Hands On With the GP Power Tools: Available Tools

Winthrop DCBefore I move onto the features of the GP Power Tools, there will be a small number of posts, starting with this one, introducing the GP Power Tools and on the installation process.

GP Power Tools is sold as three modules which can be bought separately, with some standard features available when any module is registered. The three modules and their features are:

  1. Administrator Tools
  2. Developer Tools
  3. Database Tools

Essential system features that come with the first module you register:

  1. Capture and email 5 system logs in “One-Click”.
  2. Capture and email a full system status report and screenshots of all open windows in “One-Click”.
  3. Send emails from inside Dynamics GP even with no email client installed.
  4. Change Dex.ini and registry settings from inside GP, including making GP work well on high res monitors.

The key features of the Administrator Tools are:

  1. Avoid data entry errors! Company based colour schemes provide an immediate visual cue to which company is being used.
  2. Gain full administrative and audit control of your security system, including Deny-Based Security.
  3. Roll out Dex.ini setting changes to all workstations.
  4. Simplify troubleshooting by disabling third party products and customisation (including Visual Studio Addins and VBA).
  5. Users can customise window positions and sizes based on the how they use the system.

The key features of the Developer Tools are:

  1. Create, execute and publish scripts from inside Dynamics GP, using  Dexterity, Transact-SQL, Visual C# and Visual Basic.Net.
  2. Create triggers to schedule events, customise Dynamics GP, and debug issues by automatically capturing logs.
  3. Build custom Report Writer functions or custom Service Based Architecture (SBA) service procedures.
  4. Request parameters from users for scripts without needing any additional programming.
  5. Group triggers, scripts and parameter lists together into development projects for easy maintenance and exporting.

The key features of the Database Tools are:

  • Synchronise and repair Dynamics GP Companies and Users with SQL Server Databases, Logins and Database Users.
  • Update Logins and passwords after moving to a new SQL Server or when creating test environments.
  • Clean up system tables and validate database integrity and table structures before upgrading to minimise upgrade issues.
  • Export and import selected data from multiple tables using XML for quick transfer of small amounts of data between systems or for backups.
  • The tools contain two types of features; Standard Mode and Advanced Mode:

    1. Standard Mode features can be used safely by all users.
    2. Advanced Mode features require system administrator or database owner (dbo) privileges and require expertise in Dexterity, Visual C#, Visual Basic.Net and/or SQL Server administration.