Introduction
This article is
intended primarily for intermediate Microsoft Dynamics AX users
who are familiar with X++ andMorphX. The Goal of this article is to help the users
by providing the tips and enhancements in the Dynamics AX.
Microsoft Dynamics AX
(formerly Axapta) is one among the Microsoft Dynamics ERP primary products. Microsoft has a range of
products under the Microsoft Dynamics umbrella (like Navision, Axapta, Great
Plains, Solomon, Concorde, Point of Sale, Retail Management System, Customer Relationship
Management and etc) that are more applicable for the small, medium and larger
business organizations.
X++ is the language used to built Dynamics AX. MorphX is an integrated development environment in
Microsoft Dynamics AX that allows developers to graphically design the
GUI. MorphX allows access to application classes that
are available in the application, by launching the X++ code editor. Microsoft Dynamics AX provides a
set of Web sites that give you access to data through web forms which are
collectively deployed and accessed from Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Portal.
The development could also be done using Visual Studio.Net.
Roadmap
X++
X++ is an Object
Oriented Programming language, also called OOP language. A class is a
collection of methods. And subclasses are classes that inherit from other
classes by using the keyword extend. In X++, a new class can only extend one
other class, multiple inheritance is not supported. If you extend a class, it
inherits all the methods and variables in the parent class
(superclass).Subclasses enable you to reuse existing code for a more specific
purpose, saving time on design, development, and testing. To customize the
behavior of the superclass, override the methods in your subclass.
Modifiers
Static modifiers are
often used in classes for methods which need to be accessed frequently.
Final Modifier will
prevent the class to be overridden. A final modifier on the method similarly
cannot be overridden by a subclass.
Abstract Modifier is
exactly opposite to Final modifier. The use of abstract classes is a way to
force inheritance to make the sub classes use the base class. It prevent the
class being declared using new(). An abstract method must be overridden as an
abstract method and cannot have a code block. Abstract methods cannot be
static.
Display and Edit Modifiers
: Usually these modifiers are not present in other languages, they just belong
to X++. These modifiers are used in Forms and Reports to edit and display data
in the user interface. For more information refer online documentation
here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa595058.aspx
Data Layers
Dynamics AX consists
of sixteen application object layers that contain all the elements in the AOT.
Here are descriptions
of the application object layers in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009:
USR – User – Individual companies or companies within an
enterprise can use this layer to make customizations unique to customer
installations.
CUS – Customer – Companies and business partners can modify
their installations and add the generic company-specific modifications to this
layer.
VAR – Value-Added Reseller - Business partners use this layer,
which has no business restrictions, to add any development done for their
customers.
BUS – Business solution - Business partners develop and
distribute vertical and horizontal solutions to other partners and customers.
SL1-SL2-SL3 – Certified solutions – Partners certified under the
Microsoft Dynamics Industry Solution (MDIS) program distribute their solutions
in the SL layers.
HFX – Hotfix – The Dynamics AX team delivers critical hotfixes
using the HFX layer.
GLS – Global solution – The Dynamics AX Global Development and
Localization team provides a set of GLS layers that contain country-specific
functionality for regions in which Dynamics AX is released.
SYS – System – This is the lowest model element layer and the
location of the standard Dynamics AX application. Only Microsoft has access to
the element definitions at this layer.
The layer-based
application object files (AOD files), Some of them have been renamed with a new
prefix in different versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX as shown below in the
following image.
The four layers DIS / DIP / LOS / LOP from
Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 have been renamed to HFX / SL1 / SL2 / SL3 in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009.
The six layers DIS / DIP / LOS / LOP / BUS / BUP from
Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 have to be renamed to FPK / FPP / SLN /SLP / ISV / ISP in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
|
AX 4.0 Layer
|
AX 2009 Layer
|
AX 2012 Layer
|
|
axbup.aod
|
axbup.aod
|
axisp.aod
|
|
axbus.aod
|
axbus.aod
|
axisv.aod
|
|
axlop.aod
|
axsl3.aod
|
axslp.aod
|
|
axlos.aod
|
axsl2.aod
|
axsln.aod
|
|
axdip.aod
|
axsl1.aod
|
axfpp.aod
|
|
axdis.aod
|
axhfx.aod
|
axfpk.aod
|
The six layers HFX / SL1 / SL2 / SL3 / BUS / BUP from
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 have to be renamed to FPK / FPP/ SLN / SLP / ISV / ISP in
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Modules
There are some
functions which have been separated to another modules. Below are the few
comparisons to show the new modules added in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
|
AX 2009 Modules
|
AX 2012 Modules
|
|
General Ledger
|
General Ledger
|
|
|
Fixed Assets (New)
|
|
Bank
|
Cash and bank management
|
|
Accounts Payable
|
Accounts Payable
|
|
|
Procurement and sourcing (New)
|
|
Accounts Receivables
|
Accounts Receivables
|
|
|
Sales and Marketing (New)
|
|
Inventory Management
|
Product information (New)
|
|
|
Inventory and warehouse management
|
|
Expense management
|
Travel and expense management
|
|
Production
|
Production control
|
|
Project
|
Project management and accounting
|
|
|
Compliance and internal control (New)
|
|
|
|
The user interface
in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 has been changed to be
simpler and user friendly at all levels.
Fix
for adding a new dimension in Dynamics AX
A very minor fix is
required on the following SysDimensionAddWizard class to enhance the dimension
functionality in Dynamics AX 4.0 and Dynamics AX 2009. This fix is not required
for Dynamics AX 2012.
SysDimensionAddWizard class which runs the Financial Dimension Wizard, it is used for
adding a new financial dimension to the system. Number of adding dimensions are
controlled by Dynamics AX License key. Make sure you have sufficient licenses
for the number of dimensions you are adding to Dynamics AX 2009, Since user defined
dimensions are limited to seven.
Standard AX comes with
the following three default dimensions:
1.
Department
2.
Cost center
3.
Purpose
In
SysDimensionAddWizard class changes are required in its run() and versionControlCheckOut() methods.
Add the code to run() method under the if statement as shown in the below image.
Add the code to
the versionControlCheckOut() method as shown in the
below image.
After adding the above
code, test by adding the dimensions.
Note: There's no limitation on creating user defined dimensions, if
you are using Dynamics AX 2012 ,the above
fix and code changes are not required.
Data
Consistency Check Framework in Dynamics AX 2009
The consistency check framework
consists of classes with names ending in "ConsistencyCheck."
The consistency
check in Dynamics AX validates only the predefined list of tables for each
module. This ConsistencyCheck framework is heart of Dynamics AX. Unfortunately
there is no much documentation available online on these topics. The intention
is to provide some basic details about these classes.
SysConsistencyCheck Class is the base class which is extended by several classes
in different modules. All the classes which are extending it override the run method.
In which they specify the relevant table names related to the modules, they are
checked by the kernelCheckTable or kernelCheckRecords methods.
For more information on the SysConsistencyCheckclass and its
methods refer online documentation at the following link at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa674688(v=ax.50).aspx
To run the
Consistency check go to Basic > Periodic > Consistency
check
SysConsistencyCheckJob Class which helps in running and scheduling the Consistency
check batch jobs.
The following are
ConsistencyCheck classes from Dynamics AX 2009 which
gives information about the class hierarchy and the configurations to which
they belong.
|
Class Names
|
Parent Class
|
Configuration Key
|
|
SysConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
SysConsistencyCheckJob
|
|
|
|
SysSecurityConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
BankConsistencyCheck
|
|
Bank
|
|
CustConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
CustConsistencyCheck_BOE
|
CustConsistencyCheck
|
CustBillOfExchange
|
|
CustConsistencyCheck_LinkTable
|
CustConsistencyCheck
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
docuConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
HRConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
EmplConsistencyCheck
|
HRConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
CommissionConsistencyCheck
|
HRConsistencyCheck
|
Commission
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck
|
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Forecast
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Table
|
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Journal
|
InventConsistencyCheck
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Onhand
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Table
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Setup
|
InventConsistencyCheck
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Table
|
InventConsistencyCheck
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Trans
|
InventConsistencyCheck_Table
|
|
|
SalesConsistencyCheck
|
SysConsistencyCheck
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
VendConsistencyCheck_LinkTable
|
VendConsistencyCheck
|
LogisticsBasic
|
|
ReqConsistencyCheck
|
SysConsistencyCheck
|
Req
|
|
JmgConsistencyCheck
|
|
Jmg
|
|
JmgConsistencyCheck_data
|
JmgConsistencyCheck
|
Jmg
|
|
JmgConsistencyCheck_job
|
JmgConsistencyCheck
|
JmgJob
|
|
JmgConsistencyCheck_pay
|
JmgConsistencyCheck
|
Jmg
|
|
JmgConsistencyCheck_setup
|
JmgConsistencyCheck
|
Jmg
|
|
LedgerConsistencyCheck
|
|
LedgerBasic
|
|
LedgerBudgetConsistencyCheck
|
LedgerConsistencyCheck
|
LedgerBasicBudget
|
|
LedgerConsistencyCheck_Trans
|
LedgerConsistencyCheck
|
LedgerBasic
|
|
TaxConsistencyCheck
|
LedgerConsistencyCheck
|
LedgerBasic
|
|
CurrencyConsistencyCheck
|
LedgerConsistencyCheck
|
Currency
|
|
PrintMgmtConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
BOMconsistencyCheck
|
|
BOM
|
|
BOMConsistencyCheck_Setup
|
BOMconsistencyCheck
|
BOM
|
|
BOMconsistencyCheck_Table
|
BOMconsistencyCheck
|
BOM
|
|
ProdConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
ProdConsistencyCheck_Journal
|
ProdConsistencyCheck
|
Prod
|
|
ProdConsistencyCheck_Table
|
ProdConsistencyCheck
|
Prod
|
|
ProdConsistencyCheck_Setup
|
ProdConsistencyCheck
|
Prod
|
|
PurchConsistencyCheck
|
|
Prod
|
|
RouteConsistencyCheck
|
|
ProdRouting
|
|
RouteConsistencyCheck_Setup
|
RouteConsistencyCheck
|
ProdRouting
|
|
RouteConsistencyCheck_Table
|
RouteConsistencyCheck
|
ProdRouting
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
|
ProjBasic
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck_Forecast
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
ProjBasic
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck_Invoice
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
ProjBasic
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck_Journal
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
ProjBasic
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck_Setup
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
ProjBasic
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck_Table
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
ProjBasic
|
|
ProjConsistencyCheck_Trans
|
ProjConsistencyCheck
|
ProjBasic
|
|
VendConsistencyCheck
|
|
|
|
VendConsistencyCheck_PN
|
VendConsistencyCheck
|
VendPromissoryNote
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
|
WMSBasic
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_BOL
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
SalesShipments
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_Journal
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSAdvanced
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_Location
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSBasic
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_Pallet
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSPallet
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_PickingRoute
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSAdvanced
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_Setup
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSBasic
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_Shipment
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSAdvanced
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_Transport
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSPallet
|
|
WMSConsistencyCheck_WMSOrder
|
WMSConsistencyCheck
|
WMSAdvanced
|
|
WrkCtrConsistencyCheck
|
|
WrkCtr
|
These are the
ConsistencyCheck frame work classes for different modules in Dynamics AX 2009
being covered in the above list.
To know more
information on the configurations to which they belong visit this link here.
Minor
fix in the below class
LedgerConsistencyCheck class is responsible for validating the General ledger
module.
LedgerConsistencyCheck class checks these following tables in the run() method.
List of Tables
1.
LedgerTable
2.
LedgerJournalTable
3.
LedgerTableAlternative
4.
LedgerTableAlternativeTrans
5.
LedgerParameters
6.
AssetLedgerAccounts
(Missing)
Add the AssetLedgerAccounts table to the
LedgerConsistencyCheck class at end of its run() method as
shown in the below image. The accounts for Fixed Assets in chart of Accounts
hold references to the data in 'fixed assets in posting profiles'. By including
the above table in the class will help to check and improve the data
consistency.
The
LedgerConsistencyCheck class should look like the above image in AX 2009.
Note : This above fix is not required in Dynamics AX 2012.
Execute
Stored Procedure from X++ code
To execute a stored
procedure from X++ use the Server method,
the Client method does not have permissions. Following is the screen shot of
the code from Server method. you don't require any special privileges or
permissions to execute a stored procedure. if used other then Server method, a
message should appear like this 'Request for the permission of type
'SqlStatementExecutePermission' failed.'
create a job and write
the above code as shown in the image.
When creating a table
from AOT in Dynamics AX, developers often forget to right click and save the
table, specially the developers habituated to SQL Server. There could be column
names conflict if not saved in AOT and eventually the changes might be lost and
cause other problems.
Note : If creating a
table from AOT in Dynamics AX then there will be couple of default columns
added to your table likeRECID, RECVERSION, DATAAREAID and
etc. Make sure to include and insert values into those fields.
Execute
external database Stored Procedure from X++ code using ODBC connectivity
This is to show a
method to execute external database stored procedures from X++ code. Create a
job in AOT with following code. Follow the steps as explained here in the code
like replace Server Name, Database name , Stored Procedure name. The below code
is executed through the ODBC Connection.
static void execExternalDatabase(Args _args)
{
LoginProperty loginProperty;
ODBCConnection odbcConnection;
Statement statement;
ResultSet resultSet;
ResultSetMetaData resultSetMetaData;
Counter counter;
str sql;
SqlStatementExecutePermission perm;
;
loginProperty = new LoginProperty();
loginProperty.setServer("SERVERNAME
Here"); // Replace your Database Server Name here
loginProperty.setDatabase("DemoDB"); //Replace your Database name here
odbcConnection = new ODBCConnection(loginProperty); // setting odbc connection here.
// ODBC Connection to create Statement
statement =
odbcConnection.createStatement();
// Replace the StoredProcedure you want to execute.
sql = strfmt('EXEC [myStoredProcedureName]');
// Set code access permission to Execute
perm = new SqlStatementExecutePermission(sql);
perm.assert();
try
{
// if Stored Procedure has Select query use executeQuery
method.
resultSet = statement.executeQuery(sql);
resultSet.next();
resultSetMetaData =
resultSet.getMetaData();
for
(counter=1; counter <= resultSetMetaData.getColumnCount(); counter++)
{
switch (resultSetMetaData.getColumnType(counter))
{
case 0,1 :
info(resultSet.getString(counter));
break;
case 3 :
info(date2StrUsr(resultSet.getdate(counter)));
break;
}
}
}
catch
(exception::Error)
{
print "An error occured in the query.";
pause;
}
// Code access permission scope ends here.
CodeAccessPermission::revertAssert();
}
Used a simple select
query in the stored procedure and the result will be displayed on the infolog.
Changing
the Object IDs
While exporting/importing
the .XPO file from DEV to another environment like QA,
the object ID's might some times clash in dynamics AX. Then it prompts a
message like this object ID is already used and throws an error in the infolog.
It doesn't import some of the Objects. The following is the sample provided to
show errors and warnings while importing tables.
The Objects like
(tables, and Classes) when created, Dynamics AX automatically assigns a ID to
each object. Users do think that ID's cannot be changed, but that also can be
changed by editing the .XPO file and
use find & replace-all so that the
existing ID number will be replaced with new ID number in all the places where
ever the references are used. It basically changes the ID and UTILOBJECTID in
the XPO file. The manual process could some times cause problems. The best way
is let Dynamics Ax handle it.
While Importing
the XPO files, uncheck the 'Import with ID values' and Select the 'Enable data recovery for tables
with changed IDs' under the options as shown in the above image.
Dynamics AX automatically assigns the new ID's. It automatically syncs the
objects. This process makes easy when importing multiple XPO files related to a project. Rarely you might
end up some times with warnings and that could be resolved by investigating.
Using
.NET framework directly in X++
This facilitates the
developers having knowledge of the .Net Framework. They could use them directly
in X++ to enhance the custom features in Dynamics AX.
static void main(Args args)
{
// System.DateTime
is from .Net Framework
// This is a
sample to show how the Framework can be used along with X++ coding.
System.DateTime now;
str getDateStr;
;
now = System.DateTime::get_Now();
getDateStr = now.ToString();
info("It is now : "+getDateStr);
}
Developers could also
develop and use the custom DLL's designed in Visual Studio 2008. In order to
use the Custom DLL, it should be copied to the Dynamics AX installation path 'Client\Bin' folder. Adding references in Dynamics AX to
those custom DLL's you can start using them in X++. The default path of
deploying the new .Net DLL is as follows
[DRIVE]:\Program
Files\Microsoft Dynamics AX\50\Client\Bin
Note : Dynamics AX
2012 only supports the higher version Visual Studio 2010 and .Net Framework
4.0.
Data
Migration
SystemSequences in Dynamics AX help to assign different set of numbers to RECID
on every table.
There are several
methods of migrating data in Dynamics AX. I noticed some issues with the
memory, performance and troubleshooting, as typically the memory is managed in
Dynamics AX by Kernel (windows system dll).
There are migration
tools which also assist in migrating, no doubt they are awesome. But the
developers can still migrate data with out using any third party tools. This
could be achieved by just using SSIS 2005/2008. This is a very powerful ETL
tool which microsoft has already provided. The developers should only know few
tricks to handle RECID's and then it is easy to pull data from any Source
database and migrate to the Dynamics AX destination database. The developers
need to create and sync the RECID number of a table with the NEXTVAL from SystemSequences.
Below is the sample
T-SQL code to know the next RECID number for a particular table. The ID of a
table can be identified from the table properties.
--The below TSQL code will help
to know the next RECID number for a Particular table.
DECLARE @TableIdNumber varchar(150)
SET @TableIdNumber = 1 -- This ID Number belongs to
[Address] table and is provided as a sample.
Select Convert(Varchar(50),NextVal) NextRecID from SystemSequences where name = 'SeqNo' and tabid = @TableIdNumber
There are few list of
ID's provided in the above excel sheet. Test the above code in SQL Server.
Note : Dynamics AX 2012 only supports SQL Server 2008.
These following tables
are very important since these are not specific for one module. The entire
Dynamics AX depends on these tables and they are used in every module.
VendGroup table contains definitions of all Vendor Groups.
VendTable table contains vendors information for accounts payable.
CustGroup table contains definitions of all Customer Groups.
CustTable table contains the list of customers for accounts receivable and
customer relationship management.
DirPartyTable contains all Address of Customers , Vendors and etc, this is
also know as Global address book.
The table DirPartyTable contains all the entries in the
Global address book. The Global address book stores all the persons and
organizations information which are used through out the system.
Proxies
Proxies are created
and generated to call X++ classes and methods in Enterprise Portal.This feature
facilitates in providing the X++ code resources available for use in the Visual
Studio web application project. There are some predefined proxies available for
Enterprise Portal.
The proxies can be
found at the root of the development website. (ex. [Drive]:\
Intepub\wwwroot\wss\VirtualDirectories\80\App_code\Proxies\ )
In AOT under the
node [Web]-[Web Files]-[Static Files]-[Proxies] you can
view all the proxies.
To provide access to
the Class mention the class and method names in the editor as shown above. And
below is a example provided.
/
Class:[SampleClassName]
/[method:MethodName]
After adding it you
need to generate proxies, now go to [Tools]-[Web Development]-[Proxies] and Click
on Generate Proxies. you will now see new class is added to the Proxies node
and a class added to the root directory.
To use the proxy class
in C# following Assembly is used
using Microsoft.Dynamics.BusinessConnectorNet;
Tracing
The tracing provides
the user to identify the time consuming SQL Queries, transactions and different
code that executes on AOS. The performance could be measured and unnecessary
load and process can be identified and avoidable.
RPC round-trips to server :This lets user to trace all RPC round-trips from client
to the server.
X++ method : The calls traces all X++ methods that are invoked on the
server.
Number of nested calls : Limits tracing to the specified number of nested method
calls.
Function calls : Lets the user to trace all function calls that are
invoked on the server.
SQL statements : Lets the user to trace all SQL Server statements that
are invoked on the server.
Bind variables : Lets the user to trace all columns that are used as
input bind variables.
Row fetch : Lets the user to trace all rows that are fetched using
SQL Server
Row fetch summary (count and
time) : Counts all rows that are fetched, and
records the time spent fetching
Connect and disconnect : This option traces each time the AOS connects and
disconnects from the database
Transactions: ttsBegin,
ttsCommit, ttsAbort This option lets to trace
all transactions that use the TTSBegin, TTSCommit, and TTSAbort statements
Performance
Analyzer for Microsoft Dynamics
The Performance
Analyzer for Dynamics is a tool which collects data from several Data
Management Views (DMVs) and enables to
·
Investigate Blocking
·
Investigate SQL statements
·
Investigate Indexes
·
Investigate SQL Server
configurations
Code
Profiler
The code profiler is
used to calculate the X++ code execution time and the database activity time.
When you start a Profiler and stop after execution, the information is stored
in the database with the RunID. When you click on the Profiler runs, it will
show all the RunID's and the tasks which were executed.
To avoid unnecessary
disturbance of several tasks and want to use it for just a special task, you
could use the following code. To execute this sample code change the Table Name
and Column Name.
// This is a sample to show how to use code profiler for
a specific user task.
static void execCodeProfiler(Args _args)
{
// replace YourTableName with Original Table Name
YourTableName tableName;
Counter counter;
;
// profile start point.
#profileBegin("Test of
profiler")
while
select tableName
{
// replace ColumnName with the Orginal Column Name
info(strFmt("Table name: %1", tableName.ColumnName));
counter++;
if
(counter >= 10)
break;
}
#profileEnd
// profile stop point.
}
Now you can see the
Run ID and other information in Profiler runs screen, basically this type of
scenario is used when checking the performance of the object by running several
times and checking the duration result.
Kerberos
Protocol
Kerberos is a network
authentication protocol. Without Kerberos authentication being set up, SSAS
reports and SSRS reports will fail to load in the Enterprise Portal.
To verify Kerberos
authentication is properly set up use the following command.
To verify the HTTP
service properly configured use the following command
If the results point
to the correct server, then the SPN was configured correctly for the HTTP
service.
In all the .odc files, the following value has to be present.
Note : Kerberos authentication has been deprecated in Dynamics AX
2012.
Reports
There are around 30
video demonstrations on creating a .moxl reports
using VisualStudio.Net at the following link
Note : The classic MorphX reports and .moxl reports are deprecated in
AX 2012
TroubleShooting
on the Sharepoint Pages
The problems on share
point could be attended when you know what kind of error is throwing up.
usually the messages are turned off, not to display it to the end user.
To check the log files
which are located under the following path for SharePoint 2007.
[DRIVE]:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server
Extensions\12\LOGS
The above image is
sample from SharePoint 2007 when a error occur.
The log files are
located under the following path for SharePoint 2010.
[DRIVE]:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server
Extensions\14\LOGS
The above image is
sample from SharePoint 2010 when a error occur.
Steps to show up the Error
messages right on the web page.
Open the web.config
for the appropriate web application located under ' [DRIVE]:\inetpub\wwwroot\wss\VirtualDirectories\80\web.config' and
change the following values.
Just turn the custom
error mode completely off
<customerrors mode="Off" /> ' Add under
system.web
set debug to true.
<compilation batch="false" debug="true" optimizeCompilations="true">
set CallStack to true
<SafeMode MaxControls="200" CallStack="true" DirectFileDependencies="10" TotalFileDependencies="50" AllowPageLevelTrace="false">
After setting the
changes reset IIS to reflect the changes done. Now you should see the error
messages right on the web page. It will be easy to fix the problem after
identifying it.
After fixing the
problem change the above value settings back.
Testing
Using the Microsoft
Visual Studio we could run stress and performance tests on Dynamics AX, there's
a load test software available which is known as Application Benchmarking Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics AX. There are several
scenarios available along with sample test cases. The source code is completely
developed using C#.
The above image is a
sample to show different scenarios from Visual Studio 2008 Solution explorer.
The Load Test Software could be downloaded from the following site, certain
parameters are required to setup and run it.http://benchmarktoolkit.codeplex.com/
Problem
solving in Dynamics AX – A quick check-list
Sometimes, when
developing, AX doesn’t work as expected, or behaves weird.
Here are some of the
things you can try if you run out of ideas, below are some of steps.
Try to Reproduce: You probably already did, but make sure you can reproduce the
problem. If it only occurred once, it’s not a problem.
Check your code again:Check your code carefully for errors, and maybe ask a
colleague’s opinion.
Compile : Your project might contain compile errors, so compile it to be
sure.
Close the debugger: Sometimes, when the debugger is active, AX will keep executing
‘old’ code. Close the debugger to make sure the latest code is executing.
Compile forward :When you have modified a class that is inherited by other
classes, you might want to compile forward this class.
Synchronize data dictionary : You may have made changes to application objects that
haven’t been synchronized with the database. Open the AOT, right click on the
Data Dictionary node and choose Synchronize.
Restart AX client : Simple as that, close the AX client and start it again.
Reset usage data : Go to options screen (AX button > Extra > Options) and
click the Usage Data button. Click reset to remove this data.
Check the application event log
for clues : Open the event viewer
on the AOS to see if the AOS service has logged something in it. Messages here
can help you a great deal. You can also check the event log on the database
server or your client pc.
Use Internet Search Engine : If you receive an error, just copy and paste it in
Internet Search engine. Most likely you are not the only one having that
problem.
Check your AX client version: You might for example be connecting to a SP1 application
with an SP0 client. You can check this in the about screen: AX button > Help
> About. The kernel version indicates the client version, below that is the
application version.
Refresh AOD, Dictionary and
Data : You can flush cashed
information using three option in the Tools > Development tools menu:
refresh AOD, refresh Dictionary and refresh Data. This can be useful when you
just imported an xpo file, or when you are developing for the enterprise
portal.
Delete AUC file : The application Unicode object cache file, if there is
one, is located at [DRIVE]:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local
Settings\Application Data for xp, or [DRIVE]:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local
for vista. Delete this file while the AX client is closed.
Check if other users are having
the same problem : Knowing whether you
are the only one that’s having that problem or if it’s a general problem is a
big step towards solving the problem. For example, if you alone have the
problem, restarting the AOS probably won’t solve it, but removing usage data
might.
Check security settings : When only some users have a problem, big changes are that it has
something to do with security settings. Security can be set up from
Administration > Setup > Security, on the Permissions tab.
Check configuration key setup : Some features of AX won’t work if a configuration key is
disabled, be aware of this.
Full compile : Open the AOT, right click the AOT node and select
compile.
Restart AOS : Sometimes restarting the AOS solves your problem just fine. If
you can, it’s worth the try as this doesn’t take long.
Remove .aoi file : When the AOS is stopped, you can delete the .aoi file from the
application files. This file will be rebuilt when the AOS starts.
Check the Log files : There are few logs which are very important to know.
·
AIF Exception Log
·
Windows Event Log
·
endpoint's logs
The AIF exception logs
can be accessed in Dynamics AX by going to
Basic | Periodic| Application
Integration Framework | Exceptions
Files with client
trace are located in Client’s log directory.
In default configuration it is set to either
[Drive]:\Users\Public\Microsoft\Dynamics
Ax\Log\
or [Drive]:\Document
and Settings\All Users\Microsoft\Dynamics Ax\Log\
or [Drive]:\Program
Files\Microsoft Dynamics AX\6.0\Client\Bin\DynamicsInfologTrace.log
Conclusion
There are differences
in Dynamics AX 2009 and Dynamics AX 2012, differences in the modules, user
interface, reports and many other features. The X++ MorphX reports are
completely deprecated and recomended to use SSRS, The BizTalk adapter has been
deprecated and replaced with WCF-compliant Services. As a developer what I see
is the scope for development aspect using with Visual Studio.Net has eventually
increased in MS Dynamics AX 2012. The goal of this article was to provide some
useful tips and help the developers and encourage newbies to get familiarity on
Dynamics AX.
There could be similar
works found from other sources. How ever the objective of this article is to
address the tips & solutions and few differences in Dynamics AX versions.
To the best of knowledge know such work was found for matching/reference.
References
The above attachment
file(Microsoft_Dynamics_AX_Changed_Elements_40sp2_2009.zip) provides some
useful information on all the changes between Dynamics AX 4.0 and Dynamics AX
2009. It was downloaded from the below link as is.
http://dynamicsuser.net/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.06.28.52/Microsoft-Dynamics-AX-Changed-Elements_5F00_40sp2_5F00_2009.xlsx
