Andrew Karasev

Great Plains Consultant: FRx technical notes for Programmer

If you are Microsoft Great Plains Programmer or Reports designer, it is unlikely that you are responsible for day-to-day reports running in FRx and you may be not very comfortable with Row Formats, Column Layouts, Reporting Trees, Specification Sets, Catalogs

Surprisingly, but we saw some interest in FRx metadata extraction.  This is when you are trying to replicate reports, originally designed in FRx, in other tools: Crystal Reports, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services or SSRS.  There are numerous pitfalls in that direction, for example, you will need to understand how to switch GL20000 table for open year reports to GL30000 for historical year reports, but assuming that you really need full control in your custom reports, this small publication gives you highlights on how to extract FRx metadata:

1.       Specification Set file.  Please launch FRx Reports Designer, login and in menu Company->Information, and read Specification Set name in FRx System Information.  Then again in Company->Specification Sets in Location field read file name, something like FRxRpts.f32.  This file stores FRx metadata for all the companies, located in the Specification Set

2.       Well, what is next, how do I open this file?  Surprisingly enough FRx for Great Plains metadata is stored in Microsoft Access format.  Please, do not open this file in MS Access directly in you SysData directory.  Instead copy the file, in order not to destroy your production FRx system, and open the copy.  This file is password protected, we do not train you on MS Access password retrieving, assuming that you are experienced in that

3.       Reading FRx metadata.  Likely that your concern is Row Formats, because such things as Column Layout is easy topic in SQL View or Stored Procedure.  Such tables as Row Master, Row Link Detail should give you perfect ideas on how to build SQL Query on FRx report replication.  One comment, as this may be a puzzle to resolve.  In FRx you may use Account Sets.  Look for records, prefixed with SET word in Link column of Row Link Detail table.  You should link those records with AccSetMaster table, where Account Sets are described

4.       If you need help with FRx reports design, upgrade, modification and general Great Plains support, feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

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