GP Optimizer Sneak Peek!

GP Optimizer Summer 2012 Cover

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Wisdom Wednesday!

Does SmartFill work with other third-party products or objects?

Yes, SmartFill works with any other Dexterity-based Microsoft Dynamics GP products. It can look up and auto-fill values from any object. It may need to be initialized, so if you are unable to set up your SmartFill object—contact us and we are happy to help.

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The "New" GP Optimizer Magazine

The “New” GP Optimizer Magazine 

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

GP Optimizer is a new, innovative publication founded by Rockton Software.  The magazine is being published as a resource to help customers work simpler and easier, as well as expand their knowledge and expertise in Microsoft Dynamics GP. 

The first edition will be approximately 50 pages in length, with content and advertisements from ISVs (Independent Software Vendors), in the Microsoft Dynamics GP space. The articles will be focused on solving a problem, and will give the reader an insider-view on how an ISV solution can enhance their Dynamics GP.  The first edition will be distributed in July, 2012.  

GP Optimizer is open to all ISVs that have a product offering in the Microsoft Dynamics GP space to ensure the content is relevant exclusively to GP users.   

GP Optimizer optimizing your experience in Microsoft Dynamics GP

Wishing to receive more information or be involved in the next issue of GP Optimizer?

Contact Nicole Sexton, Social Media Coordinator, Rockton Software 

Wishing to receive a copy of GP Optimizer?

Subscribe today by visiting our website, and clicking on the GP Optimizer “Subscribe” button located at the bottom of our homepage. 

Wisdom Wednesday!

In SmartFill, how do I setup a lookup on the Customer Maintenance window, name field? 

SmartFill is designed to allow the user(s) to enter the customer’s name in the Customer ID field, not the Name field. The reason for this is that Dynamics GP needs to have the Customer ID in order to display information for a Customer. 

Once a user enters the customer’s name in the Customer ID field, SmartFill will then bring up the “Make a Selection” window where the user can select the correct customer. Or, if there is only one match, SmartFill will automatically populate the fields for that one customer.  

More questions about SmartFill? Email Rockton. View Demo.

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Wisdom Wednesday!

How is SmartFill different from what Microsoft Dynamics GP already offers for lookups?

Advanced Lookups are a core part of Microsoft Dynamics GP, introduced back in version 6.0. These are the standard lookups that have always been part of the core functionality, and are driven by the user clicking on the looking/magnifying glass icon to the right of a key field, such as a Customer Number.

 The steps are as follows:

1.       Optionally enter part of the beginning of the Customer ID in the Customer ID field.

2.       Press the Looking Glass icon.

3.       A new lookup window displays, sorted by the Customer ID and starting with any value that was optionally entered in step 1.

4.       Scroll, search, and find the customer desired.

5.       Press Select and the Customer ID is returned to the window.  

Auto-Fill is a function introduced in Great Plains 7.5 and is now fully functional with almost all key fields in Dynamics GP. This feature “remembers” common entries typed into key fields, and then auto-fills appropriate values as suggestions as you type. At first, the “remembered” list is empty, but grows as you add values. Suppose you have “CAB001” and “CAR001” as values that are “remembered” in your list.  

The process would work as follows:

1.       Type “C” into the Customer ID field. Immediately “CAB001” will fill into the field, with your cursor between the “C” and the “A.” The first portion will be white as typed; the last portion will be reversed black-on-white to let you know it was auto-filled. If you press TAB, the entire value will be typed into the field.

2.       Continue typing an “A” into the field. The same value will stay, but the cursor will move between the “A” and the “B.”

3.       Continue typing an “R” into the field. The field will now change to “CAR001,” with the cursor after the “R.” You can continue typing additional characters to change the ID, or press TAB to select what is auto-filled.  

SmartFill takes an entirely different approach to lookups. We believe that users often do not know the Customer ID, but almost always know the Customer name; therefore, by typing part of the Customer name into the Customer ID field, the user experiences both an auto-fill and/or a filtered lookup depending on what they type. Suppose a Customer exists with a Customer ID of “MAIN001” and a Customer name of “Main Street Bakery.”  

The process works as follows:

1.       Type “Bakery” into the Customer ID field. Note we are entering the Customer name into the ID field.

2.       Press TAB. Immediately “Bakery” is replaced with “MAIN001.” 

The simplicity of SmartFill makes it much easier to use, more intuitive, and extremely efficient. Given the scenario above, additional actions may occur. If there was another customer in system with a name of “Happy Time Bakery,” when the user presses TAB a shortened list of “Main Street Bakery” and “Happy Time Bakery” will appear. Only these two entries will appear because they are the only two customers that contain “Bakery” in their names. The user can then choose one of the two customers and press the Select Button, and the value will be returned to the window and replace the word “Bakery” with the Customer ID that was selected. 

Optionally, the user can also type in “Bak” into the ID field, and both these bakeries would be listed, along with any other Customer whose name contains the three sequential letters “Bak.”

Until Next Time,

Rockton Software

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SmartFill Jingle

Mark Rockwell, president of Rockton Software, sings a jingle about the joys of SmartFill!

Until next time,

Rockton Software

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Mark's Musings

My wife hates arriving at the airport with 90 seconds left to walk on the plane. For me, what's the point of waiting for a plane? I've got better things to do.

My name is Mark Rockwell, and I'm an efficiency expert. Sometimes I say it proudly, sometimes with shame. That's because it's both a blessing and a curse.

Written By Mark Rockwell,
President of Rockton Software

The blessing? Take me into any warehouse where repetitive tasks abound, and I'll immediately find some way to improve it. Give me a little license, and I'll save gobs of money streamlining the process, eliminating steps, reducing errors, and boosting productivity.

The curse? I have little tolerance for wasting materials. I'm a handy person, and enjoy home remodeling. Nothing gets my ire quite like having to pay for ten percent extra flooring because the "professional" measurer doesn't know how to measure, or some "professional" installer is going to be so wasteful when they cut. When I install my own floors, I plan every cut in advance, so I know with precision just how much waste I will have, and it rarely exceeds two percent.

I don’t know how other people come to enjoy efficiency. My gift awoke to me when I played the role of Frank Gilbreth in my junior high’s production of Cheaper by the Dozen. Gilbreth was a master of motion study, and his biography paints a man with a passion to eliminate wasteful steps in almost every facet in life. The man shaved with two razors, and required foreign language records to be played when his kids bathed – so they’d learn something and not waste the time, and also finish bathing before the record timed out.

Having never touched bricks before, Gilbreth was once struck watching a seasoned bricklayer build a wall. In a bold gesture of confidence, he invited the mason in a race because he saw so many wasted motions. In minutes Gilbreth showed up the craftsmen, unfortunately ticking him off in the process. He later took his talents for masonry to commercial job sites and revolutionized the construction industry.

Gilbreth watched his family doctor perform a tonsillectomy, revised the process, and then ordered most of his children into assembly-line surgery, performing the most tonsillectomies imaginable in a short time. After all, if one kid needs his tonsils out, why not do them all? His kids were not amused.

His daughter Lill wanted to save for a pair of roller skates. At 47 cents, she won the bid to paint the fence around the yard. It took her ten days, and her dad would not let her quit on her commitment to finish the job (integrity was important.) While shrewd with business arrangements, Gilbreth also had a heart. The next morning Lill woke to find a new pair of roller skates under her pillow, a gift from a gracious father who knew the right balance in teaching life’s important lessons.

I really like this guy.

I remember my first gig as a computer programmer, where I impressed my boss by cutting the processing time of an address-parsing algorithm by 75%. Once I started working with computers, I began to see where they could take us, and the wonders of cutting out wasted time.

This is why SmartFill is one of my proudest achievements with Rockton Software. It’s kind of simple, really – type in what you know in order to find what you don’t know. I marveled at how it took a typical data entry person 12 mouse clicks to find a customer or vendor inside of Microsoft Dynamics GP, and I simply asked “couldn’t this be better?” The answer, I found, was yes. Way better. I managed to find a way to eliminate all 12 mouse clicks when doing a lookup. The result is tens of thousands of very happy customers who loyally use SmartFill – and get vicious if you ever suggest taking it away. If you haven’t seen the masterpiece of efficiency that SmartFill brings to Microsoft Dynamics GP, you should probably ask for a quick demo on it. I promise, the time won’t be wasted.

The rest of Rockton’s products, including our popular Dynamics GP Toolbox, are all about efficiency. 

Saving time, saving money. Making work simpler and easier.

As you might guess, I really like my job.

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Wisdom Wednesday!

Wishing for a simpler and easier user experience?

Dynamics GP Toolbox: Mentor & Inspector

Kelly McDonald, Rockton Software, said: “With a background in support, my jaw dropped when I first saw the information that Mentor and Inspector could provide when troubleshooting or creating reports in Microsoft Dynamics GP. I use it all the time because no one can remember that detailed information and these products bring it right to your fingertips. I used to spend so much time looking for such technical information. Makes me smile every time I use them!”

Mentor
Curious if Mentor works with 3^rd party products?

The answer is yes, as long as the windows are in GP and are Dexterity-based. After adding a 3^rd party product to GP, you will need to rebuild the Mentor Search Tables in order for Mentor to recognize the new tables, windows, and fields.

Rockton’s Recommendations:

·         Log into GP as a ‘sa’ or Poweruser.

·         Go to Tools>>Setup>>Dynamics GP Toolbox>>Dynamics GP Toolbox Setup.

·         Click on the Trouble shooting tab.

·         Click on the Rebuild Mentor Search Tables.

·         Once the Process completes, click OK, then click OK again.

Mentor helps searching for, opening, and getting information about windows in Microsoft Dynamics GP. 

Wishing for more on Mentor?  Here is a Rockton Demo!

Inspector
Curious if Inspector works with 3^rd party products?

The answer is yes, as long as the 3^rd party product windows are Dexterity-based.

Inspector gives detailed technical information about the fields in any window in Microsoft Dynamics GP or any Dexterity-based product that integrates with it.

Wanting more information on Inspector? Here is a Rockton Demo!

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