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Menus for Visual Studio Tools Build 9 Released

  • Artikkeli

David Meego - Click for blog homepageWell, it has taken a little longer than orginally planned, but I am pleased to announce that Menus for Visual Studio Tools build 9 has now been released for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 (v11.0).

When Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 was first released, the plan was that it would only be available for version 10.0.  The idea was for menu integration to be added to the next version of Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP.  Due to resource constraints it was not possible to get the functionality built into Visual Studio Tools, so the decision was made to release Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 as well.

We have had a number of requests from developers for Menus for Visual Studio Tools for GP 2010 and told them to watch the blog for a release announcement. So thank you for your patience and ... here it is.

I had originally planned to add some additional functionality to Menus for Visual Studio Tools which would be included in the release for GP 2010 and also rolled back into the GP 10.0 version.  The development of these extra features was taking longer than I had planned as I have not been able to put as much time into this project as was needed.  So a decision was made to release two builds of the tool.  The first release is Build 9 which provides a version compatible with GP 2010, fixes a minor bug (only one person ever hit it) and adds a few extra functions to the API (see below).  A possible second release with additional functionality is "planned" for some time in the future, depending on your feedback (see below).

 

What's New in Build 9 

Below is a list of features added to Menus for Visual Studio Tools for both GP 10.0 and GP 2010.

  • Support for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010. That's a surprise .... not.
     
  • For GP 2010 only: An alternate method of registering the two events needed using functions instead of field events.
     
  • Addition of a simplified menu registration system which can add items to the bottom of any menu in core Dynamics, Project Accounting, Field Service, Manufacturing and Human Resources.  This simple registration system requires only two parameters; the name of the menu's Command List and the text for the menu item.
     
  • Additional functions to check the application security settings for a Dexterity form and to display the standard Security Error Dialog.

 

What's Planned for the Next Release 

At this stage there may or may not be a next release.  We need your feedback to know if the planned features are something that you want and would use. Please have a think about the features listed below and if you want to see them, post a comment on this blog page. 

Below are the features that we are thinking of adding to Menus for Visual Studio Tools:

  • Support for Toolbar Integration, so that commands defined in Menus for Visual Studio Tools can be added to existing or new Toolbars.
     
  • Support for Navigation Pane and Area Pages Integration, so that commands defined in Menus for Visual Studio Tools can be added to existing or new Navigation Panes and Area Pages.
     
  • An additional Security system which would allow Visual Studio Tools WinForms to be added to the Microsoft Dynamics GP security model.  Security access can then be checked before opening the WinForm.  This would allow WinForms to have independent security rather than the current model which inherits security from a Dexterity form.

If you would like to see these features, please let us know.

 

Downloads

For downloads, please see the Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal Page:

Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal

 

Support Information

Technical support for Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 can be obtained through the standard Dynamics GP Support channels. Information on contacting support can be found in the support area of the MSDN Dynamics GP Developer Center.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/gp/bb468042.aspx

For customers or partners on a Dynamics specific support plan, please use the following link from CustomerSource or PartnerSource to log a "Visual Studio Tools-Developer Toolkit" case.

https://mbs.microsoft.com/support

 

More Information

For more information, please see the Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal Page:

Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal

 

Additional Notes

Menus for Visual Studio Tools is designed to allow a Visual Studio Tools developer to integrated with the commands and menus of the Microsoft Dynamics GP application level menus.

The Additional menu is used when additional menus are created using Dexterity Form triggers or the equivalent AddMenuHandler() method from Visual Studio.

Look at the Chapter 15: Forms of the Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP Programmers Guide (VSTDGPProgrammersGuide.pdf) for more information on the AddMenuHandler() method.

 

Please provide feedback using comments on this post. We really want to know if we should put the time and resources into developing the next build. 

David

03-Nov-2010: Added information on "Additional" Menu and AddMenuHandler() method.

16-May-2013: Changed More Information and Downloads to go to Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal Page.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    June 27, 2010
    Posting from Mark Polino at DynamicAccounting.net msdynamicsgp.blogspot.com/.../menus-for-visual-studio-tools-build-9.html

  • Anonymous
    June 30, 2010
    Excellent work! The planned features would all be useful for the tighter integration of our product. I assume this means we can skip the additional menus and actually have our own toolbar on specific windows? I can also see how creating a new navigation pane/area page would be useful for product specific integration rather than being buried inside the default GP menus. Independent security is also a very useful thing as it would make licencing much easier. Hopefully the managers will allow us to get these things implemented if the next release is able to happen, would make things look much more slick!

  • Anonymous
    July 01, 2010
    Thanks for the feedback Nigel.

  • Anonymous
    July 30, 2010
    Kudos! This build perfectly complements the functionality of Visual Studio Tools. With respect to future features, I would respectfully request both Toolbar Integration and Navigation Pane and Area Pages Integration. (Security, while compelling, is easily implemented otherwise.) Thank you again, David.

  • Anonymous
    August 13, 2010
    It would be great to have the ability to add custom Navigation Panes! Thanks, David.

  • Anonymous
    January 04, 2011
    We are using Application.MenusForVisualStudioTools.dll (version 11.00.0218.000 ). Is a strong named assembly available? We are in process of getting our ISV solution certified for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010. Certification guidelines require all assembles to be strong named.

  • Anonymous
    January 05, 2011
    Hi Abhishek The file version of Application.MenusForVisualStudioTools.dll is 11.0.9.0. And the dll is signed. The following links should help with the Certified for Microsoft Dynamics process. mbs.microsoft.com/.../msd_cfmdprocesscallinfo.htm mbs.microsoft.com/.../msdcertifiedppcon.htm David

  • Anonymous
    January 06, 2011
    Hi David, This tool is very useful, Thank You. Becasue I have not worked with all the potential menu paths in GP, it would be helpful to have a list of all the potential form references and commands for the forms. For example when I invoke my form using MenusForVisualStudioTools.Functions.GetTagByName.Invoke(                                   DYNAMICS, "Command_XXXX", "CL_FXXXXX");     It would be helpful to have al ist of all Form Names and Command Names on the GP menu, do you know where I can get such a list? Thanks Sue

  • Anonymous
    January 06, 2011
    Hi David, I did find the menu list in the Dexterity Integration Guide. Thanks Sue

  • Anonymous
    November 23, 2011
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 23, 2011
    Posting from Mark Polino at DynamicAccounting.net msdynamicsgp.blogspot.com/.../menus-for-visual-studio-tools-for.html

  • Anonymous
    December 11, 2011
    This tool is extremely useful.  It takes menu customization away from dexterity-capable-elite and puts it in the hands of the programming masses.  

  • Anonymous
    December 11, 2011
    Hi Doug Thanks for your comment. That is why I created the tool. Dexterity knowledge is not that hard to obtain and will help any VSTools developer to understand how Dynamics GP works behind the scenes. It is a worthwhile investment. David

  • Anonymous
    March 28, 2012
    Hi, I would love to see the ability to interact with the Action Pane, Nav Lists, etc from Visual Studio. Thanks, Aaron

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2013
    Hi David Can an VS integration form be added to the VSTMenu instead of the Additional Menu of a GP form.  I look at the sample menu.  I could not find something like this. Thanks

  • Anonymous
    May 15, 2013
    Hi Bill Menus for Visual Studio Tools creates a call back to your Visual Studio Code.  You can then perform any activity you like, including opening your own Visual Studio Winforms. That is what the code was created for. For more information, check out the Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal: http://aka.ms/MVST David