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Showing posts from February, 2011

Pre-Conference Day 2 - Fine tuning presentations

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February 27, 2011. Pre-Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference Day 2 - Fine tuning Presentations. This is a series of articles leading up to the actual Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2011 event. The goal is to keep you informed of some of the developments leading up to the Conference and also provide you with a "behind the scenes" view of our work and activities. After a long dinner evening the previous day , the real work began today. The morning started with a hearty breakfast at Basie's Restaurant located inside the Ramada Plaza hotel, where we are all staying - frankly, I have avoided going outside since I got to the hotel and hope to do so ONLY when absolutely necessary. Once we finished having breakfast, we returned to our rooms to grab our laptops and sit at a table next to the bar area downstairs. First up was our Introduction to Microsoft Dynamics GP Customization session fine tuning. David will be in charge of presenting the Dexterity and

Pre-Conference Day 1 - Getting here

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February 26, 2011. Pre-Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference Day 1 - Getting here. This is a series of articles leading up to the actual Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2011 event. The goal is to keep you informed of some of the developments leading up to the Conference and also provide you with a "behind the scenes" view of our work and activities. While flying from Atlanta to Fargo is not quite as adventurous as flying from Perth, Australia, there are a few things you quickly realize, especially this time of the year: a) the 80-degree shift in temperature between the two cities (Atlanta and Fargo) as a result of the still lingering winter weather, and b) perhaps most captivating, the vastness of the upper Midwest United States. Approaching Minneapolis, Minnesota, you could observe people ice fishing , a practice that has been carried out since the early days of the Midwest colonization. The State of Minnesota is nicknamed Land of 10,000 lakes . Appr

Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2011 - Quick Reminder!

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The Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2011 is upon us! David and I have an arsenal of information prepared for those of you who are newcomers to the Technical Conference. We wanted to focus our attention in building up the base of future Microsoft Dynamics GP developers and ensure our legacy...ok, maybe I am getting carried away here! If you are going to attend the Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference in lovely Fargo, North Dakota, please come to our sessions. We promise to make them fun! Also, who said you can't have fun in Fargo? Superstar rapper Nelly will be at the Scheels Arena  on Thursday, March 3, and yes, I will be attending with a bunch of Softies. This a reminder of the sessions David and I will be presenting: Development Troubleshooting with the Support Debugging Tool Presenters: David Musgrave and Mariano Gomez, MVP Following the success of this session at Convergence Atlanta 2010, David Musgrave and Mariano Gomez return to the Microsoft Dynamic

Online Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP, what's the point?

Just in time for the weekend... My new IMHO with The Dynamics GP Blogster column is out. This time, I tackle the new  Online Payment Services module, made recently available with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 SP5 and Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 SP1 -- and got direct input from my buddies over at Microsoft. If you want to know more about Online Payment Services and the reason why it was created take a look at the article . Until next post! MG.- Mariano Gomez, MVP IntellPartners, LLC http://www.intellpartners.com/

Microsoft SQL Server performance boosting settings for Microsoft Dynamics GP - Part 1

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Part 1 of 2 - Microsoft SQL Server performance boosting settings for Microsoft Dynamics GP. Disclaimer: this is not a "one-size-fits-all" recipe for improving Microsoft SQL Server performance and you will hear me say numerous times that you must consult with your Microsoft SQL Server administrator to understand how these settings may (or may not) apply to your environment. In addition, I have recommended (and implemented) some of these changes in different customer environments on a case by case basis , but have never had to make them all at the same time, so please don't take this as a "Mariano said I must make all these changes to have my Microsoft Dynamics GP SQL Server fly" message. To the contrary, this post is intended to present some settings that may contribute to improve SQL Server performance, based on your specific environment. So here is my list: Minimum memory per query Increasing the value of this option can improve the performance of quer

Why shouldn't I shrink my Microsoft Dynamics GP databases?

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A client recently approached me with the question of whether they should shrink their Microsoft Dynamics GP databases to reclaim hard disk space, but instead of telling you what I think, I will demonstrate some of the issues arising from shrinking your databases: Now to what I think...I have never been a big fan of shrinking databases to reclaim hard disk space -- though, if you are running a dev environment where space is critical, then this may only be the one time. The problem arises from the way the shrink process occurs, and applies to DBCC SHRINKFILE , DBCC SHRINKDATABASE and the Auto Shrink setting in the database properties. In summary, SQL Server goes to the end of a dabatabase file, picks up each individual page, then moves them to the first available empty space in the file. This process may reverse the order of your pages, turning perfectly defragmented indexes into perfectly fragmented ones. So, let's take a look with a test database in one of my client's e

Maximum Global Business merges with IntellPartners, a Georgia based company

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Dear reader, The objective of this site has always been -- and will continue to be -- providing quality Microsoft Dynamics GP content you have come to rely on. Consequently, it's been customary not to mix my personal affairs with what you read on this site. However, and in response to the numerous emails and calls I have received over the past week, some asking about the change in my signature, others congratulating the move, I feel the time has come to explain the change. As you know, I was the founder and managing director of Maximum Global Business, a Microsoft partner providing software licensing and implementation services to the Microsoft Dynamics ecosystem of partners and customers. This effort was a first in a list of entrepreneurial moves oriented to better service the needs of the community. Now, the time has come to move to the next level... Maximum Global Business has merged with IntellPartners , an Atlanta, Georgia, USA based company with global market reach, t

Why my template changes don't save when I close Microsoft Word?

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If you are now a user of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, you will concur that the new Word Templates feature is probably one of the most visible improvements over version 10.0 as it has made the delivery of 'facing' documents a pleasant one. However, the new feature has not come without misunderstandings on how it works. One such misunderstandings has to do with the way template documents are opened, changed, and saved. Many users have found out the hard way that there's a bit more to just hitting the save button in Microsoft Word. So, let's review the few critical steps of opening a Word Template and ensuring that all changes are properly saved in Microsoft Dynamics GP, in the process, I will explain what happens "under the hood". 1. In the following example, I have taken a new template created for Aaron Fitz Electrical (AARONFIT0001) based on the original SOP Blank Invoice Form and have opened it and added a logo to it. SOP Blank Invoice Form Template -

From the newsgroups: Changing item currency decimal places

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Every once in a while as consultants, we run into these requests that leave us scrambling for an answer. It is not at all strange to find companies that want to modify the currency decimal places supported only at the product level (item master), while wanting to maintain the currency decimals set from an accounting perpective (general ledger and financial reporting). For example, for product transaction purposes, some companies may require 3 or 4 decimal places, but for financial reporting and general ledger would still want to maintain 2 decimals. Here is what the consultant requested: Is there a way to change "Currency Decimals" on the Item Maintenance window after an item is saved? If the field is not accessible which field in which SQL table has to be changed? The answer comes courtesy of Microsoft's Tirumal Boppana from the Dynamics GP Online Partner Technical community forum. Tirumal outlines two methods that allow you to change your currency decimals and explai

Troubleshooting printing issues with Microsoft Dynamics GP

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Just lately, I have seen a number of inquiries over the various forums on printer support for Microsoft Dynamics GP (usually, versions 10.0 and 2010). If you have been in the channel as an ISV, partner, or customer since the days of the former Great Plains Software, you probably still remember that in the past testing of Microsoft Dynamics GP included exhaustive testing of a number of printers for compatibility. In fact, leading up to the release of version 10.0, it was not uncommon to see the now infamous Printer Compatibility List, which would outline an extensive list of printers tested for all sort of "maneuvers" including large print jobs, paper handling, character blurriness, and so on. There are still some reminiscent KB articles from back in the days when printers were tested - go grab them now before they disappear! KB article 870301 - Compatibility of Dynamics With the HP LaserJet 6L or HP LaserJet 6L SE Printer KB article 865797 - HP OfficeJet 520 Printers