SmartConnect 2014 releases today!

It's here... SmartConnect 2014!

We are very excited to release SmartConnect 2014 today!

This release will work for any of the following versions of Dynamics GP(10, 2010, 2013, 2013 R2), Dynamics CRM (4, 2011, 2013, online) and all the more generic connectors (SalesForce.com, Web Services, Text Files, XML, SQL,etc).

SmartConnect 2014 has some really great features added along with several fixes. Below are a few of the really exciting features along with the download below:
http://www.eonesolutions.com/Products/Downloads

SQL Server Realtime Triggers – This feature allows you to run a SmartConnect map and use the data from the just saved record in SQL Server. Any SQL table can have this added.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Bulk Destination – As larger datasets need to be sent to Dynamics CRM the load on the CRM Webservice can be reduced by using the Bulk Destination for CRM and sending more data in one document.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Entity Lookup Enhancements – Entity Lookups allow you to work with Microsoft Dynamics CRM data without needing to know the complexities of the GUIDs or needing an intermediary datastore to synchronize Dynamics CRM data. We have enhanced this feature set allowing you to use other calculated fields and transformations in the lookups.

SalesForce.com Entity Lookup Enhancements – Entity Lookups allow you to work with SalesForce data without needing to know the complexities of the GUIDs or needing an intermediary datastore to synchronize SalesForce data. We have enhanced this feature set allowing you to use other calculated fields and transformations in the lookups.

Rolling Column New Features (Next Document Numbers) – We have added most document types and now you can even have multiple in a specific map. Custom Rolling Columns are available globally now instead of just on a specific map. Additionally, you can pass in data source fields and calculated fields in determining the correct document type.

Disable/Enable all tasks – Quickly enable/disable all tasks when testing maps. This can be very useful when you have a process like sending an email or updating a SQL table on the success or failure and you only want that to run when the map is ready for production. 

Enhanced Transformation Abilities – I really love this feature. We have basically allowed you to use the transformation fields (Calculated Fields, Lookups, Translations, etc.) everywhere inside of the application. When you look at SmartConnect as an ETL tool you can see that this adds another level of robustness when delivering any solution for your business needs.

Thanks,
Chris Dew
Director of Product Management

Do you have any questions regarding the latest release of SmartConnect 2014? Email us at sales@eonesolutions.com and we would be happy to help!

10 Facts About Upgrading from Integration Manager to SmartConnect

We have seen an increase of customers making the upgrade from Integration Manager to SmartConnect. Over 2,000 Dynamics GP customers have already made the switch for their integration needs.

Curious to know why so many people have made the switch? We've made it easier for you to see the benefits of upgrading to SmartConnect in the video below:



Interested in upgrading or simply purchasing SmartConnect? Email us with any questions at sales@eonesolutions.com and we would be happy to assist you!

SmartConnect Classroom Training in Q3

Summer is here and though many of us have been taking turns vacationing, we're still hard at work in the office - focusing on the products and getting ready for some great events in (our) Q3. As you look forward to your next quarter, we'd love to have you set aside time to join us at our SmartConnect classroom training events: 

July 16th & 17th: Fargo, ND

August 13th & 14th: Denver, CO

September 17th & 18th: Los Angeles, CA

So are you ready to become an integration guru? The sessions are $1400/per person for two full days of hands-on training and lunches each day. If you send 2 people from your organization, the 2nd person is half off. We have LIMITED SEATING available so please sign up early.

Already made your schedule for next quarter? Consider joining us for the following. The sessions for Q4 are as follows: 

October 12th & 13th: St. Louis, MO (prior to the GPUG Summit event) 

November 12th & 13th: Fargo, ND (prior to the reIMAGINE event)

December 3rd & 4th: Phoenix, AZ

Sign up through our website calendar or email sales@eonesolutions.com if you'd like to participate! 

Tech Tuesday: Creating a Task in SmartConnect to get a file from an FTP site

This weeks Tech Tuesday is from our very own Chris Dew, our Director of Product Management, who will explain how to create a task in SmartConnect to get a file from an FTP site.

We get quite a few customers that want to take files from a FTP site and utilize this file as the source of their data when running a map inside of SmartConnect. Today I have created a sample Task script that will allow you to grab a file in a Pre Map Task and then use it for the integration.

First you can simply click on the Tasks button in any existing map, and then choose a new task called run script. This is where you can now copy the script below and paste into this window (like in the image below).

=================================================================

'EXAMPLE OF HOW TO USE FtpWebRequest

        'Configuration
        Const localFile As String = "C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\ftpREADME.txt"
        Const remoteFile As String = "/README.txt"
        Const host As String = "ftp://ftp.swfwmd.state.fl.us/pub/"
        Const username As String = "anonymous"
        Const password As String = "email@email.com"

        'Create a request
        Dim URI As String = host & remoteFile
        Dim ftp As System.Net.FtpWebRequest = CType(System.Net.FtpWebRequest.Create(URI), System.Net.FtpWebRequest)
        'Set the credentials
        ftp.Credentials = New System.Net.NetworkCredential(username, password)
        'Turn off KeepAlive (will close connection on completion)
        ftp.KeepAlive = False
        'we want a binary
        ftp.UseBinary = True
        'Define the action required (in this case, download a file)
        ftp.Method = System.Net.WebRequestMethods.Ftp.DownloadFile

        'If we were using a method that uploads data e.g. UploadFile
        'we would open the ftp.GetRequestStream here an send the data

        'Get the response to the Ftp request and the associated stream
        Using response As System.Net.FtpWebResponse = CType(ftp.GetResponse, System.Net.FtpWebResponse)
            Using responseStream As IO.Stream = response.GetResponseStream
                'loop to read & write to file
                Using fs As New IO.FileStream(localFile, IO.FileMode.Create)
                    Dim buffer(2047) As Byte
                    Dim read As Integer = 0
                    Do
                        read = responseStream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)
                        fs.Write(buffer, 0, read)
                    Loop Until read = 0 'see Note(1)
                    responseStream.Close()
                    fs.Flush()
                    fs.Close()
                End Using
                responseStream.Close()
            End Using
            response.Close()
        End Using
return true
=================================================================

The only configuration that needs to be done is at the very top where you determine four things:
1) The name and location you want to put the file on your network
2) The name of the remote file
3) FTP Site
4) Username
5) Password

Have fun with this one and use your imagination on other scripts you can use. If you have a suggestion for a new script please let me know.

chris.dew@eonesolutions.com

Thanks,
Chris Dew

Interested in SmartConnect? Please email us at sales@eonesolutions.com and we would be happy to assist you!

SmartList Builder vs. SmartList Designer

We have been getting a lot of questions regarding the differences between eOne’s SmartList Builder and Microsoft’s new SmartList Designer tool.

To make it easier for you in your decision making process, we have interviewed the two candidates in the video below to see who is better qualified to create custom SmartLists for Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Spoiler alert: SmartList Builder wins!

Interested in more information on SmartList Builder? Please feel free to email us at sales@eonesolutions.com!

Props to SmartConnect

We are always on the lookout for satisfied (and possibly-not-quite-satisfied) so that we can continue to improve our software and go above and beyond the expectations of our clients. It has recently been brought to our attention that the Markovich Report - a blog by one of our SmartConnect users, was written praising SmartConnect and labeling it his choice integration tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP & CRM.

After listing the other integration options (i.e. Scribe, Connector from Microsoft, writing it yourself) he states,  

"Or you could eliminate all of that nonsense and time wasting and just use SmartConnect from eOne. In fact, you should definitely do that. SmartConnect has changed my life at work."

He also gave this tid bit:

"Side note: this was done without me really knowing much about the CRM tables or how the CRM web services really work. What I found was this: it’s not really necessary. eOne has done all of the heavy lifting for me initially and it’s just up to me to decide what information I want to sync."

So big props to SmartConnect for taking on all the heavy lifting for Joe and for offering many more options to integrate between GP and CRM. Also a big thank you to Joe for your kind words and feedback regarding eOne SmartConnect, we appreciate it!

For the full blog you may view it here.

Do you have a story about how SmartConnect has benefited you? If so we'd LOVE to hear it, please email your story to us at sales@eonesolutions.com!

Tech Tuesday: Remove All Date Formatting in Excel Report Builder

This week's Tech Tuesday is from Jared Dux in Quality Assurance. He highlights the Excel Report Builder aspect of SmartList Builder and how to remove all date formatting within it.

In Excel Report Builder version 12.00.0067 and 12.00.0068 you can add a line to the Dex.ini to remove all date formatting from published Excel Reports. Add EXCEL_REPORT_BUILDER_REMOVE_DATE_FORMATS=TRUE to the Dex.ini to pass in a number rather than a formatted date to Excel.When you publish your Excel Report you will now have all your date fields showing as numbers similar to the Document Date in the image below.

You can now select all the date columns and format them with the many date options in Excel.

Interested in learning more about SmartList Builder? Feel free to email us at sales@eonesolutions.com for more information!

New Release of the Inclusion of Dynamic Aged Trial Balances within SmartView

A quick google search on term ‘GP aged trial balance’ indicates what a critical reports ATB’s for all those people that use Dynamics GP every day.

So now to share some exciting news in the world of Dynamics GP Aged Trial Balances. Please note that Trial Balances are only available inside of GP at this time. Releasing this week will be the inclusion of dynamic Aged Trial balances within eOne’s SmartView reporting tool. Let me run through a few of the things that make this an awesome addition to every Dynamics GP installation.

1. Super easy and flexible filtering: SmartView lets you filter on anything.  

• If you look at the list above it contains many $0 balance customers. To filter these out you simply drop down and select the values you want. No need to rerun the report – just check a box.  

• This works the same for any column of data where you can filter on those with a 30 day balance, or filter by a territory, salesperson or any other related field. Giving you a really flexible ATP on the fly.

2. Ability to Re Age your ATB: Anytime based upon any date you enter. No need to run any background GP processes – simply change the date.  

3. Auto Grouping: Auto grouping and expansion to see all the outstanding transactions in your selection. This ensures you can start with balances and drill to the details on the particular records you need to see.

4. Drill Down: To the detail in GP via the GOTo’s.

5. Grouping and totaling by any field you choose: In this example, we have grouped the ATB by SalesPerson. Subtotals are auto displayed on the screen and each group can be expanded or closed.

6. Find: CTRL F for "find" lets you find any value anywhere in the ATB. 

7. Export the report to: Excel, CSV or PDF. When you export it keeps the formatting you have on screen. 

8. Cut and Paste: This is the coolest. Simply cut and paste any selection of records, sequential or not, using CTRL C and CTRL V to paste to Excel or Outlook or anywhere you choose.

Interested in learning more about SmartView? Email sales@eonesolutions.com for more!