TRAINEE WORKBOOK. Atlas 5.0 for Microsoft Dynamics AX Upload system

Transcription

1 TRAINEE WORKBOOK Atlas 5.0 for Microsoft Dynamics AX Upload system

2 COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 2009, Globe Software Pty Ltd, All rights reserved. Trademarks Dynamics AX, IntelliMorph, and X++ have been registered as or are under registration as trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Office System 2007, Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Software release This documentation accompanies Atlas version or higher and which is suitable for Microsoft Dynamics AX V4.0 SP2 and Dynamics AX 2009 SP1 or higher and Microsoft Office 2007 or higher. Publication date 30/04/2012 Reader comments Any comments or suggestions regarding this publication are welcomed and should be addressed to the attention of:

3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Welcome About this course Course description Audience Objectives Pre-requisites Classroom Training Training Materials Atlas upload system overview Outline Objectives Walk-through: Atlas Ribbon Scenario Understanding the Atlas Ribbon Key points Quick interaction Working with the upload system Outline Objectives What is an upload template? Outline Saved templates In-document templates Walk-through: Running an upload Scenario Adjust the invoice lines in the workbook Choosing a template Confirmation Walk-through: Mapping a template to a document Scenario Picking a suitable saved template from a library Mapping the document to the template Giving the template a title and inserting in the document Creating the named ranges in your document Testing the upload prior to publishing Sharing templates Outline Sharing by document Saving the template i

4 Introduction Exporting the saved template Lab Exercises Key points Quick interaction Working with upload templates Outline Objectives Choosing a data source Outline Table upload Journal upload Selecting mandatory fields Outline System required fields User required fields Setting defaults Outline Literal values Number sequences Reference field lookup Line numbers (Incremental) Table method calls Parent fields Child fields Walk-through: Creating a Table upload template Scenario Data source selection Choosing template fields Mapping the template to the document and setting defaults Saving the template and performing an upload Additional, required fields resulting from Validation Final upload test Making the template simpler by understanding table methods Lab Exercises Key points Quick interaction Table upload functions Outline Objectives Append function Outline Uses for the Append function ii

5 Introduction Lab. Exercises Update Column function Outline Uses for the update Column function Walk-through: Updating a field Lab. Exercises Replace function Outline Uses for the Replace function Walk-through: Find and Replace Lab Exercises Key points Quick interaction Journal functions Outline Objectives Uses of the Journal function Walk-through: Journal upload functions Scenario Identifying journal data sources for the template Add and subtract fields to suit user and system requirements Map fields, set defaults and insert as an in-document template Test the journal upload Lab. Exercises Key points Quick interaction Matrix style upload Outline Objectives Uses for Matrix uploads Matrix uploads Walk-through: Sales forecast upload Auto generating date values Lab Exercises Key points Quick interaction Batch tasks Outline Objectives Uses for the Batch task list Walk-through: Creating and running batch task list iii

6 Introduction Outline Creating the batch and adding templates Adding command functions Running the batch tasks Errors during execution and sequence control commands Walk-through: Using the split function Outline Adjusting the template to select company Setting the split basis Running a batch task list with active splits Lab Exercises Key points Quick interaction iv

7 1 Introduction 1.1 Welcome Training is a vital component of retaining the value of your Atlas investment. Our training keeps you up-to-date on your solution and helps you develop the skills necessary for you to fully maximize the value of your investment. Whether you choose to undertake Classroom Training, or download our Training Materials, there s a type of training to meet your needs. 1.2 About this course This course provides you with a general introduction to the Atlas upload system. This introduction includes: Course description This tutor-led course provides students with the knowledge to design and build working templates for the Atlas upload system. The course focuses on using all the upload functions and demonstrates each in isolation and in context Audience This course is intended for all students who wish to learn about the Atlas upload system and what it can do for them. It is expected that students have a good understanding of Microsoft Excel and its basic features as well as an excellent knowledge of AX2012 and its data structures. A typical persona would be technical in nature and have a good understanding of data base structures; this might include: System administrator, System Accountant or X++ developer Objectives The objective of this course is to provide you with the ability to: Understand and navigate the Atlas ribbon and task panes Work with the upload system Work with designing, building and deploying upload templates Understand Designer and Standard modes of operation Understand what templates are used for with respect to the upload system Understand what the purpose of an upload template Understand the differences between table templates and journal templates Understand the matrix style of uploads Understand how to create an upload template Understand how to select template fields Understand how to various types of defaulting mechanisms and how to apply them Understand what is meant by a batch task Understand how to build a batch list including the use of templates and other batch actions Understand how you can use a batch list to perform split uploads 5

8 Introduction Pre-requisites Students must have completed the Atlas 5 reporting system course; they must be familiar with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 system and have an excellent understanding of the data structures that support this version. Students must also have a good knowledge of the basic features of Microsoft Excel. 1.3 Classroom Training Classroom Training provides serious, in-depth learning through hands-on interaction. From demonstrations to presentations to classroom activities, you ll receive hands-on experience with instruction from our experts. 1.4 Training Materials Training Materials allow you to learn at your own pace, on your own time with informationpacked training manuals. We offer a variety of training manuals and user guides, each rich with tips, tricks, and insights you can refer to again and again: Atlas Training Workbooks are very detailed training manuals, designed from a training perspective. These manuals include advanced topics as well as training objectives, exercises and interactions. Look for a complete list of manuals available from your partner or via the website: Before you begin please check that you have the following: You must have a copy of Dynamics AX 2012 installed and working on the CEU company. Or, A copy of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 installed in a VPC with the demonstration company CEU installed. Or, Atlas 5.0 installed with connections to the appropriate Microsoft Dynamics AX installation. (If you are using the VPC with an Atlas differential installed, then this should already be working) An Atlas client icon on the desktop, configured to point to the training system Atlas 5.0 training workbooks installed AX2012 LAB Append Aussie Cities AX2012 LAB Append Forecast model AX2012 LAB Append Address Book AX2012 LAB Append Customers AX2012 LAB Update Customer credit ratings AX2012 LAB Replace Customer Item sales forecast AX2012 LAB Journal Sales order AX2012 LAB Matrix Replace Customer Item allocation forecast AX2012 LAB Matrix Replace Customer Item allocation contiguous forecast 6

9 Introduction AX2012 LAB Batch Free-text invoice Atlas 5 completed training workbooks AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Append Aussie Cities AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Append Forecast model AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Append Address Book AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Append Customers AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Update Customer credit ratings AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Replace Customer Item sales forecast AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Journal Sales order AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Matrix Replace Customer Item allocation forecast AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Matrix Replace Customer Item allocation contiguous forecast AX2012 COMPLETE LAB Batch Free-text invoice Upload data source file and templates: AX2012 Training Upload.AtlasDataSources Australian Cities Zip Codes Free-text invoice Demand forecast Total Demand Forecast Matrix Accompanying walkthrough templates: AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Free-text invoice AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Select and map template AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Append sales order line AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Update sales pool AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Replace Customer Demand Forecast AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Journal Free-text invoice AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Matrix Replace Customer Demand Forecast AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Batch Append Customers AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Batch Append Multicompany Customers 7

10 Introduction 8

11 2 Atlas upload system overview 2.1 Outline The purpose of this chapter is to get you started with the Atlas upload system. This will involve understanding the Atlas ribbon bar and the task panes so that you can use the upload functions. This section also introduces the concept of the designer and context modes of operation. 2.2 Objectives At the completion of this chapter, you will be able to: Understand the Atlas Ribbon as it applies to the upload system Understand the two modes of operation; Designer and Context Understand what is meant by Batch tasks 9

12 Atlas upload system overview 2.3 Walk-through: Atlas Ribbon Scenario You have been asked to give an overview of the Atlas upload system; in terms of what you can expect to see on the Ribbon bar Understanding the Atlas Ribbon Outline You cannot see the Atlas Ribbon until you open one of the supported Microsoft Office System applications. 1 The ribbon will appear as a tab in that application s ribbon, thus: Figure 1 The Atlas 5.0 tab contains the Atlas Ribbon Click this tab to reveal the ribbon: Figure 2 The Atlas Ribbon. The Upload group is the part of the ribbon covered in this course Below is a summary of the Ribbon s elements Designer and context task pane modes The Atlas task panes can operate in one of two modes: Context and Designer. By default, the system starts in Context mode. In Context mode, you can use the upload functions to send records to Microsoft Dynamics AX. In designer mode, the task pane is used to build the Atlas upload objects and map them to the document Table menu The Table menu is used to upload records to a single table in Microsoft Dynamics AX. It has three basic modes of operation: 1. Append 1 Excel, Word, Powerpoint or Outlook 10

13 Atlas upload system overview 2. Table columns 3. Find and replace Append is used to add new records to a table, Table columns and Find and Replace are used to update existing records Journal button The Journal button is used to append or add a single record to a header table and one or more records to a line table. The header and the line tables are linked by a common field. An example of a journal is the Sales table and sales lines or the ledger journal header and ledger journal line Template menu The Template menu is used when you want to build, use and save an upload template without inserting it into the current document Batch tasks This option allows you to daisy-chain many upload templates and then run them in order. Use this when the task at hand requires you to load data into several Microsoft Dynamics AX tables. 11

14 Atlas upload system overview 2.4 Key points This section introduced Atlas. In particular you learned about: Atlas appears as a Ribbon tab in your Microsoft Office System applications The ribbon bar functions will be disabled if you have not logged into Atlas. Use the Refresh ribbon option to activate the ribbon if you log in subsequently The Atlas upload system functions can be found in the Upload group of the Atlas ribbon bar Main functions of the upload system are represented by the large buttons on the Atlas ribbon. Menus beneath each of these, reveal other, available functions Atlas operates in two modes; designer and context. Context is a runtime mode and allows you to send records to Microsoft Dynamics AX. Designer mode is used to create templates and to map the document fields to those in the template Use the Batch tasks to upload into multiple tables in a set sequence. 12

15 Atlas upload system overview 2.5 Quick interaction Take a moment to write down the three key points you have learned:

16 3 Working with the upload system 3.1 Outline The purpose of this chapter is to get you started with the Atlas upload system. It introduces you to the concept of upload templates, mapping these templates to your documents, running an upload and how you can re-use these templates with other documents. Mapped templates are often saved into the document as in-document templates. It is these that are used when the upload is executed. 3.2 Objectives At the completion of this chapter, you will be able to: Understand what is meant by the term Template Understand the difference between an in-document template and a saved template Understand how to use the upload system to get data from your Office document into Microsoft Dynamics AX Understand what happens when you start an upload Understand how to map data in your document to a template Understand how to edit an in-document template Recognize error messages 14

17 3.3 What is an upload template? Outline Working with the upload system For all but the simplest of uploads, a template is needed to define both the fields in the target Microsoft Dynamics AX table and the mapping between these fields and your Microsoft Office document. A template serves three purposes: 1. Describes the required fields in the target Microsoft Dynamics AX table in terms of: a. System requirements. i.e. have all the mandatory fields been included b. User requirements. i.e. have all the fields the user needs been included 2. Provides a means by which pre-set or default values can be assigned to fields, thus reducing the amount of data-entry the user has to do, to successfully upload into Microsoft Dynamics AX. These defaults come in the form of: a. Pre-set literal values b. Number sequences c. Defaults from parent or child records d. X++ method calls 3. Provides a means to map the Microsoft Office document to the fields in your Microsoft Dynamics AX system. Templates exist in the document or as part of a library of templates saved against the target table in the data source list Saved templates A saved template is associated with a data source in your data source list. It will contain the fields and any other settings you supply to it at design time. It will remain disconnected from the document you are working with, until you choose to insert it. At that point, a copy of the template will be associated with the document and will be known as an In-document template. Figure 3 Saved template for the currency table for a document that does not contain in-document templates 15

18 Working with the upload system In-document templates In-document templates link a template to the document. Typically, these templates contain mappings that tell the upload system where to find data in document. In-document templates are created whenever you insert a saved template into the document. Because of this, you can share the document with other users and if they have Atlas installed and have suitable access rights, they can use the upload system to transfer the data from the document into Microsoft Dynamics AX. Figure 4 In-document template which can be used to load exchange rates 16

19 3.4 Walk-through: Running an upload Scenario Working with the upload system The upload system brings together a template and an Office document. In most cases, the template is inserted into the document and can then be used by any Atlas user whenever the document is opened. In this example, you will choose a template from the data source list that will allow you to upload a Free-text invoice to record some miscellaneous billing for a customer: Adjusting invoice lines in the workbook Choosing a Template Confirmation Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Free-text invoice.xlsx. Ensure that Standard mode is selected Adjust the invoice lines in the workbook Add an extra line to the invoice lines in the workbook: 1. Select cell G12 2. Press the Tab key on your keyboard 3. In cell D13 type and press Tab 4. In cell E13 type Installation fee and press Tab 5. In cell F13 type and press Tab Figure 5 Free-text invoice with additional line Choosing a template Templates which are not in the document, known as Saved templates and can be found under the target table in the Data source list. To choose the template, follow these steps: 1. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Report options group, ensure that the task pane mode is Standard 2. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Upload group click the Journal button. 3. Click to expand the Customer free text invoice node 4. Tick to select the saved template Free-text invoice 17

20 Working with the upload system Figure 6 Saved template is selected and made active Confirmation This step is used to send the records to Microsoft Dynamics AX. 1. Open the Confirmation tab 2. Click to select the Upload button The records are then validated and uploaded at the same time. New records added are tallied and shown on the confirmation tab page. Figure 7 Three records successfully inserted Furthermore, the template selected will be inserted into the document as an In-document template and can be seen when you refresh the data source list: 1. Open the Data sources tab 2. From the pull-down menu, choose Tables -> Refresh The In-document template appears at the top: In Microsoft Dynamics AX these can be seen on the Free text invoice form (CEU/Accounts receivable/common/free text invoices/all free text invoices): 18

21 Working with the upload system Figure 8 Un-posted free-text invoice 19

22 Working with the upload system 3.5 Walk-through: Mapping a template to a document Scenario You understand that for simple tables, you can perform an upload with the need to pre-define a template. However, as you are learning about templates you want to use a template on the table that is used to hold City details. There is a template for this but it has no mappings. What you will do is: Pick a template defined for this table Map the template to the document Change the template title and insert into the document Attempt the upload Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Select and map template.xlsx Figure 9 Simple table upload Picking a suitable saved template from a library Saved templates can be found beneath the table you wish to use. In this case it is the Cities: 1. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Upload group click the Table button and select Append. 2. Click to expand the Cities node 3. Tick to select Australian cities Mapping the document to the template Map as follows: 1. Click to select the Append tab 2. Click to select the City field 3. Right-click and choose =Name 4. Click to select the Description field 5. Right-click and choose =Description 6. Click to select the State field 7. Right-click and choose =StateId 20

23 Working with the upload system Not all fields in the document have been mapped (notably country / region), these are left with pre-set, default values: Figure 10 Template with default named ranges Giving the template a title and inserting in the document Unless otherwise named, in-document templates show the table name into which the uploaded records will be written. To adjust this, do the following: 1. From the Append menu, choose Properties 2. Enter Add Australian Cities in the Title entry box 3. Enter upload instructions for the user as required. These will appear on the confirmation tab 4. Click OK 5. Click Insert Step 5 inserts the template into the document. Saving the document at this point will ensure that the template will remain associated with the document and can be distributed to others for use. The template will appear as follows: Figure 11 Re-named in-document template Creating the named ranges in your document This document does not contain the named ranges specified on the in-document template, to do this, select the in-document template and open the Append tab. For each field that has a named range, choose the corresponding column and assign a corresponding named range 1. Select cell D5 2. Right-click and from the menu choose Select->Table Column Data 3. In the Name box, type Name 4. Select cell E5 5. Right-click and from the menu choose Select->Table Column Data 6. In the Name box, type Description 21

24 Working with the upload system 7. Select cell F5 8. Right-click and from the menu choose Select->Table Column Data 9. In the Name box, type StateId Testing the upload prior to publishing Switching back to Standard mode allows to you test the upload. It is good practice to attempt this into a Test system or Test company before publishing to the user community: 1. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Report options group, ensure that the task pane mode is Standard 2. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Upload group click the Table button. Select Append 3. Ensure Add Australian Cities is ticked 4. Open the Confirmation tab 5. Click Upload When complete, it he Cities for Australia will include: Figure 12 Australian Capital cities 22

25 3.6 Sharing templates Outline Working with the upload system You can share upload templates just like you share queries in the reporting system. For the upload system, you can share templates as follows: By sharing the document with the template included By saving the template with the table By exporting the saved templates to a text file Sharing by document When you save a document that includes an upload template, you can share the template with any user that opens the document and who has Atlas installed Saving the template You can use the Save as button to save the template at any stage. This will associate the template with the data source outside of the document. Whenever you want to use the template, simply navigate to the table in the data source list and expand its node. Select the template found therein Exporting the saved template Saved templates can be exported to a text file and then shared via or file system. Select the template from the table node in the data source list, select Saved query from the menu and choose Export An alternative way is to use the right-click -> Export when the template has been selected: 23

26 Working with the upload system 3.7 Lab Exercises 1. The workbook used to load the Australian cities has been adjusted to include Zip codes. Use this new workbook to load the Australian cities. You will need to choose the template from beneath the relevant table in the data source list. You can assume the named ranges exist in the document. (Use AX2012 LAB Append Aussie Cities.xlsx). Challenge yourself! 1. Select Standard mode 2. Open the Table Append function 3. Tick to select Add Australian Cities 4. Upload Cities Need a little help? 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 2. Open the Table function menu from the Atlas Ribbon Bar and choose Append 3. Open the data sources tab if not already open 4. Tick to select the saved template Add Australian Cities 5. Open the Confirmation tab 6. Click to select the Upload button A confirmation showing the number of records uploaded is shown: Figure 13 Confirmation of 8 records loaded And in Microsoft Dynamics AX: 24

27 Working with the upload system Figure 14 Australian Capital Cities 25

28 Working with the upload system 2. The workbook used to load the Australian cities also contains Zip/Post codes. Use this same workbook to load the Zip/Post codes for the newly loaded Australian cities. You will need to choose the template from beneath the relevant table in the data source list. You can assume the named ranges exist in the document. (Use AX2012 LAB Append Aussie Cities.xlsx). Challenge yourself! 1. Select Designer mode 2. Open the Table Append function 3. Navigate to the Zip/Postal codes table and select Zip/Postal codes 4. Open the Append tab and map State, City and Zip/Post code fields 5. Insert and change mode to Standard 6. Upload Cities Need a little help? 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 2. Open the Table function menu from the Atlas Ribbon Bar and choose Append 3. Open the data sources tab if not already open 4. Navigate the list and find Zip/Postal codes 5. Expand this node and tick to select Zip/Postal codes 6. Open the Append tab 7. Right-click on the State field and select the suggested named range =State 8. Right-click on the City field and select the suggested named range =City 9. Right-click on the Zip/Postal code field and select the suggested named range =ZipCode 10. Click Insert 11. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 12. Click to select Zip/Postal codes 13. Open the Confirmation tab 14. Click to select the Upload button A confirmation showing the number of records uploaded is shown as before and the effect in Microsoft Dynamics AX is as follows: Figure 15 Post codes for Australian Capital cities 26

29 Working with the upload system 3.8 Key points This section introduced the task pane interface of the Atlas upload system and how it can be used in Standard mode to run an upload. You also learned how to: Select a template from a library of templates found in the data source list Apply mappings to a template All upload functions are designed and run from the task pane interface. Additionally: Templates hold information about the table into which the upload will be performed Templates include default settings and business logic Uploads can be performed by using an in-document template, a saved template or without a template Uploads without a template should only be performed when the data requirements are simple and do not need number sequence definitions, defaults and business logic When a template is made into an in-document template, you will normally map its fields to those of the document Use named ranges aid speed of mapping and portability All uploads are performed using Standard mode Designer mode is used to build templates and also the map the template fields In-document templates can have a title and user instructions Uploads are validated and any errors are reported using an error reporting window Validation uses the same table level as that used by Microsoft Dynamics AX. Templates can be shared between users in a variety of ways 27

30 Working with the upload system 3.9 Quick interaction Take a moment to write down the three key points you have learned:

31 4 Working with upload templates 4.1 Outline For all but the simplest of uploads, a template is needed to define both the fields in the target Microsoft Dynamics AX table and the mapping between these fields and your Microsoft Office document. A template serves three purposes: 1. Describes the required fields in the target Microsoft Dynamics AX table in terms of: a. System requirements. i.e. have all the mandatory fields been included b. User requirements. i.e. have all the fields the user needs been included 2. Provides a means by which pre-set or default values can be assigned to fields, thus reducing the amount of data-entry the user has to do, to successfully upload into Microsoft Dynamics AX. These defaults come in the form of: a. Pre-set literal values b. Number sequences c. Reference fields d. Line numbers e. Defaults from parent or child records f. X++ method calls 3. Provides a means to map the Microsoft Office document to the fields in your Microsoft Dynamics AX system. 4.2 Objectives At the completion of this chapter, you will be able to: Understand the difference between a Table and Journal style uploads Understand mandatory fields and how they relate to templates Understand what is meant by template defaults Understand the different types of defaults you can use with templates Understand how to build a template from scratch Understand the process by which template fields are included Understand how to map template fields to locations in a document 29

32 Working with upload templates 4.3 Choosing a data source Outline Data sources are the destination for your upload. Depending on the type of upload you are performing and the nature of the data source itself, you might need to select whether the table is a header or line in connection to the upload. Note, you might need to upload into several tables in order to complete a given upload task. E.g. Customer upload Table upload Simply select the table for which you want to prepare a template. The simplest tables do not need a template, instead you can upload to the table directly and Atlas will create a document template when choose Upload Journal upload Use the Journal upload functions to post the transactions that you would normally enter using the journal forms inside Microsoft Dynamics AX. Journal templates will post a single header record and one or more line records. To create a journal upload template, you need to choose the header table in the data source list and also the lines table from the list too. 4.4 Selecting mandatory fields Outline By default, when you select a table in the data source list, Atlas presents you with a list of fields from that table s Auto-report group. This list may or may not contain all of the mandatory fields. Add and subtract fields as necessary by using the Fields button on the upload function s data tab. Figure 16 Fields button on the Append tab System required fields These are system mandatory fields; if they are left blank then an error will result upon upload. You must include all mandatory fields in all append type upload operations. You can determine system mandatory fields by: Inspecting the data dictionary for the table in the Microsoft Dynamics AX AOT 30

33 Working with upload templates Use Atlas in Standard mode and select the table in Table Append. The field list will show all mandatory fields with a red underline User required fields These are fields the user needs as a part of the upload. The system will not reject blank records in this case. 4.5 Setting defaults Outline A major reason for using templates is that they provide a mechanism for you to provide defaults to the upload process. These defaults can be used to reduce the input burden on the end user in the upload document. Defaults are applied at a template field level and are accessed through the Properties window. There are seven default mechanisms, each of which is described below: Literal values Number sequences Reference field lookups Line numbers Table method calls Parent fields Child fields The Properties window deals with defaults through the Field Type, Default value fields, and X++ Table methods, highlighted: Figure 17 Entry boxes used with setting defaults 31

34 Working with upload templates Literal values Literal values are pre-set values you wish to apply to a given field in the template. For example, as part of a customer upload you may choose to pre-set the language for all US customers as en-us: Number sequences Number sequences are an essential part of the Microsoft Dynamics AX system. They are unique codes, generated by Microsoft Dynamics AX, at time of data entry. Atlas fully supports these sequences and will generate the unique codes in the same way as that used by Microsoft Dynamics AX. You can define which number sequence you want to use for each field. In the following example using the Global Address Book table, you can see that the PartyId is using the sequence Glob_2: Reference field lookup This default method is used when you wish to use information from a related table during the upload. It is different from the Parent and Child default methods described below as the table 32

35 Working with upload templates may not be a parent or child actor and are used primarily with journal uploads. This technique however, is most useful when you need to derive a record id for the target table but you have another key, such as a code, to a related table. For example, the sales recipient field on the Free-text invoice table: In the above example, the Personnel number is found in named range Worker. Using this, value, Atlas reads the HcmWorker table and returns the RecId; the value of which is needed on the Free-text invoice table Line numbers (Incremental) Some upload tasks require a line number field to be incremented for each record loaded. Typically, these uploads will be transactional in nature and include Sales orders, Budgets, General ledger journals as examples. Using this feature, you do not need to include a sequence number in your document, as Atlas will allocate a line number upon upload. Here is an example from the free-text invoice journal: 33

36 Working with upload templates Figure 18 Use a value of 1 as a basis for the first line Table method calls Method calls are used when you want Microsoft Dynamics AX to pre-set one or more entries for you. These methods are the standard methods available on the table, but will also include custom methods built by you for that table. As a general rule, the methods with INIT as part of the name are useful for this purpose. Not all methods can be used by Atlas; there are limitations as follows: Optional parameters are not allowed. If parameters are required, then they must be defaulted by Microsoft Dynamics AX. All methods must not return a value. If the method uses field values from the target table then these must be populated previously as a part of the upload. In the following example, based on the Demand Forecast table, you can see that once the customer account is set, the table method InitFromCustTable is called: 34

37 Working with upload templates When this method is called, the following fields are automatically set by Microsoft Dynamics AX: Customer group Tax group Comment, set to the name of the customer Currency Default dimensions from the inventory item table Parent fields This method of default is used with journal uploads only. It allows you to select a value from a parent or header record. An example of this is a journal number generated at a header level and then applied to each line record. In the following example, based on the ledger journal table and ledger journal lines, you can see that for the Journal number field in the lines table, the Field type is Parent field list and the Default value is name of the field from the header record from which the value for this field will be drawn. In this case, the journal number is generated once and its value is cascaded down to the line records. 35

38 Working with upload templates Child fields This default method is similar in nature to that of the Parent field list in that the value is drawn from a related table in the journal upload process. In this case a child table. Use this method in the following circumstances: Asset journals Project cost journals Inventory dimension allocation The following example demonstrates its use with Inventory dimension allocation on the Demand Forecast table: In this case choose the field on the child table that will give you the result you need for the related field in the main table. 36

39 Working with upload templates 4.6 Walk-through: Creating a Table upload template Scenario You wish to demonstrate the building of an upload template from scratch and want highlight the use of the various default settings. To do this you will use the Customer table as a basis, but for simplicity of the exercise you can assume that the corresponding address book records are in place. The steps need to do this include: Data source selection Choosing mandatory and other required fields Mapping the template to the document Setting defaults Inserting the template into the document and performing the upload Adding additional fields The above series of steps can be viewed as a flowchart shown here, you should note, some steps are iterative in nature: Start Select data source Map document to template Include system mandatory fields Set defaults for nonmapped fields No Yes All fields included? Yes Include user required fields Add system required field Test upload to AX No All user fields included? No Success? Yes End Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Append sales order line template. 37

40 Working with upload templates Here is an example of the document: Figure 19 Add lines to a selected sales order Data source selection Select the Sales order lines as the basis for the template: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode form Standard to Designer 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Append from the menu 3. Tick to select the Order lines node 4. Open the Append tab Choosing template fields Outline At this stage it is necessary to understand what are the system required fields and the fields required by you as a user to achieve a successful upload. In this example, there are four system mandatory fields: Currency, Customer account, customer group and requested ship by date. From a user s perspective, the following fields are required: Item, unit, quantity, price and line amount. Note: You can determine the system mandatory fields by inspecting the table in the AOT or by viewing the red-underlined fields for the table in the Append tab when in Standard Mode Selecting AOT mandatory fields The Append tab appears as follows, it shows the Auto-report fields as a default. Of these only the Currency field is an AOT mandatory field: 38

41 Working with upload templates Figure 20 Auto-report fields are shown as a starting point Choose the other mandatory fields as follows: 1. Click the Fields button 2. When the Add or modify report columns task pane appears, expand the Available fields node and navigate the list until you find Customer (Green plus adjacent). Tick to select this field 3. Navigate the list until you find Group (Green plus adjacent). Tick to select this field 4. Navigate the list until you find Requested ship by date. Tick to select this field 5. Click OK to copy your selections into the list task pane The field list appears as follows: Figure 21 Adding in mandatory fields User required fields In this case, the user required fields are those that are visible in the document. Check that the list of fields in the Append pane include all the fields you need to upload from the sheet. In this example, the additional fields include: Requested receipt date and Sale category. 39

42 Working with upload templates Add these as follows: 1. Click the Fields button 2. When the Add or modify report columns task pane appears, expand the Available fields node 3. Navigate the list until you find Line number 2. Tick to select this field 4. Navigate the list until you find Requested receipt date. Tick to select this field 5. Navigate the list until you find Sales category. Tick to select this field 6. Navigate the list until you find Text. Tick to select this field 7. Navigate the list until you find Unit. Tick to select this field 8. Click OK to copy your selections into the list task pane The field list is as follows at this stage: Figure 22 Order line template incorporating user and AOT required fields Fields not needed in the upload You can remove these at this stage. To do this, use the Fields button at the top of the form and un-tick each of the fields that you do not need Mapping the template to the document and setting defaults Outline Having established the fields you think you need, it is now time to determine where the data for each field will come from. Decide whether the data be provided by the user from the worksheet or whether will it be defaulted in some fashion through the template. 2 Although not shown in the workbook, line number is to be used to sequence the new line in the sales order 40

43 Working with upload templates On sheet selections Candidate fields for this treatment are those found in the workbook; values the user can change. It is often a good idea to create named ranges to reference these sheet locations, as they are readily used by the Atlas upload system. 1. Click to select the Append tab 2. Click to select the Sales order field 3. Right-click and choose =SalesId 4. Click to select the Item number field 5. Right-click and choose =ItemId 6. Click to select the Quantity field 7. Right-click and choose =SalesQty 8. Click to select the Unit price field 9. Right-click and choose =SalesPrice 10. Click to select the Net amount field 11. Right-click and choose =LineAmount 12. Click to select the Requested shipping date field 13. Right-click and choose =ShippingDateRequested 14. Click to select the Line number field 15. Right-click and choose =LineNum 16. Click to select the Requested receipt date field 17. Right-click and choose =ReceiptDateRequested 18. Click to select the Unit field 19. Right-click and choose =SalesUnit 20. Click to select the Text field 21. Right-click and choose Properties 22. In the Value entry box type =Text 23. Click Apply 24. Close the Properties window The mapped template appears as follows: 41

44 Working with upload templates Figure 23 User entered values are found in the cells identified by the named ranges Note: The named ranges used in this template are available in the document Setting default values For those un-mapped template fields, set a value to be used at time of upload. 1. Click to select the Currency field 2. Right-click and choose Properties 3. Type USD in the Value entry box 4. Click the Next button until the Line status field appears 5. Click the Lookup button to show a list of options 6. Tick to select Backorder and the click the Select line button 7. Click OK 8. Click the Next button until the Customer field appears 9. Select Reference field from the Field type drop-down 10. Click the Table refresh button 11. Click the Table name drop-down and select SalesTable 12. Click the Calculated field drop-down to select the field that contains the value you want to use. In this case CustAccount 13. Click the Filter drop-down to select the SalesId field 14. Click the green plus button to add this field to the Filter expressions grid 15. Click to select the Sales order row in the grid 16. In the Criteria column type =SalesID 17. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of options 42

45 Working with upload templates 18. Navigate the list until you find InitFromCustTable. Tick to select this field 19. Click OK 20. Click the Next button until the Group field appears 21. Select Reference field from the Field type drop-down 22. Click the Table refresh button 23. Click the Table name drop-down and select SalesTable 24. Click the Calculated field drop-down to select the field that contains the value you want to use. In this case CustGroup 25. Click the Filter drop-down to select the SalesId field 26. Click the green plus button to add this field to the Filter expressions grid 27. Click to select the Sales order row in the grid 28. In the Criteria column type =SalesID 29. Click the Next button until the Sales category field appears 30. Select Reference field from the Field type drop-down 31. Click the Table refresh button 32. Click the Table name drop-down and select EcoResSalesCategoryExpanded 33. Click the Calculated field drop-down to select the field that contains the value you want to use. In this case RecId 34. Click the Filter drop-down to select the Name field 35. Click the green plus button to add this field to the Filter expressions grid 36. Click to select the Name row in the grid 37. In the Criteria column type =Name 38. Click Apply 39. Close the Properties window The completed template appears as follows: 43

46 Working with upload templates Figure 24 Order lines template mapped with default settings Saving the template and performing an upload Once the template is completed it can be saved and used to test the upload. 1. Click Insert 2. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Report options group, ensure that the task pane mode is Standard 3. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, click the Table button and select Append 4. Tick to select the Order lines document template 5. Open the Confirmation tab 6. Click to select the Upload button This results in errors. This is because there are other fields that are needed to be set before a successful can be achieved Additional, required fields resulting from Validation Outline Microsoft Dynamics AX uses methods to set specific values on tables when it creates records. Atlas cannot always use these methods and as such some uploads will fail because these fields are missing. These can be considered as mandatory fields, but which are not marked as such in the AOT. In the case of order lines, there are additional fields to be included in the template: Type Ordered Quantity Physical sales quantity remaining Physical inventory quantity remaining Price unit Mode of delivery 44

47 Working with upload templates Inventory dimension Whenever inventory dimensions are involved, it is usually good practice to include the field in your template. The other fields are included based on messages from the upload or by examining the results in Microsoft Dynamics AX Including the additional fields and setting defaults Include these fields as follows: 1. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Report options group, ensure that the task pane mode is Designer 2. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, click the Table button and select Append 3. Tick to select the Order lines document template 4. Open the Append tab 5. Click the Fields button 6. When the Add or modify report columns task pane appears, expand the Available fields node 7. Tick Show system names 8. Navigate the list until you find Quantity (QtyOrdered). Tick to select this field 9. Navigate the list until you find Deliver remainder (RemainInventPhysical). Tick to select this field 10. Navigate the list until you find Deliver remainder (RemainSalesPhysical). Tick to select this field 11. Navigate the list until you find Price unit (PriceUnit). Tick to select this field 12. Navigate the list until you find Type (SalesType). Tick to select this field 13. Navigate the list until you find Mode of delivery (DlvMode). Tick to select this field 14. Navigate the list until you find Dimension (InventDim). Tick to select this field 15. Click OK The field list appears as follows: 45

48 Working with upload templates Figure 25 Additional fields added without defaults or mapping Mapping and defaults for additional fields As with the all fields added to a template, define where the data for these fields is to come from; map to locations in your document or default using the default options described above: 1. Ensure the Append tab is open 2. Click to select Deliver remainder 3. Right-click and choose Properties 4. Type =SalesQty in the Value entry box 5. Click the Next button until the Deliver remainder field appears 6. Type =SalesQty in the Value entry box 7. Click the Next button until the Dimension No. field appears 8. Type _069 3 in the Value entry box 9. Click the Next button until the Mode of delivery field appears 10. Type 10 4 in the Value entry box 11. Click the Next button until the Price unit field appears 12. Type 1 in the Value entry box 13. Click the Next button until the Quantity field appears 3 Site 2, Warehouse 21. Refer to the Inventory dimension handling in section x.x.x for more detail on how to generate this number from a combination of site, warehouse, batch, serial number, configuration etc 4 Default value. Normally default from Sales order table 46

49 Working with upload templates 14. Type =SalesQty in the Value entry box 15. Click the Next button until the Type field appears 16. Click the Lookup button to show a list of options 17. Tick to select Sales and the click the Select line button 18. Click OK 19. Click Apply 20. Close the Properties window The completed template appears as follows: Figure 26 Order lines template with mapped fields Final upload test Update the template and re-try: 1. Click Update 2. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Report options group, ensure that the task pane mode is Standard 3. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, click the Table button and select Append 4. Tick to select the Order lines document template 5. Open the Confirmation tab 6. Click to select the Upload button 47

50 Working with upload templates Making the template simpler by understanding table methods Much of the work in building this template is associated with identifying and adding required fields to the template. Defaulted fields require you to understand where the value is to be sourced from and then build relations so that this data can be included. This template for example, can be simplified by the addition of an Atlas method call to the standard method calls on the table. The Atlas method calls the InitFromSalesTable which results in a much reduced set of fields in the template: Figure 27 Reduced template because of the Atlas method Call the method when the Sales order number is known: The Atlas method is on the order lines table and calls a standard method: 48

51 Working with upload templates Figure 28 Using the sales order number, find the sales order record and pass this to the standard method on the order lines 49

52 Working with upload templates 4.7 Lab Exercises 1. You want to try uploading data into the demand forecast table. You have a simple demand forecast based on a selected customer. Build a template that takes advantage of on-sheet selections and defaults available through the Atlas upload system. Specifically you will use table methods and literal values. (Use AX2012 LAB Append Forecast model.xlsx). Challenge yourself! 1. Select designer mode 2. Open the Table Append function 3. Select the demand forecast table 4. Adjust Auto-report fields to suit the workbook 5. Map template fields to named ranges. Use range suggestions from right-click menu 6. Set the model to default to Apply table methods that initialize from the customer and item tables 8. Link in Inventory dimension table 9. Select Standard mode 10. Upload forecast Need a little help? 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 2. Open the Table function menu from the Atlas Ribbon Bar and choose Append 3. Open the data sources tab if not already open 4. Tick to select the Demand Forecast 5. Click the Append tab 6. Click to select the Append: Demand forecast 7. Click the Fields button 8. Un-tick all but the Company, Item number, Model, Quantity, Customer account and Date 9. Click Apply 10. Click to expand the Available fields node 11. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Comments field 12. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Dimension No. field 13. Click the green plus next to the Dimension No. field to include Inventory dimensions 14. Click to expand the Available fields beneath the Inventory dimension node 15. Tick to include Site, Warehouse, Configuration, Dimension No., Size and Color fields 16. Click OK 50

53 Working with upload templates Figure 29 Fields from the demand forecast in the template 17. Click to select the Item number field 18. Right-click and choose =ItemId 19. Click to select the Date field 20. Right-click and choose =StartDate 21. Click to select the Quantity field 22. Right-click and choose =SalesQty 23. Click to select the Customer account field 24. Right-click and choose =CustAccountId 25. Click to select the Comments field 26. Right-click and choose =Comment 27. Click to select the Color field 28. Right-click and choose =InventColorId 29. Click to select the Configuration field 30. Right-click and choose =ConfigId 31. Click to select the Site field 32. Right-click and choose =InventSiteId 33. Click to select the Size field 34. Right-click and choose =InventSizeId 35. Click to select the Warehouse field 36. Right-click and choose =InventLocationId 51

54 Working with upload templates Figure 30 Mapped fields showing named ranges from the document 37. Click to select Model 38. Right-click and choose Properties 39. Type 100 in the Value entry box 40. Click the > (Next) button until the Item number field appears 41. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of available methods 42. Navigate the list until you find InitFromInventTable. Tick to select this field 43. Click OK 44. Click the > (Next) button until the Customer account field appears 45. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of available methods 46. Navigate the list until you find InitFromCustTable. Tick to select this field 47. Click OK 48. Click the > (Next) button until the Dimension No. field appears 49. Click to select Child field list from the Field type drop-down 50. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select InventDimId field 51. Click OK 52. Click the > (Next) button until the Color field appears 53. Tick to select Is unique 54. Click the > (Next) button until the Configuration field appears 55. Tick to select Is unique 56. Click the > (Next) button until the Site field appears 57. Tick to select Is unique 58. Click the > (Next) button until the Size field appears 59. Tick to select Is unique 60. Click the > (Next) button until the Warehouse field appears 61. Tick to select Is unique 62. Click Insert to make the template a document template 52

55 Working with upload templates Figure 31 Template is finished and is an in-document template 63. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 64. Open the Table function menu from the Atlas Ribbon Bar and choose Append 65. Tick to select the Demand Forecast as a document template 66. Click the Confirmation tab 67. Click Upload The following is the result in Microsoft Dynamics AX: Figure 32 Note the inclusion of item group and unit, not included in the template 53

56 Working with upload templates 4.8 Key points In this chapter you learned that templates serve three purposes: A mechanism to define the fields necessary to complete and upload, these fields can be: o o o Mandatory from the AOT perspective Mandatory from the user s perspective, or Assumed as required by the Microsoft Dynamics AX business logic Provide a means by which default values can be assigned. Defaults being derived from: o o o o o o o Literal values set against a field in the template Number sequences Parent fields Child fields Incremental values Reference fields X++ table methods A means by which fields in the template can be mapped to locations in the document in which upload data can be retrieved Literal values are pre-set by the template designer. E.g. setting a language The number sequence default uses the nominated number sequence code to generate a code a time of upload. E.g. Sales order number Parent field is used with journal lines and allows you select a header field from which the value will be substituted Child field list used with journal lines and allows a value from a sub-ordinate table to be included in the selected field. E.g. Inventory dimension Incremental values manage counter automatically. E.g. Line numbers Use Reference fields when you want to return the value from a nominated field on a different table. This kind of default required a filter to be set up to define the relationship between the two tables X++ table methods allow you to call Microsoft Dynamics AX code upon upload. This code then populates values without having to include those values in the template or the document. Sometimes X++ methods need a wrapper in order for Atlas to take advantage of them Mapping generally involves using named ranges to provide the between template and document Table upload templates involve a single table or a table with a sub-ordinate Journal upload templates involve a header table and a linked lines tables. You define the linkage Candidate journal templates involve tables in the AOT that are defined as Worksheet header and Worksheet line. E.g. Sales orders 54

57 Working with upload templates 4.9 Quick interaction Take a moment to write down the three key points you have learned:

58 5 Table upload functions 5.1 Outline The table upload functions are used to enter records into Microsoft Dynamics AX tables. These will typically be budgets and new records for main table and the like. You can also use the upload functions to amend existing columns of a table, for example adjusting the credit limit for a range of customers. A replace function is available which deletes records and then appends new records as a replacement for the deleted ones. You should note that these functions respect the access settings for the tables in Microsoft Dynamics AX. This means that if update or append is not allowed as prescribed by Microsoft Dynamics AX (for example transaction tables) then you will not be able to use the upload functions of Atlas on these tables either. 5.2 Objectives At the end of this chapter, you will be able to: Identify the three upload functions of: o o o Append Update Replace Understand how each of these three upload functions are built and used Understand how to edit uploads that use these functions Understand how to use these functions with other Atlas functions 56

59 5.3 Append function Outline Table upload functions The Append function adds one or more records to a Microsoft Dynamics AX data source. This is the simplest of the Table upload functions as no additional filter criteria needs to be applied Uses for the Append function You use the Append function in the following instances: During implementation, use this to load new, main table and setup data into Microsoft Dynamics AX. For example, customers, vendors, dimensions and items When budget transactions are to be loaded into a new model When the loading of new records using the Microsoft Dynamics AX client would take longer than using the Atlas upload system 57

60 Table upload functions Lab. Exercises 1. Your investigations so far have given you a good understanding of the Table Append function. However, in preparation for investigation into the other features, you will need to load a list of new customers. To do this you will first load the address book detail which holds the party s name. (Use AX2012 LAB Append Address Book.xlsx) Challenge yourself! 1. Ensure task pane mode is Designer 2. Open the Table Append task pane 3. Select Address book 4. In the Append tab, add Search name 5. Map fields to document using suggested named ranges 6. Assign en-us as the default language 7. Insert the template 8. Upload the records Need a little help? 1. Open the Table Append function from the Atlas Ribbon Bar 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 3. Tick to select Address book 4. Open the Append tab 5. Click to select the Append: Address book 6. Click the Fields button 7. Click to expand the Available fields node 8. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Search name field 9. Click OK 10. Click to select the Name field 68. Right-click and choose =Name 11. Click to select the Party ID field 12. Right-click and choose =PartyNumber 13. Click to select the Search name field 14. Right-click and choose =NameAlias 15. Click to select the Language field 16. Right-click and choose Properties 17. Type en-us in the Value entry box 18. Click Apply 19. Close the Properties window 20. Click Insert 21. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Context 22. Open the Table Append function from the Atlas Ribbon Bar 23. Ensure Address book is ticked 24. Open the confirmation tab 25. Click Upload to import the records 58

61 Table upload functions The records loaded are not visible in Microsoft Dynamics AX at this stage, but are present in the Address book table. Linking the customers to these records will reveal them. 59

62 Table upload functions 2. Use a number sequence code to assign the customer number but use the party id to provide the necessary link between the address book and the customer record. (Use AX2012 LAB Append Customers.xlsx) Challenge yourself! 1. Ensure task pane mode is designer 2. Open the Table Append task pane 3. Choose Customers 4. On the Append tab, remove National registry number and add credit rating and credit limit fields 5. Assign number sequence AR_001 to customer code 6. Use the Party number to return the record id of the address book record 7. Set defaults of USD for currency and 10 for Group 8. Map credit rating and credit limit to named ranges 9. Insert template 10. Perform upload and check for customer records in Microsoft Dynamics AX Need a little help? 1. Open the Table Append function from the Atlas Ribbon Bar 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 3. Tick to select Customers 4. Open the Append tab 5. Click to select the Append: Customers 6. Click the Fields button 7. Un-tick National Registry Number 8. Click to expand the Available fields node 9. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Credit limit field 10. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Credit rating field 11. Click OK 12. Click to select Credit limit field 13. Right-click and choose =CreditMax 14. Click to select the Credit rating field 15. Right-click and choose =CreditRating 16. Click to select the Customer account field 17. Right-click and choose Properties 18. Tick to select Number sequence 19. Type AR_001 in the Value entry box 20. Select Per line from the New Voucher drop-down list 21. Click the > (Next) button until the Name field appears 22. Select Reference field from the Field type drop-down 23. Click the Table refresh button 24. Click the Table name drop-down and select DirPartyTable 25. Click the Calculated field drop-down to select the field that contains the value you want to use. In this case RecId 60

63 Table upload functions 26. Click the Filter drop-down to select the PartyNumber field 27. Click the green plus button to add this field to the Filter expressions grid 28. Click to select the Party number row in the grid 29. In the Criteria column type =PartyNumber 30. Click the > (Next) button until the Currency field appears 31. Type USD in the Value entry box 32. Click the > (Next) button until the Customer group field appears 33. Type 10 in the Value entry box 34. Click Apply 35. Close the Properties window 36. Click Insert 37. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 38. Open the Table Append function from the Atlas Ribbon Bar 39. Ensure Customers is ticked 40. Open the confirmation tab 41. Click Upload to import the records Here is an example of the loaded records inside Microsoft Dynamics AX: 61

64 Table upload functions 5.4 Update Column function Outline This function is used to update one or more columns in a table with values found in the source document. The records selected for update are defined using a Filters tab page. The template used; saved or in-document must nominate the fields that uniquely identify a single record in the Microsoft Dynamics AX table. These unique fields must be part of the filter and must be marked as unique in properties form for these fields. Normally, the unique field will be a code like Customer account, Item id, Vendor account or Project, but might include a compound key Uses for the update Column function The Column update function is used in the following instances: Where you want to adjust the value of one or more fields in a table of Microsoft Dynamics AX There are many records to be adjusted meaning the use of the Microsoft Dynamics AX client and associated table forms would be prohibitive Where the column adjustment does not change prior, reported values. In this case a journal or other transactions postings should be used. Where a property of a record was missed or was not available during upload and needs to be added subsequently. In conjunction with Atlas reporting functions to list and adjust values iteratively. 62

65 Table upload functions Walk-through: Updating a field Scenario Because the information was not available at the time of loading, the new customers you did not include a Sales pool code; an attribute necessary for some specific reporting used by the sales team. You need to be able to modify these existing records with this attribute. You must browse the template library for a suitable template to assist you in this exercise. In this scenario, the following will be done: Build a list report to account for the customers that need to be updated Identify, select and map update template Define named ranges for each column of this list Confirmation Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Update sales pool.xlsx as a basis for this exercise Build a list report of customers to be updated The following is an example of the table that can be used as a starting point for the update: Figure 33 Empty workbook Using this as the basis: 1. Select cell D4 2. From the Ribbon bar, on the Atlas tab, in the Reporting group click the Structured drop down menu beneath the Summary button 3. Select List from the menu shown 4. Tick to select the Customers in the data source list 5. Select Filters and click to select the Customer group row in the grid 6. Enter 10 Into the Range entry box 7. Select Style : List 8. Click to select the Report Columns (Customers) node 9. Click the Add/Remove fields button 10. When the Add or modify report columns task pane appears, un-tick all but the Customer account fields 11. Click to select the green plus adjacent to the Name field 63

66 Table upload functions 12. Expand the Available fields node beneath the address book node and navigate the list until you find Name. Tick to select this field 13. Click Apply 14. Expand the Available fields node beneath the Customers node and navigate the list until you find Sales order pool. Tick to select this field 15. Click OK 16. Click Insert 17. From the Ribbon bar select Table tools : Design 18. Choose table style : Light Select cell F6 20. Enter 10 and copy down to cell F10 The table appears as follows: Figure 34 Completed list report Building the update template You will need to choose the Table columns function to do this: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Table columns from the menu 2. Tick to select the Customers table from the list of data sources 3. Open the Filters tab 4. Ensure that the Customer account row has =AccountNum as a criteria value 5. Open the Table columns tab 6. Click to select the Customer Account row 7. Right-click and select =AccountNum 64

67 Table upload functions 8. Click the Fields button 9. Un-tick all but the Customer account field 10. Click to expand the Available fields node 11. Navigate the list until you find Sales order pool. Tick to select this field 12. Click OK 13. Click to select the Sales order pool row 14. Right-click and select =SalesPoolId 15. Click Insert The task pane appears as follows: Mapping the document to the template Use named ranges to tell the upload system where to find data: 1. Select cell D6 2. Right-click and from the menu choose Select->Table Column Data 3. In the Name box, type AccountNum 4. Select cell F6 5. Right-click and from the menu choose Select->Table Column Data 6. In the Name box, type SalesPoolId Performing the upload Send the update request to Microsoft Dynamics AX: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode form Designer to Standard 2. Open the Confirmation tab 3. Click Upload 65

68 Table upload functions The records in the customer table will be updated and the confirmation page will indicate that three records have been updated, thus: Figure 35 Upload indicates that 22 records were updated successfully In Microsoft Dynamics AX this is seen by looking at the field in the customer table: Figure 36 Lion Sales now has the sales order pool of 10 66

69 Table upload functions Lab. Exercises 1. Credit management is important in most sales organizations. Periodically these are reviewed and adjusted accordingly. Use the atlas upload system to manage the credit limits and ratings of a list of customers. You have prepared a workbook that includes an Atlas list report to show customers, their credit rating and their balance. You can adjust this credit figures in this list and then use the Table update function to reflect those adjustments in Microsoft Dynamics AX. In this exercise, change the credit rating for the all accounts to Good and set a limit of $2000 for each. (Use AX2012 LAB Update Customer credit ratings.xlsx) Challenge yourself! 1. Refresh the report using the option on the Atlas ribbon bar 2. Change credit rating and limits for ALL customers 3. Switch from Context to Designer mode 4. Open the Table columns function and tick to select the customers table 5. Open the Filters page and choose the named range AccountNum for Customer account 6. Open the Table columns tab and un-tick all but the customer account field 7. Include the credit limit and rating and map named ranges to appropriate fields 8. Click Insert (name is the default field for this data source) 9. Run the upload, close the workbook 10. Re-open and refresh Need a little help? 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, click to select the refresh button 2. Change the credit rating and credit limits for ALL accounts. Make the rating is Good and the limit $ From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Context to Designer 4. Open the Table column (Update) function from the Atlas Ribbon Bar 5. Tick to select the Customers table 6. Open the Filters tab 7. Ensure that the Customer account row has =AccountNum as a criteria value. 8. Open the Table columns tab 9. Click to select the Customer Account row 10. Right-click and select =AccountNum 11. Click the Fields button 12. Un-tick all but the Customer account field 13. Click to expand the Available fields node 14. Navigate the list until you find Credit limit. Tick to select this field 15. Navigate the list until you find Credit rating. Tick to select this field 16. Click OK 17. Click to select the Credit limit row 18. Right-click and select =Creditmax 19. Click to select the Credit rating row 20. Right-click and select =CreditRating 67

70 Table upload functions 21. Click Insert 22. Switch to Context mode 23. Open the Confirmation tab 24. Click Upload 25. Close the workbook after the update is successful but do NOT save 26. Re-open the workbook 27. From the Atlas ribbon bar, click to select the refresh button Here is an example of a completed workbook: Figure 37 All accounts have adjusted credit ratings 68

71 5.5 Replace function Outline Table upload functions This is used to remove existing records from a data source and then append a new set of records as a replacement. Typically this will only be used on tables that allow for a set of records to be deleted and then a new set to be added. Because of this, this function may not be appropriate where records cannot be deleted because of dependencies on other records; as is the case with customers, vendors and ledger accounts. Normally use this feature on tables like budgets and forecasts which allow records to be deleted. Using the Replace function, means you specify a delete action; in which you tell the upload system what to remove and then build an Append function. You must include all the mandatory fields for the table so that the Append function does not fail Uses for the Replace function The Replace function is used in the following instances: Where you want a user to remove a set of records and replace them with a new set. For example a budget or forecast Whenever wholesale data changes are required and dependent records do not exist Where the task of entering records directly in Microsoft Dynamics AX exceeds the time taken by the Atlas upload system to do the same thing 69

72 Table upload functions Walk-through: Find and Replace Scenario In the Lab exercises for appending records we saw that you add records to the demand forecast table to represent projected sales for a given customer for the year. To adjust the demand forecast subsequently, you have to remove the records in Microsoft Dynamics AX manually and then use the append function again. You have found that a better approach is to use the Find and Replace method; this removes what was previously loaded and appends new records. You have been asked to build a Find and Replace template which removes what was previously loaded and adds in any new records. The workbook contains a list report that shows what is already loaded into the demand forecast model 100 for the selected customer and year start. To do this, you will: Build a find and replace template the includes a delete action to remove the existing records Map named ranges to the template and set any defaults Select customer 2202 and perform the upload Here is an example of the workbook: (AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Replace Customer Demand Forecast.xlsx) Figure 38 Workbook showing sales figures for a selected customer Build the Find and Replace template Create a Find and Replace template as follows: 7. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 8. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 9. Tick to select the Demand Forecast table 10. Open the Filters tab 11. Right-click on the Customer account row and select the range =CustomerAcoountId 12. Right-click on the Date row and select the range =StartDate 13. Select the Model row and enter 100 as a criteria value 70

73 Table upload functions 14. Open the Find and Replace tab 15. Click to select the Find and Replace: Demand forecast node 16. Click the Fields button 17. Un-tick all but the Model, Item number, Date, Quantity and Customer account fields 18. Click to expand the Available fields node 19. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Comments field 20. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Dimension No. field 21. Click the Green plus next to the Dimension No. field to include Inventory dimensions 22. Click to expand the Available fields beneath the Inventory dimension node 23. Tick to include Site, Warehouse, Configuration, Dimension No., Size and Color fields 24. Click OK The template appears as follows: Figure 39 Basic demand forecast template without mapping or defaults 71

74 Table upload functions Mapping and setting defaults for the template This includes, mapping named ranges in the workbook to templates fields. It also includes setting any defaults for non-document fields and also applying the correct settings to determine the inventory dimension codes per record: 1. Click to select the Item number field 2. Right-click and choose =ItemId 3. Click to select the Date field 4. Right-click and choose =StartDate 5. Click to select the Quantity field 6. Right-click and choose =SalesQty 7. Click to select the Customer account field 8. Right-click and choose =CustAccountId 9. Click to select the Comments field 10. Right-click and choose =Comment 11. Click to select the Color field 12. Right-click and choose =InventColorId 13. Click to select the Configuration field 14. Right-click and choose =ConfigId 15. Click to select the Site field 16. Right-click and choose =InventSiteId 17. Click to select the Size field 18. Right-click and choose =InventSizeId 19. Click to select the Warehouse field 20. Right-click and choose =InventLocationId 72

75 Table upload functions Figure 40 Mapped template fields 21. Click to select Model 22. Right-click and select Properties 23. Type 100 in the Value entry box 24. Click the > (Next) button until the Item number field appears 25. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of available methods 26. Navigate the list until you find InitFromInventTable. Tick to select this field 27. Click OK 28. Click the > (Next) button until the Customer account field appears 29. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of available methods 30. Navigate the list until you find InitFromCustTable. Tick to select this field 31. Click OK 32. Click the > (Next) button until the Dimension No. field appears 33. Click to select Child field list from the Field type drop-down 34. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select InventDimId field 35. Click OK 36. Click the > (Next) button until the Color field appears 37. Tick to select Is unique 38. Click the > (Next) button until the Configuration field appears 39. Tick to select Is unique 40. Click the > (Next) button until the Site field appears 73

76 Table upload functions 41. Tick to select Is unique 42. Click the > (Next) button until the Size field appears 43. Tick to select Is unique 44. Click the > (Next) button until the Warehouse field appears 45. Tick to select Is unique 46. Click Apply 47. Close the Properties window 48. Click Insert The task pane appears as follows: Figure 41 Completed template Selecting the customer and performing the upload Change the customer as follows: 2. Select cell E4 3. Type 2202 and press enter The report refreshes to show the demand figures for HD televisions for Colorado Airport. 74

77 Table upload functions Figure 42 Refreshed report prior to quantity adjustments Adjust the quantities as follows: 1. Select cell L10 and enter Select cell L11 and enter Select cell L12 and enter Select cell L13 and enter Open the Find and Replace tab 6. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 7. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 8. Tick to select the Demand Forecast document template beneath the Demand forecast table 9. Select the Confirmation tab 10. Click Upload When complete, the confirmation page reports the number inserted and the number of records removed. Here is an example of the records in Microsoft Dynamics AX. 75

78 Table upload functions Figure 43 Sales forecast for Colorado Airport 76

79 Table upload functions Lab Exercises 1. Your sales team would like the ability to set forecasts based on item allocation group and then choose the customer and the quantity to be sold to them. The workbook has been prepared already but it is without the upload template to make this work. What you need to do is copy the template used in the customer based upload and then insert it into this workbook. Having done this, re-map the named ranges. Use (AX2012 LAB Replace Customer Item sales forecast.xlsx) Challenge yourself! 1. Switch mode to Designer 2. Open Table function Find and Replace 3. Open the AX2012 Training Demand Forecast saved template and insert 4. Check filter tab and named range references to the document 5. Open the Find and replace tab and remove item number, size, color and configuration fields 6. Add item allocation and map to document 7. Update template 8. Switch modes to Standard 9. Perform the upload Need a little help? 1. Switch from Standard mode to Designer mode 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 3. From the Saved query pull-down menu, select Open 4. Navigate to the settings folder and select AX2012 Training Demand forecast 5. Click Insert 6. Open the Filters tab 7. Ensure the named ranges specified exist in the document 8. Open the Find and Replace tab 9. Click the Fields button 10. Un-tick all the Item number, Size, Color and Configuration fields 11. Click to expand the Available fields node beneath the Demand forecast node 12. Tick to select the Item allocation key field 13. Click OK 14. Click to select Item allocation key field 15. Use the green up-arrow key to move Item allocation key to beneath the Customer account field 16. With Item allocation key selected, right-click and choose Properties 17. Type =AllocateId in the Value entry box 18. Click Apply and close the Properties window 19. Click Update 20. Switch from Designer mode to Context mode 21. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu and ensure Demand forecast is ticked 22. Select the Confirmation tab 77

80 Table upload functions 23. Click Upload The function deletes the records that meet the Filter criteria and then inserts the replacement records into the same table as an Append operation. Figure 44 4 records added and 4 removed 78

81 Table upload functions 5.6 Key points This section introduced the three main table upload functions: Append Update Find and Replace (Replace) In addition to introducing these three functions, it showed how these functions can be used in conjunction with other features to make the Atlas upload system a powerful addition for Microsoft Dynamics AX. Other lessons learned include: Append is the simplest of functions as it works with new record sets only Update changes the value in one or more columns of a table Find and replace is two operations in one; a delete operation and an append action The Update function uses a filter tab page to define the set of records to which the update will apply The find and Replace function uses the Filter tab page to define the delete action Use these functions when the volume of records to manipulate is large or the time taken to achieve a given task in Microsoft Dynamics AX is long Table functions do not normally operate on transaction type tables. Instead, use the journal functions Find and Replace is used for Budget and forecasts Actions on Vendor, Customer, Items, Projects and the like are undertaken using append and/or the update functions 79

82 Table upload functions 5.7 Quick interaction Take a moment to write down the three key points you have learned:

83 6 Journal functions 6.1 Outline Use the Journal upload functions to post the transactions that you would normally enter using the journal forms inside Microsoft Dynamics AX. For example, vendor invoice, general journal, fixed asset journal, inventory movement journal and trade agreements. You can also use this for free-text invoices, purchase orders and sales orders. Candidates for this function are those tables in Microsoft Dynamics AX that are defined as type Worksheet header and Worksheet line. This function allows you to send a single header record at a time and attach one or more line records. To achieve multiple header records and multiple lines, you will need to use the Batch task function described later. (See Chapter 8) Where a number sequence is involved, such as an order number or journal number, you can instruct Atlas to return the value it generates to the confirmation task pane and/or to a range in the worksheet. Journal upload is an Append action only and is similar to the Table Append function described earlier. 6.2 Objectives At the end of this chapter, you will be able to: Understand how the journal upload function is used Understand how to use the journal upload templates Understand how to build an upload template Understand how to map the template fields to the document Understand how to edit the journal template once it is in the document Understand how to use this function with other Atlas functions 81

84 Journal functions 6.3 Uses of the Journal function You use the Journal function in the following instances: During implementation, use this to load new, main table and setup data into Microsoft Dynamics AX. For example, customers, vendors, dimensions and items When budget transactions are to be loaded into a new model When the loading of new records using the Microsoft Dynamics AX client would take longer than using the Atlas upload system 82

85 6.4 Walk-through: Journal upload functions Scenario Journal functions You have prepared a free-text invoice journal workbook that will allow you to upload unposted invoices into Microsoft Dynamics AX. Before you can use this workbook you need to build a suitable Journal upload template. This will need to be included into the document and default settings applied in addition to the appropriate field mappings. (Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Journal Free-text invoice.xlsx). To do this, you will: Identify the journal header and journal line tables Add and remove fields in accordance with the schematic in Section Map fields and set defaults as required and then insert into the document Test the upload using customer accounts 1101 and 1102 Here is how the workbook appears: Figure 45 Free-text invoice workbook with customer lookup shown Identifying journal data sources for the template All journals have a two table, header and detail structure, as is the case in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Use the Data sources pane to locate these table and nominate which table is the header and which is the line table. In this case, these will be the Customer Free-text invoice table and Customer Free-text invoice lines: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode to Designer 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Journal button 3. Tick to select the Customer free-text invoices table. This will be the journal header 83

86 Journal functions Figure 46 Customer free text invoice table is selected as the header. See highlight. 4. Tick to select the Journal lines entry at the base of the form. 5. Tick to select Customer Free text invoice lines table as the journal lines The Data sources pane now has the two tables selected: Figure 47 Header and line tables linked to form a basic template Add and subtract fields to suit user and system requirements Outline At this stage it is necessary to understand what are the system required fields and the fields required by you as a user to achieve a successful upload. For the sake of expediency, in this example, the system mandatory fields for the header table are: Currency, Customer invoice account, customer group, Order account, Language id and Invoice date. There are no system mandatory fields for the lines table, although it is important to know how the header and lines are linked; in this case, via header record id. 84

87 Journal functions Selecting AOT mandatory fields Open the Journal tab to see the template fields selected by default: You can see that this template contains many of the system mandatory fields but not all. You need to add Language id and customer group: 1. Click the Fields button 2. When the Add or modify report columns task pane appears, expand the Available fields node and navigate the list until you find Group (Green plus adjacent). Tick to select this field 3. Navigate the list until you find Language. Tick to select this field 4. Click OK to copy your selections into the list task pane The field list appears as follows: 85

88 Journal functions Figure 48 Mandatory fields added Selecting user required fields and removing redundant fields Add those fields, over and above the AOT mandatory fields, to be included in the template. These will be due date, tax group and posting profile (Known to be needed and can be preset) in the header table. In the line table, this will include the addition of Line number (not on sheet) and parent record id (Reference to the header). The following fields will be removed, Print code, Auto and Sales tax amount: 1. Click the Fields button 2. When the Add or modify report columns task pane appears, expand the Available fields node and navigate the list until you find Due. Tick to select this field 3. Navigate the list until you find Posting profile. Tick to select this field 4. Navigate the list until you find Sales tax group. Tick to select this field 5. Click OK 6. Click to select the Customer free text invoice lines node 7. Click the Fields button 8. Un-tick the following fields: Main account, Print code, Sales tax amount and Auto 9. Expand the Available fields node 10. Navigate the list until you find Line number. Tick to select this field 11. Navigate the list until you find MainAccount 5. Tick to select this field 12. Navigate the list until you find Reference (Green plus adjacent). Tick to select this field 13. Click OK 14. Click to select Reference and use the Green up arrow to position at the top of the list 5 Use Show system names and select the field name LedgerDimension_MainAccount 86

89 Journal functions 15. Click to select Line number and use the green up arrow to position beneath Reference 16. Click to select MainAccount and use the green up arrow to position beneath line number At this stage the template as follows: Figure 49 Reference is the key field that links the two tables Map fields, set defaults and insert as an in-document template What you need to do now, is to assess each field in the template and determine where in the workbook the data will come from. If it is not from the workbook, it should be set a default: 1. In the Journal tab, select the Customer account field 2. Right-click and select =OrderAccount 3. Select Date 4. Right-click and select =InvoiceDate 5. Select Group 6. Right-click and select =CustGroup 7. Select Due 8. Right-click and select =DueDate 9. Select Sales tax group 10. Right-click and select =TaxGroup 11. Select Description 12. Right-click and select =Description 13. Select Amount 14. Right-click and select =AmountCur 15. Select Item sales tax group 87

90 Journal functions 16. Right-click and select =TaxItemGroup 17. Click to select Invoice account 18. Click to select Properties 19. Enter into the Value entry box =OrderAccount 20. Click the > button until the Currency field is selected 21. Enter into the Value entry box =Currency 22. Click the > button until the Language field is selected 23. Enter into the Value entry box en-us 24. Tick to select Hidden 25. Click the > button until the Posting profile field is selected 26. Enter GEN into the Value entry box 27. Tick to select Hidden 28. Click the > button until the Reference field is selected 29. Click to select Parent field list from the Field type drop-down 30. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select RecId field 31. Click OK 32. Tick to select Hidden 33. Click the > button until the Line number field is selected 34. Click to select Incremental from the Field type drop-down 35. Enter 1 into the Value entry box 36. Tick to select Hidden 37. Click the > button until the MainAccount field is selected 38. Enter into the Value entry box =LedgerAccount 39. Click the > button until the Sales tax group field is selected 40. Click to select Parent field list from the Field type drop-down 41. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select TaxGroup field 42. Click OK 43. Tick to select Hidden 44. Click Apply 45. Close the Properties form The Journal tab appears as follows: 88

91 Journal functions Figure 50 Mapped template, ready for inclusion into the workbook Include this template as an in-document template as follows: 1. Click the Insert at the base of the task pane 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard Test the journal upload Test the journal upload by using customer accounts 1101 and To do this you will: 1. Select the cell D6 2. Tick to select the Task pane viewer button on the Atlas ribbon bar Figure 51 Open the task pane in context mode by using the button on the bottom-right (highlighted) 3. From the list of customers shown, tick to select From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Journal button 5. Ensure the in-document template Customer Free text invoice is ticked 6. Open the Confirmation tab 7. Click to select the Upload button When the upload is complete, the number of records added will show 2 and a free-text invoice added to Microsoft Dynamics AX. Repeat for customer In Microsoft Dynamics AX the invoice page, filtered for customers 1101 and 1102 will appear as follows: 89

92 Journal functions Figure 52 Newly added free-text invoices 90

93 Journal functions 6.5 Lab. Exercises 1. In the previous walk-through, you saw that a free text invoice can be generated using the Journal upload function. However, a number of fields from the customer table were included in the workbook and then uploaded. How could this have been done differently? Challenge yourself! 1. Think about method calls? Do all method calls work? Need a little help? 1. Here is a snippet of code from the method call InitfromCustTable 2. Why can t this method be used? 3. How can you adjust the AOT such that this method is available for Atlas to use? Here is a suggested method call and effect of using this with the Customer free text upload: Use this on the order account field in the template. 91

94 Journal functions 2. You have developed a workbook that can be used to upload a sales order. The sales order workbook is simple, but can be used to demonstrate how easy it is to upload sophisticated transactions using the Atlas upload system. Using AX2012 LAB Journal Sales order.xlsx, you will need to: a. Create the basic template by identifying the header and line tables b. Identify and include mandatory fields for both tables c. Include Inventory dimension table into template d. Map to document e. Set defaults f. Use template to upload a sales order Format of the workbook is as follows: Figure 53 Sample sales order Challenge yourself! 1. Switch from Context to Designer mode 2. Open the Journal function 3. Select sales table as the header and sales line as the lines table 4. Open the Journal tab page 5. Ensure header has these mandatory fields: Currency, Customer group, Language, Customer account, Invoice account, Sales order and Requested shipping date 6. Ensure the lines table has these mandatory fields: Customer account, Customer group and Requested ship by date 7. Include user required fields for the header table: Customer requisition, Mode of delivery, Order type and Requested receipt date 8. Include user required fields for the lines table: Inventory dimension, Line number, Requested receipt date, Order type, Quantity ordered, Physical sales quantity remaining, Physical inventory quantity remaining, Price unit, Mode of delivery, Unit and Text 9. Include Inventory dimensions and select all necessary fields 10. For each field in the list use the Properties window to assign a default or map it to a named range in the document. Ensure you are familiar with the named ranges in question. 11. Click insert, making the template in-document 12. Switch from Designer to Context mode 13. Select cell E4 14. Select an appropriate customer 92

95 Journal functions 15. Select cell E8 16. Enter a purchase order number e.g. PO Open the Journal function 18. Open the Confirmation page and Upload and record the sales order number Need a little help? 1. Switch from Context to Designer mode 2. Open the Journal function 3. Tick to select the Sales order table 4. Tick to select journal lines 5. Tick to select Order lines 6. Open the Journal tab page 7. Click to select the Sales table node 8. Click the Fields button 9. Click to expand the Available fields node 10. Navigate the list until you find Currency, Customer group, Customer requisition, Language, Mode of delivery, Order type, Requested receipt date and Requested shipping. Tick to select these fields 11. Click OK 12. Click to select the Order lines node 13. Click the Fields button 14. Click to expand the Available fields node 15. Navigate the list until you find Customer account, Deliver remainder (RemainInventPhysical), Deliver remainder (RemainSalesPhysical), Dimension No., Group, Line number, Mode of delivery, Price unit, Quantity (QtyOrdered), Requested ship date, Requested receipt date, Text, Type, and Unit. Tick to select these fields. 16. Click OK Figure 54 Order lines with system and user required fields 17. Click to select the Order lines node 18. Click the Fields button 93

96 Journal functions 19. Click to select the green plus adjacent to the Dimension No. field 20. Click to expand the Available fields node beneath the Inventory dimensions node 21. Navigate the list until you find Batch, Color, Configuration, Dimension No., Site, Size, Warehouse. Tick to select these fields 22. Click OK 23. Using the following table as a guide, right-click to map the fields to the named ranges of the Sales table: Column Name Customer account Currency Customer requisition Requested receipt date Requested ship date Mode of delivery Named range =SalesName =CustAccount =CurrencyCode =PurchOrderFormNum =ReceiptDateRequested =ShippingDateReequested =DlvMode 24. Click to select Sales order, then use right-click and select Properties 24. Tick to select Number sequence 25. Tick to select Hidden 26. In the Value entry box, type AR_ Click the > button until the Invoice account field is selected 28. Enter into the Value entry box =CustAccount 29. Click the > button until the Status field is selected 30. Enter into the Value entry box Backorder 31. Tick to select Hidden 94

97 Journal functions 32. Click the > button until the Customer group field is selected 33. Enter into the Value entry box Tick to select Hidden 35. Click the > button until the Language field is selected 36. Enter into the Value entry box en-us 37. Tick to select Hidden 38. Click the > button until the Order type field is selected 39. Enter into the Value entry box Sales 40. Tick to select Hidden 41. Click Apply and close the Properties form 42. Using the following table as a guide, right-click to map the fields to the named ranges of the Order lines table: Column Item number Quantity Unit price Net amount Currency Mode of delivery Requested receipt date Requested ship date Text Unit Batch Color Configuration Site Size Warehouse Named range =ItemId =SalesQty =SalesPrice =LineAmount =CurrencyCode =DlvMode =ReceiptDateRequested =ShippingDateReequested =Name =SalesUnit =InventBatchId =InventColorId =ConfigId =InventSiteId =InventSizeId =InventLocationId 95

98 Journal functions 43. Click to select Sales order, then use right-click and select Properties 44. Click to select Parent field list from the Field type drop-down 45. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select SalesId field 46. Click OK 47. Tick to select Hidden 48. Click the > button until the Line status field is selected 49. Enter into the Value entry box Backorder 50. Tick to select Hidden 51. Click the > button until the Customer field is selected 52. Click to select Parent field list from the Field type drop-down 53. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select CustAccount field 54. Click OK 55. Click the > button until the Deliver remainder field is selected 56. Enter into the Value entry box =SalesQty 57. Click the > button until the next Deliver remainder field is selected 58. Enter into the Value entry box =SalesQty 59. Click the > button until the Dimension No. field appears 60. Click to select Child field list from the Field type drop-down 61. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select InventDimId field 62. Click OK 63. Tick to select Hidden 64. Click the > button until the Group field is selected 65. Click to select Parent field list from the Field type drop-down 66. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select CustGroup field 67. Click OK 68. Tick to select Hidden 69. Click the > button until the Line number field is selected 70. Click to select Incremental from the Field type drop-down 71. In the Value entry box, type Tick to select Hidden 73. Click the > button until the Price unit field is selected 74. In the Value entry box, type Tick to select Hidden 76. Click the > button until the Quantity (QtyOrdered) field is selected 77. Enter into the Value entry box =SalesQty 78. Click the > button until the Type field is selected 79. Enter into the Value entry box Sales 80. Tick to select Hidden 81. Click the > button until each inventory dimension field (Batch, Color, Configuration, Site, Size & Warehouse) is selected. In turn tick to select Unique. 82. Click Apply and close the Properties window 96

99 Journal functions 83. Click Insert Figure 55 Mapped template with defaults 84. Click to select the Sales order node at the top of the task pane and click Properties 85. In the Returns drop-down, select Sales Id and click OK 86. Click Update 87. Switch from Designer to Standard mode 88. Select cell E4 89. Tick to select customer 1101 from the list of customers in the task pane 90. Select cell E8 91. Enter a purchase order number E.g. P From the Atlas ribbon, select the Journal function 93. Ensure that the in-document template Sales Order is ticked 94. Open the Confirmation tab 95. Click Upload 96. Take note of the sales order number e.g. SO The function appends the sales order into the account receivable module, from which you can then post a confirmation. Here is an example of the workbook and the sales order in Microsoft Dynamics AX: 97

100 Journal functions Figure 56 Being the successful upload Figure 57 Newly created sales order in AX 98

101 Journal functions 6.6 Key points This section introduced the Journal upload function. You also learned that: Append is the only action allowed using this function A journal is made up of a header table and a lines table Normally these tables are classified as Worksheet header and Worksheet line in the AOT A journal will add one header record and one or more detail or line records Saved templates are used to define the tables involved and the linkages between them Saved templates are selected, mapped and included into the document Templates can use defaults and these can be drawn from: o o o o Number sequences Fields in the related header table Pre-set values in the template Or from the document Use this function to add transactions to your Microsoft Dynamics AX system when: o o o o You need to load opening transactions and balances at time of system start-up You want to load transactions into Microsoft Dynamics AX that need manipulation by or are sourced from Excel You need to interface external systems where an automatic interface is not possible You want to provide casual users with a means to prepare transactions using a familiar interface. E.g. timesheets, employee travel expenses, customer forecasts etc. 99

102 Journal functions 6.7 Quick interaction Take a moment to write down the three key points you have learned:

103 7 Matrix style upload 7.1 Outline Matrix style uploads allow you to send tabular data to Microsoft Dynamics AX. The matrix must be date based, where each column represents a date range. E.g. Month or day. Examples of a matrix style upload include financial budgets, forecasts and timesheets. You can use this style of upload on all the Atlas upload functions. When building these templates, you must nominate the amounts to be tabulated and the date basis. To map the tabulated amounts, you must be in Standard mode and not Designer. This mode allows you to identify each column or range of values from the workbook. Use the Save function on the Confirmation tab to ensure the template is updated properly in the workbook. Columns can be contiguous or non-contiguous, in other words, the data for each upload might be separated by several columns and each column can have a different date basis. For example, you might upload a monthly forecast for the next three months and quarterly figures in three columns thereafter. Matrix style uploads create records for each intersection of row and column. 7.2 Objectives At the end of this chapter, you will be able to: Understand when to use a matrix style upload Understand what functions can use a matrix style upload Understand how to build a matrix style upload Understand how to map tabulated amounts in Standard mode Understand what is meant by contiguous and non-contiguous columns Understand how to use the auto-generated date feature 101

104 Matrix style upload 7.3 Uses for Matrix uploads The Matrix style of upload is used in the following instances: Typical examples include: Supply, Demand and Inventory forecasts, financial budgets, timesheets Where you want to load a set of records that is organized in a tabular, date based format in your workbook 102

105 Matrix style upload 7.4 Matrix uploads Walk-through: Sales forecast upload Scenario The demand forecast demonstrated earlier, showed how you can replace the data inside Microsoft Dynamics AX, but was limited to a single demand figure for the year. In many of the workbooks in your organization, you have found that the demand figures are broken down by month. Use one of these workbooks to build a matrix upload so that each demand figure is loaded by month. To do this, you will: Build a basic find and replace template the includes a delete action to remove the existing records Adjust the template to accommodate a 12 month spread based on Start date Map non-tabulated fields and set field level template defaults Map tabulated fields to named ranges and save the template Select customer 2202 and perform the upload Here is an example of the workbook: (AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Matrix Replace Customer Demand Forecast.xlsx) Build the Find and Replace template Create a Find and Replace template as follows: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 3. Tick to select the Demand Forecast table 4. Open the Filters tab 5. Right-click on the Customer account row and select the range =CustomerAcoountId 6. Click on the Date row and enter the range =DeleteDate 7. Select the Model row and enter 100 as a criteria value 103

106 Matrix style upload 8. Open the Find and Replace tab 9. Click to select the Find and Replace: Demand forecast node 10. Click the Fields button 11. Un-tick all but the Model, Item number, Date, Quantity and Customer account fields 12. Click to expand the Available fields node 13. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Comments field 14. Navigate the available fields list. Tick to select the Dimension No. field 15. Click the Green plus next to the Dimension No. field to include Inventory dimensions 16. Click to expand the Available fields beneath the Inventory dimension node 17. Tick to include Site, Warehouse, Configuration, Dimension No., Size and Color fields 18. Click OK The template appears as follows: Figure 58 Basic demand forecast template without mapping or defaults 104

107 Matrix style upload Adjust the template to accommodate the matrix style This involves changing the Default basis for the quantity column to include a figure for the number of columns the value for that field can be found. For example 12, one for each month: 1. Click to select Quantity 2. Right-click and select Properties 3. Click to select Number of columns from the Field type drop-down 4. Type 12 in the Number of columns entry box 5. Click to select Date from the Date field drop-down 6. Click Apply 7. Close the Properties window The task pane appears as follows: Figure 59 Matrix style with columns to match months Mapping and setting defaults for the template for non-tabulated fields This includes, mapping named ranges in the workbook to templates fields. It also includes setting any defaults for non-document fields and also applying the correct settings to determine the inventory dimension codes per record: 1. Click to select the Item number field 2. Right-click and choose =ItemId 3. Click to select the Customer account field 4. Right-click and choose =CustAccountId 5. Click to select the Comments field 6. Right-click and choose =Comment 7. Click to select the Color field 105

108 Matrix style upload 8. Right-click and choose =InventColorId 9. Click to select the Configuration field 10. Right-click and choose =ConfigId 11. Click to select the Site field 12. Right-click and choose =InventSiteId 13. Click to select the Size field 14. Right-click and choose =InventSizeId 15. Click to select the Warehouse field 16. Right-click and choose =InventLocationId Figure 60 Mapped non-tabulated template fields 17. Click to select Model 18. Right-click and select Properties 19. Type 100 in the Value entry box 20. Click the > (Next) button until the Item number field appears 21. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of available methods 22. Navigate the list until you find InitFromInventTable. Tick to select this field 23. Click OK 24. Click the > (Next) button until the Customer account field appears 25. In the X++ Table methods entry box, Click the Lookup button to show a list of available methods 26. Navigate the list until you find InitFromCustTable. Tick to select this field 27. Click OK 106

109 Matrix style upload 28. Click the > (Next) button until the Dimension No. field appears 29. Click to select Child field list from the Field type drop-down 30. Click the Lookup button in the Value entry box and tick to select InventDimId field 31. Click OK 32. Click the > (Next) button until the Color field appears 33. Tick to select Is unique 34. Click the > (Next) button until the Configuration field appears 35. Tick to select Is unique 36. Click the > (Next) button until the Site field appears 37. Tick to select Is unique 38. Click the > (Next) button until the Size field appears 39. Tick to select Is unique 40. Click the > (Next) button until the Warehouse field appears 41. Tick to select Is unique 42. Click Apply 43. Close the Properties window 44. Click Insert Again here is an example of the task pane: Figure 61 Defaults set Mapping tabulated fields Values for the quantity and date fields come from multiple columns in the document, what you need to do is map the extended columns, broken out into 12 separate grid entries, to the ranges in the document where the data is sourced. You MUST do this using Standard mode: 107

110 Matrix style upload 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode to Standard 2. Open the Find and Replace tab 3. Click to select the Date[1] row and enter =Jul in the criteria column 4. Click to select the Date[2] row and enter =Aug in the criteria column 5. Click to select the Date[3] row and enter =Sep in the criteria column 6. Click to select the Date[4] row and enter =Oct in the criteria column 7. Click to select the Date[5] row and enter =Nov in the criteria column 8. Click to select the Date[6] row and enter =Dec in the criteria column 9. Click to select the Date[7] row and enter =Jan in the criteria column 10. Click to select the Date[8] row and enter =Feb in the criteria column 11. Click to select the Date[9] row and enter =Mar in the criteria column 12. Click to select the Date[10] row and enter =Apr in the criteria column 13. Click to select the Date[11] row and enter =May in the criteria column 14. Click to select the Date[12] row and enter =Jun in the criteria column Figure 62 Where date values can be found in the document is identified by named ranges 15. Click to select the Quantity[1] row and enter =JulQty in the criteria column 16. Click to select the Quantity[2] row and enter =AugQty in the criteria column 17. Click to select the Quantity[3] row and enter =SepQty in the criteria column 18. Click to select the Quantity[4] row and enter =OctQty in the criteria column 19. Click to select the Quantity[5] row and enter =NovQty in the criteria column 20. Click to select the Quantity[6] row and enter =DecQty in the criteria column 21. Click to select the Quantity[7] row and enter =JanQty in the criteria column 108

111 Matrix style upload 22. Click to select the Quantity[8] row and enter =FebQty in the criteria column 23. Click to select the Quantity[9] row and enter =MarQty in the criteria column 24. Click to select the Quantity[10] row and enter =AprQty in the criteria column 25. Click to select the Quantity[11] row and enter =MayQty in the criteria column 26. Click to select the Quantity[12] row and enter =JunQty in the criteria column Figure 63 Demand quantities are found by using named ranges for each column 27. Open the Confirmation tab 28. Click to select Save 6 A confirmation of the saved template is shown in the status page: Adjusting the workbook and performing the upload Change the customer as follows: 1. Select cell E4 2. Type 2202 and press enter The report refreshes to show the demand figures for HD televisions for Colorado Airport. 6 This saves the template into the document in the same fashion as the Insert button during Design mode 109

112 Matrix style upload Figure 64 Refreshed report prior to quantity adjustments Adjust the quantities as follows: 1. Select cell M10 and enter 2. Copy to cell X10 2. Select cell M11 and enter 1. Copy to cell X11 3. Select cell M12 and enter 3. Copy to cell X12 4. Select cell M13 and enter 4. Copy to cell X13 5. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 6. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 7. Tick to select the Demand Forecast document template beneath the Demand forecast table 8. Select the Confirmation tab 9. Click Upload When complete, the confirmation page reports the number of records inserted and removed. Here is an example of the records in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Figure 65 Sales forecast for Colorado Airport 110

113 Matrix style upload Auto generating date values In the previous Walk-Through we saw that the date was manually configured for each column; in fact, the Date field was included as a part of the matrix section in the template. At runtime, the date value and the quantity values were identified and mapped. You can get Atlas to autogenerate the date values for you as long as each column is on the same periodicity. E.g. all represent a discrete month. If your upload includes columns of differing periodicity, then you must determine the date by reference to the sheet (as above) or by including the date in the template. To do the same upload as above, but generating the date automatically, set the template on the Quantity field as follows: Figure 66 Atlas uses these values to auto-generate the date, with each column representing 1 month Note: changing the numerator will affect the resulting date calculation. If set to 1, as above, then each column s calculated date will be advanced by 1 month. If the numerator is 2, the then each column s calculated date will be offset by 2 months. So starting at 01/01/2012, the next column will have a date value of 01/03/

114 Matrix style upload Lab Exercises 1. Using the sample template from LAB (Replace Customer Item sales forecast), adjust the template to suit the tabulated customer demand figures. Use AX2012 LAB Matrix Replace Customer Item allocation forecast.xlsx Challenge yourself! 1. Switch mode to Designer 2. Open Table function Find and Replace 3. Open the AX2012 Training Demand Forecast saved template and insert 4. Check filter tab and named range references to the document 5. Open the Find and replace tab and remove item number, size, color and configuration fields 6. Add item allocation and map to document 7. Update template 8. Switch modes to Standard 9. Perform the upload Need a little help? 1. Switch from Standard mode to Designer mode 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 3. From the Saved query pull-down menu, select Open 4. Navigate to the settings folder and select AX2012 Training Matrix Demand forecast 5. Click Insert 6. Open the Filters tab 7. Change the filter criteria for date from =StartDate to =DateRange 8. Ensure the named ranges specified exist in the document 9. Open the Find and Replace tab 10. Click the Fields button 11. Un-tick all the Item number, Size, Color and Configuration fields 12. Click to expand the Available fields node beneath the Demand forecast node 13. Tick to select the Item allocation key field 14. Click OK 15. Click to select Item allocation key field 16. Use the green up-arrow key to move Item allocation key to beneath the Customer account field 17. With Item allocation key selected, right-click and choose Properties 18. Type =AllocateId in the Value entry box 19. Click the > button until the Quantity field appears 20. Remove the =SalesQty range from the Value entry box 21. In the Field type drop-down box, select Number of columns 22. In the number of columns box, type Select Date in the field basis drop-down box 24. Click Apply and close the Properties window 25. Click Update 112

115 Matrix style upload 26. Switch from Designer mode to Context mode 27. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu and ensure Demand forecast is ticked 28. Open the Find and Replace tab 29. Click to select the Date[1] row and enter =Jul in the criteria column 30. Click to select the Date[2] row and enter =Aug in the criteria column 31. Click to select the Date[3] row and enter =Sep in the criteria column 32. Click to select the Date[4] row and enter =Oct in the criteria column 33. Click to select the Date[5] row and enter =Nov in the criteria column 34. Click to select the Date[6] row and enter =Dec in the criteria column 35. Click to select the Date[7] row and enter =Jan in the criteria column 36. Click to select the Date[8] row and enter =Feb in the criteria column 37. Click to select the Date[9] row and enter =Mar in the criteria column 38. Click to select the Date[10] row and enter =Apr in the criteria column 39. Click to select the Date[11] row and enter =May in the criteria column 40. Click to select the Date[12] row and enter =Jun in the criteria column 41. Click to select the Quantity[1] row and enter =JulQty in the criteria column 42. Click to select the Quantity[2] row and enter =AugQty in the criteria column 43. Click to select the Quantity[3] row and enter =SepQty in the criteria column 44. Click to select the Quantity[4] row and enter =OctQty in the criteria column 45. Click to select the Quantity[5] row and enter =NovQty in the criteria column 46. Click to select the Quantity[6] row and enter =DecQty in the criteria column 47. Click to select the Quantity[7] row and enter =JanQty in the criteria column 48. Click to select the Quantity[8] row and enter =FebQty in the criteria column 49. Click to select the Quantity[9] row and enter =MarQty in the criteria column 50. Click to select the Quantity[10] row and enter =AprQty in the criteria column 51. Click to select the Quantity[11] row and enter =MayQty in the criteria column 52. Click to select the Quantity[12] row and enter =JunQty in the criteria column 53. Select the Confirmation tab 54. Click Save 55. Click Upload When the upload is complete, a confirmation of the records added and removed is presented: 113

116 Matrix style upload 114

117 Matrix style upload 2. Using the same workbook design as in LAB and the sample template from LAB (Replace Customer Item sales forecast), adjust the template to suit the tabulated customer demand figures but this time use the contiguous columns method. Use AX2012 LAB Matrix Replace Customer Item allocation contiguous forecast.xlsx Challenge yourself! 1. Switch mode to Designer 2. Open Table function Find and Replace 3. Open the AX2012 Training Demand Forecast saved template and insert 4. Check filter tab and named range references to the document 5. Open the Find and replace tab and remove item number, size, color and configuration fields 6. Set quantity to have a periodicity of 1 month per column 7. Add item allocation and map to document 8. Update template 9. Switch modes to Standard 10. Perform the upload Need a little help? 1. Switch from Standard mode to Designer mode 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu 3. From the Saved query pull-down menu, select Open 4. Navigate to the settings folder and select AX2012 Training Matrix Demand forecast 5. Click Insert 6. Open the Filters tab 7. Change the filter criteria for date from =StartDate to =DateRange 8. Ensure the named ranges specified exist in the document 9. Open the Find and Replace tab 10. Click the Fields button 11. Un-tick all the Item number, Size, Color and Configuration fields 12. Click to expand the Available fields node beneath the Demand forecast node 13. Tick to select the Item allocation key field 14. Click OK 15. Click to select Item allocation key field 16. Use the green up-arrow key to move Item allocation key to beneath the Customer account field 17. With Item allocation key selected, right-click and choose Properties 18. Type =AllocateId in the Value entry box 19. Click the > button until the Quantity field appears 20. Remove the =SalesQty range from the Value entry box 21. In the Field type drop-down box, select Number of columns 22. In the number of columns box, type Select Date in the field basis drop-down box 24. In the Represents entry box, type 1 and the choose the Month basis from the adjacent drop-down 25. Click Apply and close the Properties window 115

118 Matrix style upload 26. Click Update 27. Switch from Designer mode to Context mode 28. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Find and Replace from the menu and ensure Demand forecast is ticked 29. Open the Find and Replace tab 30. Click to select the Quantity[1] row and enter =JulQty in the criteria column 31. Click to select the Quantity[2] row and enter =AugQty in the criteria column 32. Click to select the Quantity[3] row and enter =SepQty in the criteria column 33. Click to select the Quantity[4] row and enter =OctQty in the criteria column 34. Click to select the Quantity[5] row and enter =NovQty in the criteria column 35. Click to select the Quantity[6] row and enter =DecQty in the criteria column 36. Click to select the Quantity[7] row and enter =JanQty in the criteria column 37. Click to select the Quantity[8] row and enter =FebQty in the criteria column 38. Click to select the Quantity[9] row and enter =MarQty in the criteria column 39. Click to select the Quantity[10] row and enter =AprQty in the criteria column 40. Click to select the Quantity[11] row and enter =MayQty in the criteria column 41. Click to select the Quantity[12] row and enter =JunQty in the criteria column 42. Select the Confirmation tab 43. Click Save 44. Click Upload Here is an example of the completed workbook: 116

119 Matrix style upload 7.5 Key points This chapter introduced the Matrix upload feature, where you can upload records that are based on tabulated workbooks in which each column represents a period of time. You also learned that: The feature is available for all upload functions including journal upload Commonly used with budget and forecast upload but not limited to these types. Can be used, for example, with timesheets Tabulated data in a workbook; can be in contiguous or non-contiguous columns. In setting up a template for the matrix style uploads, you need to: o o o Change the column type to Number of columns Setting the number of columns involved (fixed) Stipulating whether the date is to be calculated automatically Mapping the tabulated columns must be done in Standard and not Designer mode. Save the adjusted template from the Confirmation screen There can be multiple numeric values being uploaded this way. For example, amount and quantity The date value for each column can be determined from the document, hard coded into the template for each column or generated automatically Auto-generated dates assume that each column has the same period basis and has a set offset from the starting column A record is created in Microsoft Dynamics AX for each row and column intersection. Use Skip zero to avoid uploading intersections with a zero value 117

120 Matrix style upload 7.6 Quick interaction Take a moment to write down the three key points you have learned:

121 8 Batch tasks 8.1 Outline Batch tasks are an important feature when dealing with data structures that include many tables to support a single Microsoft Dynamics AX master data entity, for example, Customers or Vendors. It allows you to run one or more upload templates in a user defined sequence. This sequence can include a mix of table and journal upload templates and can include special events that can be triggered mid-sequence, for example, workbook refresh events or messaging events for user information. Batch tasks are the mechanism you should use if you wish to perform upload splits; these allow you generate multiple uploads based on a changing value in the document, for example company, without having to duplicate the upload template itself. Batch tasks are held in-document in the same fashion as templates. 8.2 Objectives At the end of this chapter, you will be able to: Understand how you can use Batch tasks Understand the how to create and insert a batch into your document Understand how to order templates in a batch Understand how the special event triggers of a batch Understand how to set up and use the Split feature 119

122 Batch tasks 8.3 Uses for the Batch task list Use the Batch tasks feature in the following circumstances: When you need to upload into multiple tables to complete a functional task and where order of upload is important When you need to use a single upload template for one or more companies When you want to upload multiple journals based on a changing attribute within the source document Where you need to load into many single tables such as is the case when loading into Vendors, Customer, Items and the like. 120

123 Batch tasks 8.4 Walk-through: Creating and running batch task list Outline You noticed that when you upload customers, you are faced with uploading multiple tables and that you must load them in a prescribed sequence, else the upload will not work correctly. You have decided to explore the use of the Batch feature, which allows you to add multiple templates into a run sequence. Using the customer and address book templates from chapter 5: Add the Address book and then the customer uploads to a simple batch task Include a message to denote the start of the upload Include an Excel function that counts the number of records added. This will be in the named range called Counter. Note: The party id is sourced from the workbook and the customer account number is generated using a number sequence. Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Batch Append Customers.xlsx. Figure 67 Simple customer upload, no postal address details Creating the batch and adding templates The first step is to create the batch and add the templates: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Batch tasks button 3. Open the Job selection tab 4. Click to select the New task node at the top of the task pane 5. Right-click and choose Rename 6. Type a Simple customer append 7 in the entry box 7. Click the Templates button 8. Click to expand the Connection node 9. Click to expand the Address book tab and tick to select Address book 10. Click Apply 11. Click to expand the Connection node 7 This is the name for the collection of upload templates to be added to this Batch. 121

124 Batch tasks 12. Click to expand the Customers tab and tick to select Customers 13. Click OK 14. Click Insert The batch task with added templates appears as follows: Figure 68 Simple batch job that allows customers to be loaded Adding command functions Command functions instruct Atlas to take action outside of the upload framework and can be one of the following types: Display Insert Refresh The Display function, allows you to send a message to the user via dialog box, Insert can put a value into a cell in your workbook, where that value can be an Excel formula function and Refresh causes the workbook to be recalculated as if you pressed Alt+F9. In this example you want to display a message when job starts and then insert a record count into the cell named Counter: 1. Click the Actions button 2. Click to select Display 3. When the Actions dialog appears, type Starting batch, press OK 4. Click Apply 5. Close the Actions dialog 6. Click to select the Display message, click the Green up arrow until the action is at the top of the batch list 7. Click the Actions button 8. Click to select Insert 122

125 Batch tasks 9. When the Actions dialog appears, type Counter in the Control entry box 10. Type =COUNTA(PARTYNUMBER) 8 into the Value entry box 11. Click Apply 12. Click Insert The batch task list appears as follows: Running the batch tasks Running the batch is the same as running a normal template upload, except there are multiple templates and actions running in sequence: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Batch tasks button 3. Tick to select the Simple customer append 4. Open the Start batch tab 8 This counts the number of alpha-numeric entries in the named range called PartyNumber 123

126 Batch tasks Figure 69 Batch tasks in run sequence 5. Click the Run button to start the batch 6. Click OK when the Display message appears: As each step is completed, the status indicator on the right-hand side of the pane, changes from yellow to green if successfully completed. Here is the completed job: Figure 70 Note the count in cell D12 124

127 Batch tasks Errors during execution and sequence control commands Outline If the upload were to be done again, and depending on the templates involved, an error reporting duplicate records will be thrown. As with all template validation, the nature of the error will dictate how you fix that and continue. That is: fix the data inside Microsoft Dynamics AX or correct the data in the source document. Here is an example of an error message returned from the batch tasks process: Options available to you include: Resume Restart Skip Reset Resume command This allows a failed task to be executed again. Use this when you want to re-try a failed step in the execution sequence and when you have rectified data inside Microsoft Dynamics AX Restart Start the sequence from the first step. Use this if you want to re-do the upload using the batch Skip command Use this command when you want to skip over a step in the execution sequence knowing that the subsequent steps in the sequence are not dependent on the step to be skipped. Use this when you want to fix the source document and upload the data at a later stage Reset command This changes the state of each template in the batch task to Ready, the state used before execution of the batch. 125

128 Batch tasks 8.5 Walk-through: Using the split function Outline The split function can be used when you want to run a template repeatedly based on an attribute in the workbook; such as a company account reference or a reference number. In this example, the list of customers is divided into two groups; one for the company CEU and the other for CEC, each is to be loaded into their respective companies using the batch task built to service a single entity. To do this you will: Adjust the templates to support the selection of company accounts Adjust the batch tasks to switch on splits Run the upload Use AX2012 WALKTHROUGH Batch Append Multicompany Customers.xlsx Figure 71 Multi-company customer upload Adjusting the template to select company In the case where your template does not include the split basis as a field, then you will need to add that field and map it to the document. In this case the Company accounts field: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Standard to Designer 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Table button and choose Append from the menu 3. Tick to select the Address book document template 4. Open the Append tab 5. Click to select the Company accounts field 6. Right-click and choose =DataAreaId 7. Click Insert 8. Open the Data sources tab 9. Tick to select the Customers document template 10. Open the Append tab 11. Click to select the Company accounts field 126

129 Batch tasks 12. Right-click and choose =DataAreaId 13. Click Insert Setting the split basis This stage involves setting the batch job up to prepare for split uploads: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Batch tasks button 2. Tick to select the Simple customer append 3. Open the Job selection tab 4. Click to select the Address book template 5. Click the Properties button 6. Tick to select DataAreaId in the split parameters window 7. Click Apply and click Close 8. Click to select the Customer template 9. Click the Properties button 10. Tick to select DataAreaId in the split parameters window 11. Click Apply and click Close 12. Click Insert The batch task form appears as follows: Figure 72 Split templates are highlighted with bold lettering Running a batch task list with active splits Once the templates in the batch have been activated for split processing, you can now execute the batch. In this example, for each company account identified in column I, a new instance of the upload template will be generated: 1. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Batch tasks button 3. Tick to select the Simple customer append 4. Open the Start batch tab 5. Click the Run button to start the batch 6. Click OK when the Display message appears 127

130 Batch tasks As each step is completed, the status indicator on the right-hand side of the pane, changes from yellow to green if successfully completed. Here is the completed job: Figure 73 Note the expanded batch task list In Microsoft Dynamics AX you can see the two sets of customers in the respective companies: 128

131 Batch tasks 8.6 Lab Exercises 1. For some new customers, the creation of their account is managed by sales representatives of the company. For these customers, a one-off setup fee is applied which gives them immediate credit and the ability place orders. The sales representatives have complained that to this they have to use three separate upload templates and sometimes they get the sequence wrong, which leans to errors and corresponding frustrations. You have decided to adjust their templates and incorporate the upload templates into a batch task. Use (AX2012 LAB Batch Free-text invoice.xlsx) Challenge yourself! 1. Switch mode to Designer 2. Open Batch tasks 3. Create a new batch task that will host the upload templates 4. Open the AX2012 Training Demand Forecast saved template and insert 5. Check filter tab and named range references to the document 6. Open the Find and replace tab and remove item number, size, color and configuration fields 7. Add item allocation and map to document 8. Update template 9. Switch modes to Standard 10. Perform the upload Need a little help? 1. Switch from Standard mode to Designer mode 2. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Batch tasks button 3. Open the Job selection tab 4. Click to select the New task node at the top of the task pane 5. Right-click and choose Rename 6. Type a load customer and apply fee in the entry box 7. Click the Templates button 8. Click to expand the Connection node 9. Click to expand the Address book node and tick to select Address book 10. Click Apply 11. Click to expand the Connection node 12. Click to expand the Customers node and tick to select Customers 13. Click Apply 14. Click to expand the Connection node 15. Click to expand the CustInvoiceLine node and tick to select Customer free text invoices 16. Click OK 129

132 Batch tasks Figure 74 Upload templates selected in the correct sequence 17. Click the Actions button 18. Click to select Refresh 19. Click Apply 20. Click Insert 21. With the Refresh action highlighted, use the up arrow until the Refresh action appears above the Customer free-text invoice template 22. From the Atlas ribbon bar, change the mode from Designer to Standard 23. From the Atlas ribbon bar, select the Batch tasks button 24. Tick to select the Load customer and apply fee 25. Open the Start batch tab 26. Click the Run button to start the batch The following represents a successful upload: 130

133 Batch tasks Figure 75 All templates in the batch were executed without failure In Microsoft Dynamics AX the following Free text invoice will be raised: 131