ArcherPoint Dynamics Developer Digest - vol 133
The NAV community, including the ArcherPoint technical staff, is made up of developers, project managers, and consultants who are constantly communicating, with the common goal of sharing helpful information with one another to help customers be more successful.
As they run into issues and questions, find the answers, and make new discoveries, they post them on blogs, forums, social media…so everyone can benefit. We in Marketing watch these interactions and never cease to be amazed by the creativity, dedication, and brainpower we’re so fortunate to have in this community—so we thought, wouldn’t it be great to share this great information with everyone who might not have the time to check out the multitude of resources out there? So, the ArcherPoint Microsoft Dynamics NAV Developer Digest was born. Each week, we present a collection of thoughts and findings from NAV experts and devotees around the world. We hope these insights will benefit you, too.
How to Configure the Excel Add-In in MS Dynamics NAV
Microsoft Dynamics shares on their YouTube channel a demonstration of how to configure the Excel Add-In in Microsoft Dynamics 2017. It includes the prerequisites, creating the app in Azure management portal, granting access to the app, OAuth2 configuration, and the NAV server configuration.
Dynamics NAV 2017: Update Item Inventory from Item Card
Saurav asks if the ability in NAV 2017 to update item inventory from the item card is a feature or a bug in his latest blog. Check out his post and weigh in from your customer’s point of view whether this is a feature or a bug.
Dynamics ERP by the Numbers
Our friends at ERPSoftwareBlog.com share how many companies use the various Microsoft Dynamics ERP products, at least the most recent numbers available. NAV wins!
Object Metadata Table Lock when Compiling Objects
Tom Hunt shares an issue when trying to do an object compile with only 10 tables. The error message is below, stating, “The Object Metadata table cannot be changed because it is locked by another user. Wait until the user is finished and then try again.”
Figure 1 – Dynamics NAV Development Environment Error: Metadata table locked
The error states that this can be caused by one of the following tasks:
- Objects are being compiled.
- Table schema is synchronizing.
- Objects are being imported.
Tom explains, “I’m the only user in the database. I just restarted the SQL Server service and all the NAV service tiers, so I’m not quite certain what would be causing this. Does anyone have any ideas?”
Suresh asks Tom which version, and suggests if in a new version to try sync-schema from Tools.
Tom replied that he is working in NAV 2015 and wasn’t aware of the sync-schema tool. Unfortunately, the sync-schema, nor turning off all service tiers, nor restarting SQL resolved the issue.
Bill W suggests, “You could try to see what has the lock and is blocking. I use this method, from the Using SQL Server Extended Events to Produce a Blocked Process Report blog, which is more accurate than checking activity monitor.
That SQL Command turns on the logging. Instead of using the report they setup, just open up SQL Profiler and then pick the Blocked Process Report. That should tell you what has a lock on the table.
Figure 2 – SQL Profiler’s Blocked Process Report
SSRS versus RDLC Reports
Michael Heydasch shares that he recently wrote SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) reports for a client that needed visibility into more than one company. In doing so he discovered that SSRS is true RDL (Report Description Language) that includes the query needed to gather a dataset, whereas Dynamics NAV is RDLC (Report Definition Language Client-side) and the dataset is expected to be provided.
Leadership Lines
For those practicing Agile in any capacity, Jon Long reminds us of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
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