This is the portal page for the Support Debugging Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP. 

Overv…

Those of you who attended Microsoft Convergence 2011 Atlanta will know about the promised Build 15 of the Support Debugging Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP. Well it is finally here with over 80 changes to the code. It includes lots of new functionality as well as many fixes and improvements. This build can be installed over the top of any existing installed build without needing to remove the old build first.

Below is a summary of the changes made for releases 10.00.0015 and 11.00.0015, I have divided them into logical sections:

Fixes

• Fixed Dictionary Control to not enable triggers for all products unless Dictionary Control is actually in use.
• Fixed Call Stacks in Use Error when using Reject Script option on the Automatic Debugger Mode Setup window.
• Fixed Tab Sequence and focus changes for Automatic Debugger Mode Setup window.
• Fixed error when Non-Logging Mode Triggers captured Table dumps and record dumps to xml files.
• Fixed Script Find and Replace to mark window as changed when text is replaced.
• Fixed Automatic Debugger Mode Setup window to change to Script tab when using Script menu commands.
• Fixed ScreenShot temporary files not being removed when emailing without using preview Send Email window.
• Fixed System Status to show number of products and correct product name for GP 2010 onwards.
• Fixed Series not showing correctly in Resource Explorer for resources with a series greater than System.
• Fixed Resource Explorer displaying folders for resources currently hidden from display.
• Fixed Drill back to Resource Information window from Security Profiler Window for non-resource Security Objects.
• Fixed Dictionary not changing when selecting Table from the Tables containing Field Lookup.
• Fixed handling of Maximized windows when remembering window state.
• Fixed issue with more than one User ID and/or Company ID prefix being added to Window Titles.
• Fixed Conversion of inline comments (--) on last line with no final carriage return on SQL Execute window.
• Fixed handling of Excel Report Builder Security Objects, which were added for v10.0 Service Pack 2 or later.
• Fixed handling of Extender Security Objects, which were added for v10.0 Service Pack 4 or later
• Fixed issue with Extender Enterprise by adding check for Microsoft Extender vs Extender Enterprise as internal resources are different.

Enhancements

• Added Logging Defaults to the Administrator Settings window.
• Added functionality to allow selection of which logging options are used with Manual Logging Mode. 
   
  
   
• Updated Automatic Debugger Mode Setup window to use tabs to allow additional actions and options.
• Added Menu Explorer lookup to the Automatic Debugger Mode Setup window.
• Changed Automatic Debugger Mode to allow Keep Focus and Restore Value options to work without Reject Script.
• Added Logging…

It has been a while since we had a new build of the Support Debugging Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP. So we have decided to release Build 14.  This is primarily a maintenance release with bug fixes, minor enhancements and a couple of new features.  This build can be installed over the top of any existing installed build without needing to remove the old build first.

Please note that this is the final release for version 9.00.

Below is a summary of the changes made for releases 9.00.0014, 10.00.0014 and 11.00.0014, I have divided them into logical sections:

Fixes

• Changes to Reject Script functionality in Advanced Debugging Mode to restore fields to their previous values.
• Changes to Reject Script and Reject Record functionality so it can be controlled by using the OUT_Condition variable.
• Fixed Non-logging triggers disabling Manual Logging Mode and Automatic Debugger Mode.
• Fixed Security Information Show Resources Window showing…

If you attended the Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Conference 2009 in Fargo, North Dakota or Microsoft Dynamics Convergence Atlanta 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia you might have seen a demonstration by Mariano and myself of the Support Debugging Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

One part of the demo was how to solve security privileges errors using the tool.  It is a perfect example of how the tool can make administration for a Microsoft Dynamics GP system so much simpler and this is why many partners are now installing the tool on all workstations of all their customer sites. 

This post is an update to the How to resolve Security privileges errors post which is part of the Microsoft Dynamics GP Application Level Security Series of posts, and is designed to highlight some of the features added since the original post was written.

The following is a real life scenario showing how the Support Debugging Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP with the Security Profiler and Security Information features can quickly resolve Security Privileges errors on a live system.

In our scenario, the user is receiving a security error, but the window they were trying to open still opens, however, the window that opened does not include some fields added as a customisation.  We are assuming that the Support Debugging Tool is already deployed to all workstations on the system.

On the End User's Workstation 

When the user receives a Security…

I had been planning to write this post after I was able to resolve a recent support case really quickly using the Support Debugging Tool. Then Christina wrote her post on Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks and it makes this post even more relevant.

The case I was working on was an error dialog generated on the Receivables Cash Receipts window.  However, if the window was opened directly from the navigation pane or menus, there was no error. If the window was opened using the Transaction Button from the Receivables Batch Entry window, the error dialog was generated.

As per standard procedure, we always ask if there are any customizations involved, and were told by the partner that there were no customizations to the Receivables Cash Receipts window.

So, after some research into the source code to confirm the possible reasons for the dialog to show, I was unable to find anything that could…

A really awesome feature of Support Debugging Tool is the non-logging triggers features that watches for specified events…

I have just returned from Microsoft Dynamics Conference 2011 Atlanta conference, and based on the feedback during the sessions that Mariano and I presented as well as comments from the session evaluations, I thought it would be worth discussing some of the common Support Debugging Tool (SDT) myths.

Here is a list compiled after a quick chat with MVPs Mariano Gomez and Mark Polino:

The SDT is hard to install

FICTION: Once you have the archive zip file for your version of Microsoft Dynamics GP, just copy the files into your Microsoft Dynamics GP application folder (need at least the Debugger.cnk and Debugger.pdf) and launch Dynamics GP using Run as Administrator. Copying the Debugger.pdf allows the F1 key to open the User Guide from inside Dynamics GP.

Note: You need to give all users access to the MBS_DEBUGGER_USER Security Role to use the standard mode features. The upcoming build 15 or later builds will offer to apply this security change for you.

The SDT is hard to setup

FICTION: No setup is required, however to get the most out of the tool, it is best to use a central location of the Debugger.xml setup file. The Debugger.pdf User Guide manual has a section on Recommended Configuration which gives step by step instructions with screenshots on how to configure the SDT to use a central location.  Just use a folder in the same path you use for OLE attachments for Notes.

The SDT can only capture logs

FICTION: The SDT can capture logs either manually or automatically, but that is only a small part of the overall functionality and features of the tool. As the SDT does not need to change Dex.ini settings to capture logs it can capture logs without having to exit the application and come back AND it only captures for the current instance of the application. If you change Dex.ini settings on a Terminal Server it can affect all instances from multiple users.

The SDT only needs to be on one machine

FACT & FICTION: To capture logs or perform most features you can install the SDT on only one machine, BUT to get the most out of the tool including the centralised administration functions you should have the SDT installed on all workstations AND use a central location for the Debugger.xml setup file. 

The SDT should be installed on all machines

FACT: To get the most out of the SDT, you should have it installed on all workstations in your system. Features such as differentiating companies using colour coding and changing the window Title will only work if the tool is installed. Also, if you have to exit to install the tool when you have a problem, you might not be able to reproduce the issue once logged back in. Having to tool installed and waiting means it is there when you need it.

The SDT should use a shared location for the setup file

FACT: To get the most out of the SDT, you should configure it to use a central…

I am currently working on a support case where the customer is making use of the six user defined categories for items. That in itself is nothing remarkable or worth blogging about.  However, they are using Long Description field on the Item Category Setup window and wished to include the data from this field onto reports. That's the difficult bit.

The Item Category Setup window (screenshot below) is opened from the expansion button for User Category on the Inventory Control Setup window (Microsoft Dynamics GP >> Tools >> Setup >> Inventory >> Inventory Control).

The problem with getting these fields to display on a report is that there is no way to create a relationship to the IV_User_Category_SETP (IV40600) table from the array of Item Category Values fields stored agains the IV_Item_MSTR (IV00101) table. The reasons is that the Item Categories are stored using a primary key of an Item Category Number (1-6) and an Item Category Value.  To create the relationship, we need to provide both the Number and the Value, we can get the Value from array field, but there is no table field containing the Number and the relationship functionality of Report Writer does not allow a constant value to be provided.

I checked the Dynamics.dic source code for a Report Writer function to be able to access this data and none were available.  In fact, the Long Description field for Item Categories does not appear to be used anywhere else in the application.

To get this data to be available to a report, it is possible to use the Support Debugging Tool's support for the 6 user defined report writer functions described in the following Knowledge Base (KB) article: 

• Useful functions for developers to use instead of creating alternate reports in Microsoft Dynamics GP (KB 888884)

The 6 functions; rw_ReportStart(), rw_ReportEnd(), rw_TableHeaderCurrency(), rw_TableHeaderString(), rw_TableLineCurrency(), and rw_TableLineString() are placeholder functions in the core Dynamcis.dic dictionary. They contain no code (just parameters), but are available for Dexterity developers to trigger against and return data to a report.

A great example of these functions in use is to include Extender fields on a report.  The following KB article explains to to achieve this:

• How to create a calculated field in…

As mentioned in the post, Support Debugging Tool Build 15 released, the Support Debugging Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP build 15 was released at the end of June with a build labelled as Last Modified: 28-Jun-2011.

This post is to announce that an updated Build 15 labelled as Last Modified: 22-Jul-2011 has been released for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.  This build has 3 bug fixes in it, one major fix and a couple of cosmetic ones (shown below):

Fixes

• Fixed ScreenShot processing dialog covering screenshot captured bitmaps.
• Fixed Menu Explorer button not repositioning correctly when Automatic Debugger Mode Setup window resized.
• Fixed initial position for Support Debugging Tool Main window not opening in bottom right corner.

Here is a quick explanation of the ScreenShot issue. There were two issues/changes from the previous Build 14 code of ScreenShot:

1. The first issue was that it was possible for the emailing functionality of ScreenShot to attempt to create the email and add the attachments before the creation of the screenshot bitmaps had been completed.  This "timing" issue would mean that not all of the screenshot bitmap files would be attached to the email.  ScreenShot uses the built in Macro system to generate the screenshot bitmaps and so to resolve this timing issue the macro file ran by ScreenShot needed a button to press once it had finish…