Recommended: Click here to run a Free driver update scan »
Microsoft Great Plains was designed as Dexterity application in earlier 1990th. Atthis time ReportWriter was the platform-independent Dexterity based GP module and aswe see through about 15 years  it still is and does the job. Of course, there areothers reporting tool: Crystal Reports, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services orSRS. In this small article we will try to give you additional tips on ReportWriter: Trivia. REPORTS.DIC  this dictionary stores all your so-called modified reportsfor main dictionary DYNAMICS.DIC. If you install third party dex application orcreate your own customization  ReportWriter will be given the option to modifythird-party or your custom reports. Consider storing Reports.dic in centrallocation, on your file server for example and modify Dynamics.set file  specifyingthe path to this central dictionary Dexterity security realm. The nice thing about ReportWriter report is the factthat you control report access via GP security. Compare to Crystal Reports  hereyou base your report (as a good practice) on SQL Stored Procedure or SQL view  which means that you use SQL Server security. Just to remind  GP security systemis stored in Dynamics database and it translates into SQL Server security - in SQLyou can not directly use GP userid  due to the fact that user password (which youuse to login GP) is encrypted in SQL Simple data export tool. Besides GP SmartList or Explorer, you can simply createReport Writer custom report, base it on the table you need and add the fields fromthe above table  run this custom report and data is ready to be saved into textfile Popular Customized reports. SOP Invoice Long form if one of the most modified. Here you typically place your company logo, change address format, add comments. The second customization candidate is Purchase Order. The reason you use customreport writer reports is simple  you like to print Invoice or PO from SOP Entry orPOP entry forms directly, rather than launch Crystal Report and provide invoicenumber as a parameter Version Upgrade. In most of the cases upgrade works fine. However, assuming weare upgrading GP custom reports  sometimes you need help. When GP report in newversion uses different calculated fields  you will need to analyze calculatedfields of the old report and compare them to the one for new one and make changes. SRS & Crystal Reports. We often hear questions  which tool should we use, oreven more direct  should we walk away from all our Crystal Reports and redesignthem in SRS? The answer is  probably you should wait, when SRS will be betterintegrated into GP model. From the reporting tool power aspect  both CR and SRSrequire good SQL base query design, so data manipulation logic is typically out ofthe scope (sql view or stored procedure)  the rest of the reporting job  listquery results and group them by certain criteria  both tools are good in it.
