Purpose: The purpose of this document is to outline some issues you may encounter when using Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in for import of data and provide solutions to resolve them.

Issue: “This operation is not supported for a relative URI”.

Reason: This issue occurs because AppFabric Service Bus endpoint is not configured. AppFabric Service Bus endpoints are similar to WCF endpoints. The only difference is that specific binding are used to communicate with relay service. The ‘sb’ represents the scheme used to communicate with the AppFabric Service Bus. The scheme can be either ‘http’ or ‘sb’ depending on the binding you are using. Endpoints can be configured in application configuration files or programmatically. Alternatively you can delete the endpoint if you don’t use it.

Dynamics AX Error

Solution: Please delete or configure ‘sb’ endpoint. ‘sb’ endpoint has no address defined which is treated by Dynamics AX Excel Add-in as relative URI. Below I show how to delete ‘sb’ endpoint.

Microsoft Dynamics AX Configuration Utility

Opening Microsoft Service Configuration Editor dialog

WCF Configuration Editor

Save Changes to WCF Configuration

Restart Excel

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP

Tags: Dynamics ERP,Dynamics AX 2012, Excel, Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in, Data Import, Data Conversion, Data Migration, Application Integration Framework, Issue, Problem, Solution, Resolution.

Note: This document is intended for information purposes only, presented as it is with no warranties from the author. This document may be updated with more content to better outline the issues and describe the solutions.

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to illustrate options how to change Dynamics AX 2012 Data Model by adding appropriate Replacement keys to make Excel Add-in working to import the data.

Challenge: Data model changes in Dynamics AX related to high normalization and introduction of surrogate keys made import of data more complex. Currently Excel Add-in has a number of limitations as it relates to the Data Model. In order to allow Excel Add-in to interpret Surrogate key relations between tables correctly the specification of Replacement key (Natural key) is required.

Solution: Dynamics AX 2012 ships with close to 4500 tables. Some tables were designed and implemented for previous releases; some of them were designed and implemented for the current release. “New” tables leverage inheritance, Surrogate keys and relations based on Surrogate keys when “old” tables still have Natural keys and relations based on Natural keys. Please also note that for all newly created tables relations between tables in Dynamics AX 2012 should be specified on table level, at the same time some relations are still specified on “old” EDT’s in the system.

The example of “new” tables would be AgreementHeader and AgreementLine tables. AgreementLine table is linked with AgreementHeader table by Foreign key which is Surrogate key based.

The example of “old” tables would be LedgerJournalTable and LedgerJournalTrans tables. LedgerJournalTable table has Primary key based on JournalNum field (Natural key) and this JournalNum field is used to link LedgerJournalTable and LedgerJournalTrans tables together. That’s why in this case there’s no need to tweak the Data Model to make Excel Add-in working.

Data Model:

Data Model Diagram:

Sample Data Model

Walkthrough:

Connection

Add Tables

Dynamics AX Error

Header AlexTable table

Solution – Option 1 (this is what I implemented in this example): Use existing field(s) which will form unique Natural key

-Add Replacement key to AlexTable table

Solution – Option 2: Introduce brand new field(s) which will form unique Natural key

-Add Replacement key to AlexTable table

Dynamics AX Error

Lines AlexLine table

Solution – Option 1: Use existing field(s) which will form unique Natural key

-Add Replacement key to AlexLine table

Solution – Option 2: Introduce brand new field(s) which will form unique Natural key

-Add Replacement key to AlexLine table

Solution – Option 3 (this is what I implemented in this example): Create unique Replacement key based on one of the existing fields and RecId field

-Add Replacement key to AlexLine table

The easiest option is Solution – Option 3 using one of existing fields and RecID field.

If your Replacement key would contain only RecId this would not be different from Surrogate key, RecId adds uniqueness to the index and if RecID is complimented with another non-RecID field then we have unique non-Surrogate key. However sometimes your table which requires Replacement key assignment may not even have fields other than system fields such as RecID or CreatedBy, ModifiedBy, etc. This may happen with tables participating in table inheritance. In this case new field may be added to the table. Then you can implement Solution – Option 2 with brand new field – ImportID in my examples. Please note that your unique index will be based on this field which means that you will have to populate this field with unique values for all existing records if any. The easiest way is to write X++ job and populate this new field (String) based on RecId values in the same table. Going forward unique values for that field will have to be provided in Excel Add-in interface explicitly.

Solution – Option 1 will work only if you already have existing field or combination of fields in the table which could be your Primary key. However this approach is not universal because all depends on the purpose of particular fields in the table.

Project

AlexTable table

AlexLine table

Once Replacement key is added on AlexTable table Excel Add-in will be able to interpret Surrogate key relation between AlexTable and AlexLine tables using Natural key (Replacement key).

Query

Generate AIF Proxy classes

Select Document Parameters

Select Code Generation Parameters

Completed

Project AxdAlex

Generate Incremental CIL

If you encounter this error

please delete cache* methods

Field Chooser

This is how Field Chooser will look like if you use Index1 = {ID} as Replacement key in header AlexTable table. Please note that ID field in AlexTable table is used for Replacement Key <-> Surrogate Key translation

This is how Field Chooser will look like if you use Index1 = {FieldA, FieldB} as Replacement key in header AlexTable table. Please note that the combination of fields FieldA and FieldB in AlexTable table is used for Replacement Key <-> Surrogate Key translation

This is how Field Chooser will look like if you use Index1 = {ImportID} as Replacement key in header AlexTable table. Please note that ImportID field in AlexTable table is used for Replacement Key <-> Surrogate Key translation

This is how Field Chooser will look like if you use Index1 = {FieldA, RecID} as Replacement key in header AlexTable table. Please note that FieldA field in AlexTable table is supposed to be used for Replacement Key <-> Surrogate Key translation

However if Replacement key for header AlexTable table contains RecID then you will get an exception when you try to import lines into AlexLine table.

Conclusion: All Replacement key Options including [existing field(s) + RecID] are applicable for lines (derived) AlexLine table. And all Replacement key Options excluding [existing field(s) + RecID] are applicable for header (main) AlexTable table.

AlexTable

AlexLine

Sequence:

1.AlexTable – Publish Selected

2.AlexLine – Publish Selected

Result:

Dynamics AX – Table Browser

AlexTable

AlexLine

SQL Trace:

Limitations:

Document Services

Document Services are based on a query that defines their structure. Only certain query structures are supported. The following are the restrictions on queries that form the basis of document services. Services which violate these rules may be added to the document data sources form by the administrator, but will result in errors when accessed in the add-in. For this reason it is important that developers and administrators test services for use with the add-in prior to adding them to this form.

·Replacement Keys:The root level of the document service (the parent data source) must have unique indexes other than Rec-ID. This may be in the form of a non-RecID Primary Index or a Replacement Key.

·Related Replacement Keys:Each field within the service which is a RecID-based foreign key must relate to a table that has a replacement key specified.

·Relationship Direction:When parent-child relationships exist in the underlying query associated with the service, only relationships originating on the child element, and pointing to the parent may be used. For example, in the CustCustomerService, the CustTable parent data source holds a foreign key to the DirParty child data source. This pattern is not supported in the Excel Add-in.

·Query and Service consistency:Document services are based on an underlying query which defines the data contract used in the service at the time that the service is generated. The Excel Add-in uses this query definition to perform read operations when refreshing data into the workbook. Because of this, any overrides to the read method, or extension of the schema beyond what is in the underlying query will not be reflected in the service.

·ViewSupport:Views may be used within document services to provide an easier to use data model for end users. However, the PrepareForXXXExtended methods must be implemented to properly handle information sent to the service within the views. Views may only be used as the “leaf” level node in the underlying query. For instance if there is a query “Parent, child, grandchild”, then only the grandchild node can be a view.

Only the following services shipped in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 are supported without modification in the Excel Add-in. Additional services meeting the above requirements can be constructed in order to extend the scenarios where excel can be used to update, create, and delete business data in Dynamics AX.

·BudgetTransaction

· EMSMeterReading

· EMSSubstanceFlow

· GeneralJournal

· ProductionPickingList

· ProjectHourJournals

· SysImportBusSector

· VendGroup

· VendRequestSignup

Supported tables

Not all tables presented in the “Add tables” dialog may be used with the Excel add-in, rather only those which meet the following requirements:

·Visible Identity:There must be a unique index on the table which does not contain RecID as a component. This may be either the “Replacement Key”, or the “Primary Index”

·Valid References:All relations in the relations collection for the table that refer to other tables via Rec-Id must be related to tables that have a “Replacement Key” specified.

Summary: In order to make Excel Add-in working to import the data the specification of Replacement key is required. Excel Add-in uses Replacement key to interpret Surrogate key based relations between tables. There’s multiple options how to change the Data Model and introduce Replacement key to the table: use existing field(s) which will form unique Natural key, introduce brand new field(s) which will form unique Natural key or create unique Replacement key based on one of the existing fields and RecID field.

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP

Tags: Dynamics ERP,Dynamics AX 2012, Excel, Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in, Data Import, Data Conversion, Data Migration, Application Integration Framework, Table Inheritance, Surrogate Key, Natural Key, Replacement Key.

Note: This document is intended for information purposes only, presented as it is with no warranties from the author. This document may be updated with more content to better outline the concepts and describe the examples. It’s recommended that all Data Model changes introduced as a part of this demonstration will be removed once you complete data import exercise.

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to illustrate how to use Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in for import of purchase agreements.

Challenge: Data model changes in Microsoft Dynamics related to high normalization and introduction of surrogate keys made some imports more complex. Moreover Purchase Blanket orders functionality was completely redesigned and in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 it’s called Purchase Agreements now.

Solution: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ships with a number of AIF Web Service which can be used in integration scenarios. However there’s no AIF Web Service out-of-the-box that can be used in Excel at the moment for import of purchase agreements.In order to import a purchase agreement using Excel the appropriate tables will be used.

Assumption: The assumption is that appropriate reference data such as customers, etc. was created in advance.

Data Model:

Data Model Diagram:

Agreements

Red area highlights tables forming Agreements – Headers data model

Green area highlights tables forming Agreements – Lines data model

Blue area highlights tables forming Purchase Agreements data model

Release orders

VSD: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3rbAZy5q2ExNGNiYzEwODctY2Y4ZC00OGFlLWJiNjMtNDMxMGFjNzc4Nzk2

Walkthrough:

Connection

Add Tables

Dynamics AX Error

Solution:

-Add replacement key to AgreementHeader table

I decided to re-use existing DocumentTitle field as Replacement key without introduction of brand new field (Temporary key) and regeneration of AIF Proxy classes here. That’s why I re-populated DocumentTitle field for all existing records using RecID and assigned Index1 = {DocumentTitle} as Replacement key to AgreementHeader table.

Field Chooser

PurchAgreementHeader

AgreementLine

InventDim

Excel VLookup function may be used to find appropriate InventDimId automatically based on criteria

Sequence:

1.PurchAgreementHeader - Publish Selected

2.AgreementLine – Publish Selected

Result:

Dynamics AX – Purchase Agreement

Dynamics AX – Release Order

SQL Trace:

Summary: For the purposes of small or medium data migration (data conversion) where performance is not a concern Excel can be used for import of purchase agreements into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Although there’s no AIF Web Service out-of-the-box that can be used at the moment in Excel for import of purchase agreements, appropriate tables can be used instead. Excel template can be created and used for import of purchase agreements.

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to illustrate how to use Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in for import of sales agreements.

Challenge: Data model changes in Microsoft Dynamics related to high normalization and introduction of surrogate keys made some imports more complex. Moreover Sales Blanket orders functionality was completely redesigned and in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 it’s called Sales Agreements now.

Solution: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ships with a number of AIF Web Service which can be used in integration scenarios. However there’s no AIF Web Service out-of-the-box that can be used in Excel at the moment for import of sales agreements.In order to import a sales agreement using Excel the appropriate tables will be used.

Assumption: The assumption is that appropriate reference data such as customers, etc. was created in advance.

Data Model:

Data Model Diagram:

Agreements

Red area highlights tables forming Agreements – Headers data model

Green area highlights tables forming Agreements – Lines data model

Yellow area highlights tables forming Sales Agreements data model

Release orders

VSD: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3rbAZy5q2ExNGNiYzEwODctY2Y4ZC00OGFlLWJiNjMtNDMxMGFjNzc4Nzk2

Walkthrough:

Connection

Add Tables

Dynamics AX Error

Solution:

-Add replacement key to AgreementHeader table

I decided to re-use existing DocumentTitle field as Replacement key without introduction of brand new field (Temporary key) and regeneration of AIF Proxy classes here. That’s why I re-populated DocumentTitle field for all existing records using RecID and assigned Index1 = {DocumentTitle} as Replacement key to AgreementHeader table.

Field Chooser

SalesAgreementHeader

AgreementLine

InventDim

Excel VLookup function may be used to find appropriate InventDimId automatically based on criteria

Sequence:

1.SalesAgreementHeader - Publish Selected

2.AgreementLine – Publish Selected

Result:

Dynamics AX – Sales Agreement

Dynamics AX – Release Order

SQL Trace:

Summary: For the purposes of small or medium data migration (data conversion) where performance is not a concern Excel can be used for import of sales agreements into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Although there’s no AIF Web Service out-of-the-box that can be used at the moment in Excel for import of sales agreements, appropriate tables can be used instead. Excel template can be created and used for import of sales agreements.

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP

Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in – Add Data

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to illustrate how to enable AIF Web Service for Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in.

Task: In order to enable AIF Web Service for Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in 2 main prerequisites have to be met: AIF Web Service has to be deployed as a part of Service Group and AIF Web Service has to be added to Document Data Sources. This document describes the sequence of steps on how to enable existing (standard) or brand-new (custom) AIF Web Service for Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in.

Data Model:

Data Model Diagram:

Sample Data Model

Walkthrough:

Existing (standard) AIF Web Service

In this demonstration I will enable existing VendVendTableService (Vendor) AIF Web Service for Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in

At the beginning VendVendTableService AIF Web Service is not available in Excel Add-in

In order to deploy VendVendTableService AIF Web Service I will add it to AccountsPayableServices Service Group which is currently not deployed

I added VendVendTableService AIF Web Service to AccountsPayableService Service Group in AOT and then deployed Service Group

After Service Group is deployed you will see the following infolog

Now Service Group will be activated in Inbound ports form in Administration > Setup > AIF

Please note that you can see WSDL in Web Browser as shown below

Finally VendVendTableService AIF Web Service has to be added to Document Data Sources form

Result:

VendVendTableService AIF Web Service is now available in Excel Add-in

Brand-new (custom) AIF Web Service

In this demonstration I will create custom AlexQueryService AIF Web Service

Project

Create Document Service

Welcome

Select document parameters

Select code generation parameters

Generate code

Completed

AxdAlexQuery Project

Generate incremental CIL

AIF Web Service

Add AIF Web Service to Service Group

Deploy Service Group

After Service Group is deployed you will see the following infolog

AlexServiceGroup will now be activated in Inbound ports form

Also you can see WSDL in Web Browser

Finally you will have to add AIF Web Service in Document data sources form

Result:

AlexQueryService AIF Web Service is now available in Excel Add-in

Summary: In order to enable AIF Web Service for Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in 2 main prerequisites have to be met: AIF Web Service has to be deployed as a part of Service Group from AOT or from Inbound ports form in Administration > Setup > AIF and AIF Web Service has to be added to Document Data Sources on Document data sources form in Organization administration > Setup > Document management. You can add your AIF Web Service to newly created custom Service Group for deployment, or you can add your AIF Web Service to existing Service Group and redeploy it.

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP

Tags: Dynamics ERP,Dynamics AX 2012, Excel, Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in, Data Import, Data Conversion, Data Migration, Application Integration Framework, Web Service, Add Data.

Note: This document is intended for information purposes only, presented as it is with no warranties from the author. This document may be updated with more content to better outline the concepts and describe the examples.

Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in - Storage Dimensions

Purpose: The purpose of this document is to illustrate how to work with Storage Dimensions in Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in.

Challenge: Data model changes in Dynamics AX related to high normalization and introduction of surrogate keys made import of data more complex. Additionally there are number of differences between Excel and AX Rich Client from UI standpoint when it comes to handling Inventory dimensions. AX Rich Client is obviously more dynamic comparing to Excel. AX Rich Client has a number of specialized classes to support Inventory dimensions related operations and UI.

Solution: Dynamics AX 2012 ships with the number of AIF Web Service which can be used in integration scenarios. However not all of them can be used in Excel at the moment for import of data. In order to manipulate with Storage Dimensions using Excel the appropriate tables can be used. In my example I’ll import required Storage Dimensions, then import Sales Orders information and specify Storage Dimensions related to Sales Order line.

Data Model:

Data Model Diagram:

Inventory Dimensions

Red area highlights tables forming Product Dimensions data model

Green area highlights tables forming Storage Dimensions data model

Blue area highlights tables forming Tracking Dimensions data model

Storage Dimensions

In Rich Client when Inventory Dimensions are specified, for example, on Sales order line or Purchase order line the system will automatically create InventDim table record and allocate InventDimId value if specified combination of inventory dimensions doesn’t exist in InventDim table yet, otherwise existing InventDimId which corresponds to the specified combination will be re-used. This means that the system will not create InventDim table record for the combination which is not yet used. If you create Sales order line or Purchase order line programmatically using X++ you would use Tables\InventDim\findOrCreate method to assign proper InventDimId to SalesLine table buffer or PurchLine table buffer.

In Excel Add-in there’s no dedicated control related to InventDimId EDT (InventDimId field) yet to enable automatic creation of InventDim table record based on Inventory Dimensions - “segments”. I would anticipate that we have something similar to Excel Add-in segmented control for DimensionDynamicAccount EDT (LedgerDimension field).

If you modify AutoLookup field group in InventDim table to include {InventDimId, ConfigId, InventSizeId, InventColorId, InventSiteId, InventLocationId, WMSLocationId, WMSPalletId, InventBatchId, InventSerialId} fields then you can get full list of Inventory Dimensions displayed on Excel Add-in lookup form, however you will still have to specify existing InventDimId before you can create Sales order line or Purchase order line for specific combination of Inventory Dimensions.

In order to resolve this problem appropriate combinations of Inventory Dimensions will have to be created upfront and then Excel VLOOKUP function can be used to pull out the particular InventDimId and apply it to specific Sales order line or Purchase order line.

Excel Add-in can be used to create combinations of Inventory Dimensions in InventDim table.

Alternatively you can write X++ job that will programmatically create desired combinations of Inventory Dimensions for you. Please see the example of X++ job below

Storage Dimensions in Dynamics AX 2012 are Site, Warehouse, Location and Pallet.

Storage Dimensions Walkthrough:

Connection

Add Tables

Field Chooser

InventSite

SiteReqPolicy

InventLocation

Result

Dynamics AX – Site

Dynamics AX – Warehouse

Add Tables

Field Chooser

InventDim

Please note that I added unbound Combination field into Ax_InventDim table

Combination field is simple concatenation of 2 strings {Site, Warehouse} with “” delimiter in the middle. This field will be used in VLOOKUP function during the import of Sales Order lines in order to put correct InventDimId value in SalesLine.InventDimId field.

Usually when you are doing Data Import you either don’t have InventDimId easily accessible or you do by opening Table Browser or another Excel tab with InventDim table data, and ultimately anyways you’ll have to copy and paste InventDimId value into, for example, SalesLine.InventDimId field.

In fact you will always have an information about what Site and Warehouse (in my example) this Sales Order line should belong to even not having InventDimId value.

That’s why I’m going introduce similar Combination field in Ax_SalesLine table to compare it against Combination field in Ax_InventDim table and automatically put required InventDimId value in SalesLine.InventDimId without a need to manually do copy and paste.

Publish Selected – InventDim

Result

Dynamics AX – Table Browser

Sales order ID number sequence

SalesTable

SalesLine

Please note that I added similar unbound Combination field into Ax_SalesLine table. The difference here is that Site and Warehouse fields in Ax_SalesLine table are also unbound. Again, usually you have the information about Site and Warehouse (in my example) particular Sales Order line should belong, but you don’t have InventDimId value itself. This becomes critical when you have a lot of combinations of Inventory Dimensions to be introduced into the system as a part of Data Import which will support Sales Order lines.

Similarly Combination field is simple concatenation of 2 strings {Site, Warehouse} with “” delimiter in the middle and it will be used in comparison against Combination field in Ax_InventDim table in order to put correct InventDimId value into SalesLine.InventDimId field.

Publish Selected – Sales Line

Please note that bound InventDimId field in SalesLine table has a formula associated that uses VLOOKUP function. This is how we compare Combination fields in Ax_InventDim and Ax_SalesLine tables to find out about correct InventDimId value to be used in SalesLine.InventDimId field.

By other words, I’m looking for the value from Combination field from Ax_SalesLine table (1^st parameter) in Ax_InventDim table (2^nd parameter). If exact match (4^th parameter) was found then the value in 2^nd column (3^rd parameter) will be returned as the result.

Please note that by default the category in InventDimId field is Text which has to be changed to General to be able to apply the formula.

Please note that there’re number of prerequisites in order to apply VLOOKUP formula correctly.

Important:

1.Combination field has to be left-most field in Ax_SalesLine table

2.No duplicate values are allowed in Combination field in Ax_InventDim table because we are looking for the exact match

3.You can use static named ranges, absolute cells coordinates or table name(s) in Excel to effectively define table_array value (2nd parameter in VLOOKUP function)

You may define Filter criteria to fetch only certain InventDim table records into Ax_InventDim table in Excel. Consequently it may happen that there’s no match found in Ax_InventDim table, so Excel will put #NA value into the cell. In order to substitute #NA (Not Available) to something more meaningful you can change VLOOKUP formula to be

=IF(ISNA(VLOOKUP([Combination],Ax_InventDim,2,FALSE)),"AllBlank",VLOOKUP([Combination],Ax_InventDim,2,FALSE))

Please note that “AllBlank” represents the record in InventDim table which has no Inventory Dimensions defined

After Sales Order line(s) information gets published the system will reread the information and display the results to you, consequently you will have a value displayed in InventDimId field in SalesLine table instead of VLOOKUP formula.

Result:

Dynamics AX – Sales Order

Dynamics AX – Sales Order Invoice

SQL Trace:

Summary: For the purposes of small or medium data migration (data conversion) where performance is not a concern Excel can be used for import of data into Dynamics AX 2012. Although there’s no AIF Web Service to import Inventory Dimensions combinations (into InventDim table) upfront, appropriate tables can be used instead. Excel template can be created and used for import of data.

Author: Alex Anikiev, PhD, MCP

Tags: Dynamics ERP,Dynamics AX 2012, Excel, Dynamics AX 2012 Excel Add-in, Data Import, Data Conversion, Data Migration, Application Integration Framework, Inventory Dimensions, Storage Dimensions.

Note: This document is intended for information purposes only, presented as it is with no warranties from the author. This document may be updated with more content to better outline the concepts and describe the examples. It’s recommended that all Data Model changes introduced as a part of this demonstration will be removed once you complete data import exercise.