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Chapter 4: Enterprise Portal and Role Centers

CHAPTER 4: ENTERPRISE PORTAL AND ROLE CENTERSObjectives

The objectives are:

Describe Enterprise Portal improvements. Explain how to install Enterprise Portal and role centers. Modify existing role centers. Create new role centers. Explain how to troubleshoot issues with role centers.

IntroductionMicrosoft Dynamics® AX provides a set of websites that give you access to data from the Microsoft Dynamics AX database and other sources. On these websites, which are collectively called Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you can also perform business processes by using web-based forms. Enterprise Portal requires Internet Information Services (IIS), which is a feature of Windows Server and either Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

Enterprise Portal can be configured to display role-specific home pages that are called role centers. Role centers provide an overview of information that relates to a user's job function in the business or organization. This information includes transaction data, alerts, links, and common tasks that are associated with the user's role in the company. Role centers can also include reports that are generated by SQL Server Reporting Services or SQL Server Analysis Services. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 includes 34 predefined role centers, which users can access from Enterprise Portal or the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.

Enterprise Portal ImprovementsThe Enterprise Portal and role centers are improved since earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Improvements are made to appearance, behavior, installation, deployment, and security of the Enterprise Portal and role centers.

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Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics® AX 2012

Appearance and Behavior

The following improvements are made to the appearance and behavior of Enterprise Portal and role centers:

Action Pane: Enterprise Portal pages include an Action Pane that provides quick access to common tasks. The Action Pane is divided into tabs that contain button groups. Each button group contains action buttons that you can use to move to other pages and add records to list pages.

You can also use the action buttons to perform common tasks for a selected record, such as creating a new sales order for a customer. Developers can customize the buttons that are available on a user's Action Pane.

Fact Boxes: These display information that is related to a selected record, or information that is displayed in a form or on a list page. Users can customize the type of information that is displayed in Fact Boxes.

Advanced Filtering: This option in the Microsoft Dynamics AX client improves cue creation and helps users save list items to a cue on their role center page.

Enhanced grid support: In hierarchical grid views, users can now move tasks by using a drag-and-drop operation. Users can also select multiple rows at the same time.

Enhanced integration with Microsoft Excel: Users can export data from grids to Microsoft® Office Excel® in static or dynamic mode: o Static export - data in Excel remains unchanged, unless the user

directly modifies the data. o Dynamic export - when the data is refreshed in the database,

Excel retrieves the updated data from Microsoft Dynamics AX by using Query Services.

Bookmarks: Users can now create bookmarks for the specific task pages.

Microsoft Dynamics Online Connect Gadget web part: Enterprise Portal includes this web part for role centers. The web part contains a slide deck of links and information that are relevant to a user's role. Additionally, it includes links to CustomerSource, community content, training materials, and knowledge base articles.

Improved Quick Links: The Quick Links form in role center pages is redesigned to simplify the task of creating and managing Quick Links.

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Installation and Deployment

The following improvements simplify the tasks of installing and deploying Enterprise Portal and role centers:

No compilation necessary: In earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX, you could not install Enterprise Portal on a server with an incomplete initialization checklist. The installation failed because the Enterprise Portal X++ classes were not previously compiled on the server. You no longer have to compile these classes to install and deploy Enterprise Portal.

AXUpdatePortal utility: This feature improves deployment and administration tasks. Additionally, with this utility you can deploy Enterprise Portal on remote servers, create sites, and deploy changes to existing sites.

Enhanced AOT support for 32-bit clients: In earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX, administrators could not deploy changes to Enterprise Portal from the Application Object Tree (AOT) on a 32-bit client to a 64-bit Windows Server. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, administrators can deploy changes from 32-bit clients to 64-bit clients by clicking a button.

Security and Search Improvements

Security and search features in the Enterprise Portal are improved.

Kerberos Constrained delegation (KCD) is no longer required in a multi-box EP environment.

Enterprise Portal automatically grants and denies access to data and webpages according to the role-based security framework in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Before users can view data or Enterprise Portal pages, administrators must configure role-based security.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses the SharePoint Business Data Connectivity Service (BCS) and SharePoint Search Server to provide a unified Enterprise Search experience for Enterprise Portal and the Microsoft Dynamics AX client. Microsoft Dynamics AX no longer includes the data crawler. All search administration is managed in SharePoint Search Server.

Role center pages are now designed to load faster and to automatically refresh data when a page is loaded.

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Installing of Enterprise Portal and Role CentersBefore installing Enterprise Portal and role centers, you must be aware of the prerequisites and procedures for installing, initiating and integrating into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

Prerequisites

Before installing the Enterprise Portal and role centers feature of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, you must install all the necessary prerequisites by completing the following tasks:

Verify that the Microsoft SharePoint Timer service is running on the web server. Enterprise Portal context-sensitive Help is installed as a timer job. Therefore, if the SharePoint Timer service is not running, context-sensitive Help is not available on Enterprise Portal pages.

On the computer where you are installing Enterprise Portal, run the prerequisite validation utility to verify that system requirements are met. For more information about the hardware and software requirements, refer to the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Installation Guide.

Verify that you have the appropriate permissions to install Enterprise Portal.

NOTE: If you try to install Enterprise Portal on an existing Internet Information Services (IIS) site that is already configured to use a host header, the installation fails, unless you create a BackConnectionHostNames registry entry.

Install Enterprise Portal and Role Centers

To install Enterprise Portal and role centers, use the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Setup on a server that includes either Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 or Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. If you are installing other Microsoft Dynamics AX components at the same time, the installation pages vary, based on the components that you are installing.

1. Start Microsoft Dynamics AX Setup. Under Install, select Microsoft Dynamics AX components.

2. Advance through the first wizard pages. 3. If the Setup Support files have not yet been installed on the

computer, the Select a file location page is displayed. The Setup Support files are required for installation. Enter a file location or accept the default location, and then click Next. On the Ready to install page, click Install.

4. On the Select installation type page, click Custom installation and then click Next.

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5. On the Select components page, select Enterprise Portal (EP) and then click Next.

6. On the Prerequisite validation results page, resolve any errors. When no errors remain, click Next.

7. On the Select a file location page, select the location where you want to install 32-bit versions of Microsoft Dynamics AX files and then click Next.

8. On the Specify a location for configuration settings page, specify whether you want Enterprise Portal to access configuration information from the registry on the local computer or from a shared configuration file. If you select to use a shared configuration file, you must enter the network location of the file. Click Next.

9. On the Connect to an AOS instance page, enter the name of the computer that is running the Application Object Server (AOS) instance that you want to connect to. Optionally, you can specify the name of the AOS instance, the TCP/IP port number, and the WSDL port for services. Click Next.

NOTE: If you entered AOS connection information for other Microsoft Dynamics AX components that are installed on the computer that you are using, the Connect to an AOS instance screen is not displayed. Subsequent installations on the computer that you are using will reuse the existing AOS connection. All Microsoft Dynamics AX components installed on a computer must connect to the same AOS instance.

10. On the Specify Business Connector proxy account information page, enter the password for the proxy account that is used by the .NET Business Connector. Click Next.

11. On the Configure a Website for Enterprise Portal page, select a website. If no websites are available in the list, you must cancel Setup, create a website by using SharePoint Central Administration, and then try the installation again. We recommend that you select the Configure for Windows SharePoint Services option. If you select this option, Setup verifies that the site is a SharePoint site. If not, Setup extends the site in SharePoint. Setup also sets the application pool to run under the service account and sets the authentication method to Windows NTLM.

NOTE: Note the following about the Create Website option: Clear this option if you are installing Enterprise Portal for a public site, such as an unsolicited vendor portal. For public sites, you must create the Enterprise Portal site by using the public site template. If you are installing Enterprise Portal for a stand-alone installation, or on an administration server for a web farm, select the Create Website option to create a site at the following URL: http://ServerName/sites/DynamicsAX. Setup creates a new site that uses port 80. When you install Enterprise Portal on subsequent servers in a server farm, you

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must clear this option. The site must be created only on the administration server for the web farm.

12. Click Next.

NOTE: If your business or organization purchased a developer license for Microsoft Dynamics AX, you can change the website's URL, title, and description before completing the installation. Modify the EPSetupParams file in the Application Object Tree (AOT) (Web > Web Files > Static Files > EPSetupParams).

13. On the Prerequisite validation results page, resolve any errors. When no errors remain, click Next.

14. On the Ready to install page, click Install. 15. After the installation is complete, click Finish to close the wizard.

Configure Enterprise Portal Security

In Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX, security is enforced by using a combination of features and services.

Once the Enterprise Portal website has been installed by default, only the administrator who installed Enterprise Portal can access the site. The configuration of security in Enterprise Portal involves verifying roles, enabling security features, and granting users access to the site. Information in the following listings can help you configure Enterprise Portal security.

Security tasks for the server and platform: o Verify security settings for Internet Information Services (IIS)

and Microsoft SharePoint 2010 products. o Encrypt Enterprise Portal client-server communications by using

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Configure Enterprise Portal to use Secure Sockets Layer

Security tasks to enable user access: o Verify that the Enterprise Portal site is registered in Microsoft

Dynamics AX. Click System administration > Setup > Enterprise Portal > Web sites.

o Verify that Microsoft Dynamics AX role-based security is configured. At a minimum, users and groups must be members of the System user role.

o Grant users and groups permission to view the site in SharePoint. o Grant users and groups access to Microsoft SQL Server

Reporting Services (SSRS) reports. Users and groups must have this access to view SSRS reports in Enterprise Portal and Role Centers.

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o Grant users and groups access to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) cubes. Users and groups must have this access to view SSAS reports in Enterprise Portal and Role Centers.

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Security tasks for extranet deployments: o Enhance Enterprise Portal security in extranet deployments by

using a traditional perimeter network. o Specify user relations. User relations trim data based on a user's

designated role and account. Additionally, they are required for extranet deployments and for an employee self-service portal.

o Configure Microsoft Dynamics AX for claims-based authentication.

Initialize Role Center Profiles

Role centers profiles must be initialized before they can be used. Use the following steps to initialize the role centers:

1. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, click Organization Administration > Setup > Initialize role center profiles.

2. Select the Profile IDs to initialize. 3. Click OK.

You can create a user profile and corresponding role center page for Microsoft Dynamics AX with the following procedure:

1. Identify the role center page that will be used for the user profile. 2. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, display the System Administration

navigation pane. 3. In the Common group, click Users > User profiles to open the User

profiles form. 4. Click New to create a new user profile. 5. Supply the Profile ID and Description for the user profile. 6. Select the role center page for the user profile. 7. Save the new entry. 8. If the new user profile is to be used with other Microsoft Dynamics

AX installations, you must add it to the AOT. From the AOT, the user profile can be packaged for distribution to other Microsoft Dynamics AX installations. To add the user profile to the AOT, select it in the list. Click Export and then click Export to AOT.

9. In the AOT, expand the Resources node. The new user profile will be listed with the other user profiles. Its name will begin with Profile_.

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A Role center should answer the following user questions:

What is the workload? What needs to be done next? Are there urgent actions that must be completed? What is the status of the items of higher concern?

FIGURE 4.1 MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX 2012 ROLE CENTER

Guidelines for Creating Role Centers

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ships with 34 pre-defined user profiles. Microsoft Dynamics AX users can be associated with any of these pre-defined profiles. It is also possible to create additional user profiles to meet specific needs of users within an organization.

In a role center, content is displayed inside SharePoint® web parts from a variety of sources, as follows:

Microsoft Dynamics AX Windows® SharePoint Services Microsoft® Office SharePoint Server 2007

The content should be specifically tailored for each role. Role centers in Microsoft Dynamics AX should also meet the following criteria:

Simple and cleanly designed Simple to skim and read Aligned with the design guidelines Effortless to localize and customize

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When creating a role center, follow these general guidelines:

Identify the needs for a role. For example, consider the following: o What information the role frequently needs to do the job o Which information would help the role be more efficient at the

job

Create content around the role's needs. Determine the best web part to display for each type of content. Validate the value of the role center with real users who match the

role.

Prioritizing the content is imperative for a great user experience. Make sure that critical content such as activities, work lists, key charts, and other important components are visible at first glance and are clearly organized.

Tailor the content to be useful at a glance. The most important content should be immediately visible at a screen resolution of 1280 x 800, without scrolling.

Web parts provide different formats for displaying data. Follow these guidelines when creating web parts:

Web parts should be organized in two columns. There should be at least four and a maximum of 10 web parts. The title of each web part in a role center should be in sentence case. All web part content should be sized appropriately. There should be

no scrollbars in the web part. All the content should be visible by default.

To maximize the use of vertical space, there should be no filter controls (quick and advanced filters) displayed in a web part that contains a grid.

No error messages should be displayed by default in the web part.

An activities part contains data that is related to a user's relevant activities. When creating activities parts, ensure the following:

The activities part should have a title name that does not contain the word "Cues."

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Each stack in the activities part should navigate to the appropriate list page when it is clicked and it should have the same filter applied. When a user navigates to that list page, it should also have the same name as the activities stack title.

The recommended number of stacks is six or fewer.

FIGURE 4.2 ACTIVITIES

A Work list part contains a list of tasks that are assigned to the user.

There should be only one work list part for each Role center. The work list part should have a title that contains the words "work

list".

Charts can also be displayed in web parts. To learn more about how to arrange and display chart information in web parts, follow the guidelines for the General Reporting User Experience Guidelines and the Charts in Reports User Experience Guidelines. Avoid overusing charts and graphs in a single role center, because overuse impairs usability and decreases product performance.

Assign Users to Role Center Profiles

A user profile corresponds to a specific role in an organization, such as controller or chief financial officer. When you assign users to profiles, the role center that is set up for that profile is the role center that these users will see when they open the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client or Enterprise Portal.

Before assigning users to profiles, you must select which profiles to use in each company. You can select additional profiles at any time.

Verify that the profiles that you will be working with are listed in the User profiles form.

Create a list of users and their corresponding profiles.

Follow these steps to assign a user to a profile:

1. Click System Administration > Common > Users> User Profiles. 2. Select the profile that the user should be assigned to. 3. Select the user from the list.

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4. Specify whether the profile applies to all the companies that a user is assigned to in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 or only specific companies. a. If you select All companies, the user will be assigned to this

profile for all companies and will see the same role center page for all companies.

b. If you choose Select companies, the user will be assigned to this profile only for the companies that you specify. You can assign the user to other profiles for other companies.

5. Click Apply to save changes. The users must restart the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 clients or refresh their web browsers to view their role centers.

Follow these steps to assign multiple users to a profile:

1. Click System Administration > Common > Users> User Profiles. 2. Select the profile that the users should be assigned to. 3. Click the Bulk Add Users button. 4. Select the users in the list. You can apply the filter to display the

members from a specific user group. 5. Specify whether the profile applies to all the companies that each

user is assigned to in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 or only specific companies.

6. Click Apply to save changes. The users must restart the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 clients or refresh their web browsers to view their role centers.

Modify Existing Role CentersA role center is a customized "launch pad" for a user's experience inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. It displays specific data, reports, alerts, and common tasks that are associated with the user's role. The role center is the first content that is displayed when a user logs in to either the rich client or the Enterprise Portal.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 includes 34 customized role centers. A role center, in the most fundamental sense, is a webpage that can be viewed either in the Enterprise Portal or in the rich client Content Pane (which is essentially a browser window).

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In the AOT, you can view the web components that make up each role center, just like any other webpage in the Enterprise Portal. The URL for the Role Center pages is found at AOT > Web > Web Menu Items > URLs.

FIGURE 4.3 CEO ROLE CENTER PROPERTIES

Modify a Role Center

Just like any other webpage, role centers can be modified to suit the needs of your business. Since a role center is a webpage in the Enterprise Portal, and SharePoint manages webpage layout for the Enterprise Portal, any layout modifications need to be done by using SharePoint tools.

Just like all SharePoint webpages, there are also Shared Versions and Personal Versions of role centers. Shared and Personal versions are modified differently:

Shared Versions are modified using SharePoint tools in a browser. Personal Versions are modified using SharePoint tools in the

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client.

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Modify the Shared Version of a Role Center

The following procedure shows how to modify the Shared Version of a role center. The scenario simply involves removing a certain component of a role center. The CEO of your company has asked you to remove the Production KPIs component from their role center because it is unused. The company also wants Customer KPIs to be moved above Financial KPIs.

1. Before opening the Enterprise Portal, in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, set your User Profile as the same role that you need to modify. In this scenario, set it to CEO (System Administration > Common > Users> User Profiles> Add User).

2. In a web browser, navigate to the Enterprise Portal. The role center for your assigned role should load as the home page for your Enterprise Portal session.

3. Click the Site Actions button, and choose Edit Page. The webpage will load using edit mode.

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4. Navigate to the Production KPIs web part. Click on the web part's Edit button, and choose Delete.

FIGURE 4.4 DELETE WEB PART

5. Confirm that you do want to delete the web part from the webpage.

Deletions that are made in the Shared Version of a page will affect all users who navigate to this role center. For single-user role centers like CEO or CFO, this might be acceptable, but be careful when modifying multi-user role centers. You can confirm which version you are editing by checking the version in the Edit Mode header bar.

6. The webpage will reload with the newly modified layout. 7. Navigate to the Customer KPIs web part. Click on the web parts

header bar and drag it above the Financial KPIs web part. 8. Click on Exit Edit Mode in the Edit Mode header bar. The webpage

will reload with the newly modified layout.

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In addition to moving or deleting existing web parts on a role center, it is also possible to add new web parts. SharePoint contains many web part categories that are specific to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The following are of particular interest when dealing with role centers.

Business Overview - these are the KPIs in the role center. Dynamics Report Server Report - web part that is used to display

SSRS reports that are shipped with Microsoft Dynamics AX2012. Dynamics Unified Work List - lists of workflow items in the Role

Center. Cues - graphical representations of Operational Indicators in the role

center. QuickLinks - these links can point to a Microsoft Dynamics

AX2012 menu item or an external web link such as www.bing.com.

Add Web Parts to a Shared Version of a Role Center

For the next procedure, consider a scenario where the purchasing manager has asked that the agents in their team have an extra component in their role center. The manager wants to see a KPI list in the right panel of the role center, above the existing Purchase Return report. Additionally, the Accounts Payable Turnover KPI from the General Ledger Cube needs to be visible. Follow this procedure to add the web part:

1. Before opening the Enterprise Portal, in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, set your User Profile as the same role that you need to modify. In this scenario, set it to Purchasing Agent (System Administration > Common > Users> User Profiles > Add User).

2. In a browser, navigate to the Enterprise Portal. The role center for your assigned role should load as the home page for your Enterprise Portal session.

3. Click the Site Actions button, and choose Edit Page. The webpage will load in Edit mode.

4. Navigate to the Right Column section. Click the Add a Web Part button.

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5. The Add Web Parts dialog will open. Select the Microsoft Dynamics AX category and select the Business Overview web part. Click Add.

FIGURE 4.5 ADD A NEW WEB PART

6. The new Untitled web part displays in the right column, in its default view. Business Overview web parts have two modes: Business Overview (Indicators) and KPI List. Business Overview is the default view. Click on its Edit button and select Modify Shared Web Part.The page will reload with the Properties window on the right.

7. Select the new Business Overview web part and click Edit Web part from the web part menu. The Properties form displays in the right column.

8. Change Select Mode to KPI List. 9. Expand the Business Overview Setup group and set the Title Label

property to Purchase Agent KPIs. 10. Click Apply and OK. 11. The page will reload; the new web part will have the name Purchase

Agent KPIs. 12. Click the Add KPIs link in the web part. 13. The Add KPI dialog will appear. 14. Change Cube to General Ledger Cube. 15. Change KPI to Accounts Payable Turnover. 16. Check the Display Split by box. 17. Click OK. 18. Click Exit Edit Mode. 19. Open the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client and confirm that the

new web part is now visible in the Purchase Agent Role Center.

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Modify Personal Version of Role Centers

Until now, you have only modified the Shared Version of a role center. These changes are seen by all users who view the role center. In some cases, a particular user might need to personalize a role center for a personal reason. This is possible by using the Personal Version in SharePoint. Consider a scenario where a user in the Sales Manager role wants to add an extra cue to his or her role center. Follow the steps in this procedure to add the cue:

1. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, set your User Profile as the same role that you need to modify. In this scenario, set it to Sales Manager (System Administration > Common > Users> User Profiles> Add User).

2. Close and reopen Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012; the Sales Manager role center will display.

3. Click on the Personalize this Page link at the top right of the page. The role center will reload in the SharePoint Edit Mode. However, this time note that the Version is the Personal Version.

4. Click one of the Add a Web Part buttons. Choose the button in the section that you want to add the web part to.

5. The Add Web Parts to <Section> dialog box will open. Select the Cues web part and click Add. The new Cues web part displays in the section that you added it to, in its default view.

6. Click on the web part Edit button and select Modify Shared web part. The page will reload with the Properties window on the right.

7. Expand the dropdown button on the View field in the Cue 1 section. This shows a selection of views that you can choose from.

These views do not have a direct relationship with views in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Data Dictionary, but are actually stored as resources in the AOT or queries in the database.

8. Choose the Backorder Lines view (cue). The caption and other fields will default from the cue's saved caption property.

9. Click OK to save the web part. 10. The role center will reload and the new web part will now display the

Backorder Lines cue. 11. A cue web part can hold up to six cues. To add another cue to the

same web part, follow the previous steps, but change the Select a Cue to Modify field to one of the other cue slots available.

12. Click Exit Edit Mode. The role center will reload.

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Create a Cue

To create a new Cue, use the Save As cue option on the Advanced Filter/Sort function in the application:

1. To open the Advanced Filter/Sort function from a List page, either use File>Edit > Filter > Advanced Filter/Sort, use the Advanced Filter/Sort button on the toolbar, or press Ctrl+F3.

2. Once you have defined the query to be used, click Modify and then Save as cue.

FIGURE 4.6 SAVE ADVANCED FILTER AS A CUE

3. The Save as cue dialog box will appear. 4. Enter a Cue ID and Caption. 5. Adjust any of the other settings, if necessary. 6. Set any required security settings and click OK. 7. You can review or edit the cue at Basic > Setup > Role Center >

Edit Cues.

Since a new cue is only saved as a query in the database, you may want to save it to the AOT Resources node to ensure that it can be exported/imported to other application instances. To do this, use the Export > Export to AOT function on the Edit Cues form.

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Create New Role CentersAlthough Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 ships with 34 role centers, there might still be a requirement for a new role center to suit a particular role in your business.

In the following procedure, you will create a new role center for the Chief Information Officer (CIO) role:

1. In a browser, navigate to the Enterprise Portal. 2. Click on the Site Actions button and choose More Options. 3. The Create dialog box will open. Click Page under Filter By. 4. Choose the Web Part Page. 5. The New Web Part page will open. Enter a name for the new role

center: EPCIORoleCenter. 6. Choose Header, Footer, 3 Columns as the Layout Template. 7. Choose Enterprise Portal as the Document Library. 8. Click Create. The new webpage will load. 9. Create a URL object in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to reference

this new webpage. In the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 AOT, navigate to Web > Web Menu Items > URLs. Right-click the URLs node and select New URL.

10. Open the Properties window for the new URL and set its Name to EPCIORoleCenter.

11. Set the Label field to Role Center. 12. Set the Help Text field to CIO Role Center. 13. Set the URL field to the core of the URL. To do this, either use the

Browse button, or copy the URL from the Address bar in the browser. Then, paste the URL into the URL field. Trim everything that is not between the Enterprise%20Portal and aspx.

The URL property should look as follows: Enterprise%20Portal/EPCIORoleCenter.aspx

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14. Set Configuration Key to LedgerBasic. 15. Set Homepage to Yes. 16. Save the URL. The Properties should look as shown in the following

figure.

FIGURE 4.7 WEB PART URL PROPERTIES

17. Make a new user profile to relate to this role center. Navigate to System Administration > Common > Users> User Profiles. Create a new record.

18. Set the Profile ID field to CIO. 19. Set the Description field to Chief Information Officer. 20. Set the Role Center field to EPCIORoleCenter. 21. Assign the correct users to this profile with the Add User button. For

testing purposes, assign your own user. 22. To test the new role center, simply exit and restart the Microsoft

Dynamics AX 2012 client.

The Role Center will be completely empty. To start adding components to it, open the Enterprise Portal in a browser and edit the Shared Version by using SharePoint tools.

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TroubleshootingMany Role Center installation issues can be resolved using these general troubleshooting guidelines:

1. Check the Windows event log in the Enterprise Portal server to see whether there are issues within a specific page.

2. If there is a report error, check the error log in the SQL Server Reporting Services server for additional issues.

Access Issues

If users are having trouble accessing the Enterprise Portal or role centers, check that the necessary SharePoint security is in place. Security for role centers relies on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, Windows, and SharePoint security settings.

SSRS Report Changes not Visible in the Role Center

If you modify a report in Visual Studio, but the changes are not immediately visible in the role center or Enterprise Portal, do the following:

1. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, find the SSRS report in the AOT. Right-click it and select Deploy.

2. When the deployment function runs, be sure to only select the Report Library that you want to deploy.

3. The report(s) in the Library will be deployed to the Report Manager and should be updated in the role center or Enterprise Portal when the deployment is complete.

4. Start a fresh browser or Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 session to ensure that old reports are not being pulled from cache.

New Role Centers are Different from Other Role Centers

If you create a new role center, but it does not look similar to the existing role centers, check that the following was performed:

The Web Part Page was selected when you created the new SharePoint webpage

You selected Header, Footer, 3 Columns as the Layout Template You selected Enterprise Portal as the Document Library

New Role Center is Unavailable in the User Profiles Form

If you create a new role center, but it does appear in the role centers dropdown on the User Profiles form, check the following:

A new URL Web Menu Item has been created for the ASPX page.

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The URL's Home Page property is set to Yes.

Added Web Parts are not Visible to Other Users

If you insert additional web parts on a role center, but other users in the same role do not see the changes, check the following:

Web parts were added to the Shared Version of the web page, and not the Personal Version.

If the editing was done within the Content Pane in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012, it is possible that the Personal Version was edited, which will not be seen by other users.

SSAS Components are Unavailable When Editing the Role Center

If you create or modify components in SSAS (for example, if you add a new KPI to a cube), but the component is not available when you edit the role center (for example, when trying to add the KPI to a Business Overview web part), check the following:

The changed object and all dependent objects, in the BI project are deployed and processed.

The BI project must be deployed to the correct OLAP database (in other words, the OLAP database that the Role Centers are pointing to).

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Lab 4.1 - Create a Report to Display in a Role CenterThis lab examines many of the concepts that were introduced in previous chapters of this course. In this lab you will create a new SSRS report and a new role center. Then you will bring them together in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client. For clarity, this lab will be broken up into separate exercises.

Scenario

You work in the IT department of a large manufacturing company, providing support for the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 installation that is used by almost all departments.

The company's CEO has just hired a new employee and has appointed the newly created position of Chief Accounting Officer (CAO). The new employee will oversee the Accounting department and all the Accounting Managers.

The CEO has requested that the IT department provide the new CAO with access to Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. And because this is a new position, you are to create a new role center that is designed around the position.

The new role center should look much like the Accounting Manager role center, with a few new additions. It should include a new report, showing the amount of open transactions with time parameter, as a column chart.

Challenge Yourself!

Use the information that was provided in the scenario to meet the requirements.

Step by Step - Define a Query

Follow these steps to create a new query:

1. Open Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 by clicking the shortcut on the desktop. Press Ctrl+Shift+W to open the Microsoft Dynamics development workspace.

2. In the AOT, right-click the Queries node, and then click New Query.

3. Right-click the node for the query, click Rename, and then type CustTransactionData. Expand the node for the CustTransactionData query.

4. Right-click the Data Dictionary node, and then click Open New Window.

5. In the new window, expand the Tables node. 6. Locate the CustTable table and drag it onto the Data Sources node

under the CustTransactionData query. 7. Expand the CustTable_1 data source node, select the Fields node,

and in the Properties window, set the Dynamic property to Yes.

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8. Locate the CustTrans table and drag it onto the Data Sources node located below the CustTable data source (not the higher level Data Source node under the CustTransactionData query).

9. In the CustTrans_1 data source node, select the Fields node, in the Properties window, set the Dynamic property to Yes.

10. Right-click the Relations node for the CustTrans_1 data source, and then click New Relation.

11. Select the node for the relation and verify the following default values in the Properties window o JoinDataSource: CustTable_1 o Field: AccountNum o Related Field: AccountNum

12. In the AOT, right-click the Ranges node for the CustTrans_1 data source, and then click New Range.

13. Select the node for the range, and in the Properties window, select the TransType field from the drop-down menu for Field.

14. The TransType field is an enum type. When you define the report, you must know the value of the EnumType property when you define the AX Enum Provider data source. To find the property value, in the AOT, click Data Dictionary > Tables > CustTrans > Fields > TransType. In the Properties window, note that the EnumType property is set to LedgerTransType.

15. Locate the CustGroup table and drag it onto the Data Sources node located below the CustTrable_1 data source (not the higher level Data Source node under the CustTransactionData query and not the lower level Data Source node under CustTrans_1).

16. Expand the CustGroup_1 data source node, select the Fields node, and in the Properties window, set the Dynamic property to Yes.

17. Right-click the Relations node for the CustGroup_1 data source, and then click New Relation.

18. Select the node for the relation and set the following values in the Properties window o JoinDataSource: CustTable_1 o Field: CustGroup o Related Field: CustGroup

19. Save the query.

Step by Step - Create a Reporting Project

Follow these steps to create a Reporting Project in Visual Studio:

1. Open Microsoft Visual Studio.

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2. If Visual Studio is run for the first time, select General Development Settings for the default environment setting and click Start Visual Studio.

3. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Project. The New Project dialog box displays.

4. In the Installed Templates pane, click Microsoft Dynamics AX node, and in the Templates pane, click Report Model.

5. In the Name box, type SampleChartReport, and in the Location box, type a location.

6. Click OK.

Step by Step - Create a Report

Follow these steps to create a new report:

1. In Solution Explorer, right-click the SampleChartReport project, point to Add, and then click Report.

2. In Model Editor, right-click the Report1 node, and then click Rename.

3. Type ColumnChartReport as the name. 4. Expand the ColumnChartReport node if it is not already expanded. 5. Right-click the Datasets node, and then click Add Dataset. 6. Select the node for the dataset. 7. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

o Data Source: Dynamics AX o Data Source Type: Query o Default Layout: ColumnChart o Dynamic Filters: False o Name: CustomerTransactions

8. For the Query field, click the ellipsis button (…). A dialog box displays where you can select a query that is defined in the AOT and identify the fields that you want to use. Select the CustTransactionData query. Click Next and then expand the CustTrans_1 > All Fields node. Select the TransDate and AmountMST fields. Expand the CustGroup > All Fields node and select the Name field. Click OK.

9. In Model Editor, expand the node for the CustomerTransactions dataset and expand the Fields node.

10. Select the AmountMST field, and in the Properties window, set the Aggregate Function property to Sum and the Format String property to Currency.

11. Right-click the Datasets node, and then click Add Dataset. You will create a dataset with an AX Enum Provider data source for the TransType enum field. This will allow you to filter the report to show specific transaction types.

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12. Select the node for the dataset.

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13. In the Properties window, specify the following values. o Data Source: Dynamics AX o Data Source Type: AX Enum Provider o Default Layout: Table o Dynamic Filters: False o Name: LedgerTransTypeEnum o Query: LedgerTransType

14. Drag the CustomerTransactions node onto the Designs node for the report. An auto design called AutoDesign1 is created for the report.

15. Expand the AutoDesign1 node, expand the node for the chart data region, and then expand the Data node.

16. Drag the Name field to the Categories node. 17. Drag the TransDate field to the Series node. 18. Select the node for the TransDate series. 19. In the Properties window, type =Year(Fields!TransDate.Value) for

the Label property.

Step by Step - Configure Report Parameters

Follow these steps to configure the report parameters:

1. In Model Editor, expand the node for the TransDate series, expand the GroupOn node, and then select the TransDate node that is located below the GroupOn node.

2. In the Properties window, type =Year(Fields!TransDate.Value) for the Expression property.

3. In Model Editor, expand the Parameters node, and then select the CustomerTransactions_TransType parameter.

4. In the Properties window, set the following property values: o Allow Blank: False o Data Type: Integer o Default Value: 2 o Visibility: Hidden

5. For the Values field, click the ellipsis button (...) to open the Select Values dialog box. Click From dataset and then set the following values: o Dataset: LedgerTransTypeEnum o Value field: Value o Label field: Label

6. Click OK to close the Select Values dialog box.

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7. In Model Editor, right-click the Parameters node and then click Add > Parameter.

8. Select the node for the parameter. 9. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

o Data Type: DateTime o Name: FromDate o Prompt String: From date:

10. In Model Editor, right-click the Parameters node and then click Add Parameter.

11. Select the node for the parameter. 12. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

o Data Type: DateTime o Name: ToDate o Prompt String: To date:

13. In Model Editor, expand the Designs node, expand the AutoDesign1 node, and then expand the node for the chart data region.

14. Right-click the Filters node, and then click Add Filter. 15. Select the node for the filter. 16. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

o Expression: =Fields!TransDate.Value o Name: FromDateFilter o Operator: GreaterThanOrEquals o Value: =Parameters!FromDate.Value

Step by Step - Apply Layout and Style Templates

Follow these steps to apply layout and style templates to the report:

1. In Model Editor, right-click the Filters node, and then click Add Filter.

2. Select the node for the filter. 3. In the Properties window, specify the following values.

o Expression: =Fields!TransDate.Value o Name: ToDateFilter o Operator: LessThanOrEquals o Value: =Parameters!ToDate.Value

4. In Model Editor, select the AutoDesign1 node. 5. In the Properties window, set the LayoutTemplate property to

ReportLayoutStyleTemplate. Also, type Customer transactions for the Title property.

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6. In Model Editor, expand the AutoDesign1 node, and then select the node for the chart data region.

7. In the Properties window, set the Style Template property to ColumnChartStyleTemplate.

8. Delete the default text for the Title property so that it does not display a title for the data region.

9. Set the Value Axis Data Scale Minimum property to 5. This will set the starting value on the axis of your report to 5 instead of 0. This is one of many properties that will define the look of your report.

10. Click the Save All icon on the menu toolbar to save the report. 11. In Solution Explorer, right-click the SampleChartReport project

and click Build. 12. In Solution Explorer, right-click the SampleChartReport project

and click Deploy. 13. In Solution Explorer, right-click the SampleChartReport project

and click Add SampleChartReport to AOT.

Step by Step - Create Menu Item

Follow these steps to create a menu item in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 for the new report:

1. In the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 development environment, open the AOT.

2. Right-click Output under Menu Items and select New Menu Item. 3. In the properties window set the following properties:

o Name: CustomerOpenTransactions o ObjectType: SSRS Report o Object: ColumnChartReport o ReportDesign: AutoDesign1

4. Save the Menu Item.

Step by Step - Create Role Center

Follow these steps to create the new Role Center:

1. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, navigate to System Administration > Setup > Enterprise Portal > Website. Click the Enterprise Portal record and click View in browser. The Enterprise Portal will open in a browser.

2. On the Site Actions menu, click More Options. A dialog box that contains a list of the items that you can create is displayed.

3. Click Page and All Categories under Filter by:. 4. Click Web Part Page, and then click Create. 5. Name the new page EPCAORoleCenter.

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6. Choose Header, Footer, 3 Columns as the Layout Template. 7. Select Enterprise Portal for the Document library. 8. Click Create to create the new page. The new webpage will load.

Click No to disable Autocomplete. 9. Create a URL object in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to reference

this new web page. In the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 AOT, navigate to Web > Web Menu Items > URLs. Right-click the URLs node and select New URL.

10. Open the Properties window for the new URL and set its Name to EPCAORoleCenter.

11. In the HelpText type CAO Role Center. 12. In the URL type Enterprise%20Portal/EPCAORoleCenter.aspx. 13. Set ConfigurationKey to LedgerBasic. 14. Set HomePage to Yes. 15. Save the URL. 16. Make a new user profile to relate to this Role Center. Navigate to

System Administration > Common > Users > User profiles. Create a new record.

17. Set Profile ID to CAO. 18. Set Description to Chief Accounting Officer. 19. Set Role Center to EPCAORoleCenter. 20. Assign users to this profile with the Add User button. For the

purposes of this lab, assign your own user. Click on File > Tools > Options to see your current user ID.

Step by Step - Add Report to Role Center

Because the new role center is going to be fundamentally similar to the Accounting Manager role center, this procedure will skip the steps that are involved in adding the same web parts to the new role center that are on the existing webpage. Once that has been completed, the last step is to add the new component to the CAO role center.

1. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, navigate to System Administration > Common > Users > User Profiles.

2. Select the CAO profile and click View role center. 3. Click the Site Actions button, and choose Edit Page. The webpage

will load in Edit mode. 4. Navigate to the Middle Column section. 5. Click on the Add a Web Part button. 6. The Add Web Parts to Middle Column dialog will open. Select the

Microsoft Dynamics AX category, Report web part and click Add. 7. The new Microsoft Dynamics AX web part displays in the Middle

Column, in its default view. Select the check box in the web part, click the drop-down arrow and select Edit Web Part. The page will reload with the Properties window on the right.

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8. In the Properties window, select the report using the Output menu item name, CustomerOpenTransactions.

9. Enter parameters for the From and To dates. 10. Click OK. The role center should reload with the report displayed.

SummaryThe Enterprise Portal is a collection of webpages that provide access to data and business processes in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. The Enterprise portal can display content for specific users in role centers. Role centers provide a home page with an overview of information related to a particular role in a company. The Enterprise Portal webpages can be modified for a single user or for all users. New webpages can be created using the SharePoint edit. These functions provide an engaging user experience that can be uniquely configured for each person.

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Test Your Knowledge1. A user is assigned to a role center page using which of the following?

( ) User relations( ) User profile( ) User groups( ) File > Tools > Options

2. Enterprise Portal role center pages are modified using which tool?

( ) AOT( ) Visual Studio( ) SQL Server Management Studio( ) SharePoint

3. Role center can include which types of web parts? (Select all that apply)

( ) Activities( ) Work List( ) Business Overview( ) Cues

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Quick Interaction: Lessons LearnedTake a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this chapter

1.

2.

3.

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SolutionsTest Your Knowledge

1. A user is assigned to a role center page using which of the following?

( ) User relations() User profile( ) User groups( ) File > Tools > Options

2. Enterprise Portal role center pages are modified using which tool?

( ) AOT( ) Visual Studio( ) SQL Server Management Studio() SharePoint

3. Role center can include which types of web parts? (Select all that apply)

() Activities() Work List() Business Overview() Cues

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enterprise portal and role centers€¦ · web viewrole centers can also include reports that are...

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