Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features: Schedule Check Links

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features series where I am going to echo the posts from the Dynamics GP Support and Services Blog, while adding some commentary, on the new features introduced in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release which is now available.

This post is on the Schedule Check Links System enhancement.

Check Links is a maintenance utility which can be used to correct data problems; it needs all users off the system to run as it will change data. This new featue allows Check Links to be scheduled to run out of hours without needing someone connected to their PC; Dynamics GP needs to be running and logged into the correct company as it uses the Report Scheduler functionality.

There is an optional setup step where you can set a default location for the Checks Links reports to be saved via the Report Scheduler Setup window (Administration area page » Routines » Company » Report Setup) (if you don;t set this default location, you will need to specify the location each time you schedule a check links):

Report Scheduler Setup

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Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features: Bulk edit SmartList columns

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features series where I am going to echo the posts from the Dynamics GP Support and Services Blog, while adding some commentary, on the new features introduced in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release which is now available.

This post is on the Bulk edit SmartList columns System enhancement.

With the release of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 update you now have the ability to mass edit the columns on a SmartList.

In order to see this new functionality you will need to start by opening SmartList (Microsoft Dynamics GP > SmartList). You’ll then navigate to the specific SmartList you want to edit, Sales > Customers > * for example.

In the Change Column Display window, there are now checkboxes allowing you to select multiple columns:

Change Column Display window

If you want to remove more than one column you can mark them, then click Remove.

Similarly, if you mark multiple columns and use the arrow buttons on the right you can reorder more than one column at a time.

This is quite a nice addition which will make reorganising the columns quicker and easier to do.

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Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features: Maximum print output to screen

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features series where I am going to echo the posts from the Dynamics GP Support and Services Blog, while adding some commentary, on the new features introduced in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release which is now available.

This post is on the Maximum print output to screen System enhancement.

This new feature is apparently the most requested enhancement for Dynamisc GP. When reports are printed to screen they will automatically be maximised to full screen. This feature is not available in the web client, due to the different user experience with printing.

I am really hoping that there is an option to control this (but fear there is not); I use either 28 inch 2k or 4k resolution monitors and the last thing I want to happen is have every widow maximise automaticaally. In Dynamics GP 2018 R2 the main window launched maximised with a change to the Dex.ini file which you can reset back.

When I get hands on with the install of 2020, Iam hoping there is a Dex.ini or other setting to stop the maximising to full screen of the reports.

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Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features: TLS 1.2

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features series where I am going to echo the posts from the Dynamics GP Support and Services Blog, while adding some commentary, on the new features introduced in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release which is now available.

This post is on the TLS 1.2 System enhancement.

I discovered in January 2020 that I’d encountered problems with the workflow email actions due to TLS 1.0 being retired from browsers and mobile pgones (cellphones). With the Fall 2020 release, this issue with web services is resolved along with the following features which will now be able to function with TLS 1.0 and 1.1 disabled:

  • E-mailing from within Dynamics GP when using both the Exchange Server Type as well as the SMTP e-mail that is used for the Workflow feature in Dynamics GP
  • The Microsoft Dynamics GP Web Client
  • Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP

Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP still requires TLS 1.0 when using a SQL Server database for the Authorization Store. If you reinstall Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP to an Active Directory partition per this blog article you can operate with TLS 1.0 and 1.1 disabled.

This strikes me as odd that the Dynamics Security Data Store on SQL Server, which is the recommended location, still requires TLS 1.0. Microsoft haven’t explained why this is the case, but I assume there is some sort of technical reason.

In terms of functionality that still requires TLS 1.0, the refreshable Excel reports that can be deployed from Dynamics GP are still using the SQLOLEDB provider, which requires TLS 1.0. You can manually update the connection string in your Excel files to use the SQLNCLI11 provider as a workaround.

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Fix for recent Word template issue available for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 in Year End Update

Microsoft Dynamics GPThe recent problem with opening Word templates generated from Microsoft Dynamics GP, which was already fixed in Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release, has just had a fix released for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016.

The fix can be downloaded from the patch releases page on CustomerSource lock in the U.S. 2020 Year-end Update in Dynamics GP which is available for Dynamics GP and Dynamics GP 2016.

It’s important to note that Dynamics GP 2016 is out of mainstream support in July 2021 so that version will not receive any further year-end updates for regulatory changes, so you will need to organise an upgrade to the latest version next year.

Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features: Support for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features series where I am going to echo the posts from the Dynamics GP Support and Services Blog, while adding some commentary, on the new features introduced in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release which is now available.

This post is on the Support for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) System enhancement.

The Fall 2020 release adds the ability to use Multi-Factor Authentication for e-mail functionality in Dynamics GP; this functionality uses an App Registration in Azure Active Directory along with Microsoft 365 to provide a second form of authentication.

The process of configuring this App Registration is covered in the What’s New section for the Fall 2020 release on the Dynamics GP Docs site.

The configuration in Microsoft Dynamics GP is done via Company E-mail Setup:

Company E-mail Setup

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Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features: Series Index

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release New Features series index for the series where I am going to echo the posts from the Dynamics GP Support and Services Blog on the new features introduced in the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release which is now available.

The series index, below, will automatically update here on azurecurve|Ramblings of a Dynamics GP Consultant as posts are published; if you’re reading elsewhere, check back to this series index post:

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azurecurve ClassicPress Plugins: Widget Announcements

ClassicPress PluginsThis is part of the azurecurve ClassicPress Plugins which introduces the plugins I have available for ClassicPress.

The plugin I am going to cover in this post, is a brand new one written for ClassicPress; Widget Announcements.

Functionality

Announce holidays, events, achievements and notable historical figures in a widget.

Announcements can be made:

  • One off
  • Monthly
  • Annually
  • Good Friday
  • Easter Sunday
  • Easter Monday
  • Monthly on the nth day (e.g. 2nd Wednesday of every month)
  • Annually on the nth day of the month (e.g. 4th Thursday of November every year)

Announcements are created as a custom post type and can have details, an image, additional text after the image and can be assigned to multiple categories. A widget can be deployed to a sidebar or other widget area and include the announcements from a category.

Download

The plugin can be downloaded via my Development site.

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Hands on with the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release: Securing the Web Services for external access

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Hands on with the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release series where I am hands on with the newly released Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release.

When using the Web Services for Microsoft Dynamics GP with external access for Workflow approvals, it is important that the webs services be secured to minimise possible attack vectors. Everything covered in this series is required to install and configure the web services for internal use only

I covered the process for enable a secure connection for the web services a year or so ago which include a few extra steps:

Enabling Secure Connection for Web Services
Before You Begin
Update Certificate Binding
Update Bindings
Update Legacy Endpoint
Update Native Endpoint
Update GP Workflow Service
Final Service Configuration
Configure Workflow Setup

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Hands on with the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release: Verify Web Services

Microsoft Dynamics GPThis post is part of the Hands on with the Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release series where I am hands on with the newly released Microsoft Dynamics GP Fall 2020 Release.

The final step with the Web Services, now that they have been configured, is to verify that they are working correctly.

There are three checks which I recommend when verifying the web services:

  1. Is the service running?
  2. Have the security objects been deployed?
  3. Are the endpoints working?

To check that the service account is running, open the Services applet from Computer Management (or hit Win+R and typeServices.msc) and make sure the Microsoft Dynamics GP Service Host is set to a Startup Type of Automatic and that the service is Running.

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