Microsoft Dynamics NAV Developer blog from EMEA Customer Service & Support

Goodbye Nav_Developer, hello NAV Team-blog

2009-10-20T11:44:00Z

To make things just a little bit simpler, some of the NAV blogs have now been combined into the NAV Team Blog . So from now on, that is where we will blog. All content from this blog has already been migrated to the NAV Team Blog. So this post will be the last post on this blog. And please check for updates on http://blogs.msdn.com/nav and continue to add as valuable comments and feedback there, as you have done here. More information about what is happening with the NAV blogs here: New Colors, New...(read more)

How using SQLIndex property can affect which index NAV uses

2009-09-18T06:09:00Z

The usual rule for specifying a key in NAV is, that it will chose the first key that matches all the fields specified by SETCURRENTKEY, RunformLink, etc. Example: Table 21 "Cust. Ledger Entry" has the following keys (not all of them listed): - Entry No. - Customer No.,Posting Date,Currency Code - Customer No.,Open,Positive,Due Date,Currency Code - Customer No.,Applies-to ID,Open,Positive,Due Date You have code like this: CustLedgEntry.SETCURRENTKEY("Customer No."); CustLedgEntry...(read more)

Problems in transformation forms to pages using TransformationTools

2009-09-14T12:10:00Z

After Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 release more and more developers start using it and trying to adopt existing solutions for new 3tier environment. Most workload comes from trying to adopt current forms to new object - pages. Particularly transformation could be done by using TransformationTools, however it is not "best ever" and partners reporting problems and require to fix it... But it isn't so easy... This tool is delivered to us from dev team and it helps us to make transformation...(read more)

Table Information including Index information (Usage, Blocks and Reads)

2009-08-25T15:34:00Z

The query below combines these three queries into one: Index Usage Query Recent Bocking History Table Information Query It can be used to just see the number of records in each table. But also by just changing "ORDER BY", it can be used to see which index cause most blocking / wait time / updates or locks. Or to compare Index Updates with Index Reads to get an idea of cost versus benefit for each index for the purpose of index tuning. So in short, one query gives you: - Index / Table Information...(read more)

Troubleshooting multi-machine installations of NAV 2009

2009-08-17T17:36:00Z

The NAV 2009 documentation walkthroughs provide step-by-step instructions for installing NAV 2009 on 2 or 3 machines. However, we have found that some of the same configuration issues come up time after time after installation. When on calls with partners and customers, it seemed to me that this information was spread out all over the place, so I wanted to organize it in a different way for troubleshooting purposes so that I would have most everything in one place. Hopefully this will be helpful...(read more)

Translate this site using Windows Live Translator

2009-08-12T06:50:00Z

A new translator service is now available for all whose browser is set to one of the following languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Netherlands Dutch, Russian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Japanese, Korean, Arabic. To use it: Scroll down, and on the right hand side of this page, select your language under "Translate this site using Windows Live Translator". Lars Lohndorf-Larsen Microsoft Dynamics UK Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) EMEA...(read more)

Index Usage Information Tool

2009-07-16T06:58:00Z

Attached at the end of this post is a set of NAV objects that collects index usage information, and displays it in a NAV client so that you can sort tables by no. of Indexes / Index Reads / (Index) Block wait time, etc.: The tool is using these three SQL Queries / DMVs: sys.indexes: Basic information about indexes sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats: No. of Index Reads, updates, etc sys.dm_db_index_operational_stats: Index blocking / wait time etc. The information that is collected is already described in...(read more)

Converting company names for NAV Web Services

2009-07-10T18:26:00Z

A few weeks ago I saw an up tick in the number of cases having problems accessing exposed web service. Some of the problem has been because the “CRONUS USA, Inc.” company name converts to an unfamiliar “CROUNS_USA_x002C__Inc”. This will be changing in NAV 2009 SP1 , but until that time it would be helpful to know exactly how company names are converted for NAV Web Services. The rules are: The character '%' are converted to the word “Percent”. The characters '@', '"',...(read more)

How to set dynamically the Key and Sort Order for the pages using NAV 2009 Web Services feature.

2009-07-08T07:04:21Z

The default methods exposed when a page is published are the so-called CRUD (Create, Read, Multiple and Delete) methods. All of those does not allow to set up previously a key for sorting order nor if the records have to be ascending or descending. In order to retrieve data in a particular sorting order it should be necessary to develop N pages for N related sorting keys. This can be a solution that deserve the analysis of the cost of the pages plus the maintenance of the source objects. Another...(read more)

How to read a SQL Profiler trace file into a SQL table

2009-07-07T07:03:00Z

Just a small tip that I use often when I have a large SQL Profiler trace. Rather than reading through trace files line by line, you can read it into a table and then query it. This syntax creates a new table in SQL Server and loads your trace file into it: SELECT * INTO MyTraceTemp FROM :: fn_trace_gettable ( 'c:\x\MyTrace.trc' , default ) The default parameter means that if the trace is across multiple trace files, it will automatically read the next trace file(s) too. If your trace consists...(read more)

Strange errors come during change SourceExpr value in NAV report designer...

2009-07-02T08:14:00Z

Our colleague raised problem: why he receives strange error during report compile, after he changed SourceExpr value for some control in report designer in NAV 2009. Error message was: Error while validating RDL content: The Value expression for textbox “CompanyInfo” refers to the field ‘PricesInclVAT_YesNo’. Report Item expressions can only refers to fields within the current data set scope or, if inside an aggregate, the specified data set scope. Error itself looks very strange because: 1. It comes...(read more)

Where is the zup file again?

2009-07-01T09:12:00Z

I keep forgetting where the CustomSettings.config, ClientUserSettings.Config etc files are. So I keep looking it up again in "Where is the zup file" . This time, I collected the location of these files in a NAV form so I don't have to look them up anymore. In addition to this you can edit the files from the form directly. It looks like this: The first time you run the form it will insert a record with the default settings. If your installation is in different folders, then you can of...(read more)

How to manage NAV DBCS data using C#

2009-06-16T06:26:00Z

It is known that NAV CC (Classic Client) does not support natively DBCS (Double-Byte Character Set) and so does the new NAV 2009 RTC (Role Tailored Client). Due to differences in how the CC and RTC check the code page isn’t still possible to enable DBCS in the RTC but this is possible for the CC by implementing new fin.stx file. This last sentence is duly written and explained in KB 915374. How to enable and to display double-byte character sets in Microsoft Dynamics NAV https://mbs.microsoft...(read more)

What do SPNs actually do - NAV 2009

2009-06-15T12:36:00Z

Three terms keep coming up when setting up NAV 2009 when NAV-server (middle tier) runs on a different machine than SQL Server: - Delegation / Impersonation - Kerberos - SPN Delegation / Impersonation is what it says it is. Kerberos is handled more or less automatically by Windows. But what do SPNs actually do.... (un)fortunately SPN can't be explained without first explaining Delegation and Kerberos. Delegation / Impersonation: The end-user (RTC) logs on to the NAV-Server which then logs on to...(read more)

Setting up NAV 2009 on Three machines

2009-06-12T13:38:00Z

Setting up delegation and SPNs for NAV 2009 on three machines (when the NAV Server and SQL Server are on two seperate machines) is described in "Walkthrough: Installing the Three Tiers on Three Computers" . But in addition to this, also be aware of the following: The syntax of SPNs has changed since KB 968189 You may need to set UserAccountControl flag in Active Directory Also thanks to our German colleagues for already posting this information here and here . Syntax of SPNs has changed...(read more)

SQL Query to show tables, their indexes and index usage

2009-06-04T13:11:00Z

The SQL query below shows a list of tables sorted by the largest tables first. For each table, the indexes in the table are shown. For each index it shows when the index was last used. The query is designed to collect various pieces of information in one place, and give an overview to help supporting decisions when doing index tuning. The left hand columns show data for the table (No. of receords, data- and index size) to have a view of the impact of having indexes on the table. The right hand columns...(read more)

How to use WCF Performance Counters with NAV 2009 Server

2009-05-19T10:06:00Z

NAV Server (middle tier) utilises Windows Communication Foundations (WCF), which includes a number of performance counters that you can use to monitor NAV Server performance in real-time. This example shows how to monitor "Calls Per Second" for NAV Server to get some idea of how busy it is over a working day / over time. Many other counters are available. Enable Counters First, enable WFC Performance Counters as described in this article WCF Performance Counters : 1) Use Notepad to edit...(read more)

Upgrading to Dynamics NAV 2009

2009-05-18T14:10:00Z

Upgrade procedure to Dynamics NAV 2009 is not very different from upgrade procedures we had in previous versions, but some differences do apply, depending on what we want to achieve with the upgrade. First scenario is executables only upgrade, which is the same as traditional executables upgrade in NAV. That means upgrading classic NAV client to NAV 2009 version by opening previous database versions with new client, and selecting yes when prompted to convert database, without any object changes or...(read more)

Upgrading older databases to NAV 2009 runtime

2009-05-08T14:31:00Z

It's quite normal to upgrade the runtime (executables) to newer versions while leaving the database (application) as it is. This will enable the new runtime features such as Web Services. Recently we have seen a number of questions about whether you can upgrade older databases to NAV 2009. As such, NAV 2009 is just another version, so the default answer would be that yes, you can do that. Just remember a few additional things to be avare of: 1) To get a number of new system tables, do the upgrade...(read more)

Dynamics NAV, customizing style sheets for export to MS Excel

2009-04-22T16:48:00Z

A while a go we posted a blog decribing how to make some basic customizations to style sheets used for export to Excel. http://blogs.msdn.com/nav_developer/archive/2009/02/18/customizing-style-sheets-for-ms-excel.aspx This is an update to that blog. You can download updated sample objects from the link below In addition to changes described there (customizing font styles, conditional formatting and adding totals), this will allow adding some basic document properties, choosing to display zero decimal...(read more)

Beware the SQL Index property on NAV 5.0 SP1

2009-04-10T13:16:00Z

The discussion of the changes starting with Microsoft Dynamics NAV version 5 regarding the use of Dynamic cursors has already been addressed in the article titled "Cursor Types" on the SE Blog - http://blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_dynamics_nav_sustained_engineering/ However, we are seeing more and more cases where the use of the SQL Index property in NAV 5.0 SP1 is causing performance issues, so the purpose of this blog is to explain in more detail from an application perspective how this property...(read more)

RIM Tool on NAV 2009

2009-04-03T18:33:00Z

With the release of 5.0 SP1, a new data type conversion routine was introduced with codeunit 5302 - Outlook Synch. Type Conversion. There are several known issues with data migration due to these changes. The previously published blog for 5.0 SP1 contains a change log of some code suggestions and workarounds for the more common and/or critical issues. This blog addresses many of the same issues in NAV 2009. While some corrections were made between the release of 5.0 SP1 and 2009, not all fixes made...(read more)

The physical location of .net components

2009-03-12T07:50:00Z

The virtual table 2000000046 "Automation Server" shows you the physical location of the automation servers (.dll file). But a .net component is not an automation server, so is not listed here. One of the main benefits of .net is exactly to be able to copy and paste files, keep installations simple, and maintain multiple versions. But registering .net components do a lot to hide this simplicity. Windows Explorer also hides the actual structure of the registered .net components. To see the...(read more)

Report Headers

2009-02-24T21:07:00Z

In classic reports, adding a header to your report is as easy as just copying the Header section from an existing one. With reports for RTC you need to do a bit of manual work to get your report header. A standard header contains the following information: Report Name Company Name Time and date ( =Globals!ExecutionTime) Page Caption and Number ( =Globals!PageNumber ) User ID ( =User!UserID) Time and Date, Page Number and User ID are automatically defined as global variables in Visual Studio report...(read more)

Labels in NAV2009 Report Design

2009-02-24T10:40:00Z

When adding fields to a report, the caption is typically added automatically or with a bit of drag and drop from the DataSet in VS Report Layout. But if you want to add additional labels, for example Report Name in the header, then there are a few more steps you must follow. Of course, you can just add a new TextBox in VS Layout, and type in the value you want to show. This is simple but will not give you Multi Language. Using a label from the classic report design gives you Multi language, but is...(read more)