Category Archives: Blog
Connecting to Dynamics 365 Financials through Scribe
TIBCO Cloud Integration NAV Connector is compatible with Dynamics 365 Financials. Prerequisite: Dynamics 365 Financials. TIBCO Cloud Integration Subscription. Steps: Login to TIBCO Cloud Integration URL: https://app.scribesoft.com/ Create a new connection by selecting the connector type as Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Fill in the required details. OData Service URL: For the OData URL, login to Financials and search for ‘Web Services’. Search button is on the top right side of the home page. You will find OData V4 URL of individual Web Services. Copy the URL till OData. Username and Password: Search ‘Users’ in Financials. Select the logged in User. Username is the required User Name in Connector and Web Service Access Key is the password. Company Name: It is displayed on the Home Page. For entities or pages to be visible in Scribe, you need to create Web Service for each required page. Search for ‘Web Service’ Click on the Action Tab and then Click on Create Data Set. Setup Page Will Pop-Up; Click ‘Next’ Select ‘Create a new data set’ and then ‘Next’ Give a name and select Data Source Type as ‘Page’, Data Source Id as the required Id of page. Example: Currencies = 5 Select the fields that you need and then click ‘Publish’. Final Step, reset the metadata in TIBCO Cloud Integration and you are set for building Integrations!
Share Story :
AL language code sample in Visual Studio for developing extensions for Dynamics NAV
Microsoft has released AL language code samples for developing extensions for Dynamics NAV. This AL sample code is available to download from the following link: https://github.com/Microsoft/AL. Microsoft wants to move all development very soon to Visual Studio using AL code for Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 Financials. Hence, programming for developing extensions for Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 have to be done in Visual Studio in the future. This article explains about the AL sample code for developing extensions for Dynamics NAV in Visual Studio. Prerequisite: Visual Studio Purpose: To understand AL language code sample for developing extensions for Dynamics NAV in Visual Studio. Explanation: The new version of extensions will be called ‘Extensions 2.0’ which is not based on the Delta file design. With Extensions 2.0, developers need to code and write new objects that describe additional capabilities required in the system. ‘Table Extension’ and ‘Page Extension’ objects will be used to describe new fields and UI elements and ‘in-client page designer’ will be used to make those changes in a WYSIWIG way-all of which are stored as extensions under the cover. This is referred from the following link: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/nav/2016/12/13/more-information-about-the-developer-preview-for-dynamics-nav/ In the AL sample code released by Microsoft, there are three .al files i.e. HelloWorld.al, GreetingsManagement.al and CustomerCardExtension.al and two .json files i.e. launch.json and app.json. CustomerCardExtension.al and HelloWorld.al are adding an action on Customer Card page. CustomerCardExtension.al is a ‘pageextension’ object type. The RunObject property of CustomerCardExtension.al calls HelloWorld.al which is a codeunit object. Fig. 1: CustomerCardExtension.al calls the Codeunit HelloWorld.al The keyword extends tells the compiler that this object is extending an existing object that is named after. On clicking this new action which is created on Customer Card page, Codeunit GreetingsManagement.al runs and generates a greeting message. GreetingsManagement.al is a codeunit for creating random greetings. Fig. 2: Codeunit GreetingsManagment.al While creating extensions in the previous way, manifest file has to be generated using Windows PowerShell ISE which is done after creating delta files. But while using AL code for developing extensions for Dynamics NAV in Visual Studio, ‘app.json’ file is required. ‘app.json’ is a manifest file that defines how your code should be built and bootstrapped into a live application. It enables developers to define their applications’ details, setup configurations and runtime environments in a structured way. Fig. 3: app.json To debug your app in VS Code, it is needed to set up launch configuration file which is ‘launch.json’. Fig. 4: launch.json Conclusion: The Visual Studio Code editor will become the preferred way of doing modifications in the future and all extensions for Dynamics NAV will be done in Visual Studio. Microsoft has mentioned that in the future, they will be adding support for XML Ports, Queries and Reports in Visual Studio Code.
Share Story :
Mobile Client Applications in Dynamics 365
Microsoft made new enhancements in Dynamics 365 Mobile App. The App incorporates the new UI and additional features to help users seamlessly interact with their CRM Data. In this blog, let’s have a look at the changes done in Dynamics 365 Release. Enhancements in Mobile App Logo Changes Microsoft Released all new logo for Dynamics 365. Below image shows the new look for D365 App in Mobile and Tablet. UI Changes Dynamics 365 released with new bright colours and fresh feel for new Mobile App. Layouts are more compact and optimized to provide essential information at one single glance i.e. to have the “Bird Eye View”. Dashboards are now displayed in Stack Components format to expose more information in visual format in single view. Both Forms and Dashboards are now visible with minimum amount of Panorama Scrolling thus making the navigation more user friendly. The below image shows the stacked view of Dashboards. Device Integration Mobile /Tablet Device can now be integrated with Camera and Voice Recorder to add Photos, Videos and Audio in Notes. Users can also use Geo location support. Utility.getCurrentPosition() will give the Longitudes and Latitudes co-ordinates for the User. There is additional setting that needs to be enabled to allow the access from the Home Screen. As shown in the image below, user can select the setting of what resolution pictures he/she wants and whether they want to store the pictures in the Photo Gallery. And also whether user wants to give device access to share their location by enabling second option of “User Content and Location”. Enhanced Notes Notes can now be added with inline view format i.e. with relevant information on form we can continue to add notes without navigating to additional page. Attached Images can be previewed within the page, without having to open them individually. Image (a) shows the Inline Notes with Image Preview whereas Image (b) shows Note as separate page. In notes users can now add photos, voice recording and video recording from their Mobile/Tablets. Sensor Integration As seen in Device Integration Mobile App can now use Camera and Microphone to add data through Mobile App. A new Barcode Control is added on Single line of Text field with Text Format. This Control scans the barcode with the help of camera incorporated in the device and automatically populates the code in the field. Note: This field only works with Barcode and not for QR code. Workspace Workspace is all new personalized action hub in mobile app to help users do common tasks seamlessly. Workspace includes the list of suggested priorities known as “Action Cards” in the left hand side of the window. These Action Cards may include the upcoming meetings and information relevant to that day’s activities and the things that need attention. Functionality to Dismiss and Snooze Action Cards is also available on Mobile Client. Workspace also includes list of favourites and most recently used items. Items can be added to Favourites by clicking on “Star” Button present in Recent Feeds. New Activity and Records can be created immediately from the Workspace Workplace settings can also be changed to display respective “Task Flows”. These settings can be changed from Home Screen -> Settings as shown in Image below. Editable Grids on Mobile Editable grids provide the rich inline editing in main and sub-grids so that users can update the information with fewer clicks. Editable grids are added as the control in Dynamics 365 which can be enabled for Mobile and Tablets apart from Web Client. Task Flows in Mobile Task Flows in Mobile were earlier the preview feature but now are available completely on Mobile. Task Flows are just another types of Business Process Flow for Mobile that enable users to seamlessly do the tasks without navigating through series of records. These can be accessed from the Home Screen on the below left hand side corner Icon. Below are some screenshots that will guide us that how task flows work in Mobile. The Scenario is that the Manager needs to approve the Credit Limit with Task Flows. So Manager will open the Opportunity Record for which he/she needs to approve, so with simple steps the Manager can approve the Credit Limits without opening the actual records. Task Flows can now also be imported and exported in the Solutions. Offline Enhancements Mobile Offline was introduced in the last release but now in Dynamics 365 new enhancements are incorporated, below are some key points that are added: JavaScript Client API supports CRUD operations when Client is in Offline Mode. Enhanced Sync Status Earlier when Admin used to configure Mobile Offline there was no status that on what state the process is running, Is the Process Running or not. So now the Enhancement is that the Admin can now see how many steps are performed while configuring Mobile Offline. New OS Support Mobile App is now supported on following OS: 1. iOS 10 2. Android N 3. Windows 10 Redstone 1 Thus, these were some enhancements that are added in Dynamics 365 Mobile Cleint.
Share Story :
Sorting based on Date does not work in CRM based SSRS report
Fetch XML based SSRS reports which are deployed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM online. Case: In Report, you want to sort the Tablix date as per the date field in descending order. (In the below example “Date” column). When you deploy the report and run the report, it is observed that date order is not as expected. Resolution / Work around Steps: Login to CRM and verify the default formatting for Dates. (Settings -> Administartion -> System Settings -> Formats. Check how the Short date is displayed. (By Default todays date will be displayed) Here the format is MM-dd-YYYY. So we know that the data is stored in what format of Date. Also as a best practice, we should check if the date field is empty and handle the same and format the date field. I used below expression to achieve this. =IIF(ISNOTHING(Fields!cf_calibrationdate.Value) Or Fields!cf_calibrationdate.Value = “”, ” “, Format(Cdate(Fields!cf_calibrationdate.Value), “MM-dd-yyyy”)) Now Go to Report designer in SQL Server Date Tool and Go to Tablix Properties and Go to Sorting. You need to add the sorting options through expressions. Now the trick is since it’s a date, we will sorting using the value field as below. You can run the report in preview window and verify if the Tablix data is sorted as per the date field.
Share Story :
Installing BizTalk Server 2016
In this article, we will be going through the steps for installation of BizTalk Server 2016. Below steps are for installation of BizTalk Server (Standard Edition) 2016 with Microsoft SQL server 2016 Standard edition. The environment is Windows Server 2016 on Azure. Windows Server configuration is as below: If your computer name is longer than 15 characters, BizTalk Server configuration fails. You can rename using power shell or from Server Manager (Dashboard -> Local Server -> Properties) Before installing BizTalk Server 2016, we will need to install the SQL Server. Below are the steps for the installation of SQL Server 2016 Standard edition. Here we are installing BizTalk server and SQL server on same machine. If these are on separate machine, additional pre – requisites steps are required. What are the pre-requisites for BizTalk server 2016 installation? Account should be part of administrators group, with which you are doing the installation. IIS should be enabled. WIF (optional) If you intent to use SharePoint Services Adapter. SMTP Server (optional), EXCEL 2013 (optional), SQL Server Database Mail (optional), If you intent to use BAM Alerts (Business Activity Monitoring) Visual Studio 2015 (Optional) (For creating BizTalk Projects) During installation these pre-requisites components gets auto installed: Microsoft SQL XML 4.0 with Service Pack 1 Microsoft Office Web Components Microsoft SQL Server 2016 ADOMD.NET Setup runtime files for AMD64 platform Setup runtime files Enterprise Single Sign-On Server Enterprise Single Sign-On Administration Microsoft Document Explorer 2008 Installation of SQL Server 2016 (Standard Edition) File Size – 2.1 GB Installation of SQL Server 2016 Download SQL Server 2016 from msdn. After the download is completed, mount the ISO file and select setup.exe to install. Run as administrator to start the installation. Accept the License Terms. Click in Next Install setup files – SQL server setup files are installed in system in this step. Time Taken – 32 Min In Features Selection, select only as ticked below. Provide a name to the names Instance. If you choose Default Instance, it defaults the Instance ID as MSSQLSERVER Named instance CFS_BIZTALK Provide the Account name and Password for the SQL services. You can choose either to have windows authentication Mode or Mixed Mode (SQL + Windows Authentication Mode) Specify the SQL server administrator. Click on ACCEPT in tab for “Consent to install Microsoft R Open”. Click Next. In “Ready to install” tab — click on Install. You will need to separately download SSMS as its not part of the installation setup. ** Download and Install SQL Server Management Studio version 16.5 (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt238290.aspx) File Size – 894 MB Download the BizTalk server 2016 Standard Edition from MSDN. (File Size – 727 MB) Mount the downloaded file en_biztalk_server_2016_standard_x64_dvd_9503266.iso (Right on file and select the “Mount” option. Accept the License terms and conditions Below is the list of Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016 Components that will be installed. BizTalk EDI/AS2 Runtime Documentation Server Runtime Windows Communication Foundation Adapter Windows Communication Foundation Administration Tools Administration Tools and Monitoring Enterprise Single Sign-On Administration Module Additional Software Enterprise Single Sign-On Master Secret Server Business Rules Components BAM Alert Provider BAM Client BAM-Eventing Project Build Component It may be necessary to stop one or more system services during installation. For information on the affected services, click Help. You can add or remove additional components after this installation using the “Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016” entry in the Add/Remove section of the Control Panel. During installation, you may be prompted for server reboot. To ensure you get automatically logged in you can provide the credentials using the set option. During installation, the first component is the SQL XML 4.0 SP1. It gets fails and comes back with error message as below. For resolution, if you download and install Microsoft SQL XML 4.0 with SP1, you will again get error as below. Error indicates that it is looking for .Net Framework version 2.0. (This error comes even though your system has 4.5 or higher version of .Net Framework. Resolution: Install the .Net Framework 3.5 Features (Includes 2.0 and 3.0) from Windows server manager -> Roles and Features -> .NET Framework 3.5 Features -> .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) Select the components for installation as below: Finally, we get the window as below indicating we have installed Microsoft BizTalk Server Successfully. Tick the box for “Launch BizTalk Server Configuration” Configuring BizTalk Server 2016 Select the Custom configuration and provide the user name and password. All BizTalk services will run under these credentials. You will be greeted with below pop info window message if you choose the same windows user with which yoo installed the BTS2016. This is important step, you need to provide the encryption password and reminder text. Default location of Backup location is as below: Back up file location: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Enterprise Single Sign-On\SSO056B.bak If this is first installation, you will be creating a new BizTalk Group. After Group creation, you will be registering the run time components by selecting options as below. You can configure Business Activity Monitoring alerts in this option. (Since I have not configured the SQL Mail, I am skipping this step). This is the final and important configuration step for configuring EDI and AS2 protocol for message exchange. You will see configuration wizard with success message. Open the Overview tab, you will see as below indicating successful configuration. (I have not configured BAM Portal) You can check the version of the BizTalk server installed through Registry key at path “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\BizTalk Server\3.0” At the end of installation, you can also review the log file for detail of installation or troubleshoot any error or warning during installation process. It is advised to export and back up the configuration of BTS2016. (Default path of back up is “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2016”)
Share Story :
Model Import/Export in Dynamics 365 Operations
In this blog article, we will see how we can export model in a model file, then import model file in development environment and delete existing model in development environment. Prerequisites: D3fO Environments. Steps: Export Model in a Model File. Import Model File. Resolve Conflicts. Build and Synchronize Model. Export Model To export a model in a model file, use the ModelUtil.exe tool which is located in j:\AOSService\PackagesLocalDirectory\Bin and the -export directive. ModelUtil.exe -export -metadatastorepath= [path of the metadata store] -modelname=[name of the model to export] -outputpath=[path of folder where model file should be saved] Example: Import Model To install a model file in development Environment, use the ModelUtil.exe tool and the -import directive. ModelUtil.exe -import -metadatastorepath=[path of the metadata store where model should be imported] -file=[full path of the file to import] Example: If the model already exists in Development Environment, then first delete the model using ModelUtil.exe tool and -delete directive. ModelUtil.exe -delete -metadatastorepath=[path of the metadata store] -modelname=[name of the model to delete] Example: Resolve Conflicts If the model you installed has customizations in higher layer, you need to resolve code or metadata conflicts. Under Dynamics 365 -> Addins -> select Create Project from Conflicts. In dialog box, select the model you installed, to check for conflicts. Click Create Project. New Project is created with elements having conflicts. Resolve the conflicts. Build and Synchronize Build the Model and Synchronize the Database.
Share Story :
Error Resolution on Publishing Extension after new Release CU1 of NAV 2017
This article is about the issue faced while publishing an extension in NAV 2017 which was resolved after the new CU 1 release of NAV 2017. Pre-requisites Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 Windows PowerShell ISE/ Issue faced in previous version 10.0.12762 of NAV 2017 In our extension, we had created a function which runs a report. The property ‘ProcessingOnly’ of the report was set to yes. This property when set to ‘yes’ deletes the report layout. While publishing the extension using Windows PowerShell, I encountered an error “Cannot find Report Directory”. Issue Resolution after CU 1 release of NAV 2017 version 10.0.14199 I referenced blog written by ‘Amol Salvi’ which describes Cumulative Update Released summary. I installed the cumulative update 01 (CU 1) for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017 (Build 14199) and published my extension using Windows PowerShell which was successfully published.
Share Story :
Packing Requisition Functionality in NAV 2017 using Extension
Introduction We implemented Packing Requisition functionality for one of our Pharma Client in NAV 2016. The same functionality is replicated in NAV 2017 using Extension. Client Requirement The client process is such that once the goods are produced it needs to be packed as per the instructions given by the customer. These packing details needs to be send to customer and to other parties like Shipping Agency and Customs Department. The packing details needs to be stored in the system for reference as well as for preparing some shipment documentation. The details are also useful to identify the batch number and expiry date of goods packed in particular shipper along with the gross weight and net weight. Pre-requisites: Microsodt Dynamics NAV 2017 Windows Powershell ISE Purpose In NAV, after a Sales order is created there is no provision to enter packing related details . Once the goods are produced it is directly shipped. Thus to fulfill the client’s requirement we developed the Packing List Functionality. Customization in NAV 2016 In NAV 2016 we can directly customize standard objects and can alter the source code. Customization in NAV 2017 with Extension. In NAV 2017 using Extension, we extend NAV without altering the standard source code. Extensions can be installed or uninstalled, giving customers compelte control over the additional functionality that they need. All coding with respect to adding of fields in NAV 2017 using extensions is done using the Codeunit object. In the Codeunit object, we create functions to trigger on insertion, modification,validation of that particular field. In the properties of the function,we subscribe to the system Event and specify the Event Publisher Object. The Event Function ‘OnAfterValidateEvent’ is selected from the lookup and the Event Publisher Element is selected. Steps We create Packing page which should have Sales order number, customer details and shipping information. The Packing sub form is then created having details like product type, description ,total quantity.Packing Case details Page which would be the sub page of Packing Sub form having details like number of cases, the gross and net weight, batch number, manufacturing and expiry date. The following are the steps to implement the packing functionality in NAV using extensions. We create folder as below and all original objects to be modified are first exported in the .txt format in the Original object folder. The below modified objects for the extension packing requision functionality are exported in .txt format in the Modified Folder. A menu suite is created which consist of the link to the packing list page in the Order Processing Department. Now we import all the unmodified objects and all the newly created objects are deleted. We then run Windows PowerShell ISE as Administrator, create delta file by using ‘Compare-NAVApplicationObject’ commandwhich consist of only the modified objects. We Specify the paths of the folders and run the command. The manifest file is created using ‘New-NAVAppManifest’ command which consist of the publisher name, version number and extension name in a .xml format. The navx package is created using the ‘New-NAVAppPackage’ command in .navx format The .navx package is published using the ‘Publish-NAVApp’ command The app is installed using ‘Install-NAVApp’ command. Test the extension by running RTC In Sales and Marketing select sales and receivable setup, and enter the package No. series. The Customer No. is selected from the lookup and the customer details are auto populated. We enter the product details in the sub form. The No. In the packing is sub form is selected using the lookup and the related fields of the product are auto populated. Clicking on Line of the Packing sub form we enter the packing case details. Conclusion. In NAV 2017 using Extension, we extend NAV without altering the standard source code. Extensions can be installed or uninstalled, giving customers complete control over the additional functionality. A packing list functionality provides information about the the sales order, customer,shipment information and Shipper’s details of the product.
Share Story :
Power BI new updates: Date slicer, Top N Filter and Data label improvements
In this blog article, we will explain about the new updates of Power BI related to Date Slicer, Top N Filter and Data label improvements. In Date slicer, earlier there were only one option to show the data i.e. list. But now we have four option as before, after, between and list. Means we will show data by choosing the date range as between, after, or before selected date. Also, we can move the slider to set date. Date Slicer: While using date slicer we can use either slider to set the dates or pick the date using a calendar or also we can manually insert date: – The following are the four option that we can choose on date Slicer: Between Before After List We can change the mode to before or after if we only need to control the last or first date used on reports page. Or also we switch back to the standard List view Top N: Earlier we had only two filtering condition these are Advanced filtering Basic filtering But now there is one more option i.e. Top N By using this filtering condition, we can display the Top or Bottom N records. We will find the top N filter in the filter pane as a filter type option for the category field we want to filter down. Top N filter is use to retrieve the top or bottom N records. In this we can specify the numbers of items to show or display. For example: select Top or Bottom from option set and specify value as 10 Then it will retrieve Top or Bottom 10 records from the table with specified value. Data Label improvements: In data label, there added several new data label capabilities to column, bar and waterfall charts to help our design for our visuals with labels. For column charts, now we have the option to change the orientation of the data labels between horizontal and vertical. This will help to fit longer data labels when we have skinnier columns. Also for column, bar and waterfall charts we can change the position of the data labels. We have the following option to set the position of data labels: – Inside End Outside End Inside Center Inside base
Share Story :
How to Change button text or description of the system entity or managed entity
We have a requirement that we want to change button text and description for case entity to the incident. Since the case is system entity which is managed, dynamics 365 not allowed you to make any modification in button text or description. For the unmanaged entity, you can make a modification with the help of third party tool like ribbon workbench. In this article, we will see how to change button text of system entity (managed). Kindly follow below steps. Create a new solution and add selected entity in that solution. In my example, I want only case entity. Make sure you have checked “include entity metadata”. Click on export translation The zip file will be downloaded to your system. Extract that zip file in your local system. Open CrmTranslations file in excel Select Display String sheet Find text that you want to replace. I want to replace all case word with incident. Make necessary changes and save the file. Again zip CrmTranslations folder and click on import Translation. Import zip file to the solution Publish the solution and go to entity form. You can see button text and description changed to the incident. Similar way you can do it for another system (Managed) entity.
