Yesterday, on Thursday 16^th June, the Australian Business Register (ABR) updated their website which meant the link that Microsoft Dynamics GP has been using to lookup Australian Business Numbers (ABN) no longer works. This morning, I had two support cases on this issue raised within about 30 minutes of each other.

Update: The Australian Business Register (ABR) team have added a URL redirection to allow the old URL to work. Microsoft will be looking to change the way the search is performed to use Web Services in a future release.

This functionality is enabled when Australian GST is selected in the Company Setup Options window and found is on the Company Setup, Creditor/Vendor Maintenance Options and Debtor/Customer Maintenance Options windows.

It is activated by clicking internet lookup button to the right of the Australian Business (ABN) Number/Tax Registration Number field. The ABN is formatted in the format of XX XXX XXX XXX (for example: 29 002 589 460 for Microsoft Pty Ltd)

The previous URL used was http://abr.business.gov.au/asp/abndetail.asp?ABN=%1 where the ABN is substituted into the %1 placeholder.

• For example: http://abr.business.gov.au/asp/abndetail.asp?ABN=29002589460

The link required has changed to http://abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbn.aspx?SearchText=%1 where the ABN is substituted into the %1 placeholder.

• For example: http://abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbn.aspx?SearchText=29002589460

This issue has been logged with development as Problem Report 63118. If you are having this issue, you can log a support case and reference this bug number.

We will look to either change the URL link used or use the web services described at http://www.abr.business.gov.au/Webservices.aspx

In the meantime, you can use the temporary work around created using three non-logging triggers with the Support Debugging Tool.

The Support Debugging Tool configuration settings file is attached to the bottom of this article.

Here are some instructions for using the Support Debugging Tool configuration settings file:

1. Download the Support Debugging Tool using the link for your version in the Downloads section of the Support Debugging Tool Portal page.
    
2. Download the Support Debugging Tool Configuration Settings file from the bottom of this post and extract the xml file from the archive to an easy to find location.
    
3. Set up the Recommended Configuration as described in the beginning of the Support Debugging Tool User Guide Manual (Debugger.pdf). Summarized steps are shown below, review the User Guide for the complete steps:
    
1. Install the Support Debugging Tool on one workstation on your system by copying the files in the archive to the Microsoft Dynamics GP application folder. You must at least copy the Debugger.cnk and Debugger.pdf files. Use Run as Administrator to launch Dynamics GP and include the new code.
    
2. Login as 'sa' or a user with similar permissions. For v10.0 or later grant all user access to the MBS DEBUGGER USER security role.
    
3. Open the Support Debugging Tool from the Tools menu and select Options >> Dex.ini Settings.
    
4. In the Support Debugging Tools Options section, select Enable Debugger Advanced Mode Features and for the Pathname location for Debugger Setup files, use a Specified location to point to a folder on a network shared location. Usually a folder in the same share as where OLE note attachments are stored (this can be a Drive mapped or an UNC path). Click OK.
   
   Note: On a customer's site make sure that Enable Debugger Setup Mode is not enabled as this will stop the triggers starting automatically. 
     
5. From the Support Debugging Tool main window, select Options >> Dex.ini Configuration.
    
6. In the bottom section of the window, change the Administrator Controlled settings to Path Setting set by Administrator during login process and Advanced Mode turned on by Administrator during login process. Click OK.
    
4. Now that the Support Debugging Tool is set up correctly, from the main window select Options >> Configuration Export/Import. Use the folder browse button to locate the Configuration Settings xml file. Click Import and then click OK to confirm loading the 3 triggers. Click OK to close the window.
    
   Note: You will need to log in again to enable the triggers.  To see if the triggers are enabled: from the main window select Options >> Automatic Debugger Mode Status (from this window, you can use the Unregister button to disable the triggers). To start the Triggers manually, use the Automatic Debugger Mode Turn On button and select Non-Logging Automatic Start Only.
    
5. Install the Support Debugging Tool on the rest of the workstations in your system, you can use automatic updates or methods such as those described in the Automating Distribution of Customizations post. On next login, the workstations will inherit the Administrator Controlled settings for Path Setting and Advanced Mode and automatically start using the triggers imported in the previous step.

Hope you find this information useful.

David

21-Jun-2011: Added instructions for using the Support Debugging Tool configuration settings file.

30-Jun-2011: Added update about URL redirection being used to work around the issue.