How to startup GP with a default navigation page rather than the home page

So you want to be able to startup GP with a navigation bar option instead of the typical home page? This request was posted today by Mary Fetsch on the Microsoft Dynamics GP community public newsgroup.

After playing around with the navigation bar for a while and some head scratching, the light bulb went off… use a macro! One peculiarity about the navigation bar is, while click actions are off limits to the macro system — the navigation bar is part of the .NET managed code application wrapper — each option can be accessed with a combination of the Control key on the keyboard and a numeric sequence associated to the option. As such, Home can be accessed with the CTRL+1 keyboard combination; Financial, with the CTRL+2 combination, and so on.

The macro

The macro I created is the typical login macro documented in the Integration Manager manual with an extra touch: I recorded extra steps to close all windows and the keyboard combination for the default startup navigation option, in this case the Purchasing option. The macro looks like this:

Purchasing.mac

# DEXVERSION=10.0.324.0 2 2Logging file 'macro.log'CheckActiveWin dictionary 'default'  form Login window Login  MoveTo field Password  TypeTo field Password , 'somePassword'  MoveTo field 'OK Button'  ClickHit field 'OK Button'NewActiveWin dictionary 'default'  form sheLL window sheLLNewActiveWin dictionary 'default'  form 'Switch Company' window 'Switch Company'  MoveTo field 'OK Button'  ClickHit field 'OK Button'NewActiveWin dictionary 'default'  form sheLL window sheLLNewActiveWin dictionary 'default'  form sheLL window sheLLNewActiveWin dictionary 'default'  form syReminders window syRemindersActivateWindow dictionary 'default'  form sheLL window sheLL  CommandExec dictionary 'default'  form 'Command_System' command CloseAllWindowsActivateWindow dictionary 'default'  form Toolbar window 'Main_Menu_1'ShellCommand 'Navigate to \cmdNavigationPane\PurchasingButton\PurchasingAreaPage' # PurchasingActivateWindow dictionary 'default'  form sheLL window sheLL

Once the macro was ready, all that’s needed is to change the Dynamics GP application shortcut to launch and play the macro all at the same time, as follows:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics\GP\Dynamics.exe” Dynamics.set purchasing.mac

One thing I like about these type of user questions is, they are real life situations that can shave minutes from someone’s daily routine making life a bit easier.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
Maximum Global Business, LLC
http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com

Where are my toolbar menu shortcuts?

Recently, while working on a personal project, I realized that after more than 1 year of working with Dynamics GP 10.0 I had no idea why my toolbar menu items and menu drop-downs did not show the shortcut characters – the characters with an underline.

I was really used to my shortcuts! Where were they now? Turns out that activating the shortcuts is a “feature”! Yes! You just don’t open the application and expect all the menu items to show their shortcuts automatically.

If you press the ALT key on your keyboard – once, the menu will light up with the shortcut characters, but this has to be done from the main toolbar, then all submenus will follow.

Also turns out that, if you have all shortcuts activated and you switch from menu, these will be gone for the next menu. So here is the deal: maybe using shortcuts and drop-down menus will become an issue of the past and you may have to get use to the home page. If not, take a look at MVP Mark Polino’s post on Dynamics GP 10 home page and his own experience in his Weekly Dynamic column.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
Maximum Global Business, LLC
http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

Where are my toolbar menu shortcuts?

Recently, while working on a personal project, I realized that after more than 1 year of working with Dynamics GP 10.0 I had no idea why my toolbar menu items and menu drop-downs did not show the shortcut characters – the characters with an underline.

I was really used to my shortcuts! Where were they now? Turns out that activating the shortcuts is a “feature”! Yes! You just don’t open the application and expect all the menu items to show their shortcuts automatically.

If you press the ALT key on your keyboard – once, the menu will light up with the shortcut characters, but this has to be done from the main toolbar, then all submenus will follow.

Also turns out that, if you have all shortcuts activated and you switch from menu, these will be gone for the next menu. So here is the deal: maybe using shortcuts and drop-down menus will become an issue of the past and you may have to get use to the home page. If not, take a look at MVP Mark Polino’s post on Dynamics GP 10 home page and his own experience in his Weekly Dynamic column.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
Maximum Global Business, LLC
http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

Where are my toolbar menu shortcuts?

Recently, while working on a personal project, I realized that after more than 1 year of working with Dynamics GP 10.0 I had no idea why my toolbar menu items and menu drop-downs did not show the shortcut characters – the characters with an underline.

I was really used to my shortcuts! Where were they now? Turns out that activating the shortcuts is a “feature”! Yes! You just don’t open the application and expect all the menu items to show their shortcuts automatically.

If you press the ALT key on your keyboard – once, the menu will light up with the shortcut characters, but this has to be done from the main toolbar, then all submenus will follow.

Also turns out that, if you have all shortcuts activated and you switch from menu, these will be gone for the next menu. So here is the deal: maybe using shortcuts and drop-down menus will become an issue of the past and you may have to get use to the home page. If not, take a look at MVP Mark Polino’s post on Dynamics GP 10 home page and his own experience in his Weekly Dynamic column.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
Maximum Global Business, LLC
http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/

Internet Explorer scripting errors on Microsoft Dynamics GP Home Page

Microsoft Dynamics GP home page is a relatively new and fascinating feature. While users are becoming more and more familiar with its use, it is still puzzling when errors show up inadvertly. The following error was reported by a user of Dynamics GP a few days ago:

Home Page Error

Line:  335Char:  6Error: The data is invalidCode:  0URL:   file:///c:/Documents%20and%20Settings/[user_folder]/Local%20Settings/Temp/tmp16A.tmp

Each time the user refreshed the home page, the same error would manifest with a different temporary file.

In fact, the line number, character, and temp file may vary from machine to machine in this case. However, the resolution to this problem is relatively simple:

1. Close all applications on the user desktop
2. Open Microsoft Windows Explorer and go to the folder indicated, c:\Documents and Settings\[user_folder]\Local Settings\Temp.
3. Highlight all files and delete them
4. Launch Dynamics GP and log on into the system.

This should take care of the error!

Related Articles:

KB article 913822 – The home page displays the XML code for the home page when you start Microsoft Dynamics GP

KB article 916673 – Error “Metrics are not available because Microsoft Office Chart Components …”

KB article 917998 – How to disable the home page feature in Microsoft Dynamics GP

KB article 918313 – Frequently asked questions about the home pages and area pages features in Microsoft Dynamics GP

Related articles on this site:

- Restricting Access to Metrics on Microsoft Dynamics GP 10 Home Page. Click here.
- Changing Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Home Page Background Color. Click here.

Until next post!

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP
Maximum Global Business, LLC
http://www.maximumglobalbusiness.com/