Hi All, Steve in particular ;)

This might be a dumb question for people familiar with Great Plains, however I am a .NET developer and unfamiliar with Great Plains :)

1.) From visual studio, is it possible to add controls to an existing form? Example in Sales Transaction Entry, near Commissions button maybe I want to add a History Button? 

2.) Also is it possible to amend an existing report from VS?

Thanks

Rob:

Welcome to the GP community!

In GP, the basic way to alter a form is from within GP itself. Click on TOOLS > CUSTOMIZE, if Modifier or Visual Basic Editor is enabled you are good to go. If so, let me know and I'll give you pointers on how to do the deed there. There is a steep license for 'Modifier', though, not all installations have it.

If you want to buy a modifier license, let me know ($3 -10,000), I'll have someone call you.

Modifier allows you to alter the visual interface, the VB Editor allows you to place code behind the buttons that you add.

Visual Studio Tools for Dynamics GP will allow you to add code behind the buttons that you create with Modifier also... but not to place the actual button on the form. I've waited years for this tool, I'm very excited to have it. VBA is so limiting...

Amending reports (starts to twitch uncontrollably)...

GP's 'Report Writer' is a lamentable tool that allows you to modify stock GP reports. To use it, you print the report to the screen and then click on TOOLS > CUSTOMIZE > REPORT WRITER. I'm not sure if it comes with the basic GP install, I don't use it unless threatened with bodily harm. I prefer to use Crystal reports and stored procedures.

Hi Steve,

 Thanks for the info.  We already have a guy doing GP customizations, I just thought it might be possible to add design controls to exsting forms from VS, something to look forward to in the future (i hope)!

Regarding reports, I'm fine with using Crystal Reports, So the way to go about it is using the GP modifier to create the Report form, then calling that form from VS and access crystal reports accordingly I guess.

Thanks

Rob:

No, Modifier is a tool found inside GP to modify existing GP reports. It has nothing to do with Crystal.

I build reports using stored procedures to get the data, and then hook the reports up to Crystal. I have a custom web app that I have developed that delivers the reports to the company on an intranet. Call if you'd like a demo.

I'm happy to help you with the reports, if you'd like.

Hi Steve, ok I get it thanks!

 by the way, i'm from Malta, Europe, so its 7.30am. Looking forward to another day of banging my head against VS Tools! :)