Plumbline Solutions - Software Consulting Services

March 2010 Newsletter

In this Edition:

Happy Spring!

The snow is finally melting and warmer weather is on its way! Spring represents new growth and opportunities. Here at Plumbline, we're busy planning for Convergence and are looking forward to seeing many of you in Atlanta next month!

If you could benefit from increased exposure for your solutions, Plumbline offers several ways to help:

Advertise in the special Convergence Edition of the Plumbline Newsletter
Join us at the Convergence Expo in the Dynamics^® SL Solutions Station booth
Let us feature your product as our "Solution of the Month" - available all year long

If we can assist you with these advertising opportunities or in other ways to help you grow your business, please let us know!

Best Regards,

Todd Michael
Director
Plumbline Consulting
(419) 581-2973

Want to know what integrated solutions are available for Dynamics SL? Stop by the Dynamics SL Solutions Station to find out! Also, be sure to attend the Convergence ISV Showcase sessions for a more insight into the solutions that have been developed.

Visit us in Booth #127 at the Convergence Expo!

We are pleased to have the following organizations represented in the Dynamics SL Solutions Station booth with us this year:

Accountable Software
Bueno Software
effectuer Software
EHTC
JAAS
Landfall Solutions
Queue Associates
Renown
SilverBrook
Unanet

Plumbline provides software engineering services for Microsoft Dynamics^® Channel Partners and Microsoft Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). We offer software development, application support, technology and business process consulting, with a focus on delivering excellence and building lasting relationships.

This tip is brought to you from the Microsoft Dynamics SL User Group. They have a blog and RSS feed if you would like to monitor the site for other great hints & tips: http://community.dynamics.com/sl/home.aspx

Dynamics SL Shortcut Tips & Tricks

Are you amazed at how quickly others navigate in Dynamics SL without ever using their mouse?

Wondering what you can do to help others improve their SL proficiency?

Pass these shortcuts along to co-workers or print a copy off to keep near your computer.

These SL Shortcuts are ones you should be using. Chances are you will learn a few new ones. I did.

These shortcuts work in Dynamics SL and other Microsoft applications:

Ctrl N	New (allows you to start a new document)
Ctrl A	Highlights all connected fields (great to use before Ctrl C)
Ctrl S	Save (***careful, fat fingering can cause Ctrl D, which is delete)
Ctrl D	Delete
Ctrl F	Finish (finish performs Save & new all at once)
Ctrl C	Copy (this works well from Project Net Profit into Excel)
Ctrl V	Paste (don't rekey info from Word or Excel)
Ctrl Home	First (takes you to the first record in that field)
Ctrl End	Last (takes you to the last record in that field)
Ctrl Z	Undo paste
Page Down	Moves you record by record to most recently created
Page Up	Moves you record by record to oldest document

Are you using your F keys? Here are some favorites: [Read More]

Business Portal incompatibility issue with Windows Server 2008

You may receive an error message similar to: GetReportOptions failed. Error info= <Server : Unknown server error >. Read more about the situation on CustomerSource and PartnerSource.

Crystal Error 536 on a 64 bit Operating System in Microsoft Dynamics SL

When running Microsoft Dynamics SL on a 64 bit operating system, you may receive Crystal Print Engine Error: 536-Error in File. Unable to connect incorrect log on parameters. View HotTopic04 to learn more.

Top 10 Downloaded Hotfixes for Microsoft Dynamics SL

Here is the list of the top 10 most downloaded hotfixes for Microsoft Dynamics SL.

How to Receive Free Technical Support at Convergence!!

Visit the Convergence Help Desk April 24th - 27th at these times for no charge assistance with your Dynamics support issues:

Saturday: 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday: 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

Convergence 2010

Will be held in Atlanta, GA April 24-27.
Network with business contacts, Microsoft experts and industry leaders and learn about new products and strategies. You can also view all sessions being offered by product line on the Convergence website.

User Group Day at Convergence

The Microsoft Dynamics SL User Group is hosting an afternoon of activity for SL customers on Saturday, April 24th and you are invited! Learn more about this event.

Dynamics® SL Solutions Station at Convergence 2010 Expo

You are invited to be part of this exciting event! For the second year running, Plumbline is hosting a booth at Convergence 2010 to bring together ISVs that have developed SL Add-On Solutions.

We hope that everyone attending Convergence will take a moment stop by Booth #127 to see what new solutions are available for Microsoft Dynamics SL!

Upcoming Partner Training being offered by Microsoft:

Microsoft Dynamics FRx TAS Series: Advanced Report Design
April 6, 2010, at 8:30 A.M. PST
Attend this 1.5 hour technical session to learn more about advanced reporting design in Microsoft Dynamics FRx.

Microsoft Dynamics SL TAS Series: Introduction to Using SQL Reporting Services
April 13, 2010, at 8:30 A.M. PST
This session provides Microsoft Dynamics SL partners with basic knowledge of SQL Reporting Services and it’s uses with Microsoft Dynamics SL.

Windows 7 in 7 Minutes - Videos for Developers
The Windows 7 in 7 Minutes training series features short, code-focused videos highlighting how to take advantage of the great new features in Windows 7. Each training video is under seven minutes long. Part 1. Part 2.

WPC

The 2010 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference will be held in Washington, D.C., from July 12 to July 16. Conference Registration opens on March 24th.

Name: Craig Mokma

Background: Craig is a Consultant with Plumbline Consulting. Prior to Plumbline, Craig worked for Solomon, Great Plains and Microsoft on the Solomon Tools Development and Microsoft Business Framework teams. His professional career began in development, support and maintenance of software for a mainframe system software company, which via acquisitions eventually ending up being Computer Associates. Craig also worked for CompuServe as a developer of web-host services software.

Likes best about consulting: The chance to work on a variety of project types and solving our customers' issues.

Hobbies: Officiating high school sports and spending time with his wife and five children.

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/
plumbline-consulting

Last chance to be part of the Dynamics SL Solutions Station at the Convergence Expo!

For those interested in increasing exposure for their solutions at Convergence, please contact us ASAP. We still have room for participation at Levels 2 & 3 - both of which provide you with pre-event advertising and having leads tracked for you. Learn more here.

Virtual Partner Briefing

This new format to prepare Partners for Convergence begins on Thursday, April 22, 2010. A full day of information is provided, including a keynote presentation and product sessions geared to energize and strengthen your efforts. Look for information from Microsoft later this month about how to join this event.

Microsoft's Spring/Summer Technical Support Schedule Update (all hours are shown in Central Time)

Mondays - Wednesdays & Fridays:
8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M.

Thursdays:
10:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M.

Exceptions:

Systems Maintenance & Enhancement	Phone Hours
Friday, February 26	8 am – 6 pm

Memorial Day
Monday, May 31	Closed

Labor Day
Monday, September 6	Closed

More details about the support schedule can be found here.

Hurry - you can still get an ad into the Convergence Edition of the Plumbline Newsletter!

Our once-a-year Convergence Issue goes out next month! Whether you want to increase your booth traffic at the Convergence 2010 Expo, or you simply want to educate the Dynamics Community about what your company offers, you can take advantage of this advertising opportunity! See more details about deadlines, ad sizes and costs.

Get information about your solution in front of hundreds of customers, partners and ISVs that subscribe to the Plumbline Newsletter.

For $500, you can have your product highlighted as the "Solution of the Month" in Plumbline's newsletter. If interested, send us an email to initiate the publication. More details about this advertising opportunity can be viewed here.

Take advantage of Plumbline's free newsletter subscriptions

If you have consultants in your organization that are not receiving the Plumbline Newsletter, please forward a copy of the newsletter to them and have them click on the "Subscribe me!" link in the email. Sign-up is also available on our website. We want to make sure we have these professionals “in the know” about the latest SL information.