Windows 10 Technical Preview: Series Index

WindowsWith the release of the Windows 10 Technical Preview, it is time for a divergence from posting about Microsoft Dynamics GP. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was posting about the Windows 8 Developer Preview, but looking back it was actually just over three years ago.

In this series, I’m going to start with the installation process and then take a look at some of the new features and differences between Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

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Add Persistent Mapped Drive For Shared Files

Microsoft Dynamics GPMicrosoft Dynamics GP and related products, such as Integration Manager, have a few files which need to be shared between client machines. This can, and in a lot of cases should, be done using a shared folder accessed via the UNC path (e.g. \\file\Dynamics Central to access the Dynamics Central folder on the server called file).

However, if any of these files need to be accessed by users then using the UNC path isn’t the friendliest of ways. Instead a mapped drive can be used which shows up in Windows Explorer and allows the user to easily access it and each user needs the drive mapped under the same folder.

While mapped drives can be created manually on each client machine this would take while. Instead we can create a batch file which can be run on each machine which will add the mapped drive for us:

net use M: /delete
net use M: "\\file\Dynamics Central" /persistent:YES

The first line deletes any existing M: and the second then creates a persistent (one which will be retained when the PC is rebooted) mapped drive on the drive letter M using the Dynamics Central folder on the server called file.

Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Conclusion

FastpathIn this series of posts I have taken a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

Over the course of the series I have run through the installation and configuration of several parts of Config AD, but there is still a lot of functionality that I haven’t covered.

For example, I have shown how to associate a GP user with a Windows AD account, but not how to disassociate them. I also didn’t show how SSRS security could also be assigned to users in Config AD; largely because I didn’t have SSRS installed and configured on my test box.

The main reason I haven’t covered even more than I have is that I enjoy playing around with different software and want to move onto something else. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to have a go with Config AD which I found easy to install, easy to configure and that it provides a lot of functionality which brings together the security setup of Dynamics GP into one location.

Something I find very annoying in Dynamics GP is that to create a user, grant company access and assign roles you need to enter the System Password at least three times (unless you’re just copying security from another user wholesale), but Config AD allows you to configure all of this after logging into it once.

If you’re looking for an add-on which will both simplify the maintenance of Dynamics GP security (and I assume the effect would be the same for the other Dynamics products it integrates with) and allow for single sign on, then Config AD is definitely worth considering.

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Configuring Config AD Desktop

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

With the Config AD Desktop installed, we need to configure it for use; many of the steps in this section are only required the first time you run Config AD Desktop on a machine.

Start Config AD Desktop from the Windows Start Screen (or Start menu for those on an older version of Windows) and click on File » options:

Fastpath Config AD Desktop

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Installing Config AD Desktop

FastpathIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

To install the Config AD Desktop run the setup.exe in the Config AD Desktop 2.1.3 folder and accept the security warning:

Open File - Security Warning

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Installing Config AD Desktop Prerequisites

FastpathIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

The Config AD Desktop requires that Config AD itself be installed. The installation on the client is the same as on the Domain Controller with one exception.

On the Add Active Directory Right-Click Menu tab set the option to Don’t add either menu:

Fastpath Configurator AD: Add Active Directory Right-Click Menu

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Configuring The Service

FastpathIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

With the service installed, the next stage is to configure the service. This is done by accessing Config AD and then opening the Config AD Options (File » Options) and then select the Service tab:

On this tab there are several options which can be enabled/disabled:

  1. Disable/Delete Feature Enabled – When this option is enabled a choice can be made as to the interval the process cycles at and whether Dynamics GP users should be disabled or deleted when the AD account is deleted.
  2. Auto Logout Feature – This option will logout users after the specified number of minutes inactivity.
  3. AD Group Security – This option will provision new users and assign/revoke access to GP users based upon AD Group membership of AD Groups that are setup in Config AD for GP access

As well as the above options, you also need to specify the Login name that should be used to access SQL Server.

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Installing The Service

FastpathIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

Config AD includes a service which can run on any machine within the network; the service can automatically log users out after a period of inactivity and will also disable/delete GP user accounts when the AD user is deleted.

A service account is needed to run the Config AD service; this account needs to be a Domain User account and also needs to be either a Domain Admin or have the following permissions:

  1. Read Property and List Contents permission to the Deleted Objects container in Active Directory (non-admin users will not have these permissions by default, but they can be granted: further details available from Microsoft Support).
  2. Read All Properties permission to the container(s) where your users are located.
  3. Log on as a service permission.
  4. A SQL Login on the SQL Server for the domain user.

With a suitable service account, find the Fastpath.ADServiceSetup.msi in the /FPConfigAD 5.4.0.0/Config AD Service 3.3.0 folder.

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: First Login With Single Sign-On

FastpathIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

Once a user has been created or associated, the first time that user logs into GP they will need to link the GP and Windows passwords. When Dynamics GP is started, the user ID will default in; enter the password (if the user was created from Config AD the password will be set to the Config AD Options) and click OK:

Welcome to Microsoft Dynamics GP

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Implementing Fastpath’s Config AD: Install Single Sign-On

FastpathIn this series of posts I’m going to take a look at the Config AD product from Fastpath which adds single sign-on to the Dynamics GP desktop client; you can find my series index here.

The point of Fastpath’s Config AD is to make life easier by removing the number of usernames and passwords a user needs to be entered to access Dynamics GP. In the previous posts in this series I have associated an exiting AD user with an existing Dynamics GP user and then created a new GP user from an AD one.

For the user to benefit from this integration we need to install some code into Dynamics GP. This is done by installing the Fastpath Single Sign-On. In the FPSSO folder double click the setup.exe. On the security warning click on Run:

Open File - Security Warning

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