Time and attendance Terminal auto start

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

As there are many time and attendance solutions that have specialized terminal equipment available, the Dynamics AX solutions might seem like a step back in user friendliness. A way to improve the experience for end users is to launch the terminal window directly when the terminal is turned on, so they don’t need to launch the window separately.

Dynamics 365 for Operations

For Dynamics 365 for Operations it is easy to just launch the URL with the right attributes in the browser to full screen. Use either mi=JmgRegistrationJobQueue for the job card terminal or mi=JmgRegistrationTouch for the job card device and add &limitednav=true on the end to restrict navigation access.
Go to the terminal setup (Production control > Setup > Manufacturing Execution > Configure job card Terminal or Configure job card for Devices) and add the user to log in directly. On the terminal you can turn off the “prompt for production area” to further limit the interaction.
Put the shortcut in the windows “Start up” folder. An example of the shortcut could be:

chrome.exe --start-fullscreen --app=https://[yourURL]/&cmp=[Company]&mi=JmgRegistrationTouch&limitednav=true

Dynamics AX 2012

When it comes to AX 2012 you can do this by using the .axc files in combination with an XML file to launch directly to the terminal window. I have even been able to do this in a Citrix environment.

Just use the ax32.exe startupCmd command and prompt an XML. Read Janet Blakes bloggpost to do this.

Dynamics Podcast // Episode 12 // Security and Licensing

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre
A panel full of Microsoft Business Solutions MVPs today. André Arnaud de Calavon and Sohaib Cheema joins us to talk about the importance of knowing security basics. We get in to some deep dive discussions into the in details and issues with managing security and licensing both for Dynamics 365 for Operations and Dynamics AX 2012.

Thank you to AXDATA for making this possible.
http://www.axdata.com

Hosts:
Fredrik Sætre — @AxFredrik
http://www.dynaxtips.com
Tommy Skaue — @Skaue
http://yetanotherax.com
Guests:
André Arnaud de Calavon — @DynamicsAXGeek
http://www.kaya-consulting.com
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Be a part of the community!
http://www.dynamicsuser.net/
http://community.dynamics.com/
http://www.iamcp.org/
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Don’t forget to Like and subscribe!
Music courtesy of Cannavo&Nesse

Common navigation in Update 4

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

I noticed that the global navigation features are implemented WAY better in Update 4 then earlier versions.

If you click the “waffle” (3×3 dot grid) in the top left corner in Update 4, you get the Office 365 apps dialogue instead of opening a new pane with Office 365.

update4waffle

Nice!

Dynamics 365 for Operations Update 4

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

In the recent post from Redmond we can read that Dynamics 365 for Operations is going to get platform Update 4 and it packs a punch. Here is a quick overview:

An ENTIRELY new work space design with rich embedded Power BI reports.
power-bi-in-d365-workspaceopsblog3

 

Release of the Mobility solution
opsblog4

Release of the interactive Gantt chart control for doing visual scheduling.
opsblog5

New feedback solution (which I hope is optional)
opsblog6

They are also from now on going to launch updates every month for the platform.
All in all this is a pretty large update and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

D365 Operations is available on-premise! …again.

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

In the latest blog post of Sri Srinivasan the news about an on-premise solution for Dynamics 365 for Operations is making a comeback.

Microsoft has been a bit back and forth on the topic, because when AX7 was released it had a road map that said an on-prem solution was in the works and it was disclosed that it was going to run on Azure Stack.
After a while this was redacted and when Dynamics 365 for Operations was launched, the only alternative was a SaaS solution and it would only be available in the cloud. That did not sit well with a lot of customers and partners and Microsoft went back to the drawing board.
At Summit 2017 we were presented with the hybrid cloud solution where parts of the application workloads would be available as an partially offline solution to ensure better operational trustworthiness on sites, but it would sync up to the mothership in the cloud. It would have to be a hybrid solution as many of the services would only reside in the cloud. This is now referred to as “Cloud and Edge”.

NOW we are at the stage where the business data will be able to stay on-prem indefinitely with the selection of the “local business data” deployment scenario. LCS will still handle the application and the benefit of Automated deployments are still there, but data will not leave the premise. Even an on-prem license through SA/BREP will be available!

When? Q2 CY2017!

The distribution options for Dynamics 365 for Operations should now cater to any business needs through the model best suited for the customer. Thank you Microsoft for listening to your customers and partners.

Take your pick!
sri-blog-post-grid-graphic

More information will be disclosed at D365 Tech17!

Dynamics Podcast // Episode 11 // It takes a village…

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

Audio only:

We talk to the head of AXUG which is the AX focused user group that is a part of Dynamic Communities Inc.. We’ve seen a great focus from Microsoft on them lately, so we’ll get to know everything that there is to know about them.

We’re also going to talk to Pepijn Richter who is the Director of ERP Marketing at Microsoft to tell why they are creating close bonds with this user organization We also get to ask Pepijn some questions we’ve been wondering about Dynamics 365, AX and CRM.

Visit Dynamic Communities and join:
http://dynamiccommunities.com
http://axug.com
http://crmug.com

Join Tommy at Dynamics 365 for Operations Tech Conf. 2017
March 12-15 2017 in Seattle, WA, USA
http://d365tech.com

Join us both at Dynamic Communities Summit 2017 EMEA:
April 4-6 2017 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
http://summitemea.com

Other places to go in 2017:
http://ugfocus.com
http://axugsummit.com
http://ignite.microsoft.com
http://build.microsoft.com (If you can get tickets)
http://inspire.microsoft.com (Formerly know as World Wide Partner Conference)

Also check out the Enterprise Software Podcasts event calendar for even more events:
http://enterprisesoftwarepodcast.com/calendar/

For everything Dynamics 365:
http://dynamics.com

Visit our official website: http://dynpodcast.com

Hosts:
Fredrik Sætre — @AxFredrik
http://www.dynaxtips.com

Tommy Skaue — @Skaue
http://yetanotherax.com

Guests:
Heather Williams – General manager AXUG at Dynamic Communities Inc.
@DCI_Heather

Pepijn Richter – Director of ERP Marketing at Microsoft Corp.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Be a part of the community!
http://www.dynamicsuser.net/
http://community.dynamics.com/
http://www.iamcp.org/
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Don’t forget to Like and subscribe!

Music courtesy of Cannavo&Nesse

Dynamics Podcast // Episode 9 // Appsource development

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

Ellipse Solutions was one of the initial partners with multiple solutions when Apsource was launched. Mikhail Roytman and Solution architect Denis Guryev from Ellipse Solutions joins us to talk about their experience with Appsource and development for Dynamics 365 for Operations in General.

Check out Appsource!
http://www.appsource.com

Hosts:
Fredrik Sætre — @AxFredrik
http://www.dynaxtips.com

Tommy Skaue — @Skaue
http://yetanotherax.com

Guests:
Denis Guryev (Solution Architect/Developer)
Mikhail Roytman (Partner) — @MikhailRoytman

Ellipse Solutions
http://www.ellipsesolutions.com

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Be a part of the community!
http://www.dynamicsuser.net/
http://community.dynamics.com/
http://www.iamcp.org/
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Music courtesy of Cannavo&Nesse

Quick Tip: New warehouse app and scaling

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

Supply chain and warehouse management guru, fellow countryman, fellow MVP and part time Pied piper Kurt Hatlevik just posted about the new warehouse app for Dynamics 365 for Operations. Read it here!

What a nice menu. Click for full image.

You can also check out the setup procedure from the AX Wiki here: https://ax.help.dynamics.com/en/wiki/install-and-configure-dynamics-365-for-operations-warehousing/

Now I played around with it a bit and I have to say I really like it and I’m so excited to see the nice interface and how intuitive and informative it is.

I did come across a neat little nicety while testing it, and that is the fact that you can adjust the font and layout size. This can be set so that you have all information on a single pane of glass and not be required to swap tabs to find info about the object you’re scanning.

Instead of this:

Notice the tabs on top?

You get this:

View all the data!

Doesn’t that look great on my Lumia 950?!

Just go to Display settings and adjust the Layout to 0,5 and flip your phone horizontal.

Change the settings here... Click for full image size.

Not rocket science, but still nice to know…

Subscribe to the Dynamics Podcast and look forward to us getting Markus Fogelberg from Microsoft on to talk to us about the new app in the beginning of February!

Quick tip: FastTab summaries

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

The FastTab is the grouping of fields that you can collapse and expand. They replaced the vertical tabs in the older versions (even though some forms still use tabs). It made the forms grow vertically and did take some time getting used to, but it did solve the problem that fields where not visible unless you had the tab open, even if your screen had room to spear. However there is another very large advantage on the FastTabs layout versus the tabular, and that is the FastTab summaries!

fasttabsummaries1

These are fields located to the left on the fast tab header. They contain elements within a fast tab grouping and are visible even if it is minimized/collapsed.

The form comes with a set of standard elements, but you can also select your own fields to be added.

Let’s say you want the Item group visible on the “Manage cost” fast tab… Just right click the field in the form and tick the “Personalize: Item group”.

FastTabSummaries2.png

In the “Personalize” dialogue, tick the “Include in FastTab summary”

fasttabsummaries3

Now refreshing this form will now show the Item group on the “Manage cost” FastTab.

FastTabSummaries4.png

You now no longer have to expand this to control that parameter. So in effect you could get a glance at most of the key parameters in a single screen. GREAT!

Oh… and you can also jump directly to a fast tab and expand it by clicking ALT + the number which the FastTab is located as from the top of the form. In the form in the image above, ALT + 9 would take you to the “Manage cost” FastTab.

Default order setting on items has changed

Posted on by Fredrik Sætre

I was setting up for a demo and I noticed that there has been a minor change in the way that you setup your default order settings.

defaultorderchanges
Comparison from Dynamics AX 7 and Dynamics 365 for Operations

The site specific order settings are now gone and now are now merged with the default order settings and it has now got a “Rank” of the settings.

defaultorderchanges2.png

Rank 0 has the ability to add a default site. This is the record similar to the old “Default order settings”. “Site specific settings” in earlier versions are now the new records with different ranks in this list.

defaultorderchanges3.png

Not a major change, but it did put me off a bit… and it is nice to not have to go to multiple screens as well as I would imagine that the ranking can be used for supply chain management in some way shape of form.

Please comment if you have additional information.