Modifier with VBA is traditional technology, enabling you to modify existing form. You can change existing field position, you can also add new field and animate it with VBA script.
Plus you can add Dexterity Sanscript code as the text, which is not compiled, but parsed and executed on the fly (of course you cannot debug it, so you have to be experienced Sanscript programmer). In this small paper we would like to show you something that is probably not known to general GP technical consultants:
1. Changing the static text fields on the form, without moving form into Forms.dic. Open Modifier: Tools -> Customize -> Modifier, in menu select Resources -> Strings. These are static strings, which you see on the Forms. Let’s assume you would like to tailor SOP Transaction Entry form, where you would like to change test ‘Customer PO Number’ to ‘Client Order Number’. Switch Core to Sales, scroll down until you locate ‘Customer PO Number’, double click on it and it should open itself for modification. Change the text to ‘Client Order Number’ and click OK. Please, note here, that we are not suggesting you to ‘Modify Existing Form’ (if you do so – form will be automatically pushed into Forms.dic, which we do not want), we are just changing the text in the String resource. If you are using Modifier the first time, Forms.dic dictionary is now created, where the only modified resource is the string, described above. Now let’s go back to GP, and open Sales Order Processing Transaction Entry form. The change is there, and the interesting part here is the fact that SOP Transaction Entry form is not modified, but the string is modified and pulled from Forms.dic
2. Where the technology could be deployed? Well, first of all, this method allows you to avoid the mess with Modified forms, Alternate Modified Forms (changed via Dexterity). You do not have to even touch Security realm. Second, imaging such field as Internationalization, where you can elegantly translate strings from English into something exotic, as Persian Farsi, or Afghan Dari, or maybe Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic. And the nicety of such a translation is the fact, that you do not have to translate all the Strings, you decide on the scope of the translation, where the budget could be minimized
3. Licensing. Modifier with VBA requires Customization Site Enabler license for the end customer, your VAR typically has Modifier license to make the change for you. Customization Site Enable license requirement means that this solution is not ‘free’ for generic Great Plains customer
4. Versions Supported. Modifier is available for current 2010, 10.0, 9.0 and to our knowledge and experience working with earlier Great Plains Dynamics releases – it was already available there. Of course, you need to be sure that you can get Customization Site Enabler license, this might be tough mission, especially when you do not have current Annual Enhancement contract with Microsoft Business Solutions via your Reseller
5. Enthusiastic and Pessimistic points of view on the Internationalization. Let’s begin with optimists. If you are deploying GP as your Corporate ERP in the USA or Canada – you may potentially save on the software license cost, if you create the new company for your foreign subsidiary and host it in the Headquarters, opening to foreign users via Citrix or Terminal Server. Now your accounting department, let’s say in Afghanistan, is reasonably familiar with English language and you just need couple of forms and reports to be translated into Dari. In Kabul you probably do not expect the business regulation to be to complex and international GAAP is a good approach. Let’s now invite the pessimist on the scenes. There is Corporate ERP localization dilemma. It is not only the requirement to support local language, but also the compliance to the targeted country business legislation. In larger countries, such as China, Russia, Brazil, India the second part of the Corporate ERP localization seems to be a show stopper
6. Modifier with Continuum. This topic is rather not related to the paragraphs above, it is related to the header of the publication. If you are Dexterity developer, you probably know that it is hard to cross dictionary borders in your Sanscript codes. However it is possible if you deploy Continuum approach in VBA scripts in the Modifier. Continuum ideas could be realized in Sanscript codes included into VBA scripts. For additional info we recommend you to look at this article: http://www.pegasplanet.com/news/000000085.html where developer is switching Dynamics dictionary to Field Services directly in the VBA code
7. Support domestically in the USA, Canada, Mexico and internationally. This option is possible via Web Sessions, Skype or Phone conferences and direct visits onsite (in the case of the large scale project). Our consulting team speaks English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Filipino. Feel free to call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904, or email help@efaru.com
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