#GPPT #VSIT Adding Windows to Microsoft Dynamics GP Menus with GP Power Tools

Here is a quick project that can make using Microsoft Dynamics GP much easier for your users. We are going to use GP Power Tools along with the free menu module of Visual Studio Integration Toolkit to add windows to the application level navigation menus.

For our example we are going to use the Professional Services Tools Library and add a menu to the main window of the product as well as the Receivables Transaction Unapply window.

[Edit] We are also going to add the Item Reconciler window as that requires some different techniques.

Installation Failing with ANSI_WARNINGS and CONCAT_NULL_YIELDS_NULL Errors

A couple of weeks ago, we had an unusual support case: upgrading two of our products, Visual Studio Integration Toolkit and GP Power Tools, was failing with a SQL Server error I had never seen before.

The errors only occurred on the customer’s live system, but the install worked fine on their development system. Eventually the cause for the issue was identified.

Today, my good friend Beat Bucher, had the same error and I was able to tell him the cause straight away. Read on for a full explanation.

Registration Expired or Failed Dialog shown when launching Microsoft Dynamics GP

We are currently seeing an increase in customer sites reporting the Registration Expired or Failed dialog when launching Microsoft Dynamics GP.

This dialog is to notify users that a Winthrop Development Consultants product is no longer registered and action needs to be taken by the system administrator to fix the subscription and restore the product’s functionality.

#VSIT Visual Studio Integration Toolkit build 19.1 released

Winthrop Development Consultants is pleased to announce Build 19 of Visual Studio Integration Toolkit (VSIT) for Microsoft Dynamics GP was released on 19-Jan-2024.

This build includes enhancements to the new Custom Forms module along with improvements to the installer systems. The User Guide Manual has now grown to 95 pages, plus their code examples and sample project also provided.

Uninstalling Winthrop Products and Removing previous versions from Programs and Features

This article covers how to uninstall Winthrop Products and also how to remove previous versions showing in Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Winthrop Products use a two-step uninstall process and will not uninstall from the Programs and Features applet in the Control Panel until they have first been uninstalled from the Microsoft Dynamics GP application. This allows the products to clean up all the settings, tables and other SQL objects from the SQL Server as well as removing themselves from the application installation before the files are removed by uninstalling from the control panel.

#MSDynGP Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.6 – October 2023 has released

The latest and greatest version of Microsoft Dynamics GP has been released, and it contains a number of new features and bug fixes.

Winthrop Development Consultants has already updated its products for this Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.6 – October 2023 release. They are now built against the final build and so are no longer beta builds.

Check out the previous article for more information:

• #MSDynGP Microsoft Dynamics GP v18.6 ISV Pre-release installers now available

#GPPT Best Practices for Developing with GP Power Tools

We are seeing more and more sites realizing the potential of using GP Power Tools – Developer Tools module as their platform for custom development for customizations, tweaking and fixing behavior of code within Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Many customers are using GP Power Tools (GPPT) to replace their unsupported Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) customizations, which is great as GPPT is the best solution for replacing VBA, Dexterity and Visual Studio Tools addins. It offers many benefits over other development tools.

Installer Error: Microsoft Dynamics GP Process Monitor (DPM.exe)

Today, we have an interesting support case where the installer for a Winthrop Development Consultants product failed to complete with the following error message:

• A version of Microsoft Dynamics GP Process Monitor (DPM.exe) is currently running, please exit the application and click Retry or click Cancel to exit the installer.

#GPPT #VSIT Using a ListView to display data with a Custom Form

As mentioned in my recent article, it is possible to add a ListView to a window using Modifier along with a hack. So today we are going to show how to use a ListView to display multiple records of data.

This is a practical example which works with Sales Transaction Entry (SOP_Entry) and shows the stock levels at each inventory site that has stock for the selected item on the window.

#MSDynGP Microsoft Dynamics GP v18.6 ISV Pre-release installers now available

Some more great news after the release of new builds of our products.

This morning (Perth Time) I had an email from Terry Heley from Microsoft with a link to a pre-release (ISV Drop) of the upcoming Microsoft Dynamics GP version 18.6 (October 2023) release. This download is provided to the ISV community to help them prepare for the final code when it is released.

#GPPT Implementing Custom Forms using GP Power Tools

With the release of GP Power Tools Build 30 combined with the release of Visual Studio Integration Toolkit Build 18 and its Custom Forms Module, GP Power Tools gains the ability to create new windows.

GP Power Tools – Developer Tools module is extremely powerful with its triggering and scripting capabilities using the Dexterity sanScript, SQL Server Transact-SQL, C# and VB.Net languages and over 100 helper functions, but has always lacked the ability to create new windows.

Until now …

#VSIT Custom Forms Module added to Visual Studio Integration Toolkit Build 18

The release of Build 18 of Visual Studio Integration Toolkit fulfills a long-term plan to add advanced modules to the product that extend its functionality beyond the original menu navigation that was offered by its predecessor, Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

The last big jump in functionality happened with Build 15 when support for Area Pages was added to the Menus module, and over 260 Helper Functions exposing “Dexterity only” functionality to Visual Studio Tools developers was added to the Helpers module.

Build 18 adds an advanced Custom Forms module which allows Visual Studio Tools developers to create their own Dexterity custom windows. These custom forms have the advantage over WinForms as they will work on the Web Client and all other Microsoft Dynamics GP features.

Discontinued Builds for Winthrop Products

This article should help clarify which old builds are discontinued, what this means, and why the builds are discontinued anyway.

With the release of the latest builds for GP Power Tools, Batch Posting Service Toolkit and Visual Studio Integration Toolkit, we have also announced that builds containing the known security vulnerability will be discontinued at the end of 2023.

This is not discontinuing products, we are fully committed to Microsoft Dynamics GP and continuing our products and product development on the platform.

• #MSDynGP Commitment to Microsoft Dynamics GP

#VSIT Visual Studio Integration Toolkit build 18.1 released

Winthrop Development Consultants is pleased to announce Build 18 of Visual Studio Integration Toolkit (VSIT) for Microsoft Dynamics GP was released on 21-Aug-2023.

This build includes an entire new Custom Forms module along with a number of enhancements as well as improvements to the registration and installer systems. The User Guide Manual has now grown to 90 pages, plus their code examples and sample project also provided.

Great New Introduction Videos

Winthrop Development Consultants was the proud sponsor of the Microsoft Dynamics GP track at the recent DynamicsCon Virtual March 2023 conference. Part of the conference sponsorship package required us to create a 60 second video advert for Winthrop Development Consultants.

Thanks to Carol Livingston from Dynamics Connections who recommended the great tool Renderforest which was used to eventually create four new videos, including two shortened one-minute versions.

Subscription Keys Not Renewing Automatically

Winthrop Development Consultants products are sold using an annual subscription model which means they need to have their subscription renewed and updated each year to remain functional.

This process is usually fairly smooth and transparent as long as the invoice is paid by the due date and the system is internet connected. Invoices are due one month before the expiry date so that if they are paid on time, the subscription is renewed automatically before any expiry warnings are displayed.

Changing Registration Contact Details for Winthrop Products

I am often asked to change the contact details for the registration data for our products. These contact details are used for sending emails from Winthrop Development Consultants.

Emails sent include Renewal Notices and Invoices to partners and direct customers, and update notices and newsletters to all customers (cc’d to their partners).

It is vital that the contact details use a valid (and unique) email address for each registration record. The email must be for a person or team at the registered company. Partners cannot use their email addresses for customer registrations.

#MSDynGP Winthrop Products and Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.5 Year End 2022

Last week, Terry Heley from Microsoft announced that the Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.5 Year End 2022 service pack has been released.

• Microsoft Dynamics GP U.S. Year-End Update 2022 RELEASED!!

Since then, we have been asked numerous times if the Winthrop products are compatible with this new 18.05.1596 release. The short answer is yes.

How Do I Get Keys For A New Version?

Recently, I have been getting a lot of requests for subscription keys for Winthrop products before upgrading to new versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP.

This article will explain how Winthrop products obtain new subscription keys automatically over the internet and what the process is if a system is not internet connected.

Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.5 – October 2022 has released

The latest version of Microsoft Dynamics GP was released today, and it contains a number of new features and bug fixes. Winthrop Development Consultants has already updated its products for this Microsoft Dynamics GP 18.5 – October 2022 release. They are now built against the final build and so are no longer beta builds.

Check out the previous article for more information:

• #MSDynGP Microsoft Dynamics GP v18.5 ISV Pre-release installers now available