Modifying Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Word Templates

Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 added some very cool functionality to the product which allows reports to be generated in Microsoft Word.  It is perfect for creating custom layouts with logos and graphics for Sale Order Processing (SOP) and Purchase Order Processing (POP) documents.

This functionality leverages the Dexterity Report Writer as an engine to gather information and export it as XML data.  This data is then read by the Microsoft Word template to produce the document. 

If you want to get additional data, you need to modify the standard report using Report Writer so that the additional information is included on the modified version of the report.  Make sure the Alternate Modified Forms and Report ID has been changed to use the new report and the data will now be available for the template to use. 

So you might ask ... Where in the file system can I find the template documents to edit?

The answer is nowhere.

The templates are not stored in the file system at all.  To provide a central repository for the templates so they can be accessed by any user from any workstation, they are actually stored in the DYNAMICS.dbo.syReportTemplates table on SQL Server. Note that this table is not defined in any Dexterity dictionary.

Below is a quick step by step guide to creating a modified template:

Part 1 - Creating a new template from the original

1. From the menus, select Reports >> Template Maintenance.
2. Click on the Report Name (where it says "Click here to select a report").
3. Click on the report is already in the list or select More Reports and navigate to the report you wish to modify.
4. Click New and select From Existing Template.
5. Select the Template from the list that is to be the starting point for the new template.
6. Enter the New Template's Name and click Create.
    
   

Part 2 - Modifying the template

1. In the Available Templates list select the newly created template.
2. Click Modify to open Microsoft Word with the template loaded.
3. Make the changes as desired.
4. Select File >> Save As.
5. If using Microsoft Word 2010, make sure the Maintain compatibility with previous versions of Word option is checked. The template must be saved in 2007 .docx format not 2010 .docx format.
   Note: If you don't check the Maintain compatibility option, we have seen issues with the Template Processing Engine occur including xml errors or processing failing to complete.
6. Save the template to a known location, for example: Your desktop.
7. Close Word, or at least make sure the template document is closed. This will prevent an error on the next step.
8. Click the green plus sign to Add a template.
9. Locate the previously saved document and click Open.
10. Select "Yes" when asked if you wish to replace the existing template.

Part 3 - Assigning the template

1. In the Available Templates list select the now modified template.
2. Click Assign >> Company. Check the appropriate companies and click Save.
3. Click Assign >> Customer (Debtor) or Vendor (Creditor).  I will refer to Customer for this example.
4. Click the green plus sign and select the appropriate Customers by Customer ID or Customer Class. Don't worry if your range includes extra customers or classes as they can be removed in the next step. Click OK.
5. If there are any customers or classes added which need to be removed, mark the checkbox to the left of the customer or class and click the red cross to delete them.
6. You can continue adding customers or classes as needed.
7. Once your have completed your selections, click Save.

Note: You can also right click in the Available Templates window to perform most of the actions for the window.

For more information on Word Templates and how to use them, please look at the printable manuals installed with Microsoft Dynamics GP. You will find an entire section In the System Setup Guide (SystemSetup.pdf), look at Part 7: Chapter 34: Word templates. [Edit] There is also a huge amount of information in the Report Writer User's Guide (ReportWriter.pdf), look at the Part 9: Word Templates (Chapters 34-39).

Thanks to Rob Wagner on the Dynamics GP development team for the great work in developing this functionality. 

David

02-Jun-2010: Added details of Word Templates section in the Report Writer manual. Thanks to Steve Kubis for pointing that out.

01-Dec-2010: Added link to Mariano's post: Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 Word Templates summary.

06-Dec-2010: Updated section on Maintain Compatibility option for Microsoft Word 2010.

Comments

• Anonymous
  May 30, 2010
  Posting from Vaidy Mohan www.vaidy-dyngp.com/.../how-to-configure-word-templates-in.html

• Anonymous
  May 31, 2010
  Great article David, I've been getting a lot of questions about this - now I can just send them to you! Leslie

• Anonymous
  May 31, 2010
  If you want more details about how Word Templates work, look in Part 9 of the ReportWriter.pdf printable manual. For details about using report templates and modified reports, see Chapter 38 in that same PDF. (This information is also available in the Report Writer online help, RW.chm)

• Anonymous
  June 01, 2010
  Good point about modifying the RW report to add additional fields. I created this short video that shows the Word Template functionality in action: www.youtube.com/watch

• Anonymous
  June 02, 2010
  Posting from Mark Polino at DynamicAccounting.net msdynamicsgp.blogspot.com/.../modifying-microsoft-dynamics-gp-2010.html

• Anonymous
  June 03, 2010
  It's not clear if and how you could make a modified SOP Long Invoice Form available to Word. Is it possible?

• Anonymous
  June 07, 2010
  Hi Ian I believe the documentation in the Report Writer manual covers this. David

• Anonymous
  August 19, 2010
  David, I am using Microsoft Dynamics GP Word add on. We upgrade from GP 10 to GP 2010. During upgrade process i Upgrade our reports to GP 2010. But according to Documentation some of the report cannot be upgrade eg SOP reports. So When I use my upgraded reports (SOP Blank order form not created from scratch upgraded from v10 to 2010) in word template i am NOT able to see all  fields eg HST/GST/QST Calculated fieds. (But i can successfully print Customer ID, Shipping methods etc) on to word templated But when i create Report from scratch I am able to see my HST/GST/QST calculated fields even they are prininting correctly on my reports BUT (Customer ID, Shipping methods etc) are not printing on to templates. This is really strange to me why its like that. Please suggest.

• Anonymous
  August 19, 2010
  Hi Q The reports in the GP Report writer are used to create the XML document that integrates with the Word form.  That report must contain all the fields you wish to be used on the Word form. The formatting is no longer relevent, but the fields need to be available.  If you are now going to use Word forms, I suggest starting with the original RW report and adding the extra fields you need. This will fix the not upgradable issues. If you need more help, please use the forums or a support incident as comments are not the best way to deliver support. Thanks David

• Anonymous
  August 29, 2010
  David, Thanks for your fair explanation, i could use Microsoft Dynamics with ease for now. Keep sharing, Thanks, Dita

• Anonymous
  November 18, 2010
  Dave, This is a great post, as always!!! Thanks for caring and sharing :) Thank you much! Kerri

• Anonymous
  January 27, 2011
  David, 8.Click the green plus sign to Add a template. 9.Locate the previously saved document and click Open. When i click on the below steps,(8) the green button does not respond,it does not take me to step 9. Any suggesttions? NB: Can you do the same for RM Blank Document? Your input will be highly appreciated Charles

• Anonymous
  January 27, 2011
  Hi Charles If the Green Plus symbol is enabled, it should open the dialog when clicked.  If it does not work, you might need to log a support case. It works for RM Blank Document for me. David

• Anonymous
  February 28, 2011
  Hi, I've been recking my brain with this one. Here is the scenario.. Created SOP Blank Invoice (Modified) work template with compnay logos and format. The Word SOP document generated perfectly on my local machine and client environment VM i.e. Same O/S , SQL and GP2010 version. However when I copy and import the modified report into the LIVE environment the word engine generates a blank report i.e the design is there but no data is pulling through. Any idea's or suggestions as to how to resolve this issue? Thanks, H

• Anonymous
  February 28, 2011
  Hi Hammond No quick answer comes to mind.  Please note that blog comments are not a good support method. Can I suggest asking on the newsgroups so others can help and also others can benefit from the answer.  There are links for newsgroups and forums on the right hand side of the blog page blogs.msdn.com/DevelopingForDynamicsGP.  The other option is to open a support incident. Thanks David

• Anonymous
  August 05, 2011
  I am trying to complete this and I am successful at adding the xml and seeing the new fields.  I can add the fields in the report.  However, when I go to add the report in report maintenance I get a "cannot add report" error. This does not happen if I just add the new source to the current source.  The error occurs if I delete the current source.  The error does not happen if I do not add fields.  Only if I add the fields. What am I doing wrong here? Thanks much for any help, Jo Ann

• Anonymous
  August 08, 2011
  JoAnn,  That error is usually caused if you are trying to import a template for a modified report as an original report in the window, or an original report as a modified one.  So you have Original selected in the window, but you are trying to import a template from a modified report, you will get this error.  

• Anonymous
  April 18, 2012
  Thank for the tutorial on modifying the Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, Thanks for your awesome explanation.

• Anonymous
  March 26, 2013
  Hi David, I stumbled across this looking for an answer to something. It appears that you cannot assign templates to customers on anything other than the original templates that ship with GP. I.E. if you use the Report Generator to turn an XML output to a Word Template, those cannot be assigned to customers. Am I correct there? I'm working on Project Accounting invoices for a customer and was assuming this functionality was on anything with customer IDs, but the Assign button only has the option of assigning the template to a Company. Jen

• Anonymous
  March 26, 2013
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  May 14, 2013
  Hi! Another strange thing.  I am modifying a Word Template and the "Remove Source" is greyed out and I can't get it to work.  Also, I cannot add my .xml file as a source. Any thoughts? Jo Ann

• Anonymous
  June 27, 2013
  Do I have to enter an email address per invoice every single time?  What if my customer's email address never changes...is there a place I can enter it so it'll remember versus having to enter it every time before sending out the email?  ~ this is for emailing invoices from GP 2010.  Also Should I be getting a report that displays the status of the emails or if their wasn't an email address associated with the record so I know which ones I need to print instead of email? thanks, Jen

• Anonymous
  July 21, 2013
  Hi Jen The email address should be stored against the customer card. If you need further help, I suggest asking on the forums or logging a support case. Thanks David

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2014
  Hi David, I've created a modified SOP Invoice form.  I go to Report Template Maintenance, select my Modified report.  However, in the New Template window, I only see the Original Report.  If I hit the New button, I can only work with the original report. How do I get my modified report to show?  I've already chose the modified report in the Alternate Forms/ID and I've already created an xml file of my modified report. If I try to print the report from the Sales Transaction Entry file to a word file, it comes out as an html file and if I try to convert to word, the file is completely unusable. Any ideas? Thanks, Steve

• Anonymous
  April 03, 2014
  Hello David, Is it possible to add 'Calculated Field' to Word Template. Thanks Haroon

• Anonymous
  April 03, 2014
  Hi Haroon Calculated Fields from a Report Writer report will be included.  You just need to sync the template with the report. Either use the method in this post: blogs.msdn.com/.../keeping-word-templates-in-synch-with-report-writer.aspx Or create a new template based on your current one, which will now have the new fields included. David

• Anonymous
  April 03, 2014
  Thanks David, really appreciate your help.