Dynamics NAVAX

Data Import/Export Framework (DIXF) is more than just initial data load tool. We have seen in the recent R3 release that Microsoft has extended the capability to include Master Data Management (MDM). Now I will talk about a common request. Request: CSV file is generated every day and saved to a directory. We need to process these files by importing them into AX. If it is successful move it to the Success folder, if it fails move it to the failed folder. Old solution without DIXF: Create a class that is batchable that reads from the folder and do all the coding for moving the file around etc. New solution with DIXF: Create a new DIXF entity to process the file. Make sure the Source and Staging fields line up.   In your staging to target – do all the work in the Generate method.   Then when you process the entity you can configure it to run on a directory. Lastly, schedule the staging clean up job. This ensures the staging tables are cleared up and it doesn't grow...

If you subscribe to the LCS blog you would have notices their recent release notes. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/lcs/archive/2014/08/08/august-release-notes.aspx One thing that caught my attention was the release of the 5 new vm deployments which are primarily around retail.

Dynamics AX 2012 has introduced the ability to transform an xml message using xslt. Refer to the technet article for more information on transformation of inbound ports http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh352243.aspx Also see this nice blog post on importing bank reconciliation files using standard BAI formats  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/axsupport/archive/2014/05/20/advanced-bank-reconciliation-setup-in-ax-2012-r2.aspx Back to the topic - In this post I will show you how to debug and run the transformation in visual studio 2010. First thing you do is open up the xslt file with Visual Studio. You will see the xml editor tools on the toolbar. If you dont see it, then just right click the toolbar and add it by selecting the “XML Editor”. Now you can place a breakpoint in the document and click the start xslt debugging button (Alt +F5). First time you run it you will get to choose the input file. If you have run it before this will be defaulted. You can change it by goi...

This is an old trick I have been using for a while and thought it might be useful for others. Usually on production servers I avoid installing the debugger . So I get asked every now and then - “what if I need to debug something?”. I answer with – why don’t you debug in the TEST environment but in those unique circumstances you have to do it in PROD. Then, just open up file explorer and navigate to another server or where the installation files are sitting. Just run the AxDebug.exe. Debugger should stop at a breakpoint.

With list pages in AX 2012 where there is no code on the form. The right way is to have the code in the ListPageInteraction class. With the ListPageInteraction class – manipulating controls is a little hard because there is no obvious formRun or controls to manipulated. You can do basic enabling/disabling but not full control. Below I will show how you can get the formRun. Below screenshot is what I had developed recently - where I added attributes dynamically to a list page. So, that it can be sorted and filtered on. I won’t give out the full code just yet. I might do it at a later time. :-) But I will give code snippets on how I manipulated the list page. I created a Display menu item that calls a class to launch the list page. Then in that method I called my newly created formInitialize method. A typical way to launch a list page through a class is like this. Code: formRun = SysListPageHelper::runFormWithModeledQuery(formName, querystr(MyListPage), "My new list page...

There is enough detail on msdn regarding this topic. But what I wanted to make clear is what actually happens in the background. MSDN tells you to tick the Secure by legal entity or by address book. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg731852.aspx This triggers a change in the AOT by enabling two policies.   The reason I mention this is – if you happen to do this in the usr layer. Remember to move it to a layer that will be part of the release.

The nature of software is that you will have to upgrade or implement at some point. Dynamics AX is no different from any other software system out there. With Microsoft working hard on Lifecycle Services (LCS) site, doing an upgrade analysis has gotten a lot easier. Below is a diagram illustrating the process to produce your analysis report (Excel file). Below are steps on how to use LCS to produce the upgrade analysis file. 1. Go to LCS site ( https://lcs.dynamics.com ) 2. Create a new project and click on the Upgrade analysis 3. Enter the project name and select the AX version. Currently in the list there are 2009 SP1 and AX4SP2. Before you click on the Create button. Make sure to click on the Download link to download the Rapid Data Collector tool. 4. Now that you have created your project, go and install the Rapid Data Collector (do not run against your production – take a copy). 5. Install the Rapid Data Collector and it should be a simple executable that you can run. ...