Archive for the ‘Microsoft Articles’ Category

Microsoft Great Plains Subcontracting – Overview for Microsoft Business Solutions Partner


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Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very popular ERP/MRP applications in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, South Africa, Latin America. Considering high number of new Microsoft Great Plains partners and the desire to subcontract occasional customization, integration and reporting projects, we would like to advise you on Microsoft Great Plains subcontracting guidelines, based on our experience in dealing with Great Plains VARs

Candidates for subcontracting:

o Great Plains Dexterity customizations – Dexterity was and still is the IDE and programming language of Great Plains, especially workstation thick interface. However since Microsoft bought Great Plains Software and formed Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions, later renamed into Microsoft Business Solutions – Dexterity became the candidate to be replaced by C# or VB.Net. The plans are the plans, but the realities of Microsoft Great Plains customization signals that Dexterity will stay another 5-7 years as IDE. However I agree with the strategy that if you are new GP reseller you don’t want to hire Dexterity programmer

o SQL Integration. We see more and more requests for Great Plains integrations with web eCommerce applications, industry specific databases: Freight Forwarding, Distribution, Logistics, Beverages, Jewelry, Furniture, Consignment. Healthcare, etc. The dilemma for the programmer is – should I know all the details of Great Plains table structure model and document workflow – or probably purchase the set of SQL stored procs to help me.

o Integration Manager with VBA/Continuum. These are traditional custom pieces. Integration Manager doesn’t allow you to switch companies during the integration, and so have the work done over night without operator’s involvement

o eConnect – this relatively new SDK from MBS, created primarily for eCommerce developer, has certain restrictions, especially with transferring Sales Order to Invoices and transactions posting. These are the restrictions of Great Plains architecture and to resolve the issue you need set of custom stored procedures

VAR should have some GP customization experience/skills:

o Great Plains Security model. Great Plains allows you to grant access to so-called alternate and modified alternate Microsoft Great Plains forms and reports – this is where you enable our customization to take over standard logic. Please, invest reasonable resources into GP basics, before you get in touch with nation-wide subcontractor

o Central REPORTS.DIC – this is critical to serve mid-size and large clients. Usually you create your custom Sales Order Processing (SOP) invoice form from one of the GP workstations and then place your reports on the server. If you use IT subcontractors – these folks should be trained on installing new Great Plains workstations (or you should insist on working via terminal server/Citrix)

o Remote Support. The best scenario is VPN with remote desktop access (Windows XP Pro or Windows 2000 Pro). VPN will allow SQL Enterprise manager connect over the secured VPN connection. Less desired scenario would be Websession or PCAnywhere.

Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job – give us a call 866-528-0577 or 630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew is Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) – Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Microsoft CRM Partner, serving clients in California, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Florida, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Canada, UK, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Russia

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Microsoft Access Mdb


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In the Microsoft Office suite of programs each application has it’s own file format. For example Excel uses the xls file format and Word uses the doc file format. An MS Access database uses a Microsoft Access mdb file format. When we refer to an Access mdb file we refer to the objects contained within it such as tables, forms, queries and reports.

When MS Access first appeared, the fact that a single file is used to store all these objects was seen as revolutionary. In older databases systems such as DBase III there were many files that were used to contain objects.

At times database corruption along with instability has been a problem for the Microsoft Access mdb file. If for example a user switches off their computer without following the normal Windows shut down process, it has been known for the file to corrupt. In most situations the database file can be repaired by using the compact and repair facility of MS Access. If however the repair fails then you are in trouble and it is hoped that a back up has been taken.

Another problem has been the volume of objects and data it holds. The more it contains the bigger the database file gets and again this can lead to an unstable database.

If you take regular back ups and don’t overload the database with objects and data, then there is no reason why your system should not function well. In multi user environments it is recommended to have two database files to avoid corruption issues. One database should contain all objects such as forms, reports, queries etc and would sit on the individual user workstation. The other should contain just the tables and would sit on the network. The workstation database would connect to the network database.

The mdb file was used in Access 2003 and the earlier versions. The latest Access version, MS Access 2007 has moved away from the mdb file format and now uses accdb. This file format can support more complex data types such as attachments.

For total Microsoft Access mastery click here http://access-databases.com/ms-access-tutorial/

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Microsoft Certification Testing – Some Useful Information About It


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We will discuss Microsoft certification testing in two stages. First we will describe it in relation to test preparation and second we will describe it in relation to the final examination.

There are various efficient sources available which will assist you in the preparation of Microsoft certification test. After you have completed your preparation for the examination and have developed the skills to pass the required exam, it is time to test yourself. Online is the place where you will find a number of helpful resources such as practice tests, etc.

These online testing exams are of high standards. Websites offering such practice tests generally charge a small amount or no amount for them. The pattern and curriculum of these tests are exactly according to the Microsoft MCAD syllabus.

You can also make use of practice tests from Microsoft Certified Practice Test Providers (PTPs) as a diagnostic tool which will identify your strengths & weaknesses. From them, you will get enough expertise for the final Microsoft certification exams even before attempting it.

Now comes the foremost facet of Microsoft certification testing. The actual (final) Microsoft certification testing exams are administered by Prometric and Virtual University Enterprises (VUE). These two are the leading providers of technology-based testing. Both of them offer a web of computer-based testing centers having thousands of locations all around the world.

To appear in the Microsoft certification exams, you will have to register with Prometric or VUE online or via phone. It is very important to note that Pearson VUE will stop selling Microsoft professional certification exams w.e.f August 31, 2007.

If you have registered for the exams with Pearson VUE before August 31, 2007, then the organization will administer the exams till December 31, 2007. After that Pearson VUE will terminate selling & administering Microsoft Dynamics exams.

This form of testing is a highly professional process. You should prefer the practice tests only from Microsoft Certified PTPs rather than any other source. As far as the certification testing of the actual exams goes, you need not worry about it. It is governed by top individual organizations.

Article by Kevin Bing at http://www.CertificationsReviews.com For more great free information on everything you should know about Microsoft certifications visit microsoft certified systems engineer certification and microsoft certification training

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Microsoft Word Not Responding? Here’s What You Can Do!


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Microsoft Word is one of the most popular text editors in the world, which comes loaded with hundreds (and thousands) of handy features. But, just as every coin has a flip side, MS Word comes with its own share of troubles; here’s more insight to the Microsoft Word Not Responding bug.

You may often encounter situation when MS Word freezes and you see just an error message on the top of the menu bar that reads “Microsoft Word Not Responding”, with an hour glass that never stops running. In such cases, you’ve no choice but to terminate the Word application through task manager and re-launch it again.

Sometimes, this may lead to loss of unsaved data (in most cases, Word will recover the file that you’re editing when it crashed), though far worse, the application may tend to exhibit the same behavior over and again. This may be mainly due to some of the third party apps, which cause Word to crash. So, the first and the foremost thing that you need to do is to disable all the third party plug-ins and launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode with no add-ons (or plug-ins).

Having done that, you’re good to go and finish off whatever you were doing and save your work. Now, you can start activating plug-ins one after the other, and check the effect every time. After activating one of the plug-ins, you’ll encounter the same problem again, and this is how you’ll be able to identify the culprit.

There may be several reasons behind the “MS Word not responding” bug, though the add-ons, and plug-ins are known to be the biggest troublemakers.

Visit the following link for more Windows & Microsoft Office Guides, as well as updates on Latest Technology News. Om is an accomplished tech blogger come cyber entrepreneur who runs several highly popular latest technology blogs and happens to be the author of over 12,000 articles published over the internet.

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Microsoft Word


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Microsoft Word has become the document writing and editing program that for the moment rules the market without a shadow of a doubt. Since Microsoft has appeared on the market it has filled the personal computer world with applications that have designed the building blocks of information and the way that most computers today work.

In this short article I will try to present to you some of the great features that Microsoft Word has to offer and why it has become the most popular program today used for documentation.

First of all when the program was designed they kept in mind the users opinion. They took into consideration the options that they had to incorporate in order to fulfill the customers needs thus the program would have to allow the user ti quickly write and personalise the document after his own desires.

Microsoft Word offers you the basic page layouts that are used mostly in the professional areas and also a few personalised layouts for more pretentious documents. This way you can choose the exact way that your page will look and also you can fit a greater amount of words in the same page surface.

Another basic option that Microsoft Word has is the option to choose your own font. Each of us has developed over time a distinct hand writing. It is said that there are not two people in this whole world that will have the same writing. For that respect Microsoft Word was designed to sustain every ones preferences when it came to writing styles and aspect.

Microsoft Word will allow you to incorporate pictures, movies and eve songs into your documents. This was a new feature that permitted users to add a whole new entertainment twist to the once boring documentation that we were all used to. You could now enter a sound that would be triggered at a designated point by you… the user or movie that would pop out from the background when you reached a certain page.

One of the last beneficial feature that Microsoft Word had to offer was the introduction of tables to the content of the text and also graphs so that if you review the growth of a certain product or market you can detail that growth in a table or with graphical displays.

Microsoft word has revolutionised the document writing industry and has become without a doubt the most common program used for writing purposes.

Adrian is the editor of this article. He also writes for http://www.doublefrenchdoors.org/. This is a website where you can find out more about interior double french doors.

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Microsoft Access Tutorial


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When determining your information needs it is important to select the correct tool for the job. Microsoft Access is the most popular desktop database in the world and is part of the Microsoft Office suite of programs. It is possible to create simple Microsoft Access databases by picking up bits of information from the internet and also books. Like anything, there are good and not so good ways of learning to use a product. Microsoft Access is ideal for a beginner to use as it has built in wizards to walk you through many aspects of creating a database. Whilst the wizards are powerful, there will be times when you want to tailor your systems and introduce new functionality. This is when you need to have more than an understanding of the basics. Take for example an invoicing system where you will have totals for unit price, sub total, grand total, package price, tax rates etc. This type of functionality will take skillful programming or development skills which the in built wizards cannot handle.

Would you want just a database for entering and displaying information or a complete integrated solution. One of the great things about Microsoft Office is that all the components can communicate with one another. You could have an Access database running on an overnight scheduler which then spits out a list of today’s sales figures into an Excel spreadsheet. That same spreadsheet could be automatically emailed overnight to the other side of the world or be available for accountants to look at in the morning. This is all possible with customization of your Microsoft Access database system.

Many find database theory difficult. There is a lot more to a Microsoft Access database than simply entering and displaying information. For example, database design involves removing the possibility of duplicate data, relating tables together, setting indexes to speed up searches as well as choosing the correct data types to hold information. How will you get answers quickly from your database? You will need to design Microsoft Access queries to extract the data from the tables. Say for example you want to know how many subscribers you got in the month of April.

It is important to have user friendly well designed screens to enter your information to your database. Screen design, whilst not exactly an art, still requires a good understanding of what does and does not look good. Reporting is another skill worth learning. The ability to get data into printed format is essential for example in producing timely management information.

Learning Microsoft Access takes time, but is worthwhile. In difficult economic times, the more computer skills a person has the better. Some of this information can be found on the internet if you are prepared to hunt around in the dark. Alternatively you could get yourself onto a comprehensive Microsoft Access tutorial class.

The #1 solution for total MS Access mastery
http://access-databases.com/ms-access-tutorial/

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Mastering the IF Function in Microsoft Excel


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The IF function in Microsoft Excel seems to really cause many people a lot of heartache and grief, but all in all it is actually really not that difficult of a tool to use. The essential role of the IF function is to test whether a condition is either True or False and if the condition is True it will return one value and if it is False it will return an alternate value.

Let us look at an example -

Let us say you have two values. In one cell you have a value of 65 and in the other cell you have a value of 23. What the IF function allows us to do is to do a test and lets say we want to see if the value of 65 is greater than 23. When the numbers are plugged into the If statement, the result will be that 65 is greater than 23 and it will return something from the True return area.

So how do we create an if statement…

The secret to the IF function is really in its syntax. The syntax for the IF function is as follows -

IF(Logical Test, True Result, False Result)

What we can do is to now create the example we did earlier so begin by simply opening a Microsoft Excel Work sheet. In cell address A1 enter the text IF Test Condition. In cell A2 enter the text – Numeric Value 1, in A3 enter the text – Numeric Value 2, and in cell A5 enter the text Which Value is Larger?

Now we need to put a few numbers to test into our Excel Spreadsheet, so in cell address B2 enter the value of 65 and in cell address B3 enter the value of 23. In cell B5 we need to create our formula. If we use the example above we want to find out if the value in B2 is greater than the value in B3. If the condition is true we want to return the text – Numeric Value 1 and if the condition is false we want to return the text – Numeric Value 2.

The structure of the IF Function to do the test will look like this -

= IF(B2>B3, “Numeric Value 1″,”Numeric Value 2″)

What you will notice in the function above is that the text values are encapsulated in double quotes. Whenever working with text in Formulas the text must always have double quotes around it. If you type in the formula above into cell address B5 you should see the resulting text – Numeric Value 1. If you change the value in B2 now to 12, the automatic result in B5 should be – Numeric Value 2.

The IF function is a really diverse tool and it allows you to test an unlimited number of conditions to get the required outcome, you can even nest IF functions within IF functions but the bottom line is this, for every IF function the syntax should always look the same as above.

Chris Le Roy has available Microsoft Excel Shortcuts to help you with Microsoft Excel. To learn more about the IF Function simply check our Chris’s correspondence course where you can earn yourself Microsoft Excel Certificates issued by his company without even leaving home – Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Training

Tips on Microsoft Excel are also Available.

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The Key Benefits of Microsoft Certification


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The Microsoft Certification will certainly get you way ahead of your competitors and how. It is the kind of certification that goes on to differentiate between the experienced and with expertise from the novice. If you are looking forward to ensuring that your career in the IT sector takes off at a great pace and you are earning the big bucks then you must certainly consider Microsoft Certification.

Once you have decided that it is imperative for you to be able to get your MCSE Certification to be able to keep ahead of the pack then you needn’t waste any further time. Within just seven to ten days you will be able to get going onto a career in the most lucrative field of information technology. MCSE Certification can be got in several different ways be it through Microsoft Certification online or by attending the MCSE Boot Camp.

The Microsoft Certification courses will hone your skills in such a manner that in front of you, you will have the most rewarding of careers which will be getting you a salary of more than $80,000 a year. Why would you want to settle for less in terms of salary when you can certainly make more? And all that you need to do in order to make your dreams come true is to go ahead and get Microsoft Network Certification. When you join up for the MCSE Bootcamps you are assured of all the possible support and handholding possible. This makes certain that the Certification classes are extremely productive by means of the knowledge and skills that you will get to hone. There are several Microsoft Certification Books that you will have access to that will make you a professional in this field in the shortest time possible.

The Certification is such that within a short span of time you will be on your way to a lifetime of earning megabucks in an industry that is certainly going to see exponential growth. If you want a career that is not hounded by recession and the pink slips then this Microsoft Certification is the thing that you must certainly consider. The knowledge that you will gain will allow you to turn into an administrator, troubleshoot on Microsoft networks and start applying for entry level network professional positions as soon as you have got the Certification in hand.

You might wonder, what is the cost that is involved in the getting of Microsoft Certification? The cost that you incur is nothing compared to the large amounts of benefits that you will procure. Therefore, look at the larger picture and every dime that you spend on the Microsoft Certification is worth it as it will be an investment into your future, a future that will repay you many times over. The Microsoft Certification is your ticket to good fortune and great opportunities and chances that only a few lucky folks can get. Do not look at the $10K but look at the $80,000 in your kitty.

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New Technology – Microsoft


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Let’s look at new technology from Microsoft. The new coffee table will change the world as we know it. The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on, forget the keyboard and mouse. It’s time for the touch screen.

Windows Vista introduces a new programming model that provides a range of new capabilities and a new set of development tools for the graphic designer and developer. Set yourself free with Microsoft Expression Studio.

There are a lot of retail business scenarios that motivate more interactive kiosks. Microsoft has a number of applications available that can provide a dynamic platform for kiosk scenarios, especially for the retail industry.

The surface has no cables or external USB ports for plugging in peripherals. For that matter, it has no keyboard, no mouse, no trackball – no obvious point of interaction except its screen. When you take a digital camera and place it on the Surface, digital pictures instantly spill out onto the tabletop.

The same applies to using a cellphone on the surface and dragging photos to it – just like that, the pictures upload to the phone. It is like a magic trick. You can drag and drop virtual content to physical objects.

Virtual PC software is changing the computing landscape. It can help you save time and money and achieve more with the computer resources you have. Virtualization lets one computer do the job of multiple computers.

Resources of a single computer are shared across multiple environments. Virtual servers and desktops let you host multiple operating systems and applications in local and remote locations, freeing you from limitations.

In addition to energy savings and lower expenses due to more efficient use of your hardware resources, you get high availability of resources, better desktop management, increased security, and improved disaster recovery.

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Virtual PC software [http://www.pc-software-world.com/microsoft-virtual-earth.html]

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SQL Server New Features – Some Suggested Lunch Dates for Microsoft Programmers


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SQL Server is the powerful, multi-user database from Microsoft which runs many of the world’s companies. We like it – particularly that it’s fast and reliable compared to its little brother, Access – but it doesn’t make many concessions to being user-friendly. With that in mind, here are a few ways in which Microsoft could tweak SQL Server to make it a bit more 21st century in its ease of use, by arranging a few lunch dates at which developers of other Microsoft applications could swap ideas.

Dropdowns

We realise SQL Server isn’t designed to be the front-end to any system, but couldn’t’ we have a dropdown facility just so developers can see what data means? If an order is for company Allied Engineering Ltd, couldn’t the name appear next to the order id column, rather than just the company’s id? If Access can do it using a lookup wizard, so surely can SQL Server? So we recommend a session of sushi with those nice guys from the Access team – just to swap ideas, you understand (we know theirs isn’t a proper database).

Auto-indentation of SQL

Any serious SQL programmer will indent their code. So words like:

SELECT

FROM

WHERE

ORDER BY

will appear on the left margin, where intervening clauses will appear indented. It would be perfectly possible for SQL to do all of this automatically; why not? So we suggest that the programmers who wrote Visual Studio take the ones who are in charge of SQL Server out for lunch, and show them how it’s done!

Database Diagrams with Arrows which Point to the Correct Tables

When you create a database diagram in SQL Server, you drag a field from on table onto another and release the mouse button. A line then appears joining the two fields together – briefly. Move one of the tables around the screen and the line doesn’t move with it, so it quickly appears as if you’ve created a relationship between two different columns.

Lest you be thinking that a solution this sounds too difficult to program: it works in Access. Another excuse for a lunch date perhaps?

So there are our 3 suggestions for sharing ideas between the Microsoft application teams. Now all we need is for someone to take the Microsoft Word outline numbering team out to a long lunch…

Andy Brown likes SQL Server really, and trains on it to an advanced level with Wise Owl Business Solutions. You can see more details at http://www.wiseowl.co.uk/sql-server/index.htm. Wise Owl also publish all of their SQL exercises online, so you can try them out yourself at http://www.wiseowl.co.uk/free-exercises/sql.htm.

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