Hands On With the GP Power Tools – Administrator Tools: Dex.ini Configuration

Winthrop DCThis post is part of the Hands On With the GP Power Tools (GPPT) – Administrator Tools series in which I am taking a hands on look at the various tools offered by GPPT.

The Dex.ini Configuration (GP Power Tools area page >> Setup >> Dex.ini Configuration) window can be used to automate changes to the Dex.ini settings for all workstations. This is a very useful tool, especially when there are either a lot of desktop clients installed or a lot of Citrix/terminal servers:

Dex.ini Configuration

There are five key settings when entering switches to update in the Dex.ini file:

  1. Search Mode – there are five search options available, but I favour always using the default option of Setting Exact match as this prevents errors whereby a setting could be set to an incorrect value by accident.
  2. Setting or Search String – is where you enter the name of the Dex.ini switch which is to have it’s value changed.
  3. Silent – when marked the setting is updated without the user being asked to confirm; I would generally set this as marked,as the configuration is going to be maintained by an administrator.
  4. Log – mark this option to have the change logged.
  5. Value – is the new value for the switch specified in the Setting or Search String field.

There is a (near if not completed) list of available Dex.ini switches created and maintained by MVP Leslie Vail.

As Leslie warns on her blog post, care should be taken when setting a Dex.ini switch; this is true whether you are manually configuring or using the GPPT Dex.ini Configuration window.

The window is a fantastic way of updating all clients with the new settings, but mistakes can prevent Microsoft Dynamics GP from working.

To mitigate the possibility of this, GPPT has two functions available.

Firstly, at the bottom of the window is a checkbox, Do not update any Dex.ini settings automatically which applies only to the current workstation.

Secondly, GPPT checks a few settings which are known to cause problems with Dynamics GP and will prompt for confirmation:

Microsoft Dynamics GP: This Setting or Search String will change or remove the system Dex.ini setting "Pathname.ini" and could prevent Microsoft Dynamics GP from launching, continue?

Microsoft Dynamics GP

This Setting or Search String will change or remove the system Dex.ini setting “Pathname.ini” and could prevent Microsoft Dynamics GP from launching, continue?

When you answer No the action is continued and the row deleted from the list; you will need to confirm deletion of the row.

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