#VSIT Visual Studio Integration Toolkit build 12 released

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL USERS OF VISUAL STUDIO INTEGRATION TOOLKIT

This article is to announce a new build of the Visual Studio Integration Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics GP (VSIT) is now available for download.

This new build coincides with the change in ordering and support for Visual Studio Integration Toolkit. From now on, Winthrop Development Consultants is handling all distribution and support for Visual Studio Integration Toolkit directly. Mekorma will no longer be involved with this free product.

The build includes an automatic check for updates and introduces a new streamlined registration system.

Note: All existing sites will need to update to this new build before their subscription expires to ensure continued registration of the product. Mekorma will no longer be issuing keys and the previous builds will fail to register.

Important Note: Please update all Winthrop Development Consultants products you have installed with the new builds at the same time. Failure to do so will cause products not updated to become unregistered. New builds for all products are now available.

Build 12 of Visual Studio Integration Toolkit is available for the following Microsoft Dynamics GP versions:

• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 (v11.0)
• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and GP 2013 R2 (v12.0)
• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2015 and GP 2015 R2 (v14.0)
• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2016 and GP 2016 R2 (v16.0)
• Microsoft Dynamics GP 2018 (v18.0)

The section below explains the new registration system and automatic update check and how they work:

New Registration System

The registration system uses the simple and secure licensing tool, Quick License Manager (QLM), and requires Contact Details for a site to be entered. These Contact Details are for the individual customer sites and should have the customer’s contact name and email. The email address is linked to the customer’s site details and so must be unique.

Note: This means partners cannot use their own contact name and email for all their customers.

After the Microsoft Dynamics GP Registration keys have been entered, the Site Name and Microsoft Account Number are available. The registration system will use the Microsoft Account Number to look on the registration server for the Contact Details and, if found, pull them down. It will then use the associated Email Address to request keys for the product.

If there are already keys for the product on the registration server, they will be returned and activated. Otherwise, because Visual Studio Integration Toolkit is a free product, a new annual subscription will be automatically generated and activated.

If your system is not connected to the internet or the calls to the registration server are blocked, keys can be entered and activated manually. Please Contact Sales for assistance.

For Customers

Existing Customers

All existing customers’ details and subscription dates have been already imported from Mekorma’s system into the registration system and so should automatically be pulled down from the registration server.

New Customers

New customers can install the product and go to the Registration window (Help >> About Microsoft Dynamics GP >> Additional menu >> About Visual Studio Integration >> Registration). You will be asked to enter your Contact Details and then an annual subscription will be automatically generated.

For Partners

Existing Partners

All existing partners’ details have already been imported from Mekorma’s system into the registration system and so permanent NFR (Not For Resale) should be pulled down from the registration server.

New Partners

New partners can be added into the registration system in two ways:

• Please email sales@winthropdc.com with the following details:

Contact Name
Contact Email
Company Name
Company Address
Phone Number
Microsoft Account Number
Registered Site Name
Microsoft Dynamics GP version

• For immediate access, manually enter your partner Contact Details into the system like a new customer above and then email sales@winthropdc.com to request conversion to partner status.

New Partner Customers

For partners already in the registration system, new partner customers can be added into the registration system in two ways:

• Please email sales@winthropdc.com with the following details:

Partner Company Name
Contact Name
Contact Email
Company Name
Company Address
Phone Number
Microsoft Account Number
Registered Site Name
Microsoft Dynamics GP version

• For immediate access, manually enter the customers’ Contact Details into the system as new customer and then email sales@winthropdc.com to request the customer be associated to your partner company.

Other Information

Future Renewals

When the current subscription keys approach the expiry date, the registration system will automatically contact the registration server and extend the subscription for another year. This assumes that the Automatically check for updated keys is enabled and an Administrator user logs in as the keys are due to expire or have expired (see below).

Upgrading Versions

If a new version is installed for an existing customer, the registration system will generate new keys for the new version with the same subscription date as the previously installed version.

Automatically check for updated keys

While logged in as an Administrator user (with sysadmin or dbo rights), the Registration window will offer the option to Automatically Check for updated keys. You can choose whether to request keys when keys are due to expire (to avoid any expiry warnings), or once they have expired and you can choose how often to check for updated keys. While the keys are valid and not due to expire, no check is required.

Automatic Update Check

The other new feature in this build is the ability to check online for updates when an Administrator user logs in. The frequency of the checks can be set when the system is first enabled. You can manually check for updates or change the frequency from the About Visual Studio Integration Toolkit window by selecting Options >> Check for Updates.

Developers using Silent install

Any developer who has included the Visual Studio Integration Toolkit installer in their own installer (probably using the silent install option), will need to update their installer to include this new version. Note that installing an older build over the top of the new version will cause an addin DLL error that will prevent Microsoft Dynamics GP from launching.

To fix, re-install Visual Studio Integrations Toolkit using the latest installer, or move the WinthropDC.VisualStudioIntegrationToolkit.dll file out of the Addins folder.

Note: Moving the dll file will allow the old version to continue working, but once the subscription expires you must update to get registered again.

More Information

For more information and download links, please see the Visual Studio Integration Toolkit Portal page:

• http://winthropdc.com/VSIT

Please post comments and feedback.

David

14-Nov-2017: Added information for developers.
04-Dec-2017: Added Version for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2018.

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