Home
>
Software
>
Great Plains Dexterity Development: FAQ

Great Plains Dexterity Development: FAQ

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is Dexterity-written application and currently we see increased interest for Great Plains customers to do in-house Dexterity development and customization. Dexterity itself is written on C programming language and its initial architecture was based on the Graphical and Database platform independence, which C programming language was believed to provide. Initially back in 1994 Great Plains Software Dynamics and Dynamics C/S+ were realized for Macintosh and Windows and pretty similar Dexterity DYNAMICS.DIC dictionary worked for Ctree/Faircomm and Microsoft SQL Server 6.5. In our days Microsoft Great Plains is available for Windows and MS SQL Server only (since version 8.0). In this small article we would like to give you highlights on the most typical entry level Dexterity development questions

? How do I install Dexterity. If you have Microsoft Great Plains Standard or Professional license, you Great Plains CD #2 has Dexterity installation files. However you need license from Microsoft Business Solutions if you plan to do in-house software development. If you have Small Business Manager / Small Business Financials ? your distributive doesn't have Dexterity ? you need to call your MBS partner and have them to do the job.

? DYNAMICS.DIC. This is your core dictionary which should be used for your customization.

? New Custom forms vs. Alternate Forms. If you are beginner, please try to stick to new Great Plains Forms. Do not customize existing forms. If you open existing form in Dexterity ? you should be aware that field scripts are stripped off and if you place your own script over the original one ? you will destroy the field logic

? Dexterity Triggers. You register them in Startup script ? look Dexterity manual. If you have to deal with existing fields logic alteration you register before or after original script trigger. Please see the examples.

? SQL Stored Procs. Latest version of Microsoft Great Plains is available for MS SQL Sevrer/MSDE only and you should consider combination of Dexterity and Stored procs. Try to avoid using old Dexterity cursors, statements, like: start range. Hint ? ranges were the instrument of database platform independence and it seems to be not the case anymore.

? Dexterity Chunk. You should be aware that Dexterity reserves certain range of the resources for MBS internal developers, you can not modify and use these resources, all the custom resources you create in your customization will use the numbers outside of the proprietary range. Your new resources will be packed into so called chunk. Please refer to the manual on how to create the chunk.

? Customization Upgrade. The most challenging portion of upgrade is Alternate Great Plains forms. If you place custom fields and logic on the existing forms then, you should know that Great Plains can change the form for the new version and you will have to review and redo the custom logic.

? Localization. Dexterity has string resources ? this is where you can translate the strings and have Great Plains work with your native language. However your native language code should be single byte, not Unicode. If you need Dex to work with Chinese, Japanese or Korean ? there is special utility to enable this feature.

Happy customizing! You can always appeal to us to help you with your system. Give as a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, Navision, Microsoft RMS, Microsoft Business Portal customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Boston, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Toronto, Montreal, Brazil, Mexico, UK, Australia, Canada, UK, Europe, Russia an having small offices in multiple states and internationally.

Riverside Chicago charter limousine .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which flew on Mars in April 2021, became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on a planet other than Earth.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Thieves who have iPhones can usually detect a hidden AirTag in vehicles they are attempting to steal, and an RFID wallet may not help you.

Genmoji, the latest addition to Apple's Apple Intelligence suite, uses artificial intelligence to generate customized emoji based on text descriptions.

It's easy to find yourself swamped in unread emails. Here are a few simple steps to archiving them and clearing out some of your digital clutter.

Keep your retirement plan safe from data brokers selling your personal information. Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to protect yourself and your retirement.

Turo faces scrutiny after tragic incidents involving rented vehicles, raising questions about security measures and regulatory frameworks.

A Chinese company has developed a spherical, 276-pound law enforcement robot that has been chasing down criminals at impressive speeds.

Here are some powerful online sleuthing tricks you can use to check the credibility of a website, see old pictures of places you've lived and even learn more about your neighbors.

Beware scam calls: Avoid unknown numbers and protect your personal information. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson talks about the increasingly common scam.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you crush your New Year's goals with these 12 apps to help you stay on track and succeed.

There are many untapped safeguards and tips you can learn to take your Wi-Fi knowledge to the next level, technology expert Kim Komando shares her tricks.

VPNs ensure privacy; antivirus stops malware. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says both are essential for online security.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson cites a new report that says many people still use weak passwords like "123456," risking their accounts.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says a tech support scam used a fake Windows Defender pop-up, tricking the victim to call and download software.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals ways to restore accidentally deleted text messages on your Android phone.

A new study says outdoor security camera apps are among the biggest collectors of user data, including phone numbers, payment details and precise location.

In iOS 18.2 and later, Apple's Mail app enhances email management by automatically sorting messages into distinct categories to help find emails faster.

A virtual private network (VPN) allows computer and smartphone users to mask an IP and create a secure, encrypted connection between a device and the internet.

Android 15's latest feature, Private Space, is like a private vault helping to keep your personal or sensitive apps away from prying eyes.

Cybercriminals have more ways than ever to target teenagers; here are some of the most widespread scams and tricks to watch in order to keep your loved ones safe.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

A humanoid robot named CUE6 has got game. The basketball-playing robot, produced by Toyota, claimed a Guinness World Record for longest shot.

With electronic signatures becoming more common, Kurt the CyberGuy explains how to produce your digital John Hancock for online documents.

Kurt the CyberGuy walks through steps he recommends immediately taking after getting new electronics — like phones or TVs — as gifts this holiday season.