I recently discovered that there’s a tool that allows you to create a help file (either .chm or .hxs) from content on MSDN and TechNet. It’s called Package This and is available on CodePlex . This is great if you want to download a bunch of information...

Recently, I was on a mail thread that elucidated certain aspects of how AIF messages are encoded. So I thought I would share that info here. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, the default encoding is UTF-8. You can change the default in the global settings...

Sometimes you stumble upon something that has been around for a long time but you never knew about, so when you do find out about it, it’s like making a whole new discovery. This is how I felt when I found out you could automate the checklist that must...

Early this year, we released the Environmental Sustainability Dashboard (ESD). This is a module that works with Dynamics AX 2009. This tool is not my area of expertise within AX, but I thought it was really cool so I wanted to mention it. The dashboard...

At long last, a white paper about implementing new services and best practices for developers has been published. This document is chock-full of helpful tips for developers that are creating services in AX 2009. Running the AIF Document Service...

The updated version of Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 is now available. Check it out here .

If you’re using Dynamics AX 2009 and are new to services, there’s a new webcast that you’ll want to check out. It’s on Channel 9, and it was done by Sanjay Jain, ISV Architect Evangelist. It gives you the nutshell version of how to: · Create...

The SDK team has released its first update to the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 developer documentation on MSDN since the release of the product. Go here for a list of changes that were included in the most recent update.

Training isn’t necessarily my bailiwick, but I recently came across some Microsoft Dynamics AX training links that I thought would be useful. These aren't new links, just thought I’d aggregate and post them. Audience Link ...

When you use the AIF file adapter to process messages, you might think that the messages would be processed sequentially in the order they are submitted as determined by the file time stamp (even though the processing is asynchronous). But the file adapter...

There was recently a very interesting blog post interview with Lachlan Cash, Senior Product Manager for Dynamics AX. This interview discusses the product SOA strategy, how it has evolved through the different product versions and how it continues to evolve...

SCM in Dynamics AX is not my area of expertise but I thought it would be good to get the word out about a new book that's available. The book is called Managing Your Supply Chain using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 by Scott Hamilton. This is the third edition...

It’s hard to believe, but sometimes things don’t work as expected when integrating external systems with AX. When an error occurs during data exchange using AIF, the caller sees a generic “request failed” error. You can see the detailed error message...

The white paper that covers setting up and configuring the BizTalk adapter has been updated for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009. You can find it here . I wrote the original version of this white paper for 4.0 and one of my colleagues has updated it for the...

I was included in an e-mail thread recently that discussed what fields are needed in a partial update. To make a long story short, you need the _DocumentHash field as well as the RecId and RecVersion fields for each entity being updated. Partial...

This post is from the “too helpful not to share” file. I received this information recently on how to import credit card transactions for expense management in Dynamics AX 2009. To set up importing of credit card transactions into expense management...

I recently heard about an issue in Dynamics AX 2009 when adding a service reference or even a reference to a DLL within the AOT. For instance, if you add a reference to a service, call the service and then receive an error, it may be due to problems with...

I was recently included on an e-mail thread in which the question as to how AIF web services handle localization was raised. For example, if you have caller in Germany invoking a service that’s hosted in France, how is localization of the data and error...

Normally, I don't like to blog about other blogs, but in this case I made an exception. This blog post highlights an excellent video in which Ben Riga talks with Michael Merz, the AIF PM. This video is packed with useful technical information about WCF...

A while back I created this graphic to show the relationship between a document query and the document schema. If you’re new to AIF, this may help you understand the format of the data that flows in and out of AIF through the document services. ...

I have posted some AIF code samples on the MSDN Code Gallery that demonstrate calling a service class from X++. AIF - Calling the Customer Service in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 This code sample demonstrates how to call the customer service from X+...

An update to the 4.01 SDK is now available for download here . Download and install this file to get the latest developer help content (in .chm file format) for Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.01. The SDK contains all the developer documentation including...

If you're interested in finding out about how SOA is enabled in Microsoft Dynamics AX, there's an excellent video on the subject. The video is a presentation by Alex Renz, in product planning, and Michael Merz, the PM for AIF. AIF provides the integration...

Recently, I have been experiencing hard crashes on my computer, which I have been using for over two years now. What happens is that I see a flash of blue screen and then my system reboots. After the inital shock, panic, and trying to remember what files...

Traditionally, Summer is a time to catch up on reading. Since the dog days of Summer are now upon us (here in the northern hemisphere), I'd like to draw your attention to some of the Dynamics AX books that are available. There's a full listing on the...