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When Automatic GL Index Rebuild is disabled, the GL index files may become outdated.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.

Support for GP 8.0 end on October 13, 2009

Support for Microsoft Dynamics GP 8.0 will end on October 13, 2009

More Details here : http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-us&x=13&y=14&p1=7967

via - http://blogs.msdn.com/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2009/07/31/support-for-microsoft-business-solutions-great-plains-8-0-ends-soon.aspx

Dummy’s Guide to Capturing Log Files Using Support Debugging Tool

I have been a little slow in making good use of the Support Debugging Tool. However, it definitely seems to save considerably more time than it takes in setting up, so I am warming up more.

Now that I have the tool installed at a few places, generating DexSQL.Log, Profile.txt, Srcipt.Log takes just a couple of clicks as you will see below.

Here’s how I did it earlier –

1. Close Dynamics

2. Make Dex.ini Changes to enable logging

3. Log In and Generate Logs

4. Log out

5. Make Dex.ini Change to turn off logging

6. Log Back in

Here’s how I do it when I have Support Debugging Tool

1. Turn on Logging using Tool and Generate Logs

2. Turn off Logging using Tool

First you need to install the Tool (Just Copy the chunk file!)

1. Copy the “Debugger.cnk” file and paste it in the Dynamics GP Installation folder

1. Launch Dynamics and include the new code

2. Support Debugging will be available at Microsoft Dynamics GP >> Tools >> Support Debugging Tool

Generating DexSQL.Log, Profile.txt, Script.Log with just a couple of Clicks

Typically you would want to capture the log associated with a specific action. You should turn on logging just before you reach that state.

1. Turn on Manual Logging by Clicking on the “Turn on” button

Carry out the action you want to log

2. Turn off Logging

You will find the log files in the GP Folder. To ensure that the log files are not overwritten, the User, Company and date and time information are appended to the default file name.

That's it! I especially loved this when the 30 odd minutes I had set aside to capture the logs, ended up being just 8 minutes!

More Information -

Download Link - http://blogs.msdn.com/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2008/09/03/support-debugging-tool-the-wait-is-over.aspx

Introduction to the Tool By David - http://blogs.msdn.com/developingfordynamicsgp/archive/2008/07/30/support-debugging-tool-for-microsoft-dynamics-gp.aspx

First Look By Mariano Gomez - http://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-look-at-support-debugging-tool.html 

Security Profiler and Screenshot Capturing Info by Mariano Gomez - http://dynamicsgpblogster.blogspot.com/2008/12/support-debugging-tool-redux.html

Customization Status Window

This is a great window to “temporarily” disable a product while troubleshooting. When you log back into the System the Product gets loaded again.

Tools >> Customize >> Customization Status

If you want to permanently disable a product you should update the Dynamics.set file

1. Take a backup of the Dynamics.set file

2. Open Dynamics.Set file in your text editor and remove the files associated with the product. This would normally include the product dictionaries, name and ID.

3. Decrease the count on the first line of file by one.

How good an Estimator are you ?

Software estimation is difficult.

At Dynamics GP Land Steve Endow writes about the 30% rule while preparing estimates for Custom Software Development. He talks about how while estimating, its generally a good idea to add 30% extra time to account for risks, changing requirements and overheads. Steve has found this to be practically useful while reviewing budget to actual.

The most interesting thing for me from the post is Steve's point about how often making an accurate estimate means you end up being less competitive compared to firms that are bidding low.

"By presenting a realistic estimate that reflects the likely total cost of the project, you run the risk of giving people sticker shock. Salespeople want to sell the solution at a "competitive" price, which is almost always lower than your estimate. And then there are clients who see the total hours and assess that the estimate is "too high", or simply too expensive for them, killing the project. And if you are bidding against a firm that can't estimate accurately, does not provide a realistic estimate, or simply underbids, your estimate will look much too high, even if it is accurate, thereby damaging your credibility and trust with the client."

Estimation for software projects is a extensive subject in itself. There's a great book by one of my favorite authors, Steve McConnell on this subject - Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art (Best Practices (Microsoft))

Something I learnt from the book was how bad majority of us are at making good estimates. Go ahead and take a quick 5-10 minute quiz from the book to find out how good you are at estimation.

So how good an Estimator are you ?

It might be an eye-opener.

Why User Classes are still relevant in GP 10

Mark Polino writes about how User Classes are STILL relevant in GP 10. They are used in Organizational Structures and thereby Account Level Security.

http://msdynamicsgp.blogspot.com/2009/03/weekly-dynamic-dynamics-gp-10-roles-vs.html

Visual Studio Tools for Dynamics GP - Resources

Getting Started ?

Visual Studio Tools SDK for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 - SP3 is out as of today, which supports VS 2008. You will need VS 2005 SP1.

If you get the error -".Net Framework 2.0 not detected", and you know you have .Net 2 installed, install the SDK from the SP2 download, where this error has been fixed.

Developer Toolkit Samples - There a couple of nice applications, that you can build on.

a) Field Defaulter - Uses events to default City and State fields when a user enters a ZIP code in Customer Maintenance

b) Estimate Freight - Estimates Freight Amounts for Sales Documents and fills it in the Sales TRx Entry Window.

Developer Toolkit Resources at Developing for Dynamics GP Blog

Need help ?

VS Tools Forum by Steve Gray - Excellent Resource for all VS Tools related troubleshooting and questions . 

Microsoft GP Developer Newsgroup

Tips and Tricks

Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 by David Musgrave and GP Developer Team- Add-On which helps in adding Menu items to GP Menu and to add your a form directly to the menu. This has been a great solution to one of the complicated parts of developing apps with VS Tools.

Reading a config file with VS Tools by Dave Dusek- Extremely helpful in adding custom switches for your app so you can make changes on the fly in your app.

Code For Centering the Add-In Windows on Screen regardless of Resolution by Mohammad Daoud