Implementing Node Builder: System Requirements

eOne SolutionsThis post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder; Node Builder is a product which allows additional eConnect nodes to be easily created for use with SmartConnect.

The version of Node Builder available to download, is Node Builder 2011. Neither the online nor downloadable manual specify any system requirements other than Microsoft Dynamics GP.

It’s important to note that Node Builder 2011 is not compatible with a named system database as it precedes this functionality.

A 2015 version of Node Builder is semi-available if required; I found this out by speaking to eOne’s support team. If you need to develop custom nodes against a named system database, you will need to contact eOne support to get a copy of Node Builder 2015.

Implementing Node Builder: What is Node Builder?

eOne SolutionsThis post is part of the series on Implementing Node Builder.

Node Builder is a complimentary product to the SmartConnect integration tool (which I blogged about a few months ago); SmartConnect works by providing an integration layer on top of eConnect which allows non-developers to create integrations for Microsoft Dynamics GP; Node Builder allows these same non-developers to create additional eConnect nodes which can be used in SmartConnect.

An eConnect node is a specific stored procedure that knows how to populate a table or set of tables within Microsoft Dynamics GP. A node also contains all of the Microsoft Dynamics GP business rules and validation which are applied if you were to update those tables through the Dynamics GP user interface.

Node Builder is an easy to use interface that is a lot like SmartList Builder; it allows you to choose the tables you want to populate and then choose the fields which will be available to be populated with the node. Node Builder lets you define your own rules about data validation; for example, you could check that an inventory item exists before you create a specific in transit inventory transfer.

The Node Builder Overview gives more details on the capabilities.

Implementing Node Builder: Series Index

eOne SolutionsEarlier this year I did a series of posts on the SmartConnect integration solution from eOne Solutions; I then followed up with a post on creating a simple General Journal integration.

In this series of posts I am going to take a look at the Node Builder product which allows you to easily create additional nodes for integration.

Continue reading “Implementing Node Builder: Series Index”

Create SmartConnect Journal – Standard Map: Conclusion

eOne SolutionsThis post is part of a series on creating a Journal – Standard integration using SmartConnect from eOne Solutions; I recently posted a series on Implementing SmartConnect.

Over the last few posts in this series, I have shown how to create a simple General Journal integration.

The process is slightly more involved than creating a similar integration, but the huge advantage is being able to schedule the integration to automatically run and select all files from a folder.

With Integration Manager, to allow multiple people to use the same integration you had to point it at a shared drive letter which all users had in common (and often not all did, due to being in different locations).

In addition, SmartConnect can also process the Excel spreadsheet directly, without requiring the user to save the active page down as a CSV; something which Excel really doesn’t want you to do.

The other main benefit of SmartConnect is that if there is an eConnect node available, it can integrate that type of record into Microsoft Dynamics GP, whereas Integration Manager could only use the ones available via the standard or eConnect adapters.

eOne Solutions also have a product called Node Builder which allows additional eConnect nodes to easily be created without the need for a developer. I’ll be taking a look at NodeBuilder in a future series.