What if you DO want more than one status on a Builder List?    On first glance, it seems difficult or impossible – that data is in separate tables and you can’t just start with the open table and add the work table (there wouldn’t be matching records – so you won’t get anything!)  Don’t worry – there is another way.

For example, you want to build a SmartList for payables transactions for a certain period of time and all of the distributions of these documents.  You really don’t care if the documents are paid or not (How they move to History in PM), you still want the documents to show on your list.

Matched Tables

• First Start like normal and add your Transaction table for one status (I like to use open, but you could use history – it doesn’t matter).
• On the Add Table screen – look for the Button “Matched Tables” on the bottom and press this button.

 
On additional tables (second or more) you will have to save the table and then edit it (paper and pen icon) to see the Matched Tables button:

• On the Matched tables screen, Hit the plus sign on the left section to add your equivalent table for the other desired GP status (You can add more than one, if desired.)

You will see that on the right, Builder has already matched equivalent fields (If a field isn’t matched, it won’t show in the final list).  You can review and change if desired.

• Press OK and Save back on the Add Table screen

Now you are done!   It is that easy.  

What is does is the equivalent of a SQL UNION ALL query.  It selects all of the data from the first table and then, as part of the same set of data goes and select all of the data from the second or Matched table.

Happy Building,
Devon

Now, until recently this wasn’t a big deal since not many users took advantage of this table. BUT now in GP2010 this table is storing the Email addresses for the new Email functionality for Purchase orders, Invoices, etc.  Since this data is NOT shown on any stock SmartList or Navigation List, there is going to be a HUGE demand to view this data in the Builders.  

Below I will give you some SQL views to use to add this data to your Lists, but first let me explain why you shouldn’t link directly to this table.  It is a combination of a few factors:

• First this table stores ALL of the Internet information for Customers, Vendors, Items, etc. 
• When you link in the Builders there is no way to just select part of the data, just Customers for example.   (You could in SQL)  (Note to the MS programmers – being able to add a constant to the link section would help with these issues! )
• Not all Master records (Customer for example) will have records in the Internet Addresses table – so you will normally want to do a Left Outer link to this table (so that you can get all Customers and Internet addresses, if there are any.)
• Adding a restriction to Builder to filter on the Master Type for the Internet Addresses table will not work for two reasons:
  • Adding a restriction directly to table with a Left Outer link will remove all records that aren’t in this table – EG any records without Internet Addresses  (basically turning it into an equal link)
  • Also, the restriction will apply AFTER the join and may remove legitimate Master records. 

I think an example will highlight the problem:

You are building a customer list

You have a customer ABC001  and a vendor ABC001  – only the Vendor has internet addresses

when you link the table you will get the vendors internet data in the customer record

adding a filter to the type will then completely remove this record from the list

I agree that this may be rare – but I like to build lists that will ALWAYS work correctly.

OK – so here are the SQL views – (NOTE – I am having a font problem on this blog and can’t get the ’&’ to work correctly – after you cut & paste these you will need to retype the ‘and’ in the Where clause in SQL – sorry!):

First you will need to replace the constant in the Where clause with the correct code as well as change the name of the view on the first line:

• CUS - Customer
• VEN – Vendor
• ITM – Item    (only one key field – Address ID is not used, obviously)
• EMP – Employee
• SLP – Salesperson
• CMP – Company

Basic SQL view:

CREATE VIEW CustomerInternet AS
SELECT     SY01200.*
FROM         SY01200
WHERE     (Master_Type = ‘CUS’)

View in GP10 (or earlier) with nice field names (remember that these are changeable in the company set-up so you will want to modify to match yours, if different):

CREATE VIEW CustomerInternet AS
SELECT     Master_ID AS [Master ID], ADRSCODE AS [Address ID], INET1 AS Email, INET2 AS [Home Page], INET3 AS [FTP Site], INET4 AS Image, INET5 AS Login, INET6 AS Password, INET7 AS [User Defined 1], INET8 AS [User Defined 2], INETINFO AS [Additional Information]
FROM         SY01200
WHERE     (Master_Type = ‘CUS’)

View for GP2010 with the new fields and nice field names (remember that these are changeable in the company set-up so you will want to modify to match yours, if different):

CREATE VIEW CustomerInternet AS
SELECT     Master_ID AS [Master ID], ADRSCODE AS [Address ID], EmailToAddress AS [Email To Address], EmailCcAddress AS [Email CC Address], EmailBccAddress AS [Email BCC Address], INET1 AS Email, INET2 AS [Home Page], INET3 AS [FTP Site], INET4 AS Image, INET5 AS Login, INET6 AS Password, INET7 AS [User Defined 1], INET8 AS [User Defined 2], Messenger_Address AS [Messenger Address], INETINFO AS [Additional Information]
FROM         SY01200
WHERE     (Master_Type = ‘CUS’)

Don’t forget to run the grant script when you are done:

GRANT SELECT ON CustomerInternet TO DYNGRP

You last step is to go to Security and give access to your new view (MS Dynamics GP > Tools > SmartList Builder > Security > SQL Table Security)

One last hint – this data is NOT stored per customer or vendor, but stored by ADDRESS ID on the customer or vendor.  So you will need to use both the Master ID field and the Address ID field as your link fields.

Happy Building!
Devon

Couple points to remember when thinking about adding Distribution tables to your lists in Builder:

• Transaction Distribution tables are different then the actual Journal Entries stored in the Financial Tables. 
  • Distribution tables store data per transaction and do not contain JE numbers. 
  • Depending on the posting setting in GP the JE in Financial tables could be for one or many transactions. (Or could not make a JE at all.)  If your posting setting are per transaction, your could try to link the Financial tables – but this is not a good link via SmartList Builder – most of the time you will need to do a SQL view. (Issue with key fields.. whole different post…)
• There will be at least two entries for each Transaction and may have many more.   IE – Taxes, Misc, COGS, etc –  all of the entries on the Distribution Button on the transaction. (Important point – since this will cause transactions to be listed several times on your final list.)

• There is a Distribution type field that can be used to limit what parts of the entry are shown on your list. (For example, you may not want to have the Accounts Payable accounts show on a Payables transaction report.)  This is a Dropdown type field – unfortunately Builder generally doesn’t know the values for these by default – but typically they are in order on the dropdown on the transaction entry screen.  See my post: Drop Down Lists in SmartList Builder (Document Type on Transactions, etc) for more info on this type of field.

• Most Distribution tables store records for various GP status (WORK & OPEN)  or (WORK & HIST).   Avoid the tables with the word TEMP in them – they don’t have what you want!   Some common tables:
  • PM Distribution WORK OPEN File  / PM Distribution History File
  • RM Distribution Work File (Don’t be confused by the name – this has Open too!) / Receivables GL Distribution History File
  • Sales Distribution Work and History
• Generally, you will link to the Transaction table with the key fields from the Transaction table – often the GP assigned unique transaction ID (Voucher number, SOP Number, or Document Number) and the Document Type field. To find these – see my post: Adding additional tables to your SmartList (Successfully)

Good luck & Happy Building!
Devon

“I understand how the builder works but can’t figure out which tables to connect. I can find ways to see part of the information but not all. “ 

The writer continues to talk about what exactly she is trying to get.  Now I debated this… her request was pretty easy, I could have just replied with the table names and link fields.  BUT, I strongly believe the in the theory of “to teach a man to fish”   And hey, this is a blog…

So, sorry Sandra, I have decided to make your question the subject of two posts. This post will focus on tables in general.  The next post on the type of table you are looking to link – distributions table – which, since GP IS an accounting software, deserve a separate discussion.

First suggestion is a trick for GP10 and above.  I didn’t find this — a co-worker (thanks Coleen) found it when she was new!  

• Go to the window in GP that displays the data you are trying to find.  (Make this the simplest window that contains this data.  Don’t go to an inquiry window with tons of other data!)  Also make sure you are on the same type of transactions (Work, open or history)
• On the top menu of the window select Tools >>Integrate >>Table Import
• You will see a screen with the list of tables used on this window!

OK – so now you have a list of table names.  Ok actually they are Display Names…  It is important to mention that GP doesn’t have just one name for each table. They have 3 different names:

• Display Name – this is the name we work with by default in the Builders
• Technical name – this is what is actually used by Report Writer and other programing languages.  It doesn’t have spaces it uses _ instead
• Physical name – this is the name in SQL.  Most blogs refer to this table name since most blogs are for SQL or VB programmers.  

Now you can go check out this list of tables under Tools >> Resources >> Tables.   Here is a great write-up on using this window: Table Resources  Notice the Product & Series just like we need when adding tables in GP.  Remember you can see all of the field data here too.

I actually often look for the Physical name on this screen – since there is a logic to the Physical names as explained by Leslie Vail’s post  GP Table names – Physical or SQL names  (And if I totally lost you above when I mentioned Work, Open and History – make sure you read her post: Moving from Work to Open to History - or to just get a refresher by module!)   

You will also learn that there are certain naming conventions within the other name types too.  SQL master tables often have MSTR  or Master in their other names too. (The problem is that these other name types tend to be a little more “flexible” with the naming conventions!)

Advanced techniques for the programmers and the brave    (many of these tools standard GP users do not have access to.. but if you do – go for it!) David Musgrave’s  Finding table and field names

Now – as for link fields – I am going to refer you back to my post: Adding additional tables to your SmartList (Successfully)

That should be enough to get you started…  I think I will need to do a follow-up on tables for other products (HR, Project, etc…)  but that is a subject for another day.

Happy Building,
Devon

07/30/2010 – Author’s Note – take a minute to also review the other links and resources from our friends on the Blogging World in the comment section. 

Most resources the merrier I say!   Thanks everyone for your contributions & additions.

Side note – Many of you know that GP added a time stamp field into many GP tables for version GP10 (field – DEX_ROW_TS in SQL).  But unfortunately - this field in NOT available in SmartList builders (hint, hint, GP programmers – that might be nice….) Unless you connect to the GP table like it is another SQL table…

A little background is necessary…  Actually in SQL all GP date fields are actually date/time fields.  It is just that the time is always 12:00 am.   This assumption is built into SmartList and the other builders.  In the field formatting you can only select formats with dates, not with times. 

This can cause issues when you are working with data in the Builders from other SQL data sources.  SmartList builder assumes that the field is just a date field and only gives you those formats.  That seems OK, until your users try to do searches on these fields like they are used to in GP.  Such as equal to 07/26/2010 … if there is actually a time in this field then the users will not get what they expect (chances are no records will be returned – because the search is actually looking for 07/26/2010 12:00 am !)

To prevent this and make the date/time field work like date field in GP, make a new calculated field with a Field Type of Date and the following calculation:
CAST(FLOOR( CAST( {table.field} AS FLOAT ) ) AS DATETIME)

If you want the users to see the time from this orginal field, you will need to add another calculated field use as Field Type of String and the following calculation:
CONVERT(CHAR(8), {table.field}  , 108)

Now, if you SQL people have better functions, please let me know (I don’t begin to claim much of a SQL background) – but these have worked just fine for me.

Hopefully, this trick will come in handy the next time you are using the Builders to view data from other SQL sources.  (Which is a great feature of the Builders!)  If you have other SQL data that your people need and use, why aren’t you leveraging the Builders to see that data in GP?  But that is whole other subject entirely.

Happy Building,
Devon

Pull up the one you want to copy-

in GP2010 you will see Navigation List too:

Enough said?

Happy Building,
Devon

Check out his post here: SmartList Builder based on SQL View not returning Data.

VAIDY

Here is how to “fix” this in the Builders (SmartList, Excel & Navigational Lists):

• Determine what field you can use to decide if the value should be negative or positive - your “type field” (Document Type for Payables; RM Document Type-ALL for Receivables; SOP Type for Sales Order Processing) 
• Verify the field data type   (Press the Show Details (down chevrons) on the far left of the field header line, Now you should be seeing the Data Type on the second row under each field name)
  • If the Data Type is not Dropdown list (or Yes/No)  you will need to do a calculated field – scroll down… for Option #2
  • If the Date Type is Dropdown list (or Yes/No), then this field will be available in the next step.  But only if you have set the dropdown field options. See my post Drop Down Lists in SmartList Builder for details
• Select the amount field that you want to correct the sign by clicking on the Display Name of that field
• Press the Blue Arrow between Display Name and Display on the Field header line to launch the Set Field Options window. (This window changes its appearance based upon the data type for the field.)
• Press the Negative values tab
• Select your “type field” from above
• Check Mark the boxes for the type values that should be negative

Note – these values are only used for displaying in your List.  If you want to do a Summary list – these sign corrections will not be used – you will need to do a Calculated Field.

Option #2 – A Calculated Field to correct the sign of a field:

Here we are going to use our handy-dandy Case Statement:  (For more info see Try CASE )

CASE {type field}
WHEN 4 THEN – {amount field}
WHEN 5 THEN – {amount field}
ELSE {amount field}
END

or

CASE
WHEN {type field} >=7 THEN – {amount field}
ELSE {amount field}
END

Uncheck the Default & Display boxes for the original amount field and check the Default & Display boxes for your new Calculated field so that users see this new field instead.

Works like a charm.

Happy building,
Devon

Victoria Yudin – How to use a sql view in Smartlist Builder  Pay special attention to the “Use Company” checkbox.  This is VERY important, and generally can’t be changed after adding your view to your List.

Also note that all of her SQL views end with:   
GRANT SELECT ON view_name TO DYNGRP
This is critical if you want the SmartList data to be loaded by any user other than sa.

Mariano Gomez – SmartList Builder Security for SQL Server Views   Key on this is the two steps at the bottom, you will need add this Task and assign it to all your users so that they can use your new SmartList with a SQL view or table.  (In GP9 or GP8, these rights are listed under SmartList Builder section of the Tools menu – User Security)

Mariano Gomez – Changing SQL Server views for SmartList Builder SmartLists  A trick I use all the time, your new fields will appear at the end of the field list, but you can live with that!

Here are various blogs that will have sample SQL views that you can use:

Victoria Yudin - http://victoriayudin.com/category/dynamics-gp/gp-sql-scripts/
She also has a great section on GP Tables, see the menus at the top.

Real Life Dynamics User – http://rldu.wordpress.com/sql-scripts-views/

Let me know if you come across any other resources and I will add them.

Happy Building,
Devon

Here is the most basic way to use the CASE function (line breaks are for clarity – not needed in the Calculated field screen):

CASE
WHEN statement to evaluate* (see below)
THEN what value to use when statement true 
ELSE what value to use when statement is false
END

Such as:  CASE WHEN {Voided} = 1 THEN ‘Yes’ ELSE ‘No’ END 
OR: CASE WHEN {DocumentType} = ‘CreditMemo’  THEN -{DocumentAmount} ELSE {DocumentAmount} END

But you can also have additional When sections (which is ugly with If, then – you need to nest your statements!)

CASE
WHEN statement to evaluate THEN what value to return when statement true 
WHEN next statement to evaluate THEN what value to return when this statement true 
ELSE what value to return when none of the statements are true
END

It will only look at the second WHEN if the first WHEN is false and so on… (you could have as many as you need…)

Such as a quick calculation for Shipping rates based upon a weight field (a Shipping Weight of 30 would return 15.75):
CASE
WHEN {ShippingWeight} < 10 THEN 5.40
WHEN {ShippingWeight} < 25 THEN 7.76
WHEN {ShippingWeight} < 40 THEN 15.75
ELSE 35.25
END

Now if you are going to evaluate the same field in all of your statements (just have different WHEN for each value your field is equal to) there is an easier way to write that:

CASE field to look at
WHEN first value THEN value to return when field is equal to first value
WHEN second value THEN value to return when field is equal to second value
WHEN third value THEN value to return when field is third value  …
ELSE value to return when field is not any of the values above
END

Example:
CASE {SOPTYPE}
WHEN 1 THEN ‘Quote’
WHEN 2 THEN ‘Order’
WHEN 3 THEN ‘Invoice’
WHEN 4 THEN ‘Back Order’
WHEN 5 THEN ‘Return’
WHEN 6 THEN ‘Fulfillment Order’
ELSE ‘Unknown’
END

A important note is that when your field is an integer, long integer or currency you just put in your values.  All string data must be included in quotes !),  whether that data is part of your statements to evaluate or the values you wish to return.  These are the quotes by your Enter key – NOT the fancy slanted quotes used by MS Word and my blog…sorry.  Both single or double quotes seem to work (but I have had some feedback from MS support that single quotes are preferable – since SQL really only uses single quotes). 

Also note that fields from your tables (in {} in my examples) can be included in all parts of the functions.

*Statement to evaluate – generally statements are:

• a field then
• = (equal to),  < (less than), >(greater than), <= (less than or equal to), >= (greater than or equal to)  
• a fixed value to compare or another field

Your statement to evaluate can be several statement separated with AND  (all must be true)  or with OR (only one must be true).   (Example:  WHEN {DocumentType} = ‘CreditMemo’  AND {Voided} = 0 THEN …)  

Again, if you need additional information, do a web search and look at other examples on this blog, you will get the hang of it!  

Try it, you will learn to love the CASE statement.

Happy Building!
Devon

• Press the Calculation button on the top bar to launch the Calculated Field screen.
• Press the + sign on the left side to add a new field (remember the – sign is to delete a field and the paper/pen icon is to change an existing field).  
• Enter a name for your field (this doesn’t need to be unique, but should make sense to users)
• For data type, since we are talking about fields with math you will use either:
  • Integer – just whole numbers, no decimals  (positive or negative)
  • Long Integer - value greater than the max amount on Integer  - just whole numbers, no decimals  (positive or negative)
  • Currency – any number with decimals (0 to 5).  Remember that all quantities in GP are actually Currency type fields (without a $ sign), this is the only way to get decimals.   Also percentage fields are currency fields too. (also can be positive or negative)
• In the lower area add your calculation:
  • To view the fields to add, find the table listing on the right part of the screen.  Press the + in front of the desired table to view the field names. (NOTE – sometimes SLB prints fields multiple times on this list, this is just a display problem and doesn’t appear to cause any issues in your calculated field.)  Double-click on your desired field and it will add it into the window where your cursor is.
  • Now add your desired math function:
    • +   to add
    • -  to subtract
    • *  to multiply
    • /  to divide
    • (  )   as needed to have the math work properly
  • Use the field listing to add additional fields.  All fields you add must be either integers or currency type fields.  (If the aren’t, you will need to convert the data, see a future post on Advanced Math with the CAST function)
• Press the Validate button to check your field  (If you are on GP9 or GP8, this button is not available, see my post Help, my SmartList loaded no data on how to check Calculated Fields in these versions.)
• Press Save
• Back on your main SmartList builder screen, press the + in front of Calculated Fields on the left table section to view your fields on the right side of the screen.
  • Check the box in the Default column to have the fields appear on the Default list (the * favorite)
  • Don’t forget to press the Blue Arrow by Display Name to change the display settings (remove the $, add a % sign or change number of decimals displayed), if needed.

Example:

A typical field you may want to add is to calculate Qty Available on the Item Quantities table, here is how this will look:

Here is Margin on the Sales Transaction Posted table:

Here is Margin % on the Sales Transaction Posted table:

NOTE – you can’t use a Calculated field in a calculated field… you need to use your copy (Ctrl-c) and paste (Ctrl-v) to repeat the formula text from the first field into the desired section on the second field.

One more important point – If you are including fields from a table with the Link Method of Left Outer you will need to make adjustments to your calculated field, or just adding a calculated field will effectively make your Link Method into an Equals…  but that is a subject for a future post… (sorry, I didn’t say it was always easy!)

Happy Building!

Here is my basic / non-programmer take on Table joins and Link fields.  (For a more comprehensive explanation on the subject search the web – you will find several good websites.)

SmartList builder uses two type of Link Methods or joins (by the way, there are several other types of joins in SQL) - Equals & Left Outer.  These joins determine what records you get in your final List.  Example – First table is RM Customer MSTR table, add your second table – RM Open File (Transactions) table with a link on Customer Number:

• Equals: you will only get records that have matching link fields in both tables
  Results - Records in RM Customer MSTR table that have records in RM Open File table
• Left Outer: you will get records from the “Main” table (the first one you put on your SmartList that you will specify it the “Link To” area) whether there is a record in the second table or not   
  Results - All records in RM Customer MSTR table and any records in RM Open File table  (One row will be returned for Customers without any records in the RM Open File table, fields from the RM Open table will be blank (actually NULL) on the SmartList.)

This raises a very important point.  You have to start your SmartList with the right table.  If you started with RM Open File, there would be no way to have customers without transactions appear on your list. (If that was something you wanted.) 

If you add a third table linked to your second table, the concept is the same, it is just comparing to the cumulative records for the first AND the second tables to decide what records to include.   (If your third table is linked to your first table, that would work just like described above. )

OK – so now, what fields do you specify in the Link area? 

Well, this is where knowledge of GP is important.  The programmers at GP realised that users were having a really hard time with this and now (if you are on GP10+) SOME tables will come in with link fields already populated in the link area (you can always modify these – but most are exactly what you need.)

My rule of thumb is to look at the KEY fields of each of your tables.  Generally, you will use ALL of the key fields from one of your tables as the link fields.  (Not always, of course, nothing is that easy, but most of the time.)

OK, so how do find the key fields for a table?  Well, you can do this in SmartList Builder.  Start a new SmartList (you don’t need to save it).  Press the + in the Table area to add a table and select your desired table. Look on the lower part of the window and you will see the names of the key fields on this table in SQL.

Hit cancel and repeat these steps for your other table and then think about what link fields make sense.  Go back to the List you are building and Use the + in the Link Fields area to add each of these fields to your join as the link fields.

And as always… Check your data!  (Read my post about the hazards of not checking your work as you go:   Help! My SmartList loaded zero records (no data)  )

Happy Building!
Devon

How would that happen?  For a simple company with only one Site (which is Location Code, by the way, on this table) there will be TWO records in this table for each Item.   Why?  Well, one of the records is a Summary Record, the other is a Site Record.  And this fits with how you see this data in GP.   Let me explain further.  If you go to the window in GP where this data is maintained:  Inventory >> Cards >> Quantities/Sites, you will see  the following:

Notice how the radio button (circled in red) changes the screen from viewing the summary “All Sites” record to the record for a specific site.

If you open the SmartList (from GP) > Item Quantities, you will see each of these records:

So how do we only have one record for each item (or at least one for each Site assigned) on our List if we use this table?  Well, if you look at this same data in SQL (IV00102) you will notice the field Record type (SQL – RCRDTYPE):

See how the record without a Site (field LOCNCODE is blank) has the value 1 in this field  – This is the summary/overall record.  While the record with a Site has a value of 2 in the Record Type field?  We can use this to add a Restriction to our List.

Press the Restrictions button on the top bar.

Press the + to add a new Restriction.

Specify: 

• Table: Item Quantities Master
• Field: Record Type
• Is Equal To
• 2
• Press Save to add this Restriction
• Load your changes and TEST! 

Adding this Restriction will only pull records from this table for the Sites, not the summary/overall record, making so that this List will no longer pull “Duplicate records”.

Now, your next question may be “Where is the Quantity Available on this table?”  Well, it isn’t there. (Sorry! GP calculates this field on the “fly” on windows & reports.)    But do not fear, that will be the subject for a future post: “Adding a Simple Calculated Field to your SmartList”.

Happy building!
Devon

(Note – since we can now build Excel Reports (and soon Navigation Lists) in addition to SmartLists – I am using the generic term List for what we are building.)

First, and foremost, check your work as you go.  My #1 piece of advice on SmartList Builder it to check your List after each step:

• Start your List and put on your first table.  Save and load the changes on SmartList. Check your data.  (It is a good idea to know how many records you expect.  If is it a large data set, know how many records you should load for a period of time or a certain range of data.)
• Add your second table.  Save and load the changes on SmartList. Check your data. (and so on for additional tables)
• Add your first restriction. Save and load the changes on SmartList. Check your data. (and so on for additional restrictions) 
• Add your calculated fields.  In GP10, press the Validate button for on each calculated field.   Save and load the changes on SmartList. Check your data. (I will explain below why you can add all calculated fields together.)

Notice a theme?  It is much faster to check your work after each step then to figure out which table join, restriction or calculated field “broke” your List.  This goes for too few or too many records (“Duplicate records”) also.  That is why I recommend knowing how many records your list should load at each step.

OK, so you didn’t check your work with each step, now what?  You might have to take each piece off one-by-one to discover when it “works” again.  But first – check these things:

• Calculated Fields – generally, if you do not show the “bad” calculated field as a column, the SmartList will load data. So take off all of your Calculated field Columns and re-add them one-by-one in SmartList. 
• SQL data – do you have a SQL table or view? 
  • Will it load data for sa?  If so, check the following:
    • In SQL, make sure you have permission to select the data:  GRANT SELECT ON SQLVIEWNAME TO DYNGRP
    • In security, make sure the user has rights to view SQL data in SmartList Builder Rights
  • For multiple companies, verify that the “Use Company database” box is checked
• Restrictions – remember that the data has to pass thru ALL restrictions to show on the List. 

These steps should help with many issues.  Of course, table joins are a huge part of getting the correct number of records, but that will be the subject of a future post.

Happy Building!
Devon

For the past 5 years, I have used SmartList Builder extensively as Implementation Consultant for MS Dynamics GP. I love what I am able to do for our clients, whether it is a SmartList of Sales Holds to release for the credit department (with Go To links to the orders, of course) or a Month-end analysis of Obsolete Inventory or Sales by Salesperson with Margin. These SmartLists streamline daily tasks and allow powerful analysis of important data with the click of a mouse.

As I have run training seminars on using SmartList Builder and worked with my coworkers in the program, I find that people really struggle with successfully using this module. Just this week, I had two clients who caused “duplicate records” on existing SmartLists and responded to questions on the Dynamics GP Partner Board regarding calculated fields in SmartList Builder.

I am very excited about the new functionality in GP2010. Beefing up the Excel Report Builder and adding the Drilldown Builder and Navigation List Builder should really increase the power of these modules. (I might even start training users on the Navigation Lists – since these lists may have usable functions that aren’t possible on SmartLists, but that is another story!)

Welcome to the blog and feel free to comment if you want me to cover a specific subject or even if you enjoy it. (Hopefully you will learn something.)

Regards,
Devon

Before I outline our approach to meeting their requirements, let me explain how they were doing this.  Their recruiting and hiring process is fast-paced, to say the least. This company is opening new retail stores in new markets all the time, so their recruiters are on the road collecting applications daily and setting up new hire meetings every couple of weeks.  In order to set up a new employee, the recruiter would fill out all the basic information in a spreadsheet, which was then passed on to the payroll department to create an employee record in Dynamics GP.  The payroll department would then send a spreadsheet to the IT department with the new hires’ information.  IT would set up the necessary logins and passwords in each system based on another spreadsheet summarizing the different systems required by each job title, then communicate these back (again via a spreadsheet) to the recruiting department.  The final step for recruiting was to prepare (manually, using Word) a login sheet for each new hire to be distributed at their new hire orientation.  In addition to this “workflow”, there were additional data elements that were often not captured or only partially captured, resulting in inaccurate information or worse: erroneous payroll transactions.

Overall, a cumbersome process relying on several people to remember to fill out all the necessary information and send a notification by e-mail that the shared spreadsheet was ready or attach and e-mail a new spreadsheet to someone in another department. Additionally there was frequently a need for cross-communication regarding missing pieces of information for some new hires.  The primary pain point to be addressed was setting the appropriate commission flag in their point of sale system to ensure that employees received commissions when applicable.

The first step to address in developing their new process was removing the back-and-forth nature of creating employee information in their various systems. In order to handle the initial setup, we utilized Extender to create two new windows in Dynamics GP.  The first window is attached to the Payroll Position Setup window and lists all of the user logins required by position code along with a commissionable flag.  The second window is attached to the Employee Maintenance window and captures each employee’s logins for the various systems.  Once this was complete, we published each of these windows as SQL Views using Extender views, then used Smartlist Builder to attach the two views and create a smartlist that IT could use to generate a spreadsheet of new hires along with their required logins defined by position code. Finally, we created a second smartlist that recruiting can use to create a mail merge in Microsoft Word for their new hire login sheets.

We changed the business process to remove the payroll department from the initial setup of new hires.  The recruiting department now enters the employee ID and SSN in the employee maintenance window, along with the department and position code.  The IT department merely checks the smartlist on a daily basis to determine if new hires have been entered by the recruiting department (if the logins fields are blank, this indicates a new employee record). If records are found, they export the list to Excel, and as the various logins are defined IT completes this spreadsheet and uses an Extender import to populate the logins window in Dynamics GP.  Recruiting uses their login sheet mail merge smartlist to quickly generate the forms they need for orientations. The Payroll department completes an employee record after recruiting confirms the employee has attended an orientation and filled out all the necessary paperwork (this is also tracked using  Extender windows on the employee maintenance window).

Now that I’ve written all of that, it looks very complicated, but it really simplifies and streamlines the process of adding new hires and their various logins into the numerous systems. In addition, the commissionable flag is now determined at the position code level instead of on an employee-by-employee basis, so there is much less room for error in setting up the point of sale system. In addition, because all of the logins are now stored in a single location, the IT department is able to use the SQL views to push login information into various systems automatically instead of having to set up each one individually. A similar process (utilizing the same Extender windows and SQL views) is used by the IT and Payroll departments to communicate changes in status (which often result in a change to the commissionable flag and login requirements) and terminations.

We all know that excel plays a major component in most finance folks day-to-day operations.  It just seems easier to manipulate, calculate, and parse the data that you need within Excel.  But, it doesn’t HAVE to be such a major component in your financial statement preparation.

 Are you using all the features that Microsoft Dynamics GP has for you ~ right out of the box? 

One of the key components of using Microsoft Dynamics GP is the open accessibility to the security authorized users of the financial information.  I’ve listed some of my favorite shortcuts and tools that our customers use ~ but I’m sure there are favorites for others that I don’t even realize the value that the users see compared to what they did before.

Day to day quick lookup – For quick inquiries into the data for a specific account, account range, or transaction, here are a few outstanding options in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Account Rollup – A nifty query screen allowing groups of accounts and up to four columns of figures for quick analysis of set of departments or account areas.  This means you can hand pick several accounts to be seen together, and save them for future lookups or just do it as an ad-hoc item for today.  You can print this inquiry too!

Define your specific accounts and columns to display!

 Now you are ready to see your results!

Lets you see up to four columns of numbers ~ and print detail or summary!

 Account Transaction List – This quick view into your financial transactions allows filtering by many options at once.  You can go as far as saying look across a range of accounts for a particular transaction description between two given dates with a particular dollar figure credited within the transaction.  That is powerful search capability very easily accomplished:

Define your filters and find that transaction!

Simple lookups/reports – of course there are screens allowing Actual to Budget, Summary and Detail balances, and trial balance reports and posting journals.  But these few items I mentioned seem too often be overlooked because they are not something you would expect out of the box!

Financial Statement Generation

FRx Report Manager (Add-On Module)- Of course I’m going to say “FRx” Financial Reporter, but many people don’t realize that a module available along with FRx called Report Manager allows you to pull together the financial statements within a comprehensive report book, which can contain other information end users may need in various document types and files.   You can just press a button and have your Balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, a ‘pdf’ report bringing in other information, a word doc explaining a new procedure, an excel spreadsheet with data outside of your system,  and more ~ all in one booklet!  Look at this document on FRx report manager!

FRx Webport  (Add-On Module)- Can you imagine just telling your managers that they can view whatever reports they need – and have them refreshable, just by going to your intranet?  With Webport, you can publish specific report layouts and provide access to key personnel and allow them to drill into specific account transaction detail if required.

Complicated Reports and Cross Table Inquiries – For very specific requirements, we utilize:

 FRx Financial Report writer is the tool for everything from departmental and company consolidations and eliminations to taking financial data from within Dynamics GP and marrying it to spreadsheets from other financial records and report as one.

Smartlist/Excel Report Builder  (Add-On Module)- We find that this tool allows companies to define and categorize relationships between their data fields as possibly only they could find a common connection.  The data is presented in either basic table format or complicated spreadsheets that they may have designed and require.  This tool has extended the reporting ability out of Microsoft Dynamics GP so that any manager can be happy with the data you present!

So comparing what you might use today ~ perhaps you just need a little training (or an add-on module) to use these unique and simple tools for YOUR financial statement preparation and presentations?

Call Borek Business Solutions to get you started with these modules today!

View post:
NOW AVAILABLE MSFT DYNGP10 SP3 Technical Demonstration Toolkit/VPC!!!

Excerpt from:
SmartList Templates for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0

STEP 1  -  create SQL view

To start we need a  SQL view.  I have published a number of views for getting GP data, so I will use one of my favorites – Payables Apply Information.  You can see the list of other SQL views I have published on my GP Reports page.

To create the view in SQL: 

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to your GP SQL Server
2. Click on the New Query button at the top left
3. Copy the SQL code into the new window that opens (on my blog, I put the code to copy between tildes: ~~~~~)
4. In the drop-down, select your GP company database:
5. Click Execute
6. You will get a message saying “Command(s) completed successfully.”
7. If you want to use your SmartList in multiple companies, repeat steps 4 and 5 for each company database

 STEP 2 - set up SmartList security for SQL view

Before we can use a SQL view in SmartList Builder we need to grant SmartList Builder security to that view:

1. Log into GP as a user that has all the proper security access
2. Open the SQL Table Security window by going to Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > SmartList Builder > Security > SQL Table Security
3. Choose Views at the top
4. Click on your company database on the left
5. Find the view on the right and select it:
6. If you created the SQL view in multiple company databases, repeat steps 4 and 5 for each company database

STEP 3 – create SmartList

Now we are ready to create the SmartList:

1. Open SmartList Builder by going to Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > SmartList Builder > SmartList Builder
2. Type in a SmartList ID and Name (the Item Name will default to the SmartList Name, I recommend leaving these the same to avoid confusion)
3. Choose what Product and Series to put your SmartList in – this is a great new option in GP 10.0 and allows you to group SmartLists as you want.  This is also something that can be changed later, so some people like to create all new SmartLists is a separate place until they are satisfied with them, then move them to their ultimate location.  Up to you on this one.
4. Click on the + sign to the right of Tables and choose SQL Server Table:
5. Check the Use Company Database checkbox if you are creating a SmartList that should run against whatever company database the user is logged into (or if you are planning that for the future)
6. Click on the company database on the left
7. Select Views and click on your view on the right
8. Click on the + sign to the right of Key Fields and add Key Fields (these are used determine the current record selected when opening Go To’s) – at least one Key Field is required:
9. Click Save to return to the SmartList Builder window
10. Every column in the view will be brought in as a field for the SmartList, at this point you can decide what fields to show, change formatting, etc., for now I will simply add all the fields available to the SmartList:
11. Once you’re done configuring all the additional options for your SmartList, click Save
12. To finish creating the new SmartList, go to SmartList, and say Yes to the following message:

Next steps & additional resources

Below are some additional resources for creating SmartLists and dealing with SmartList security in GP:

• This blog – Granting access to a new SmartList in GP 10.0
• Mariano Gomez – Changing SQL Server views for SmartList Builder SmartLists
• Mariano Gomez – How to create a Go To link to the Apply Sales Document window in SmartList Builder
• Mariano Gomez – SmartList Builder Security for SQL Server Views
• David Musgrave – Creating SQL Views of Extender Data
• This blog – Reporting on Extender data in Dynamics GP
• David Musgrave – Creating SQL Views of DUOS Data  (added 04.22.2009)
• Interesting Findings & Knowledge Sharing – SmartList Builder Objects using SQL Tables and Views  (added 04.22.2009)
• Steve Chapman from Rose Business Solutions - video on how to Use SQL Views to Create SmartLists  (added 04.14.2010)

If you know of any other resources to add to this list, please let me know.

~~~~~

CREATE VIEW view_Security_Roles_and_Tasks
AS

/**
view_Security_Roles_and_Tasks
Created Mar 12 2009 by Victoria Yudin - Flexible Solutions, Inc.
For updates see http://victoriayudin.com/gp-reports/
Shows all security roles and tasks by user by company
**/

SELECT	S.USERID UserID, S.CMPANYID CompanyID,
	C.CMPNYNAM CompanyName, S.SecurityRoleID,
	coalesce(T.SECURITYTASKID,'') SecurityTaskID,
	coalesce(TM.SECURITYTASKNAME,'') SecurityTaskName,
	coalesce(TM.SECURITYTASKDESC,'') SecurityTaskDescription

FROM	SY10500 S   -- security assignment user role

LEFT OUTER JOIN
	SY01500 C   -- company master
	ON S.CMPANYID = C.CMPANYID

LEFT OUTER JOIN
	SY10600 T  -- tasks in roles
	ON S.SECURITYROLEID = T.SECURITYROLEID 

LEFT OUTER JOIN
	SY09000 TM  -- tasks master
	ON T.SECURITYTASKID = TM.SECURITYTASKID 

/** the following will grant permissions to this view to DYNGRP,
leave this section off if you do not want to grant permissions **/
GO
GRANT SELECT ON view_Security_Roles_and_Tasks TO DYNGRP

~~~~~

Disclaimer: I tested this on limited data, if you find an issue or have a suggestion for improvement, please let me know and I will post the update here for everyone.

There are a few things which you need to consider when u create a smartlist builder object using SQL server tables and views. When you export the smartlist builder object to an XML file, the database reference is exported as well, into a tag which looks like <NAME>’SQL Database Name’</NAME>. This will actually store the database which was referenced to create the smartlist object. So when this Smartlist object is imported into any other machine which contains a different database name, it would give permission errors, when the imported smartlist object, even though you have granted the necessary SQL permissions to the users. To avoid this, there are 2 options which you can follow.

1. If you are importing this to a single company installation, you can edit the above tag in the XML file and change the value to the appropriate database name of your environment.

2. If you are importing this into a multi-company installation, you can import the XML file and open the object in Smartlist Builder. Then go to Options and check the option called Multi-Company Smartlists and select the companies you need to include in the smartlist. This will fetch the data from all these companies into the smartlist. And at the SQL security for each user, grant the access to the appropriate company/companies to the users and they would be able to see the data from the appropriate company when they open smartlist.

Till the next post, bye for now…

I wanted to track some additional data about customers so I created an Extender window called Customer Additional Information and linked it to the Customer Maintenance window:

On the bottom of the Extender Windows window there is a button for SmartList, clicking that brings up the SmartList Integrations window:

Click the + to bring up the Add/Edit SmartList Integration window.  For SmartList Product – choose Microsoft Dynamics GP if you want to add to an out-of-the-box SmartList or choose SmartList Builder if adding to a SmartList you’ve created.  Under SmartList Object choose from the list of available SmartLists.  [Note: not every SmartList object will be available, so if what you want is not on the list, you'll need to use SmartList Builder first to create a new SmartList.] 

The Key Fields from your Extender screen will be duplicated here, map them to the available SmartList Fields.  In my example, I would like to add this data to the Customers SmartList, and I am mapping my Customer Number Key Field to the Customer Number field on that SmartList:

Click Save on the Add/Edit SmartList Integration window, OK on the SmartList Integrations window and Save on the Extender Windows window to finish.

You can link this Extender screen to multiple SmartLists, whether built-in or created in SmartList Builder:

Now, when you go to SmartList the columns from your Extender window are available to be added:

By default every field on the Extender window will be added to the SmartList.  If you would like to remove some of the fields, open SmartList, go to Extras > Additional > Extender to bring up the SmartList Maintenance window and delete any unwanted fields there:

To delete, select the SmartList on the left, then the field to delete on the right, then click the delete button in the upper right corner.  Right next to the delete button is the rename button, which lets you rename any of the fields you want.  [Note: only fields added to SmartList from Extender will show up here.] 

In this example I started by creating a brand new Extender window, however, you can easily go to any existing Extender window and add it to SmartLists following the steps above.

1. If you have not already done so, open SmartList – you will see a message saying SmartList Builder has detected changes. Click Yes.
2. Open the Security Task Setup window.
   Dynamics GP  >  Tools  >  Setup  >  System  >  Security Tasks
3. Open an existing task or create a new task.
   • Product: SmartList Builder
   • Type: SmartList Builder Permissions
   • Series: SmartList Builder Permissions or SmartList Builder (depends on the Service Pack)
   • Operations: View SmartLists with SQL Tables
4. In the Product list, choose SmartList.
5. In the Type list, choose SmartList Object.
6. In the Series list, choose SmartList Objects.
7. After the SmartList objects appear in the Access List pane, click to select the check boxes of the SmartList objects to which you want to grant access.
8. Click Save.
9. If you opened an existing task in Step 3, you can skip the rest of the steps below.  If you created a new task in Step 3, proceed to step 10.
10. Open the Security Role Setup window.
    Dynamics GP  >  Tools  >  Setup  >  System  >  Security Roles<.li>
11. Open an existing role or create a new role.
12.  Find the task you create is Step 3 and select the check box next to it.
13. Click Save.
14. If you opened an existing role in Step 11, you can skip the rest of the steps below.  If you created a new role in Step 11, proceed to step 15.
15. Open the User Security Setup window.
    Dynamics GP >  Tools  >  Setup  >  System  >  User Security
16. Select the user and company.
17. Find the role you created in Step 11 and select the check box next to it.
18. Click Save.
19. Reward yourself with a cookie. 

 ~~~~~

Update on Dec 9, 2008:  If you are on GP 10.0 and your SmartList is based on SQL views or tables, you will need to add permissions to the View SmartLists with SQL Tables operation. Here are the settings under Security Tasks:

• Product: SmartList Builder
• Type: SmartList Builder Permissions
• Series: SmartList Builder Permissions or SmartList Builder (depends on the Service Pack)
• Operations: View SmartLists with SQL Tables

This only has to be done once, no need to repeat if for every new SmartList. Fellow MVP Mariano Gomez has step by step instructions for this on his blog.

 ~~~~~

Update on Nov 25, 2009: Corrected navigation paths in steps 10 and 15. Thanks to Erik for pointing this out!

~~~~~

Update on Dec 29, 2009: Here is a great post by Christina Phillips at Dynamics GP Land that may help troubleshoot some permissions errors: SmartList Builder and SQL Tables/Views.

 ~~~~~

Update on Feb 10, 2011: Updated title and content to reflect that this works for GP 2010 as well.