Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Difference between AX, NAV & GP

What is the Difference between Microsoft AX , GP and NAV?


Microsoft Dynamics ERP Products

Every business management software solution in our line of familiar and adaptable enterprise resource planning (ERP) products is simple to use, straightforward to implement, and easy to adapt to your specific business requirements. They fit smoothly with your existing systems and work like and with Microsoft software your people use every day to provide ongoing value and low total cost of ownership.
  • Microsoft Dynamics AX is a comprehensive ERP product that helps midsize and larger organizations operate across multiple sites and countries. With a rich, flexible industry foundation Microsoft Dynamics AX can standardize processes, provide visibility across your business, and help simplify compliance. Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics AX.
  • Microsoft Dynamics GP is a scalable ERP product for growing and midsize organizations that can help you extend insight, productivity, and collaboration across your entire business. Microsoft Dynamics GP offers flexible deployment options to connect financial and operations processes, and provides fast access to relevant information using familiar Microsoft tools. Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics GP.
  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an ERP product for midsize organizations that provides proven industry-specific functionality relevant to your needs – even for the most highly specialized industries and business processes. Available in more than 40 country versions, Microsoft Dynamics NAV is fast to implement, easy to configure, and simple to use. Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
  • Microsoft Dynamics SL is an ERP product specialized to help project-driven midsize organizations manage people, projects, and profitability. With powerful solutions for professional services, operations, field services, and construction management companies, Microsoft Dynamics SL can help you manage your projects on time and on budget. Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics SL.

AX 2012 Beta Links

Run AX as a different user from Windows Explorer

This is something useful for people who have already switched to Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista / Windows 7.

As you have probably noticed, the Run as... command is not available in these versions of Windows any longer (it's still available from command line, of course, but that's not as user friendly).

As AX users/developers/etc., we all ofter have to log into AX as a different user, for example to verify security settings for a particular AX role being setup.
Having Run as... command in the context menu really saves time here.

So, Microsoft, namely Mark Russinovich, provided a way to return this useful command back into the standard context menu.

You can download and install ShellRunas from technet.

Now, to install it, simply follow the easy instructions below:
  1. Download and unzip ShellRunas by following the link above
  2. Copy ShellRunas.exe to your Windows\System32 folder
  3. Open a Command Line and run the following command: shellrunas /reg
  4. A message box confirming successfull installation should pop up. Click OK
  5. Now, holding down the SHIFT key, right-click the AX icon. You will see a Run as different user... item in the context menu


To uninstall the Shellrunas utility, simply execute the following command from a command prompt: shellrunas /unreg

Close a Form in AX 2009

Brief description of ways to close a form in AX 


We had this question asked on one of the internal AX forums, and Michael Fruergaard wrote a short description of each method you can use.


Re-posting it here with some extra comments, so that new developers can read and understand, when to use what method.

There are “only” 5 ways to close a form:
  • Close - close the form. Similar to the 'X' button.
  • CloseOK – close the form, and set the OK flag – called by the Commandbutton::Ok
  • CloseCancel – close the form, and set the Cancel flag – called by the Commandbutton::Cancel
  • CloseSelectRecord – close the lookup form, and set return record
  • CloseSelect – close the lookup form, and set return value

The below methods (note their names are in past-tense) are used to determine if or how a form was closed:
  • Closed – Returns true, if the form is no longer open
  • ClosedOK – Return true, if the form was closed by the user clicking ‘OK’
  • ClosedCancel – Returns true, if the form was closed by the user clicking ‘Cancel’

Finally, CanClose() is called before any of the close methods get called. If CanClose() returns false, the form is not allowed to close.

Create Lookup in AX 2009


  • Create a Form in AX 2009.
  • Add a StringEdit Control in Design.
  • Add a new Method to String Edit Control


public void lookup()
{
    Counter yearCount;
    List    valueList = new List(Types::String);

    for (yearCount = 0; yearCount < 5; yearCount++)
    {
        valueList.addEnd(strFmt("Year %1", year(SystemDateGet()) - yearCount));
    }

    SysLookup::lookupList(this, valueList, "List of years");
}
  • Run the Form

Speeding Up SQL Operations in AX 2009 Development


The following constructs allow you to insert, update, or delete multiple records. Using these constructs reduces communication between the application and the database, and it increases performance.
Construct
Description
Allows you to insert multiple records in one database trip. Use the RecordSortedList construct when you want a subset of data from a particular table, and when you want it sorted in an order that does not currently exist as an index.
Allows you to insert multiple records in one database trip. Use the RecordInsertList construct when you do not need to sort the data.
Allows you to copy multiple records from one or more tables directly into another table on a single database trip.
Allows you to update multiple rows in a table on a single database trip.
Allows you to delete multiple records from the database on a single database trip.