#GPPT Installing GP Power Tools (Upgrading from SDT, Silent Installs and more)

Now that GP Power Tools has been out for a little while and I have recently released a hotfix that improves the installer as well as fixes some issues found with the tool, it is time to explain how the installer works and answer some frequently asked questions.

Please note that some of the information in this article only relates to the build 20 hotfix (Last Modified: 19-Aug-2015) or later. If you are unsure what build you have, just go and download the latest installer from the Winthrop website. If you look at the installer’s properties, the File Version will show as XX.0.20.4 or later.

Below are the questions and their answers:

Do I have to uninstall the Support Debugging Tool before installing GP Power Tools?

No, there is no need to uninstall the Support Debugging Tool from Microsoft Dynamics GP if you already have it installed. GP Power Tools and its installer have special code built in for handling the upgrade from the Support Debugging Tool to GP Power Tools.

What happens when upgrading from the Support Debugging Tool to GP Power Tools?

When the GP Power Tools installer detects the Debugger.dic file, it will install an additional Debugger.cnk file and automatically unchunk the file. The now extracted Debugger.dic dictionary will then run some upgrade code. The purpose of this code is to update the product name and file paths in the Dynamics.set launch file so they refer to GP Power Tools instead of the Support Debugging Tool.

The step to update the launch file is needed because the Support Debugging Tool and GP Power Tools share the same product ID 5261, and the Dynamics.set is not updated when installing a chunk for a product ID that already exists in the launch file.

Before you ask, I needed to re-use the same product ID to avoid breaking all the scripts that use Helper Functions that call with name “” in dictionary 5261. Also, it would be unwise to have both products installed at the same time as they would clash.

Next, the installer will install and unchunk the GPPTools.cnk as well as installing the DLL files needed for the .Net scripting functionality. The now extracted GPPTools.dic dictionary also runs some upgrade code, which will remove the now redundent Support Debugging Tool files.

What happens to all the data and settings I had in the Support Debugging Tool?

All the Support Debugging Tool’s settings are stored in a Debugger.xml file which will be located in the the Data folder or in a shared location if that has been set up.

After GP Power Tools installs and creates its tables in the System Database, it will look for the Debugger.xml file and import it to restore the data and settings.

You can restore a different Debugger.xml or backup to a Debugger.xml file at any time from the Setup Backup and Restore window in GP Power Tools.

Do I have to uninstall when installing a later build of GP Power Tools?

No, You can just install the later build over the top to update the existing instance. You can also use this feature to reinstall or repair an existing instance.

How can I uninstall a specific instance of GP Power Tools?

You can either run the installer and select the instance to be removed from the list of existing instances, or you can select the specific instance from the Control Panel >> Programs and Feature and uninstall it.

Why does the installer stop me uninstalling GP Power Tools when it is still installed in Microsoft Dynamics GP?

The GP Power Tools installer does not want to break your Microsoft Dynamics GP application. If the GP Power Tools files were removed before the product was removed from the Dynamics.set launch file, you will would get missing dictionary errors next time you launched GP.

You must uninstall GP Power Tools from inside the application using the About GP Power Tools window first. This will also remove the security and navigation entries it added and give you the option to remove the SQL objects created. Before removing the tables, GP Power Tools will back up their data to the Debugger.xml file.

Once, the GP Power Tools dictionary is removed from the Dynamics.set launch file and the addin DLLs have been renamed, your Microsoft Dynamics GP system can restart without issues. Now you can run the installer to complete the uninstall.

Can I do a Silent Install of GP Power Tools?

Yes, you can. From build 20 hotfix onwards, the installer supports performing a silent install from a command line with administrator privileges. You can specify the Microsoft Dynamics GP Instance and path to install to.

Below are examples of the syntax:

Installing to default instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP

GPPowerTools_14.00.0020.exe /s INSTALL=TRUE TARGETDIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\GP2015\"

Installing to default instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP specifying instance name

GPPowerTools_14.00.0020.exe /s INSTALL=TRUE TARGETDIR=" C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\GP2015\" DYNINSTDESC="(Default)"

Installing to a specified instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP

GPPowerTools_14.00.0020.exe /s INSTALL=TRUE TARGETDIR=" C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\GP2015R2\" DYNINSTDESC="GP2015-R2"

Notes:

• The top two examples are essentially the same, if using the default instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP, then you don’t need to specify the instance name. If you do wish to specify the instance name then use “(Default)” for default instance.
• When specifying the instance, it must match an existing GP instance as it will be checked in the registry.
• When specifying the path, it must contain a Dynamics.exe of the same version as it will also be checked.
• You can add an additional logging option if desired, add /l=<path to logfile> to the end of the command line above.

Can I do a Silent Uninstall of GP Power Tools?

Yes, you can. From build 28 onwards, the installer supports performing a silent uninstall from a command line with administrator privileges. You can specify the Microsoft Dynamics GP Instance and path to install to.

Below are examples of the syntax:

Installing to default instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP

GPPowerTools_18.00.0028.exe /s UNINSTALL=TRUE TARGETDIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\GP2018\"

Installing to default instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP specifying instance name

GPPowerTools_18.00.0028.exe /s UNINSTALL=TRUE TARGETDIR=" C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\GP2018\" DYNINSTDESC="(Default)"

Installing to a specified instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP

GPPowerTools_18.00.0028.exe /s UNINSTALL=TRUE TARGETDIR=" C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics\GP2018R2\" DYNINSTDESC="GP2018-R2"

Notes:

• The top two examples are essentially the same, if using the default instance of Microsoft Dynamics GP, then you don’t need to specify the instance name. If you do wish to specify the instance name then use “(Default)” for default instance.
• When specifying the instance, it must match an existing GP instance as it will be checked in the registry.
• When specifying the path, it must be the path the product was installed to and the product must be uninstalled from the Dynamics.set launch file (or the launch file must be deleted).
• You can add an additional logging option if desired, add /l=<path to logfile> to the end of the command line above.

I have multiple installation instances on my system, can I install GP Power Tools for the other instances?

Yes, just run the installer again and select the option to create or update an instance. Then when asked to select the instance, just select a different instance from the list. You can also perform a silent install to a different instance.

The list of instances is read from the registry and so will only contain instances actually installed using the Microsoft Dynamics GP installer.

I have manually created additional application folders, can I install GP Power Tools to the additional folders?

There are times were you might have additional Microsoft Dynamics GP application folders with different products or customisations installed. These folders are often created by manually copying the application folder and editing the paths in the Dynamics.set and Dex.ini files.

These additional folders will not show up as instances in the installer. So use the installer for the actual instance instances first. Then you can copy the files from the installed instance to the additional folders. You will need to locate the chunk files in the appropriate C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Dynamics GP\{GUID} folder.

Hint: Use right click >> Properties >> Dictionary tab to confirm the versions of the chunk files.

Copy these files to the application folder:

• Application.GpPowerTools.dll
• Application.GpPowerTools.xml
• Application.GpPowerTools.Metadata.dll (GP 2015 or later)
• Application.GpPowerTools.Metadata.xml (GP 2015 or later)
• GPPTools.dic
• GPPTools.pdf
• GPPTools.txt
• GPPTools_License.doc
• Dex_Full.chm
• QlmLicenseLib.dll

Copy these files to the application/Addins folder:

• WinthropDC.GpPowerToolsVB.dll
• WinthropDC.GpPowerToolsVC.dll

You will need to run Microsoft Dynamics GP as Administrator once to allow the chunk files to extract.

 

Hope this answers all your questions.

David

14-Mar-2019: Updated with command line logging option and updated file list.
11-Aug-2020: Updated to show silent uninstall feature added for build 28.

This article was originally posted on http://www.winthropdc.com/blog.