Dynamics GP SDT Essential Series 2 – Transfer AA Dimensions and Codes from Test to Production

The Support Debugging Tool has a fantastic XML Table Export and Import features. This can be used to achieve fantastic things like –

• David Musgrave showed – how to transfer Security Tasks and Roles between Systems. This is useful when you are migrating security from Test to Production.
• Mariano Gomez used the XML Table import as one of the ways of Transferring Extender customizations from one company database to another

Another use that we recently tested this feature was in migrating the Analytical Accounting Dimensions and Codes from Test to Production. Often people test out the AA Codes and Dimensions in a test environment, and when they are happy with what they want they want to set it up in Production. SDT allows you to transfer this in a snap, instead of manually setting things up again in Production.

As a bonus, the article also covers the ability of running SQL scripts from inside GP using the SQL Execute option of Support Debugging Tool.

XML Table Export/Import to Transfer AA Dimensions and Dimension Codes

Pre-requisites:

1. Analytical Accounting must be already activated, and preferably their shouldn’t be any codes setup in the target company (Otherwise they will be overridden).

2. XML Table Export/Import is the Advanced Mode feature of Support Debugging Tool.
To enable Advanced Mode features of this tool, navigate to Dex.ini Settings window through Options->Dex.ini Settings and check “Enable Debugger Advanced Mode Features” option.
Support Debugging Tool >> Options >> Dex.ini

Analytical Accounting Codes and Dimensions in the source system before Export

The screen below shows the AA Transaction dimensions available in the source system to be exported to another system.

The complete details for all the available Transaction Dimensions are shown below.

Transaction Dimension Codes entered for Transaction Dimension A.

Exporting the required tables from the source system.

Export the file from source system through XML Table Export feature of Support Debugging Tool. Open the XML Table Export window from Options menu.
Options >> XML Table Export

Select the Product Name, Analytical Accounting in this case. Add the Table Technical Names for AA Dimension and AA codes tables to be exported.

The Table Explorer window that opens by clicking on lookup button can be used to select the required table.

To transfer AA Dimension and AA codes, following are the tables that are required to be exported from the source system to the target system.

Display Name	Technical Name	Physical Name
aaTrxDimMstr	aaTrxDimMstr	AAG00400
aaTrxDimCodeSetp	aaTrxDimCodeSetp	AAG00401
aaTrxDimCodeNumSetp	aaTrxDimCodeNumSetp	AAG00402
aaTrxDimCodeBoolSetp	aaTrxDimCodeBoolSetp	AAG00403
aaTrxDimCodeDateSetp	aaTrxDimCodeDateSetp	AAG00404
aaTrxDimRelation	aaTrxDimRelation	AAG00405
aaTrxDimCodeRelation	aaTrxDimCodeRelation	AAG00406
AA Trx Dim Adjustment Option	aaTrxDimAdjOption	AAG00407
aaTreeMstr	aaTreeMstr	AAG00600
aaTreeNodeMstr	aaTreeNodeMstr	AAG00601
aaTreeNodeLink	aaTreeNodeLink	AAG00602
aaTreeNodeUserWork	aaTreeNodeUserWork	AAG00603

We have attached the settings file, which can be loaded using the Configuration Export/Import window. This setting file can be used to load the selection of the tables for the export. Rename the extension from txt to xml before importing. 

User can choose to type the table names instead of using lookup. After the XML Table Export window is populated with all the AA Dimension and AA code tables, the data is ready to be exported.

Clicking the Export button exports the selected tables to the selected Export Path.

Importing the required tables into the target system.

Import the file to the target system through XML Table Import feature of Support Debugging Tool. Open the XML Table Import window from Options menu.
Options >> XML Table Import

The XML Table Import window shows all the tables exported from the source system that are ready to be imported.

Checking the Overwrite Table Contents checkbox clears the old settings before the new settings can be imported. In this case, it overwrites any existing AA codes present in the target system.

Clicking the Import button after selecting the Import Path starts the Import Process in the other system.

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Analytical Accounting Codes and Dimensions in the target system after Import

Once the import process is completed, we have all the AA codes and Dimension data imported into the new system.

The screen below shows the AA Transaction dimensions after import.

The complete details for all the imported Transaction Dimensions are shown below.

Order of the imported Transaction Dimensions is preserved.

Imported Transaction Dimension Codes for Transaction Dimension A.

Update the AA Keys after Import into the Target System

After Import, you can update the keys using this KB article.

Or you can import this SQL Query (change extension from txt to XML), and follow the steps below.

 

Run the query against the Target Company Database, and click the Execute Button.

Before executing the script, change the value of InterID to the Target Database name, as highlighted below.

 

Further Information -

• Support Debugging Tool Portal
• How to transfer Security Tasks and Roles between Systems. 
• Transferring Extender customizations from one company database to another