Dynamics NAV

Discreet and process manufacturing difference

  • Reading time:2 mins read

When implementing NAV in manufacturing companies, I’ve sometimes heard complaints that the type of manufacturing supported in NAV doesn’t fit the customer needs.

And sometimes that’s completely true. NAV supports discreet manufacturing, and it handles it pretty well. But the things do get bumpy when you venture into process manufacturing world.

Sometimes customers or even consultants don’t really understand why this happens. It’s simple: there is a big difference between process and discreet manufacturing, and to successfully implement NAV in these two fundamentally different environments you need to understand and appreciate these differences.

Continue ReadingDiscreet and process manufacturing difference

WinDays9: see you in Opatija next week!

  • Reading time:2 mins read

imageOften you don’t even notice how quickly time goes by, except for a few milestones, which happen once a year and remind you that another one’s over.

WinDays conference is one of such milestones, and I’ve barely published a handful of posts here since the last time it was the most discussed topic in Croatian IT community. So, an incredibly short year later, here’s another one: WinDays9.

Continue ReadingWinDays9: see you in Opatija next week!

Windows 7 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV

  • Reading time:3 mins read

Windows 7 Logo“Eat your own dog food”—they say around here. If it was always this yummy, I’d do it every day.

Yesterday, I’ve got my laptop upgraded to Windows 7 Beta. I’ve loved betas ever since I became a geek. Once a geek, always a geek, and although nowadays I primarily do consulting or project management, the geek inside me pops out his head through the necktie every now and then. When new versions of products come out, he goes bananas.

Continue ReadingWindows 7 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Developer and IT Pro Help

  • Reading time:1 min read

image I’m not sure about you, but I’ve missed last week’s update to this free download from Microsoft Download Center: Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Developer and IT Pro Help.

Published in December 2008, this set of help files and guidelines contains valuable information for developers and IT professionals about development, debugging, installation, security and similar best practices.

Continue ReadingMicrosoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Developer and IT Pro Help

Tip: Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 code page validation

  • Reading time:3 mins read

image This is bazillionth time that I’ve encountered this issue, so I’ve decided to post a solution to it. If you live in a country which doesn’t have Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 localized version yet, you might have tried installing the W1 (worldwide, English, non-localized) version. Did it work out?

If you install the NAV 2009 W1 version on a system with regional settings not matching the demo database code page (in W1 it’s Latin_1_General_CS_AS) the installation goes smoothly, but the attempt at running the RoleTailored client fails.

Continue ReadingTip: Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 code page validation

Liquidity, Cost Accounting and Kitting

  • Reading time:4 mins read

It’s hardly any news for the lucky 21 countries which have had them by default for about two years, but for other 18 which haven’t, there is an alarmingly low awareness about three interesting NAV functionalities: Liquidity, Cost Accounting and Kitting.

These three have been named Local Functionality, which means they are a part of a localized version in some of the countries. For other countries, this functionality is not available by default, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be licensed or implemented for customers in other countries as well.

Continue ReadingLiquidity, Cost Accounting and Kitting

Natural selection: death of dataports

  • Reading time:3 mins read

image It’s the survival of the fittest game, that stuff that happened to the dataports. You know dataports? That class of NAV objects that’s used to move data back and forth in text format?

It’s really funny what has been going on with them lately. They evolved, then degenerated. Today, they are an endangered species. A release or two, and they might be gone for good. Just like dinosaurs.

Continue ReadingNatural selection: death of dataports

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Test Drive

  • Reading time:3 mins read

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009

Many people have asked me about availability of a downloadable Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 demo. Unless you are an existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV customer on a support plan, or a Microsoft Dynamics partner, you can’t download a demo version from a public Microsoft web site.

You can download your copy from a community web site though – check the links at the bottom of this post. Be advised that some of the downloads are larger than a gigabyte, which might not be too download friendly.

So, if you can’t download the demo, there is still a great option for trying Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009: go to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Test Drive website at http://www.dynamicsnavtestdrive.com/ and access the online virtual environment where you can try Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 for free.

Continue ReadingMicrosoft Dynamics NAV 2009 Test Drive

Printing NAV reports in different languages

  • Reading time:5 mins read

Last week I delivered the C/SIDE Development course for partner community in Zagreb. As always, questions abound afterwards. Today, I’ve got a question from an attendee: “What’s the best way to print a report in multiple languages?”.

Up front: this is NOT a technical post. It IS about technical solution, but it is primarily about design, usability, standards and best practices. I’ll plain ignore the fact that it does use a few C/SIDE or C/AL references, so please, do likewise 😉

(I said this because I kind of swore not to C/AL around this blog anymore, but again – sometimes I just have to do it.)

Continue ReadingPrinting NAV reports in different languages