The latest on Dynamics SL and Windows 8

Quick reminder: If you have been thinking about purchasing extra users for SL or GP, time is running out to take advantage of the excellent discount Microsoft is offering. Orders must be placed by COB Friday, June 21^st.

SL and Windows 8

I have grown to love Windows 8 after getting used to how it works. I can really miss it when I jump around on machines with the older operating systems now. I guess it is a good thing it is growing on me because it is getting harder and harder to find a new machine with Windows 7 on it. (Not to mention Windows 8.1 has been announced for delivery this year.)

That said, there are a couple of considerations for SL if you have new computer purchases in your near term budget. The only supported version of Dynamics SL for Windows 8 is 2011 with SP1 or FP1. Windows 8 will need to have .NET 3.5 turned on in the Programs and Features panel and .NET 3.5 SP1 applied through Windows Updates. In addition, this work-around might be the last step you need to complete to get SL running on Windows 8.

Dynamics on Azure

NAV and GP are now available on the Azure platform. Check with your partner for more information or read the community blog about it. SL and AX are coming, but the current best info is “some point in the future.”

Under the Hood

I get asked a lot about what table in the database a certain field is in. As a bonus to those that are still reading this far into the post, here is the query to find that out. Let’s say that I want to find tables where PONbr is found:

USE SLApplication — Use your application or system db name here

Select TABLE_NAME From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS Where column_name = ‘PONbr’

This is a great way to get a list of tables to choose from when writing reports or using the Quick Query module but it is only helpful if you know the column name. If you need to go fishing for a column, say, I need a column related to sales tax I could run the query:

Select TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS Where column_name Like ‘%Tax%’

And scan the result list to find interesting possibilities for our reporting.

Butch Adams
Managing Consultant
Conexus SG
Dallas, Texas