How to add and edit SOAddress records in SL using Catalina’s API for Dynamics SL

Here is an example of how you can create a NEW shipto address, using POST, for a customer (NOTE:  I am doing a post and not passing a ShipToId in the URL.)

Also NOTE:  When doing a post (adding a NEW address), if you explicitly set a ShipToId in the body, it cant be an existing ShipToId for that customer or an error will be thrown.  If you do pass a ShipToId in the body, the system will try to create a new ShipTo Address using that ShipToId.  If you don’t pass a ShipToId, the API will auto generate a new ShipToId for you.

Another NOTE:  There is an issue with the API, where you need to make sure that you put the CustId in the body, when doing a POST for a new ShipTo Address, or it wont save against the CustId.  This is a known issue where the API doesn’t grab the CustId from the query string when it is saving the SOAddress, it grabs from the body.  So, make sure that you are putting CustId in the body (also NOTE the capitalization of CustId. Darn Solomon in its differences in capitalization throughout.)

Creating a new SOAddress for a customer:

Here is an example of how to create a new SOAddress using curl and the action type of POST.  Variables that are in the call:

• yourserver:  You would replace the actual server you have the Catalina API installed on instead of using “yourserver.”  this is just a placeholder.
• YOURAUTHCODEHERE:  This should be the encoded basic authentication string for your setup
• YOURCPNYID:  This should be the CpnyID of the Company you are using from your System database
• YOURSITEIDHERE:  This should be the SiteID setup in the API configuration
• CUSTID1:  This is a customer ID (CustID) that I am using in my example.  You would of course use a valid CustID in your SL’s Customer table
• ADDR1:  I am forcing this to save a new ShipTo Address with the ShipToId of “ADDR1”.  If ADDR1 already exists for this customer, it will throw an error.  NOTE:  You can leave this field out and the API will auto-generate an ID for you
• Other fields in the body is data that I wanted to save in the SOAddress

Curl -x post \
http://yourserver/ctdynamicssl/api/financial/accountsreceivable/customer/c300/address \
-H 'accept: application/json' \
-H 'authorization: Basic YOURAUTHCODEHERE' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'CpnyID: YOURCPNYIDHERE' \
-H 'SiteID: YOURSITEIDHERE' \
-H 'cache-control: no-cache' \
-d '{
"CustId": "CUSTID1",
"ShipToId": "ADDR1",
"Notes": "TEST",
"resultCode": 0,
"Addr1": "222 Smith Street",
"Addr2": "#18",
"Attn": "Marvin"
}'

Updating an existing SOAddress record

Now, lets say you want to edit an existing shipto address.  You would do a patch and make sure that you pass the ShipToId that you want in the URL.  It doesn’t have to be in the body.  In the below example, I am updating the ShipToId of ADDR1 for Customer ID CUSTID1 and only updating the field “Attn” to read “Marvin the Martian.”  PATCH will not update any other fields if they aren’t passed.

Curl -X PATCH \
http://yourserver/ctDynamicsSL/api/financial/accountsReceivable/customer/CUSTID1/address/ADDR1 \
-h 'accept: application/json' \
-h 'authorization: Basic YOURAUTHCODEHERE' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'CpnyID: YOURCPNYIDHERE' \
-H 'SiteID: YOURSITEIDHERE' \
-H 'cache-control: no-cache' \
-d '{
"CustId": "CUSTID1",
"Attn": "Marvin the Martian"
}'

Advertisements

Create your own incrementing scheme in SQL for Dynamics SL Order Line Items

Earlier today, I was asked if I could come up with a query that would allow you to bring back line items for a sales order.  But create a numbering scheme for the line items that re-start for each new order number.  So, example:

You can see below, that ORD1234 has 3 items, indexed 1,2,3.  and ORD5555 has 2 line items indexed 1,2

OrdNbr	InvtID	LineIndex
ORD1234	IN82344	1
ORD1234	IN82341	2
ORD1234	IN82344	3
ORD5555	IN089723	1
ORD5555	IN0123998	2

I accomplished this by using the DENSE_RANK().

Here is sample code:

SELECT DENSE_RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY OrdNbr ORDER BY OrdNbr, LineRef) * 10  AS LineIndex
, OrdNbr
, LineRef
, InvtID
, QtyOrd
FROM   SOLine
ORDER  BY OrdNbr, LineIndex

What I wanted to do in this was to show the order number, lineRef, invtID, and qtyOrd.  But I wanted to show the LineIndex in increments of 10 that restarted for every time the OrdNbr changed.  I have one of the orders that have multiple line items circled below.

 

SMS Central allows people in the field to send pictures and other attachments to Dynamics SL without any special app (Just SMS Messaging)

Catalina’s SMS Central allows you to easily dispatch your field techs, salespeople, and others straight from your Dynamics SL without any special mobile apps.  All using SMS messaging.  Nothing to deploy, works on any phone, and easy to maintain.

Your people in the field can send updates as replies that will get automatically updated in your back office.  They can even send pictures, GPS coordinates, and other attachments which will automatically be attached to the service call, quote, invoice, timecard, or any other screen in Dynamics SL.

1. Create a service call, quote, invoice, or any other type of record in Dynamics SL.  SMS Central will send an SMS message to the appropriate person in the field.

2.  Your person in the field receives the message and can respond.  Those responses will automatically update Dynamics SL.

 

3. The field person can also take pictures, GPS coordinates, or other mobile files and attach them to the service call, quote, invoice, or other screen in Dynamics SL using just an SMS message.

 

4. That photo, or other attachment, automatically attaches to the appropriate record in Dynamics SL

 

5. All attachments and SMS communication are also stored in a web portal, allowing your field people to review history without needing any special app.  Any browser on any type of device will work!

Sales Central: Web based order management for Dynamics SL

There are times when you just cant get RDP/Terminal server access to your servers to access the Dynamics SL thick client.  Like when you are on a tablet or remote.  That is where Catalina’s Sales Central for Dynamics SL comes into play.  This allows you to access Dynamics SL Order Management, Customer Management, Inventory, and other modules through a cross-browser, mobile-enabled solution.

Sales Central allows you to do the following

• Take orders from your desktop, laptop, tablet, and even phone
• Search, view, edit, and create sales orders
• Search, view, edit, and create customers
• View inventory and availability
• Take credit cards
• Customize to suit your needs

Below is a demo we did at one of our webinars that does a brief walk-through of Sales Central.  If you have further questions or would like to have a more in-depth demo, please contact us at sales@catalinatechnology.com.

Example of building a Form Client to use the Catalina Quick Query SOAP Web Service

This is an example of how to use Quick Query as a data delivery tool for external systems using Catalina’s API for Dynamics SL.  This example is for those who want to use a SOAP based interface.

For an example on how to retrieve Quick Query data through a REST interface, check out this article: Dynamics SL Quick Query through Catalina’s RESTful API

1.     In Visual Studio, we select the Visual C# Template for a Windows Form Application. Our client will be named: client.ctDynamicsSL.quickQuery.

Note: you can call the Catalina web services from any type of client that is able to make http/https calls, but for this example, we will use a Form Application.

2.     Add a reference to our Quick Query Web Service
a.     Right click on “References” and select “Add Service Reference” 

b.     On the “Add Service Reference” screen, click the “Advanced” button in the bottom left. (Image: qqcclient3.png)

c.      On the “Service Reference Settings” screen, click the “Add Web Reference” button. (Image: qqcclient4.png)

d.     On the “Add Web Reference” screen, enter in the URL to the web service. 

E.g.: http://localhost/ctDynamicsSL/quickQuery.asmx

Click the arrow button to discover the web service schema.

After the service definition loads, enter in a name to refer to this service in your client.

E.g.: ctDynamicsSL.quickQuery

e.     Click the “Add Reference” button.

f.       The new web reference will show up in your project.

 

3.     Create code to instantiate an object referencing our web service.

a.     I like to store values that are required in the Soap Header in the app.config file using System.Configuration, so we will first add a reference to the System.Configuration assembly. References -> Add Reference -> System.Configuration

b.     Create a private variable to store the actual object and a property to auto create the instance if the variable is null. This get{} property will pull the required header values from the app.config

Now whenever we want to call a function in the web service, we just reference it like so: myQQObj.functionName().

4.     Add the necessary elements for our main Form.

a.     TextBox for typing in a QueryViewName (tbQueryViewName)

b.     Button for a QueryViewName search (btnSearch)

c.      Button for executing our search (btnGetQuery)

d.     DataGridView for holding our search parameters (dgvFilters)

e.     DataGridView for holding our search results (dgvQueryResults)

 

5.     Add a popup form for QueryViewName searches.

a.     The QueryViewName is the root of the Quick Query Service; they are names of SQL Views built in to SL. This is a required element, so let’s build an easy way to lookup them up.

b.     Add another Form object to the project: queryViewsPopup.cs

c.      Add a DataGridView to the new Form object.

d.     Click on the little arrow at the top right of the Grid and add ctDynamicsSL.quickQuery.vs_qvcatalog as the Data Source.

e.     For ease of use, edit the DataGridView Columns.

• Move the QueryViewName column to the first position.
• Change Name to “QueryViewName” we will use this to reference the cell later.

f.       On our main Form, tie an EventHandler to open this form.

g.      Add a CellDoubleClick Event Handler, to take the selected row and return the QueryViewName back to the tbQueryViewName on the main Form.

6.     Setup Filters DataGridView 

a.     The Quick Query Service getScreen call requires 2 parameters: queryViewName, filters[]. The filters parameter is of type: ctDynamicsSL.quickQuery.queryFilter.  

b.     The Filters is an array of triplets holding 3 required fields:

• name – This must match the name of a column in the query view)
• value – This is the value we are to filter/compare against)
• comparisonType – This is any valid SQL comparison operator. E.g.: =, <, >, LIKE, IN, NOT IN

c.      Select the Data Source as ctDynamicsSL.quickQuery.queryFilter

7.     The Quick Query Service, is a V2 service by Catalina Technology and by design uses a screen() object for most calls that replicate the SL screen. Create a private variable to hold an instance of the screen object for all of our subsequent calls to the service.

8.     Write the code to call the web service, pass the parameters and tie the results to the Result DataGridView (dgvQueryResults)

9.     Test our Web Service Client:

a.     Find a Query View with our popup.

b.     Enter in some filters then Search and View the Results

 Note:     You can download the sample client Visual Studio Project at the following link: https://github.com/CatalinaTechnology/ctAPIClientExamples/tree/master/client.quickQuery

 

Catalina’s Queue Engine

Catalina has a simple queuing engine that allows you to track changes on any table in SQL server. There is then an API that allows you to retrieve items that have been queued so that you can take action on them.  This is mostly done when you need to send Dynamics SL data, that has changed, to an outside system.

Example: A customer in Dynamics SL is modified in the SL Customer Maintenance Screen. You want to make sure that the customer terms, class, and other information makes it out to Salesforce.com (or other CRM system).

CTAPI – DEFAULTS & VALIDATIONS

Catalina Technologies API for Dynamics SL allows you to create your own custom defaults and validations when sending data into SL through the API.

How to set Custom Defaults and Validations for web services in CTAPI. As of RELEASE builds post 2017/1/1, you are now able to overwrite defaults and validations in two single files. This is now the preferred place to make customizations, as it will avoid overwriting changes with new release builds of CTAPI.

The file for Defaults customizations is named: custom.default.ctDynamicsSL.xml and is located in your DEFAULTCONFIGDIRECTORY. (Path defined in your DSLCONFIGFILE, default: c:\inetpub\xctFiles\config\)
The file for Validations customizations is named: custom.validate.ctDynamicsSL.xml and is located in your VALIDATIONCONFIGDIRECTORY. (Path defined in your DSLCONFIGFILE, default: c:\inetpub\xctFiles\config\)
All customizations for defaults and validations for all CTAPI web services are contained in these two files.
Definition of the custom.default.ctDynamicsSL.xml file:

ID: (The field to set)
1. inItem – Always used to represent the Table/Object being defaulted. (not the field)
DEFAULTTYPE: (TEXT, PROC, CODE)
1. TEXT – sets the field value to the value listed in this xml element.
2 PROC – sets the field value to the value returned by the stored procedure listed in the xml element value. (optional: PARMS attribute listing stored procedure parameters)
3. CODE – sets the field value to the value returned by performing an eval on the code listed in the xml element value.

PARMS: (An optional, comma-delimitated list of parameters used for PROC Type defaults)
1. Variables from the inItem object that match stored procedure variable names.
e.g.: PARMS=’inItem.Status’
2. Rename an inItem object variable to a different stored procedure variable name.
e.g.: PARMS=’VendStatus=inItem.Status’
3. Hardcoded Stored procedure variable values.
e.g.: PARMS=’Active=1’

Definition of the custom.validate.ctDynamicsSL.xml file:

ID: (The field to set)
1. inItem – Always used to represent the Table/Object being defaulted. (not the field)
VALIDATETYPE: (LIST, PROC, NUMBERRANGE, DATERANGE, CODE)
1. LIST – a comma delimitated list of text values that are valid.
2. PROC – validates based on returnValue returned by the stored procedure listed in the xml element value. (optional: PARMS attribute listing stored procedure parameters)
3. NUMBERRANGE – a comma delimitated range of doubles.
e.g.: 1,5
4. DATERANGE – a comma delimitated range of dates.
e.g.: 1/1/2016,1/1/2019
5. CODE – validates the Boolean returned by performing an eval on the code listed in the xml element value.

PARMS: (An optional, comma-delimitated list of parameters used for PROC Type validations)
6. Variables from the inItem object that match stored procedure variable names.
e.g.: PARMS=’inItem.Status’
7. Rename an inItem object variable to a different stored procedure variable name.
e.g.: PARMS=’VendStatus=inItem.Status’
8. Hardcoded Stored procedure variable values.
e.g.: PARMS=’Active=1’