Monday, July 28, 2014

Dex.ini file uploaded to Box 07-28-2014

office_cabinet_custom_text_12928
The link to the dex.ini download was not working so I’ve refreshed it.
You can access the latest Dex.ini file on Box. Download here: DEX.ini. Here’s the link done the long way: https://app.box.com/s/xkgae2rz1vil1ap4o579

Until next time!
Leslie
07/28/2014

Friday, July 25, 2014

Never Forget to Match that Purchase Order Again!

YAY! This one was added to Dynamics GP!

Vote for Product Suggestion ID: 669719

https://connect.microsoft.com/dynamicssuggestions/feedback/details/669719/gp-never-forget-to-match-that-purchase-order-again

image

There are 18 votes so far. This process really works, I’ve had two of my suggestions actually make it into the product!

Too often a vendor invoice comes into the company and it's entered into A/P without going through the invoice matching process in POP. We need a method for the user to be alerted if a vendor's invoice is entered to the Payables transaction entry window while there is an outstanding uninvoiced receipt.

The problem is that we end up with uninvoiced POs,  or worse, the vendor is paid twice by mistake.

While you’re at the Connect page, I suggest you browse through all of the good suggestions that have been logged. You may find others that are worthy of your vote!

Until next time,

Leslie

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Speed up your Macros

 

stick_figure_colored_running_inside_arrows_150_clr_9682

Today I delivered a Webinar on Macros for GPUG. I loved doing it, but there are so many things to cover that an hour just doesn’t do it justice. I talked about adding the ShowAdvancedMacroMenu=TRUE switch to your Dex.ini file to reveal additional functionality that can make macros a lot more robust. No new software to buy, just an extra line (called a switch) in the Dex.ini file.

Even with this switch, a macro still can’t throw up dialog boxes with yes/no/never mind buttons on it, but you can make your macros run significantly faster using this tool. It speeds them up to run at least twice as fast. This is especially useful if you’re doing large imports or mass changes. Macros running under this mode took half the time of others. For longer macros, it was even more astonishing.

After you add the above switch to your Dex.ini file, the Advanced Macro menu becomes an option on your Macro menu. Once you update your Dex.ini file, your menu will look like this:

Advanced Macro Menu

All of the goodies are in the Status window. Pictured below is the Status window. I’ll go through this window and point out the things that I like to use.

image

Below I’ll try to define each of the items numbered above:

1. Shows you the name of the macro currently being recorded and what line it’s on.

2. Shows you the name of the macro currently being played, and what line it’s on.

3. This is the magic checkbox that turbo charges your macro. Checking this box turns off the complete redraw and hides the interface flash thereby making the macro run twice (at least) as fast.

4. The line in the macro you want to jump to. This is a great way to find out what was going on when your macro fails at line 7463 for example. You can put that value in this field and the results will display in the scrolling window at the bottom. You can also restart a macro to begin playing at the jump to line.

5. The number of lines to display in the scrolling window.

6. Indicate where you want the macro to pause while it’s playing. This is a good way to debug the macro or stop it from executing after a certain point is reached

7. The actual lines of the macro according to the lines displayed.

The easiest way to make this feature work is to click on the ellipses [. . .]button and browse for your macro file.

SNAGHTML1251fbec

Once the macro is loaded, check the No User Interface Flash checkbox and then press the OK button. Your macro will launch running at lightening speed!

If there’s interest out there, I can go through each of the menu items on the Macro menu and the Advanced Macro and explain how to use it and what it does.

Live the Dream!

Leslie

Report Writer–copying package files, beware

 

mailbox_with_custom_check_14221 white background

I had a client call me today who was trying to copy the layout of the Check with stub on top and bottom- Graphical to the layout of the Check with stub on top. It wasn’t working.

She changed the top line of the package file  to read Check with stub on top and it imported beautifully. She could open it up in Report Writer and everything looked good. However, when she tried to print it she got something very foreign looking. It had switched to a graphical report, and it had a stub on top, but it didn’t produce the face of the check, and the dollars where all messed up.

Below is the only thing that printed after the import of the ‘new’ package file:

clip_image002

It’s got a nice looking stub on top, but the rest of the check was missing. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Further investigation revealed that the Check with stub on top report, before it was modified, contained 7 tables. The Check with stub on top and bottom- Graphical contained only 5. We could import just fine between two of the formats that had the same 7 tables, but the formats that had only 5 needed to be imported into a format that had the same 5.

We needed a check format that contained the same 5 tables as the Check with stub on top and bottom- Graphical. Luckily, the Check with two stubs on top matched up perfectly. 

So, if your modified reports coming from edited package files don’t appear the way you think they should, check the tables. If the tables are not compatible, the report will not work the way you want.

Until next time!

Leslie

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Vote for being able to do a credt card 'check run'

YAY! This one made it into Dynamics GP!

I'm happy to report we have 31 votes to add a feature to GP that would allow us to do a 'credit card run' just like we do a check run. I would love to see a credit card that acted like a checkbook - including reconcile capabilities just like bank accounts.

31 votes is a good start, but we need more. If you agree that this functionality would be awesome, please vote on Microsoft connect for the item below:

vhttps://connect.microsoft.com/dynamicssuggestions/feedback/details/763004/gp-perform-a-credit-card-run-just-like-a-check-run

We've gotten two other items in the product because of popular support, so this method really works!

Let's go for it and get this feature added too!

Live the dream!

Leslie