Recommended: Click here to improve PC speed »
Reporting for Microsoft Great Plains/Dynamics/eEnterprise/Mi crosoft Dynamics GP 9.0:RW  ReportWriter  tips for developer
In this article we will not be concentrating on MS SQL Reporting Services, if youare reports developer you should check on Microsoft Dynamics GP Business PortalReporting and enabling SRS reports. We will concentrate on  traditional tools:Report Writer, Crystal Reports, etc. Plus we will give some hints to  ancient Great Plains versions: Ctree, Pervasive SQL.
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is written in Great Plains Softwareprogramming tool: Great Plains Dexterity. Dexterity in turn was built withconception of graphical cross-platform transferability (in time  1992  mostly Macand MS Windows). Plus Dexterity had database abstraction level (through Cprogramming language). The result of such a shrewd future-looking architecture  Great Plains ReportWriter has multiple restrictions and drawbacks.
LetÂ's first look at the advantages of using ReportWriter: Seamless integration with Great Plains forms  the most typical scenario  youmodify SOP_Long_Invoice_Form or SOP_Blank_Invoice_From and then print your invoiceswith modified form  usually with your logo and changed formats and positions of thefields  Parameters Entry Forms. Each existing report (Reports section) has associatedparameters entry form. Restrictions: No Cross-Modules links. You can not associate report with the tables fromnon-related modules. For example you can not have Sales Order Processing (SOP) andPurchase Order Processing data on the same report (you actually can  but you needDexterity programmer help)  Custom Reports. You do not have parameters entry interface for your customreports, but you could use restrictions to restrict the selection. Custom reportscould be used to export data from Great Plains in text (and then Excel format) Advanced ReportWriter programming Rw_ functions in Great Plains Dexterity. When you need cross-modules data on thesame report (Bill of Lading, which you could produce on the base of Picking List)you need to move the report you want to customize into your custom DYNAMICS.DIC andfill the gaps with RW_ functions  these are allowed to be placed on the report withparameters If ReportWriter doesnÂ't do the job: Crystal Reports. Current version 8.0 and 8.5 (July 2005) are MS SQL Server based,where Crystal Report could work at will and produce all the desired links  werecommend you to base Crystal Report on SQL Stored Procedure or SQL View. You callCrystal Report engine via Modifier/VBA  you need Customization Site Enablerlicense. If you are on Great Plains Standard version: 7.5, or Great PlainsDynamics/eEnterprise 7.0, 6.0, 5.5 or 5.0 Btrieve/Pervasive SQL/Ctree  you need toinstall Pervasive SQL driver (or Faircomm driver for Ctree)
About Alba Spectrum Technologies. Alba Spectrum Technologies is joint venture ofseveral IT and business consulting companies, now operating as single businessentity. We have local presence in the Houston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, SanDiego, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix, New Orleans, Minneapolis, SanFrancisco, LATAM & Brazil, Germany, Russia, South East Asia and Oceania. We believein the coexistence of Java (J2EE, EJB, Linux, Unix), Oracle and Microsoft (.Net, C#,VB) platforms and systems and specialize in several product lines and cross platformintegration, customization, heterogeneous report design, plus we provide ERP/CRMsystems comparison and reviews, not being committed to just on MRP platform. We alsostake on XML cross-platform data interchange to be advanced in the coming decade.
Alba Spectrum Technologies websites: http://www.albaspectrum.com http://www.greatplains.com.mx http://www.enterlogix.com.br http://www.ronix-systems.de
