open the Dynamics Security Console:

Windows Start screen

Continue reading “Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Web Services Security Verification”

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

Packt Publishing’s 2014 End Of Year $5 Dollar Offer

Ian Grieve2 minute read1 Comment

Packt PublishingPackt Publishing will again be celebrating the holiday season with an all books and videos on all topics for $5 offer.

Packt Publishing

From now, every eBook and video will be available on the publisher’s website for just $5. Customers are invited to purchase as many as they like before the offer ends on Tuesday January 6th, making it the perfect opportunity to try something new or to take your skills to the next level as 2015 begins.

With all $5 products available in a range of formats and DRM-free, customers will find great value content delivered exactly how they want it across Packt’s website this Xmas and New Year.

You can take advantage of the offer until the 6th January 2015.

Packt Pub have some great books available on Microsoft Dynamics GP as well as many other subjects; over the last few years I’ve picked up some great books on Dynamics CRM, SQL Server, Hyper-V, WordPress and HTML+CSS amongst others.

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

MS Connect Suggestion Sunday: Return PO Number To Requisition Creator

Ian Grieve2 minute read1 Comment

Microsoft Dynamics GPAs the first steps of the replacement of Business Portal, Microsoft introduced purchase requisitions and Workflow 2.0 in Microsoft Dynamics GP. I think both of these are great additions to Dynamics GP, but there is a little disconnect between purchase requisitions and purchase orders.

The issue is that there is no easy out-of-the-box way of notifying the user who created a purchase requisition when it is converted into a purchase order.

Well, SMikeG has posted on MS Connect suggesting that Workflow 2.0 be enhanced to allow the purchase order number to be returned to the user who created the purchase requisition when it is converted into a purchase order. This would allow the user to know that the purchase order has been created from the purchase requisition and is to be sent to the vendor.

The suggestion can be found here where you can also cast your vote.

If you have an MS Connect suggestions you want publicised, contact me with details.

PrintFriendlyLinkedin

Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Web Services Service Verification

Ian Grieve2 minute read2 Comments

Microsoft Dynamics GPNow that Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM is available, I thought I could follow my usual pattern of posting a series of posts on how to install and configure both Dynamics GP, but also the additional products which ship with it. You can find the series index for these posts here.

After installing and configuring the web services, I would always recommend verifying the install to ensure they are working correctly.

The first step, is to check the Windows Service is running; to do this open the Services control panel applet (which can also be accessed by using Win+R and typing services.msc).

Scroll down the list and find Microsoft Dynamics GP Service Host and make sure it is Running and set to Automatic:

Services

Continue reading “Hands On With Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 RTM: Web Services Service Verification”

PrintFriendlyLinkedin