Microsoft Forecaster : Frequently Asked Questions in KB

Somebody obviously put in a log of effort to write up excellent FAQs about Microsoft Forecaster. These would be useful to anybody using or getting started with this fantastic software.

For obvious reasons I cant put in the replies to these questions here, but you should be able to get the answer from your Partner or directly from Partnersource/CustomerSource.

Frequently asked questions about error messages in Microsoft Forecaster together with a Microsoft Access database

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYKTPUQPSMYRWVMNTWNKKPYXWPXTTYRZYQ

Q1: When I log on to Microsoft Forecaster, why do I receive the following error message?

Database Is In An Unrecognized Database Format.

Q2: When I add new periods in Microsoft Forecaster, why do I receive the following error message?

Microsoft Jet Database Engine Cannot Find the Input Table or Query

Frequently asked questions about workflow in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYTLYRLQOLYNTUPLWLPTNKWNXROMQRXZSQ

Q1: How do I enable workflow for an input set?
Q2: How do I reset the workflow status to "In Progress" for an input set?
Q3: How can I reopen a budget that has a status of Completed?

Frequently Asked Questions about the Restate process in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYSZXYSPNNRVVXQWOUUYKUKVZRKYNQPTYW

Q1: When I change a Rollup, it takes a long time for the Restate process to finish. Why does this behavior occur?
Q2: When I run the Restate process, it times out if there is no activity. Why does this behavior occur?

Frequently asked questions about the Microsoft Excel Add-in in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYTSRRLXRTZTLQTRUURNRSXVPNVSLWUKZX

Q1: When I try to configure or use the Microsoft Excel Add-in, why do I receive the following error message?

Could not load object not available

Q2: After I use the Microsoft Excel Add-in to send data to Microsoft Forecaster, the data does not appear in the input set. Why does this occur?

Frequently asked questions about calculations in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYPOWNVYQZZUYSVRKXSYLWTKYSNNRWMPYO

Q1: On a report, why does the @FACT calculation not reverse the mathematical sign?
Q2: How do I write a calculation that uses concatenated accounts?
Q3: Why do line calculations not work correctly if the IDs contain hyphens?

Q4: When you view the Line Item Detail report, why is the balance on the subtotal line doubled?

Q5: What is the maximum number of characters per calculation line?

Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Forecaster 7.0 reports

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYPLRLMYMYKZKNQVXRSKKZMXMKXRTYVQRZ

Q1: How do I make the account number appear in a Microsoft Forecaster report?
Q2: How do I create a report that displays memos?
Q3: How can I print the account ID in a report?
Q4: Why do some rows that contain journal entry details have totals that do not match the account data?
Q5: How can I suppress rows that have a zero value?

Frequently asked questions about passwords and about security groups in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYXSOXTVQVRWQTRSKOSPUPPMWKPURWLLPN

Q1: How do I change my password in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0?
Q2: How do I reset a password in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0 when I use Microsoft SQL Server 2000?
Q3: How do I create a new security group?
Q4: When I try to access Security Groups, I receive the following error message even if there are no other users in the Security Groups: "Security Groups are already being reviewed by another user. Please try again later."
Q5: How do I add a Forecaster user who uses Windows authentication?
Q6: How do I reset the password for a user who uses SQL Server authentication?
Q7: How can I set up Forecaster security to use Windows Authentication that uses domain groups?

Frequently asked questions about Human Resources in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYZWRVQURZWROOPKPULRYVTOQQTOTXQNXY

Q1: An employee appears in red in the Human Resource Master window or in the Human Resource Input window. Why does this occur?
Q2: When I open an input set, the "Human Resources" tab does not appear. Why does this occur?
Q3: On the "Human Resources" tab, I update the "Bonus %" column and the "Bonus Period(s)" column, and then I save the data. When I check the bonus account on the "Multi Row" tab, the account is not updated. Why does this occur?
Q4: When I view the new input sets for a new year, I cannot see the user-defined "Benefit" columns. Why does this occur?
Q5: Why are the promotion salary grade options blank in the "Promotion Properties" dialog box?
Q6: When I try to delete an employee from an input set, why do I receive the following error message?

You cannot cut or delete previously saved records when there are locked columns in the input set and the person is allocated in those columns. This item has not been deleted.

Q7: How do I create user-defined lists for benefits in the Human Resources module of Microsoft Forecaster 7.0?
Q8: When I use the Copy Plan Wizard to copy Human Resources setup information, the user-defined benefits that are set up in the Screen Layouts window are not copied to the destination Input Set. What should I do?

Frequently asked questions about input sets in Microsoft Forecaster 7.0

https://mbs.microsoft.com/knowledgebase/KBDisplay.aspx?WTNTZSMNWUKNTMMYLSVQUSPTNTNSMQPYTQXLLKUVTWUZTNMTSZMRYKUWVZPUVXPK

Q1: When I generate a detail report, the data that is pulled into the report is from the wrong input set. Why does this occur?
Q2: When I try to import data, the new input set does not appear as an option. How can I fix this?
Q3: When I open an input set and select the All Segments option for the first time, the input set screen is blank. Why does this occur?
Q4: After I add a new account to the line set, the account does not appear in the Input window. What can I do?
Q5: After I open the Input window, the screen is blank. No account or data is displayed. Why does this occur?
Q6: I add accounts to the Input window, and then I add amounts to those accounts. I save the Input and close the window. When I open the window again, the accounts and the amounts are gone. However, the accounts and the amounts appear on a report. Why does this occur?
Q7: Every amount that I enter in an input set is saved as an amount of thousands instead of as an accurate amount in dollars and cents. For example, if I enter an amount of 1,234, the report shows 1. Why does this occur?
Q8: I add new accounts to a line set that is associated with an input set. When I open the input set, the new accounts do not appear. The only way that I can see the new accounts is to click the Refresh button, and then select the "Refresh Lines to Default" option. Why does this occur?
Q9: When I click "Save" in the "Multi Row" tab of an input set, the save process takes a long time to finish. Why does this occur?

Install SP4 if you are using Analytical Accounting in GP

Microsoft has fixed quite a few AA issues in SP4 for GP 10, including critical fixes with AA CheckLinks. As I mentioned earlier, many Duplicate record problems in AA have also been resolved. So please install SP4 and be good to yourself if you are using Analytical Accounting.

If you run Check Links on the Analytical Accounting logical group of tables but run into the following error messages:

"[Microsoft][SQL Native Client][SQL Server]Cannot insert the value NULL into column 'aaGLHdrID', table 'DBNAME.dbo.AAG30001', column does not allow nulls. INSERT fails."

and/or

"The stored procedure aagGenericGLOpenTOD returned the following results: DBMS 515, Microsoft Dynamics GP"

and/or

"[Microsoft][SQL Native Client][SQL Server]Violation of PRIMARY KEY constraint 'PKAAG30001'. Cannot insert duplicate key in object 'dbo.AAG30001'.[Microsoft][SQL Native Client][SQL Server]Violation of PRIMARY KEY constraint 'PKAAG30001'. Cannot insert duplicate"

There are Hot Topics on in PartnerSource and CustomerSource suggesting that users do not run Check Links on Analytical Accounting data until Service Pack 4 has been installed.

https://mbs.microsoft.com/partnersource/resources/support/selfsupport/hottopics/greatplains/htaa10a.htm?printpage=false

Specifically there are  the following issues with Check Links prior to SP4:

#6570 - "Slow performance when you run Check Links on the Analytical Accounting logical group of tables"

#6468 - "Error message when you run Check Links on Analytical Accounting if you have closed the year since installing Service Pack 2: "[Microsoft][SQL Native Client][SQL Server]Violation of PRIMARY KEY constraint 'PKAAG30002'"

#6423 - "Check Links on Analytical Accounting returns the following error message if you have journal entries posted in recurring batches where the transaction date was overriden: ""[Microsoft][SQL Native Client][SQL Server]Subquery returned more than 1 value"

#5622 - "Issue with AA Check Links"

Adding Quicklinks for Manually or via SQL

One of the comments on Mark’s blog about using the new GP 10 Module Home Pages is about the under use of quick links – “What I find many users never do is create personalized shortcuts or quick links...takes just a few minutes up front, but saves a time and effort every day.”

The steps to add Quicklinks are nice and easy, you can follow the steps below for each of your users. Or go ahead and create Quicklinks for them via SQL, especially if there are too many users.

Adding Quick Links

To add links to Quicklinks Web part on Home page, Click Edit Icon

To add a GP Window in Quicklinks

Click Add

Select Microsoft Dynamics GP Window

Select the Window to add

New link isn’t added till Home page is refreshed

To refresh Quicklinks web part, Click on the Refresh Button in Toolbar or Click on any other module in navigation links

· Click on Home again

· You’ll see the Added Link in Quicklinks

To add a Navigation List in Quicklinks

· Click Add

· Select Microsoft Dynamics GP Navigation List

For example select Customers

Customers list loaded on Selecting Customers from Quicklinks

If your users are too busy, and you really want to help them – You can add QuickLinks for multiple users via SQL. For example – Here we are adding 'Invoicing Batches', 'Invoice Entry', 'Transaction by Customer', 'Transaction by Document', 'Customer' in the Quick links for “SampleUser”. This method is especially useful when you are setting up quicklinks for multiple users. In this example - we are copying the links, from the user sa.

Run the following query for all users for which you want to copy the list –

DECLARE @userID varchar(15)

SET @userID=' SampleUser'

INSERT INTO SY08140

(

USERID,SEQNUMBR,TYPEID,CmdID,CmdFormID,CmdDictID,DSPLNAME,ScbTargetStringOne,ScbTargetStringTwo,ScbTargetStringThree,ScbTargetLongOne,ScbTargetLongTwo,ScbTargetLongThree,ScbTargetLongFour,ScbTargetLongFive

)

SELECT @userID,((SELECT max(SEQNUMBR) FROM SY08140 WHERE USERID=@userID)+ ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY SEQNUMBR)),TYPEID,CmdID,CmdFormID,CmdDictID,DSPLNAME,ScbTargetStringOne,ScbTargetStringTwo,ScbTargetStringThree,ScbTargetLongOne,ScbTargetLongTwo,ScbTargetLongThree,ScbTargetLongFour,ScbTargetLongFive

FROM SY08140 WHERE USERID='sa'

and DSPLNAME in ('Invoicing Batches', 'Invoice Entry', 'Transaction by Customer',

'Transaction by Document','Customer')

Windows 7 support for Integration Manager

I've been thrilled see that Windows 7 would be compatible with GP 10 from Day 1. David has written about how he has also tested running GP 8, GP 9 with Windows 7.

Officially though, only GP 10 is supported with Windows 7. What I noticed in the System Requirements for GP 10 is that - "Integration Manager is currently not supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7."

That might be something to keep in mind before you start recommending Windows 7.

FRx - Rebuild GL Index Option - The why and the how

Anybody who has worked with FRx for more than a day, probably knows about the Rebuild GL Index. If you have a problem with an FRx report - if it does not show accurate data, one of the first things you do is to rebuild the GL Index. Recently I was asked these questions about the Rebuild GL Index option -

Question 1 - Why do we have to rebuild the GL Index ? Can't FRx do this on its own ?

When Automatic GL Index Rebuild is disabled, the GL index files may become outdated. It is important to rebuild these files when information is updated in the general ledger. This move forces FRx to build the GL index by pulling all the accounts and subaccounts with posted information.
You can rebuild an index for the default company. To do this, follow these steps:
a.     Click Admin, and then click Build Local GL Index.

Question 2 - Can't you set it up so I don't have to do it manually ?

Yes, In Report Designer -

1.    Click Admin, and then click System Preferences.
2.    Verify that Automatic GL Index Rebuild is selected, and then click OK.
3.    Click Company, and then click Information.
4.    Select a company that is listed in the window. Click Set as Default, and then log on. Repeat this step for the next company that is listed in the window until you have repeated this step for all companies.

If you are using Analytical Accounting -

Go to Company | Information | System Specific Information for each company. Verify that the "Rebuild Chart of Accounts?" option is checked and then log in.

Question 3 - I turned on Rebuild Chart of Accounts as you suggested, but now it takes very long to login to the company.

You can setup a SQL Job to Rebuild the Chart of Accounts, which runs every night. This would ensure your performance is not affected and also that your GL Index is up to date.

The exact query would vary depend on your FRx companies setup, but here's a sample query when you are using AA and have one company.

delete from frl_acct_code_aa where entity_num = '1'
delete from frl_seg_desc where entity_num = '1'
exec csp_PopulateAccountCodeTable 1
exec csp_UpdateAccountCodeTable 1
exec csp_PopulateSegDesc 1

If you have two AA Companies the query would be like this.

delete from frl_acct_code_aa where entity_num = '1'
delete from frl_seg_desc where entity_num = '1'
exec csp_PopulateAccountCodeTable 1
exec csp_UpdateAccountCodeTable 1
exec csp_PopulateSegDesc 1
delete from frl_acct_code_aa where entity_num = '2'
delete from frl_seg_desc where entity_num = '2'
exec csp_PopulateAccountCodeTable 2
exec csp_UpdateAccountCodeTable 2
exec csp_PopulateSegDesc 2

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.