Released on = May 10, 2006, 4:18 pm

Press Release Author = Alba Spectrum Group

Industry = Computers

Press Release Summary = Microsoft Dynamics GP Modification, Customization, Custom
development, Reporting and Scripting overview.

Press Release Body = Alba Spectrum Group
USA: +1-866-528-0577 ou +1-630-961-5918, Europa: +44-20-8123-2580 ou +45-36-96-5520,
México DF: +52-55-535-04027, São Paulo (Brasil): +55-11-3444-4949,
help@albaspectrum.com skype: albaspectrum

Microsoft Dynamics GP Modification, Customization, Custom development, Reporting and
Scripting overview.

Microsoft Great Plains or Microsoft Dynamics GP currently version 9.0 has variety of
customization tools. General directions for so-called Project Green or Microsoft
Dynamics project expose more Microsoft Dynamics GP business logic to be modified in
.Net by Visual Studio developer in C# or VB. eConnect, originally created for
Microsoft Great Plains eCommerce developers will be expanding the number of
Microsoft Dynamics GP object in its scope, plus web services will allow to resolve
eConnect objects for .Net developer. When we are talking about modifications, we
think about light custom pieces, when older tools, such as Microsoft Dexterity or
Modifier with VBA (this one seems to be in phasing out mode, so you need to make
your judging prior to coding), Report Writer (reports with light possible Dexterity
modifications) and new tools such as Extender. Let's come through the tools
one-by-one
. Microsoft Dexterity. This tool can help you with small adjustments as well as
will huge customizations for Microsoft Great Plains. Dexterity however requires
programmer with some experience, because it is unique for Great Plains and not wide
spread on the market as Visual Basic, for example. Dexterity customization is
usually done for DYNAMICS.DIC dictionary in Sanscript scripting language, you modify
existing Dex forms (such as SOP Entry, making it alternate form) or create new
Dexterity forms (preferred over modifying existing), then you extract your custom
piece from DYNAMICS.DIC and distribute in the form of so-called "chink" file
(*.CNK). The problems of using inexperienced programmer (who could learn as she/he
goes) are multiple restrictions or rules, such as inability to change existing
tables - you create new table instead, upgrade issues with existing customized
forms, conception of Dex triggers, combining of dex and SQL Procedures logics,
Dexterity source code availability and programming, etc.
. Modifier with VBA. This tool is probably legacy now, because it is going out of
the scenes with the advance of Microsoft .Net and VB.Net as the successor of old
Visual Basics (which subset is VBA or Visual Basic for Applicatons). The idea is
simple - Modifier uses Dexterity tool (user friendly restricted version of dex) to
create so-called modified forms, where you can take off some fields, add new, change
the name of existing, etc. Then you attach VBA scripts to the fields, especially
new ones and so modify the logic of the form. Your customization is stored in
DYNAMICS.VBA or custom dictionary with VBA extension. Again as we said above - you
should think about longevity of your customization and its future.
. Developer Toolkit. We suggest you to discover this tool on your own and enjoy.
Please be sure, however - if you are MBS VAR and plan your modification as the
product for the market - you should think about Dexterity, if you plan to extend fat
client, or maybe eConnect directly - if you are thinking about modifications to
Business Portal
. Extender. Make your own discovery. We respect new tools and the efforts of MBS
to design user or functional-consultant friendly modification tools, you should be
ready to some restrictions, and they are understandable for the first versions of
the module
. ReportWriter modifications. In Great Plains Report Writer you can modify such
important reports as SOP Invoice Long form, placing logo on it, to be the first
idea. The technology of ReportWriter is Dexterity and you can use it intuitively or
even add Dex finctions with rw_ prefics to be enabled in ReportWriter customization

Give us a call 1-866-528-0577 or help@albaspectrum.com if you need additional
information or directions.

About Alba Spectrum Technologies. Alba Spectrum Technologies is joint venture of
several IT and business consulting companies, now operating as single business
entity. We have local presence in the USA, LATAM & Brazil, Germany, Russia, South
East Asia and Oceania. We believe in the coexistence of Java (J2EE, EJB, Linux,
Unix), Oracle and Microsoft (.Net, C#, VB) platforms and systems and specialize in
several product lines and cross platform integration, customization, heterogeneous
report design, plus we provide ERP/CRM systems comparison and reviews, not being
committed to just on MRP platform. We also stake on XML cross-platform data
interchange to be advanced in the coming decade.

Alba Spectrum Technologies websites:
http://www.albaspectrum.com
http://www.greatplains.com.mx
http://www.enterlogix.com.br

Alba Spectrum Group serves USA, Europe, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela.





Web Site = http://www.albaspectrum.com

Contact Details = Alba Spectrum Group
USA: +1-866-528-0577 ou +1-630-961-5918, Europa: +44-20-8123-2580 ou +45-36-96-5520,
México DF: +52-55-535-04027, São Paulo (Brasil): +55-11-3444-4949,
help@albaspectrum.com skype: albaspectrum