AX EP Role Centre inside Outlook [Short n Sweet :)]

I was just playing around with Outlook and AX trying to see see if the Role centre could be got into outlook as a default homepage. Well the simple way is to add the EP link as the defailt homepage , but it didnt look to good , with the menu etc. However if you append '&RUNONCLIENT=1' at the end on the EP RC URL, the menu's get chopped off and you see the Role centre real cool. Say if the URL is 'http://arijit:150/sites/DynamicsAx/Enterprise%20Portal/RoleCenterCEO.aspx?WCMP=CEU' then append '&RUNONCLIENT=1' at the end of the url [http://arijit:150/sites/DynamicsAx/Enterprise%20Portal/RoleCenterCEO.aspx?WCMP=CEU&RUNONCLIENT=1] and the heads of the MOSS/WSS site get chopped off. Pretty kool. See the screenshot below from my Outlook default homepage with AX CEO RC :)

Happy DAXing :-)

AX Intelligent Data Management Tool : Inside look

After a few hitches I've managed finally to get the IDMF started up and running and the results are pretty nice. One prerequisite is that you must have XRef done on your DB (Production :-(). Also during the post install steps watch out for the windows application log coz that goes full and you have to clean it up. However after you complete the post install steps and have executed the batches, the results are nice. To avoid the XRef* tables occupy the top tables in terms of rows and size, do not run the full XRef, just XRef the data model. Here are some screens (Done on AX 2009 SP1; WIN 2003 R2SP2,SQL 2008 ENT).

Analysis Dashboard:

Dashboard Closeup:

Analysis Details:

Data Purging (Visual XRef):

The IDM is not for Production use and should be only used in a Sandbox/ Dev environment. This is a Pre Release version . The Production build will have some more features :) like application log control...

Happy DAXING :)

The Microsoft Dynamics Top 100 Influential People 2009

Dynamics World has published the “The Microsoft Dynamics Top 100 Influential People 2009" list. This list is intended to provoke thought and reward those that have achieved something extraordinary within Microsoft Dynamics. Click on the link to view the top 100.

The Microsoft Dynamics Top 100 Influential People 2009

"Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009" is now available

"Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009" book is now available at AMAZON. :) Click on the link below to order.

You can also download the sample codes used in this book and download the bonus content : Upgrade to AX 2009 from MS Learning website.

Click here to download.

Happy DAXing :)

Intelligent Data Management Framework for Microsoft Dynamics AX

The Intelligent Data Management Framework for Microsoft Dynamics® AX helps administrators optimize Dynamics AX database layout by intelligently monitoring index usage, index layout, fragmentation and query patterns thru indices. The framework allows reduction of the database size by purging transaction records from a set of related entities, while maintaining the consistency and integrity of production data. The Intelligent Data Management Framework provides customers and partners the ability to identify and discover related entities based on Microsoft Dynamics AX metadata and to determine the purging criteria for entities and transactions. The Intelligent Data Management Framework also analyzes the production database to determine current usage patterns and assesses the health of the Microsoft Dynamics AX application.
At RTM, this Framework will include “Archive to Offline” Instance Support.

Click here to download [ Requires Partnersource Access]

Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 has RTM'ed today :-)

The 2nd book from Microsoft Press on Microsoft Dynamics AX has RTM'ed today and is available on Amazon to preorder. As per sources, this book will be available from June 10th onwards. I had a small involvement in this book and I recommend this to all AX 2009 developers. This is a must read if you want to get your fundamentals cleared. Lots of detailed information on AX 2009 Architecture, EP & Role centre, Workflows, AIF, Performance and so on. Click on the image below to preorder.

AX 2009 & Office Business Applications [OBA]

A small example of Dynamics AX 2009 , OBA, .NET BC & Web Services (AIF). I found this OBA thing pretty interesting and did a simple demo which enables a developer to use VSTO to customize Excel which connects to AX 2009 using 2 ways (.NET BC & AIF WS) and retreives the customer list and populates the excel sheet.

A very simple example with great potential. Basically the demo consists of customizing the Ribbon in Excel 2007, adding buttons which fetches the customer master from AX 2009 using .NET BC & AIF WS. The sample code (VS 2008) is also uploaded. You can download this and customize it. I have used the base AX CustomerService Service as a sample WS. You need to change the Web Reference in the project file.

The sample project file is uploaded below.


Happy DAX-ing :)

AX Application Launcher

I have often seen that it becomes difficult to manage AX Configurations in an implementation. Considering the fact that one has multiple instances in any implementation like Development, test, UAT, Pre Production, Production, Training and DR, it becomes quite confusing to centrally manage these and at the same time distribute these to end users. Also asking end users to manually select configurations sometimes becomes quite confusing to end users. Moreover deploying .axc and .url files to all end users becomes quite a pain :-(. To relieve this pain in one of my implementations, I came up with an AX Launcher which can be installed on each users machine . It creates 2 local folders , one for .axc files and other for .url files . This launcher then shows all the files in groups to the user. These 2 folders can now be remotely updated/ synched by the admin so when new configurations are available, it is dropped into these folders and end users can access them. Also when existing configurations are no longer used, they can be remotely removed from the folders :)
The Application looks like this...



There is an installer which I created which can be installed in users PC/Laptops (I tried with WIN XP and WIN 2K3).
You need .NET 3.0 framework to install this. The Installer created 1 root folder "AXConfig" in C:\ of the users PC and inside that folder creates 2 folders "AXRichClient" and "AXWebClient". You need to have Admin privilidges to install this. In the "AXRichClient", drop some .axc files and in the "AXWebClient" drop in the EP shortcut files - .url". The application is set to autosync with this folder every 10 mins. However the sync can also be done manually. I have attached the video on how to install the files and how to use it.



For testing purposes, I have uploaded the installer files [LauncherSetup.msi & setup.exe] as well as the video file. Please see the video file before installing. In case you want to try it out, please download these 2 files into the same folder and run setup.exe. Please do this in a test environment :). In case of any bugs, let me know.



Happy DAX-ing :)

Managing Your Supply Chain using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

Scott Hamilton has released his book on AX 2009 SCM. Like his previous title, this edition for AX 2009 is a must read for all AX SCM Consultants who are implementing AX 2009.

"Managing Your Supply Chain addresses the need for an overall understanding about using Microsoft Dynamics AX to manage manufacturing and distribution businesses. The targeted reader includes those individuals implementing or considering Dynamics AX as their ERP system as well as those providing sales and implementation services. Firms involved with a system selection process may be considering Dynamics AX as a candidate package, and this book can help reduce selection risks, evaluate system fit and needed customizations, and provide a vision of an integrated system. The book can help businesses involved in implementing and using Dynamics AX by accelerating the learning process, reducing implementation time and costs, and reducing user resistance to change. It suggests changes that can improve system usage and revitalize a wayward implementation. For firms providing sales and services related to Dynamics AX, this book can accelerate the employee learning process for providing knowledgeable customer service in sales, support, and professional assistance. "

This book has received very good reviews and is available at Amazon for pre order. Click on the image below to Pre Order your copy.

AX goes Green with envi :)

The AX 2009 SP1 Environmental Sustainability dashboard & functionality was released for AX 2009 SP1 on 1st Feb 2009. It is available for download at partnersource and increases the AX dashboard count by 1 :)

The Environmental Sustainability Dashboard and functionality for Microsoft Dynamics AX will help companies understand, many for the first time, what their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are so that they can:
• have greater visibility to environmental costs and potential risks,
• find opportunities for significant cost savings,
• determine a definitive measurement against which reduction goals can be measured,
• make better informed decisions.
The dashboard is shown below:

Click here to download the Dashboard along with related documentation.