Today I was asked if the GP Power Tools Automatic Logout functionality can be used to automatically logout other external applications, for example: SalesPad For GP from Cavallo.
My initial answer was that it was not possible as the Automatic Logout functionality provided in GP Power Tools is Dexterity based and does not have the ability to affect other applications.
But then I thought about it some more and …
A quick search online confirmed that you can fairly easily use C# code to identify processes running on the machine and then ask them to close gracefully, or if desired you can just kill the process.
After a short amount of development, we have a script that can be used to close any application on a system programmatically. Adding a trigger allows that script to be called when the GP Power Tools Automatic Logout feature asks Microsoft Dynamics GP to exit.
Below is a screenshot of the Project Setup window for the AUTO_LOGOUT project:
Here is a summary of the components of the project:
Trigger AUTO_LOGOUT
A trigger which executes before the MBS_Exit_After_Processes Helper Function. This is a global procedure in the GP Power Tools dictionary which is used by both the Automatic Logout feature as well as the Exit After Processes menu option. The script for the trigger will load and execute the AUTO_LOGOUT Runtime Execute Script.
Runtime Execute Script AUTO_LOGOUT
This Runtime Execute Script uses Helper Functions to set memory variables for the process name and whether to kill the process or request it to close. The process name in script is set to Notepad by default but can be changed on your system to whatever application(s) you are wishing to close.
Once the variables have been set, the script will load and execute the AUTO_LOGOUT .Net Execute Script to run the C# code to close the process.
NOTE: Selecting to kill the process will not give an opportunity to save any unsaved changes and should be used with caution.
If desired, you can duplicate the lines in the script to set the variables and call the C# script to close more than one application.
Having this code as a Runtime Execute Script rather than just including it in the Trigger script allows it to be tested without needing to exit GP.
.Net Execute Script AUTO_LOGOUT
This .Net Execute Script using C# calls the System.Diagnostics.Process library to identify the processes with the name passed in as a memory variable and then either closes or kills the process.
Downloading and Installing
Download the example code, import using the Project Setup window (now possible for first time imports with Build 28.8 onwards), or use Configuration Export/Import window (for older builds):
The code will be active on next login or after switching companies, or you can use start the triggers manually from the Project Setup window.
More Information
For more information see:
- #GPPT Automatic Logout for Microsoft Dynamics GP
- #GPPT Why does Automatic Logout fail to work?
- #GPPT Why Does The Report Writer Screen Close Automatically?
- #GPPT Automatic Logout Not Identifying Activity and Logging Out
- #GPPT Closing External Applications with Automatic Logout
- #GPPT Remotely requesting immediate Automatic Logout
- GP Power Tools Portal: http://winthropdc.com/GPPT
- GP Power Tools Samples: http://winthropdc.com/GPPT/Samples
- GP Power Tools Videos: http://winthropdc.com/GPPT/Videos
Hope you like the enhancement added with this version.
David
12-Jan-2024: Added article with Immediate Automatic Logout sample.
This article was originally posted on http://www.winthropdc.com/blog.
Winthrop Development Consultants Blog 
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