Microsoft Great Plainsdynamics Gp Upgrade Overview

Writen by Andrew Karasev

We want to present you new version of this article, where we are stating old and giving you highlights on new features. This article, written in question/answer/FAQ style to give IT Director/Controller balanced top level information on Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains/Dynamics GP upgrade. If you have Microsoft Great Plains as main accounting and ERP system you need to know some technical details on Great Plains version upgrade and what is going on behind the scenes, which options do you have in case of Dexterity, VBA, SQL customizations, ctree/Pervasive migration to MS SQL 2005-2000/MSDE. As of right now it is reasonable to upgrade to Microsoft Great Plains 9.0

Is upgrade required? Not actually, but you have to consider these factors • Technical Support discontinuation - the old version may not be supported - currently if you are on version 6.0 - support is already discontinued. You can not have Microsoft Business Solutions help you, but obviously you have MBS partners who can still help you. If you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL, then your support expires December, 31 2004. • Tax Updates/Magnetic media expiration - if you have US Payroll module and depend on it with W2 and other forms - you must stay with the version, which is supported and has tax updates. If you are on Ctree or Pervasive SQL - then you will not have tax updates for these platforms at the end of 2004 and your W2s maybe inaccurate. If you have a lot of employees - you may have issues with government. • Following the Technology and Microsoft rules - Microsoft wants you to be on the newest platform and provides you the best support when you follow this rule • If you do have heavy customization - we recommend you to skip one version, for example if you are on version 8.0 - do not upgrade to 9.0 and wait for the next version

What is the upgrade technology? Upgrade has server and client sides. • Server side - upgrade converts tables from old format to the new one. In general words - Microsoft Business Solutions developers may change table structure, append additional fields to add new functionality, things like that. Upgrade copies the table with changes to temporary table, then drops original table, recreates it with new structure and copies all the data from temp table to the newly created one. • Workstation side - workstation is written in Great Plains Dexterity and has Dynamics.exe - engine and DYNAMICS.DIC - dictionary. These two plus all the additional files will be replaced with the new ones. Other dictionaries, such us REPORTS.DIC and FORMS.DIC should be also upgraded and upgrade will try to deal with them automatically. In some cases modified reports (in REPORTS.DIC) could not be upgraded and need to be recreated in the new version. What is customization upgrade? You should consider different types of customizations: Dexterity, VBA/Modifier, SQL, ReportWriter, Crystal Reports • SQL - you may have some stored procs for data integration, EDI or the like - if the addressed tables will be changed in the new version then you need to analyze your SQL code. The good news is - Microsoft Business Solution doesn't make a lot of changes since version 7.0, because Microsoft is now trying to merge the products it owns: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and Axapta - and so has different priorities • Crystal Reports - the nice thing about Crystal Report - it doesn't need to be upgraded (if the fields in the tables exist in the new version - which is usually true statement) • MS SQL Server Reporting Services. We assume that if you upgrade from version 8.0 to 9.0 – you don't have these new Microsoft Dynamics GP reports yet. • Dexterity Customization - being very short - Dexterity may have so called Custom Forms - these do not need upgrade - they should work as is. Then Dexterity may alter existing Great Plains forms (so-called Alternate Great Plains forms) - in this case Dexterity customization should be redone for these forms/screens. Plus additional consideration should be given to Dexterity triggers, shadow tables, etc. • VBA/Modifier customization - Modifier allows you to modify existing Great Plains windows - it creates so called modified Great Plains windows, stored in FORMS.DIC. Usually modification is placing new buttons or fields, which in turn will be given VBA scripts (stored in DYNAMICS.VBA). VBA scripts may call something nice, like Crystal Report, or have some data access logic. Usually the old version of DYNAMICS.VBA workds with the new version. You may need to rearrange buttons on the modified form. • ReportWriter - MBS doesn't change tables, but it keeps changing Dexterity formulas used in ReportWriter original reports - this is the problem in so-called Modified Reports upgrade - usually you have these reports modified: SOP Blank Invoice form, SOP Blank Picking ticket, etc. If report can not be upgraded - it should be redone in the new version with some exceptions. Third-party modules? Your Great Plains may have so-called third party modules: Mekorma, Kampdata, Horizon light manufacturing, Wennsoft, Avalara, Truepay, Trinity, Intellisol to name a few Third party modules may have their own utility for upgrade. You just need to know that your third-party is ready for the new Great Plains version - if not - you just wait and stay on the old version.

Migration from Ctree/Pervasive.SQL 2000 to MS SQL/MSDE. We give you this information just in case of outdated version being used. Support of Microsoft Great Plains 7.5 and prior version on Ctree/Pervaisive was terminated in December 2004. MBS has migration tool. You need first to install Great Plains on SQL Server with exactly the same account/segments structure and then install migration tool (it is Dexterity chunk) on your ctree/Pervasive workstation - then, when you integrate the chunk - you will map it to target SQL-based Great Plains Company, select all system and company tables, click the button and it will move all your tables one-by-one. In the case when your Great Plains ctree/Pervasive has third parties - you need to check if the vendor has migration tool - otherwise you have to do manual move, use SQL Linked server to your legacy data

Do I need consultant? It is probably good idea to have consultant to do the upgrade. We strongly recommend you to use consultant in the following cases • You don't have support - in this case you have to select your Microsoft Business Solutions Partner and pay for the annual support/enhancement plan - you will get new registration key and will be ready for the upgrade • Your Great Plains has more than 20 users and you have to have upgrade done over the weekend - if it fails - you have business problems • You are doing migration from Pervasive/Ctree to Microsoft SQL Server/MSDE, especially when you have third-parties without migration tools • You have Dexterity customization • You have a lot or ReportWriter Modified Great Plains Reports • You have old version of Great Plains: Dynamics or eEnterprise 6.0 or prior - in this case you can not appeal to Microsoft Technical Support - it is discontinued

Happy implementing, customizing and modifying! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) –, Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Navision, Axapta MS CRM, SAP Business One, Oracle Financials and IBM Lotus Domino Partner, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Hospitality, Banking & Finance, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally. We are serving USA Nationwide: CA, IL, NY, FL, AZ, CO, TX, WI, WA, MI, MA, MO, LA, NM, MN, Europe: Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Middle East (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, OAE, Bahrain), Asia: China, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, South & Central America: Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Chili, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico

Dashboard Widgets For Windows

Writen by Samsul Zamzuri Abu Bakar

For a windows user like me, just can watch with envy the new eye candy features in Mac OS X and wondering how I can have the same feature on my belove windows.

Before Apple introduce dashboard in their latest Mac OS X, most of mac users already can have widget on their desktop using Konfabulator by Pixoria Inc. "Konfabulator is a JavaScript runtime engine for Windows and Mac OS X that lets you run little files called Widgets that can do pretty much whatever you want them to. Widgets can be alarm clocks, calculators, can tell you your WiFi signal strength, will fetch the latest stock quotes for your preferred symbols, and even give your current local weather."

And on November 2004, Pixoria has released Konfabulator 1.8 for both Mac and Windows platform and its instantly bringing its renowned OS X-based functions (and widgets!) to the ubiquitous Windows platform. There is a small community in windows user that love to change their default Windows look to Mac OS X and with the availabilty of Konfabulator to run widgets, some of the talented developers has started porting Tiger Dashboard to run on windows using Konfabulator engine and the results is tremendous.

And until today, quite a number of Dashboard Widgets has being ported to run on windows using Konfabulator and other widget engine like Avedesk, Kapsules, and Stardock DesktopX.

But most of the widgets, has being ported to run on Konfabulator because the flexibility of Konfabulator engine to run various kind widgets, just like Tiger Dashboard. Listed below, few popular widgets that has being ported to windows.

1. Dashboard Weather

Here is my first Konfabulator Widget. After seeing a preview of Tiger (particularly Dashboard), reading about a alternative for Windows (Konfabulator) and seeing the great work of Saladin and Ghostwalker, I decided to make my own contribution. So here it is, the konfab clone of the weather widget.

2. World Clock

World Clock Dashboard for Konfabulator. Based on the Konfabulator WorldClock Pro by Ricky.

3. Sticky Notes

Konfabulator clone of the Dashboard stickies with extras

You can get more Dashboard Widgets for windows at http://www.osx-e.com/downloads/dashboard/

Samsul Zamzuri Abu Bakar, a.k.a Alang, is a founder/owner of osx-e.com, a site dedicated to windows to mac emulation, that has been around for 2 years.

Ssl Certificateswhat They Are

Writen by Deepak Khanna

There is hardly any doubt that the Internet has successfully created new opportunities for e-commerce. However, that expansion has also attracted cyber criminals. This industry is always on the threshold of new threats from hackers. This is where a fraudulent web site impersonating a legitimate business attempts to woo unsuspecting visitors into divulging personal information. Until now we don't have a solution of this problem, but now we have a wonderful solution in shape of a Secure Sockets Layer.

Secure Sockets Layer which is also known as "SSL certificates" is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This digital certificate is used with the most popular security protocol on the Internet. Without this encryption, packets of data travel networks in full view. Anyone can see the data and manipulate it to imitate other users.

Today maximum e – commerce sites are using this digital certificates to keep secure their customers valuable information. That's why when we make a purchase on the Web and notice the closed lock icon at the bottom of our browser or the HTTPS:// prefix in the URL, it means now all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private and integral.

Today gaining the trust of online customers is vital for the success of any e-commerce based business. Now any web server company can enable "SSL Certificates" in their web server and secure their data by using four simple steps. These steps are:

1) Obtain SSL Certificate(s),

2) Produce a Certificate Signing Request,

3) Register for a SSL server certificate,

4) Establish the SSL server certificates.

Some time many companies find problem to manage their multiple sub domains security. For them there is another certificate is present which manage secure multiple websites with a single certificate. We call this wildcard certificate. This certificate is a cost effective and well-organized way of securing multiple sub domains without the need to manage multiple certificates. You may get ssl certificates, digital certificates, and verisign certificates from places like http://www.ssl.com , and other sites on the net.

When VeriSign issues an SSL Certificate it acts as a Certification Authority (CA). It digitally signs each certificates. Each browser contains a list of Certification Authorities to be trusted. When the SSL handshake occurs, the browser verifies that the server certificate was issued by a trusted CA.

Deepak http://www.ssl.com

Windows Vista What To Look Forward To

Writen by Richard Callaby

Perhaps you have heard about the next new version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista? The Vista operating system has many promises to one great, stable and dynamic operating system. Not only will this operating system have the .Net framework built into the core of the operating system it will also feature some other key communications, user interface and security breakthroughs.

For instance Vista will utilize the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which will greatly increase the aesthetic value of each application. Perhaps you may be familiar with a website developed with Flash animation software. Now picture the same type of functionality and aesthetics however instead of being restricted to a website format having the freedom to develop the interface so it is a true Windows application. Further, this WPF will allow for much easier and faster deployments of these applications through the use of "one click deployment" technology. If you are familiar with the updater application block and the BITS service then you are already familiar with innovation. However, instead of being some cumbersome application block you will be able to easily deploy these applications with just a few clicks from your development environment.

Secondly the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) will provide a secure and reliable messaging platform which will allow for a new era in the creativity of application developers. This WCF will bring in a new time when true service oriented applications will become commonplace. This will make it much easier to connect businesses to each other and their customers.

The in built security mechanisms will make for a much more secure platform as well. Since this operating system is built around the .Net framework Code Access Security will be much easier to enforce and maintain. Code access security is when the author of the program can specify exactly what the program is allowed to do based upon the role of the user who is accessing the software. This will allow for a much finer grained security mechanism which will make software much more trustworthy by the end user.

Another feature of Vista is called SuperFetch. SuperFetch seems to be a caching mechanism for frequently used files so that the end user experiences fast response times and is not hindered by the background tasks that the operating system is performing. This will greatly speed up and perhaps cause less system crashes thereby making the OS much more stable.

One other great feature of Vista is its use of the sidebar and gadgets. Gadgets are small programs that either you or someone else has created that performs some frequently used task such as viewing the latest weather or traffic information from your desktop. Now this might seem to be a small feature but I am sure the general public will eat this feature up and it is one place where some new innovative software inventions might take place. It might even make managing your life that much easier.

Perhaps the best feature of Vista is its new ability to easily search through and organize your files for later retrieval. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to search my own hard drive for a file that I knew I created but could not remember where I stored it.

Let's face it Windows XP and Windows 2000 are by now old fashioned. The public needs a new operating system simply because the other's are beginning to show their age. It is time for an upgrade.

Richard Callaby is a Independent Computer Consultant, Writer, Author, Speaker and Instructor. More articles from this author can be reached at his blog at http://blog.richard-callaby.net

Web Based School Management Softwaresystem

Writen by Pradhyumna Singh

With the expansion of web technology, many schools have come forward to make use of the mighty web to expand the education approach and widen the effectiveness of education system. During this many of us have encountered various challenges. In this article we are giving tips on line schooling.

Schooling round the clock around the globe... exciting but what to do for it. The first question is can it work online? It is important to understand our infrastructure and the users before we finalize anything on this account. For some countries the idea of online schooling may work with fully online system but with most countries where Internet facility is still at a growing phase the idea may end up, is a dream far off. For this the concept of an intranet based system that works offline and can synchronize with online interface is something that works.

With the inception of the online + offline system we have all the economy and speed of an offline system and approach of an online system.

1. The system is available offline so works with the speed of your LAN. So quite practical in a school where the number of transactions are very high.

2. Offline availability of system eliminates the requirement of a 24hrs dedicated internet connection.

3. The online system is an interface to the outside world. So without redundancy we have everything shared in web. Secure and personalized.

4. Web based school management systems gives parents access to the required information without much involvement of money and time.

5. With a web based school management software we can organize an effective parent interaction system for better relationship and knowledge sharing with them.

I work for Dreamteam Network Solutions (P) Ltd., and I am in charge of promotions. Our company develops softwares for schools, colleges and universities. For a complete and detailed description of our Company please visit http://www.dreamteam.co.in and http://www.literom.net

Maintaining My Computer

Writen by Donnie Edge

Using a computer at home and work have almost become a requirement for most people.

The internet has changed the way that people do almost everything from online purchasing to gathering information.

Unfortunately, every great invention also has its problems. In my opinion, the biggest problems with the internet involve the continued growth of viruses and spyware.

As the internet and the technology that drives it have increased, the problems involving viruses and spyware have also increased.

Viruses used to be the main problem related to the internet. While the majority of viruses are not terribly destructive, they can be both annoying and somewhat troubling to most computer users. Spyware has increased tremendously in the last few years and seems be getting worse and more prevalent by the day.

Fortunately, you can do something about both viruses and spyware. The best way to avoid viruses and spyware is to take action to prevent or remove the viruses or spyware before they become a problem.

There are free antivirus and spyware removers that you can download from the internet. I personally recommend AVG Free and Avast for the antivirus and Spybot and Adaware SE for the spyware removal programs. All of the programs are free for the home user.

One thing to keep in mind is that antivirus and spyware programs need to be updated in order for them to do a good job. This seems to be a problem for some computer users, although most programs do a good job of making the updating as easy as possible.

You really need to look at your computer like your car. Neither will run forever if you don't do some routine maintenance.

Just remember, a computer that is on the internet without antivirus and spyware software is like a car that never has its oil changed. It might run, but it won't run very well.

More information about viruses and spyware can be found on my website www.ramdge.com.

Donnie Edge Ram Computer Systems www.ramdge.com

Certified Payroll Software

Writen by Jennifer Bailey

Certified payroll software is a computer program that makes certified payroll reports, statements of compliance, "no work performed" payrolls and general or custom-designed plan benefit reports. Certified payrolls are payrolls generated under Davis-Bacon act. It requires the submission of weekly payroll report beginning with the first week that a company works on a project and for every week there after, till the work completed. These payroll reports are to be signed and must have certificate that the information given in it are true and correct.

The major certified payroll reporting forms used are 'United States Department of Labor form WH-347 Payroll Certification' and form 'WH-348 Statement of Compliance.' Although most states follow these forms, some states require specialized forms, which are mostly derived from these forms. The companies are required to submit "no work performed" payrolls whenever there is a temporary break in work. Certified payroll software programs automate all these tasks by generating completed payroll reporting forms which are ready to be signed and mailed. Most certified payroll software programs read data directly from QuickBooks company file. So copying or re-entering of data is not required.

The payroll report generated by certified payroll software programs must produce information about the following. Project and contractor/subcontractor information with address, employee information with name, address and social security number of each employee, withholding exemptions, employee work classification, hours worked with date, total hours worked by employee, rate of pay/cash fringes, gross amount earned on this job/all jobs, deductions and net wages paid for week.

Certified payroll software program saves time, improves accuracy and minimizes double data entry and other input complaints due to human errors. When purchasing a certified payroll software it should be noted that it deals with the payroll forms of your state. The cost of certified payroll software is defined by its use in the particular field and the number of employees working and the company providing it. Every contractor and subcontractor is required to keep their own certified payroll reports and other basic records which are inputted to certified payroll software programs for at least 3 years after the project is completed.

Payroll Software provides detailed information on Payroll Software, Payroll Accounting Software, Free Payroll Software, Payroll Time Clock Software and more. Payroll Software is affiliated with Recruiting Database Software.

The Best Keylogging Softwarewhich Program To Buy

Writen by Mike Budra

Whether you want it or not, but one day you realize that the problems you have with your computer can only be solved by watching who uses the computer and for what. You can face this problem at home (what do your children do with the computer when you are away?) or at the office (do your employees devote all their time to work?). Of course, you have neither time nor desire to hide and find it all out. Is there a way out? Yes, the only way out is to install a program that thoroughly everything that is done with the computer. This spy program can not only keep track of users' actions, but also carefully hide itself from inquisitive eyes so that it can be seen neither in the list of running services nor among running programs. Antivirus programs do not detect it as well.

What does the program monitor and how? It logs all keystrokes and the case of each typed character. It also saves screenshots not for each window, but at certain intervals. The program logs when programs are started and closed and monitors the clipboard. Very often one look at a screenshot gives more information than looking through logged keystrokes.

With this program you can find out if your significant other is cheating/flirting in email or chat rooms. You can find out what websites your children are visiting. You can learn what others are writing in their email's and which programs are being used. You can view instant messenger conversations and know when the computer is in use. You will also be able to recieve emails with information in real time as it happens.

To get the latest and most powerful stealth computer monitoring spy software available, please visit Supreme Spy Online .

Put a stop to worrying about who is doing what on the computer. Got doubts of what the spouse is doing? Wonder what the kids are up to? Wondering what your employees are doing while you aren't around? Put a stop to all of the worries and get Supreme Spy. You can get a free trial version at Supreme Spy Online

On Selecting A Suitable Crm Solution For Your Small Business

Writen by Perry Norgarb

Your buddy at the barbecue tells you how the new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software which they recently installed at their company has revolutionized their business.

He waxes lyrical about no more sales leads slipping through the cracks; a much higher close rate on sales inquiries; more precise and cost effective marketing campaigns; improved productivity and customer service levels; vastly improved reporting and so on.

Great! Sounds just like what the doctor ordered for your company. You have been getting by using Microsoft Outlook to manage your database of sales prospects, follow-ups, notes, profiles etc. but it's starting to prove woefully inadequate.

Only problem is his business is in an entirely different industry sector to yours, with a much bigger IT budget to boot. Their CRM solution seems like an unattainable dream for your small business.

So now what? A quick search for CRM on Google returns 26,600,000 results! Whoa! So you narrow your search query to Small Business CRM only to get 6,260,000 results. You then put "Small Business CRM" in quotation marks which yields 29,300 results. But now the fun really starts..

You realise there are hundreds of CRM, Contact Management, Sales Force Automation and other Sales Tracking software tools to choose from. Each of these tools sports a dizzying array of features, some of which won't apply to your business.

To confuse matters even further, you see some of these applications are Web Based CRM (sometimes referred to as Hosted CRM), or Open Source CRM. Others are the more traditional CRM software tools you are already familiar with. Yet others are embedded within Microsoft Outlook, but added a CRM component.

Many CRM packages now cater for certain industries. That is, these software solutions may have been customized, or had specific add-on's developed, for specific industries. One of these tailored solutions might be suitable for your small business.

Which of these CRM apps should you download to evaluate? How should you evaluate them?

Many at this point realize that they need a more thorough evaluation of their requirements to enable them to put together a Request For Information (RFI) or Request For Proposal (RFP). This will be of tremendous benefit if they decide to call on the services of a CRM consultant to fast track the important decision of selecting and implementing a tailored CRM solution suitable for smaller businesses.

This should be your kicking-off point. Sit down with all your staff and co-operatively draw up a list of all your specifications. Keep it broad - you can always narrow down the options later. And be sure to involve your staff - ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute.

From this informed position you are far more able to choose the correct CRM solution for your small business and will see marked improvements in productivity levels and sales. After all what has not been measured, remains undefined. What is undefined cannot be improved. There are specific criteria that you and your CRM consultant need to fulfil. Build your wish list, meld it with reality and build it into your business.

Perry Norgarb has specialized in CRM solutions for small businesses over the last 15 years.

Contact him or find out more about CRM, Contact Management and other Sales Tracking software tips and solutions for small businesses at: http://www.smallbizcrm.com

You are free to re-publish this article as long as this bio box and copyright remain intact and links live. © 08 September, 2005.

Healthcare Preventive Maintenance Software

Writen by Jennifer Bailey

Healthcare facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and biomedical laboratories can benefit greatly if up to date CMMS software is used. Healthcare CMMS programs will help with the maintenance of the building, alerting workers when items such as automatic doors, light fixtures, and plumbing structures are due for checkups.

Another invaluable function that they provide is to help keep track of the condition of various instruments in the facilities. Healthcare organizations deal with several kinds of expensive equipment, such as X-ray machines, adjustable hospital beds, sterilized tools, one-use disposable needles, and countless others. It is important to keep track of the condition of all this equipment, and modern healthcare preventive maintenance software can do just that. Supervisors can keep computerized records of when surgical equipment needs to be sterilized, when certain instruments need to be updated, and when supplies for disposables are running low.

One more important function of healthcare CMMS programs is to keep track of valuable medicines and chemicals. Since many types of medicine are classified as controlled substances due to their addictive nature, it is vital for the healthcare facility to be able to account for how much they have and where it is. This inventory maintenance is often done by an employee physically counting the number of pills or amount of liquid present and then recording it. This process is long, tedious, and has a high potential for error. Healthcare preventive maintenance software programs can keep track of where controlled substances are stored, how much is present, who has access to them, and when they are administered. This function is especially vital for biomedical facilities that experiment with and produce many different types of medicines and chemicals.

Healthcare preventive maintenance software can save healthcare workers much time and effort in their day-to-day jobs. Indeed, facilities can be maintained with a greater degree of accuracy and efficiency when healthcare CMMS is used.

Preventive Maintenance Software Info features detailed information on preventive maintenance software for health care and correctional institutions, computer hardware, and personal assets, as well as reviews of preventive maintenance software companies. Preventive Maintenance Software Info is the sister site of Fleet Maintenance Software Web.

Best Practices In Offshore Software Development

Writen by John Parker

A Software Model that emphasizes on global delivery of quality software build by talented pool of professionals at an economical cost from a development center that is located in a foreign land is Offshore Software Development.

The burgeoning competition to be branded as the Quality Offshore Software Development Company has signaled the requirement to implement the best of the resources and innovative strategies. After a jerk of the start-up phase, HyTech Professionals has implemented the approach that encompasses the minutest details, which had been or may have been easily overlooked by the nascent businesses to win the client interest. Clearly, the enticing feature of Outsourcing is cost savings without compromising on quality. To achieve this objective, the initiative should begin with the Best possible approach by the offshore client and the Software vendor.

Huge cost savings, time optimization and talented technocrats in a minimal risk environment are often accompanied by some challenges such as communication gaps, decreased visibility to project status, unexpected spikes in budget allocation and cultural hindrances.

The opening channel to venture in Software Offshore Development is the Smooth flow of communication between the offshore client and the vendor. A constructive dialogue between the two sides is not limited to verbal communication, but is aggressively pursued in writing, meetings and conferences.

Seamless communication can be reinforced by working on a global clock, which is accomplished by implementing work-schedules with a time overlap between the software offshore client and the vendor. Though, it may be expected that the offshore vendor works in accordance with the client suitability. Local presence of the offshore vendor can be of an added privilege to the client, as it guarantees direct and constant interfacing. The flexibility and ease to approach the offshore vendor strengthens the client confidence.

Another factor that should be taken care of is the Budget forecast for the project. The Technical and Business Analysts should take into consideration the following:

• The vendor Rates: what is more suitable to the project requirement. Should the accepted rates be "Per Project", "per Hour", "per Month" etc?

• The Risks involved in accomplishing the task

• Is the quality being compromised for an attractive price?

• See through any hidden costs. For example: Change or modification in the Client specification, Re-doing of any deliverable.

• The Offshore Vendor Resource matrix that cover the attributes required by the Client

Once the offshore client is confident that the terms of engagement are clear, both the Teams coordinate the efforts and work on the project. The Engagement Model may be transparent to win the client interest and hence the one that adds value to the relationship.

To foster the nascent relation between the offshore client and the software vendor, it is imperative that the offshore vendor architects the design such that which ensures an uninterrupted work-flow. Implementing a development environment that is a replication of the offshore client environment serves as a conduit to smooth accomplishment of tasks.

Apart from setting up an extension of the Client backdrop, the teams engaged from either side should delegate their tasks through a single point of contact to eliminate any ambiguities that could arise due to multiple interfacing channels. All the tasks relayed between the Offshore and the Domestic teams should be anchored on close communication and active follow up.

How much ever one decides to implement an error-free design, some issues or unpredictable lags can reap up and slow down the work-process. Such issues if handled with a mutual consensus and cooperation from both the parties can ramp up the process to successfully achieve the target.

In conclusion, a summary of the steps for the best practice in Offshore Software Development are:

1. Implement a Transparent Model that is customer-centric

2. Conduct a proper survey to shortlist the best suitable vendor for the project

3. Finalize the contract that explicitly defines the Financial terms and states Service Level Agreement

4. Fragment the Software Lifecycle in phases- from Inception to Delivery

5. Develop and deploy the accomplished tasks in a close collaboration with the Offshore Client.

Source: http://www.hytechpro.com/best_practices_in_offshore_software_development.html

About The Author
John Parker
This article is powered by A-1 Technology, an offshore outsourcing company

Partitioning Formatting And Reinstalling In Windows 98

Writen by Ashish Jain

Formatting and reinstalling windows 98 is very easy if you have the right know-how.

This article will discuss how to format, partition and reinstall windows 98 on your PC.

Before going ahead and doing this, it is important to be comfortable with the terms format, partition and file systems.

Formatting creates magnetic markers, which define sectors where the data is stored.

Basically you might want to format your hard drive if you are experiencing constant problems with your operating system. Another reason could be to clean out the registry, which gets clogged up over time by installing programs (and spy ware and third party software which get installed without your knowledge).

It's also a good idea to format your hard drive if you are upgrading to a new operating system.

Partitioning is the process of dividing the space available on the hard disk into blocks. One reason for partitioning is that it helps in organising the data.

I.e. lets say you have an 80 GB hard disk drive. You can partition it to organize data into various categories like a drive for your Windows and system files and for your personal work. You can then have another separate drive for storing the rest of your programs.

You can even have one more for storing all your multimedia files, and maybe even one for storing backups of all your important files.

Before going ahead and partitioning a drive it is important to understand how partitions actually work.

There are two kinds of partitions: primary DOS and extended DOS, and you can create logical DOS partitions within the extended partitions.

The primary partition is your active partition and this is from where your computer boots, sort of like a system partition.

The extended partition is a placeholder where you can create all the other logical partitions.

File System is basically the way that files are stored on your computer. Windows 98 supports two kinds of file systems: File Allocation Table 16 (FAT 16) and file Allocation Table (FAT 32).

FAT 16 can support a drive of maximum 2 GB in size. For example, if you have an 8 GB hard disk, then you can have 4 drives of 2 GB each.

FAT 32 on the other hand can support a drive of up to 2 Terabytes in size.

Before actually going ahead and doing the reinstall it is advisable to back up any and all of your data and device drivers as a format will wipe out all your data on the drive.

There are two ways of backing up your data and device drivers:

* Save them in a storage media like floppy drivers, CD's, zip disks etc.

* If you have a partitioned hard disk and you do not plan to format a particular drive then back up all your data there.

After performing your backups it's time to get down to formatting and partitioning (if you want to do that as well) your hard drive.

First you need to decide on a few things:

* Do you wish to partition you hard drive or change the way it is partitioned currently? * The file system you want to use. Windows 98 support two file systems FAT 16 and FAT 32.

To format your PC and reinstall windows 98 you need to do the following:

1. Make sure that you have the start up disk that came along with your operating system CD. You can also make a start up disk by going to the Control Panel> Add/Remove Programs> Create Start up Disk, click on the button and insert a floppy in your floppy drive.

2. Eject the floppy disk after the start up disk has been created.

3. Turn off your computer.

4. Insert the start up disk in your floppy drive.

5. Restart your computer.

6. Instead of booting from the hard disk, your computer will now boot from the floppy and a menu will appear.

7. From the menu select "Start without CD-ROM support."

8. After the files are loaded and you are returned to the prompt "A:/" type FDISK

9. The FDISK tool is loaded and allows you to delete the existing DOS partition.

10. Choose the file system you want to use.

11. Delete the existing DOS partition by following the prompts on screen. (Option 3))

12. After you have deleted the partition press the 'Esc' key to return to the main menu.

13. Now you need to create a new DOS partition.

14. Type in FDISK again and go through the various steps to create a new DOS primary partition (Option 1)). Assign it all the space available (100%).

15. Exit FDISK and reboot system.

16. Now you need to format your drive, so type in FORMAT Driveletter: (where Driveletter is the letter of your hard disk, C: by default)

17. After the format switch over to your CD ROM, by typing in the drive letter for the CD ROM drive (D: by default) and type in setup.exe to begin the installation of windows 98.

Creating extended and logical DOS partitions

Follow steps 1 to 14

Now in order to create other extended and logical DOS partitions make sure that you have not assigned all the space to the primary partition. Decide beforehand how much space you want to allocate to the primary partition.

14.1.Instead of exiting FDISK, re enter the FDISK options menu and select the option to create Extended DOS partition (Option 1)) and assign it the rest of the space that is still unallocated and follow the various prompts on screen to create the extended partition.

14.2 Again re enter the FDISK menu. This time select the option to create logical DOS partitions and assign space to it.

14.3 Follow the above step in order to create more logical drives.

Follow step 15 and 16

16.1 Format all your other drives by using the format command i.e. FORMAT Driveletter:

Follow step 17 in order to in install windows 98.

Deleting existing extended partitions and creating new ones

If you are not happy with the way your hard disk is currently partitioned you can also delete the existing partitions and create new ones.

Follow steps 1 to 11

11.1 Instead of exiting, re enter the menu and delete the rest of the partitions (Option 3).

Follow steps 12 to 17

Ashish Jain
http://www.m6.net
Ashish is an integral member of the M6.Net Web helpers team, hoping to share some of his knowledge with the internet populace.

Collaboration Software Index Of Collaboration Software Technologies

Writen by Joe Miller

Collaboration Software

Collaboration Software, also known as group collaboration software or groupware, is software which allows cooperation on a business document between multiple parties on multiple computers. Collaboration software also allows the integration and merging of document changes and versions on a business document.

There are two types of collaboration software: IT centered and low IT involvement. IT-centered collaboration software, like many document and content management platforms, requires new IT infrastructure, training, maintenance and support. Low IT involved collaboration software communicates collaborative information to all parties involved using the existing IT infrastructure and with little or no training and maintenance, making open collaborative software more diverse and less expensive. This type of collaboration software also manages the ad hoc processes of business collaboration, assisting businesses even when the workload and deadlines create a hectic and disorganized schedule.

This article presents an index of collaboration software technologies to assist businesses in finding collaboration software that works for them. Any given internet search on "groupware" or "collaboration software" will yield millions of results. Knowing what technologies to look for will help whittle down the results to a groupware that works the way businesses work.

literally threads together multiple drafts of a document by placing a tag in the metadata of the document. Each time the document is edited or changed, the changes are tracked. When it comes time to merge versions of the document into the final draft, each version will be accounted for. In addition, those who work on the document will know what changes were made, when they were made, and where and by whom the drafts were saved.

Digital Signature is a signature appended to e-mails sent back and forth with draft attachments during the collaboration process that informs the user which draft it is and by whom it was saved. Finding the latest version of a document is very simple to track.

Version History ties everything together by presenting a visual flowchart outlining the "genealogy" of the document. Each draft is accounted for, and the who, what, when, where, and why of the document and its drafts are always answered.

Merge is usually the final and most difficult step of document collaboration. However, adopting the right collaboration software simplifies this process by allowing you to compare the changes in a document, even when those changes are saved in different locations or in your email account. Merging documents is often synonymous with sifting through document chaos, but collaboration software suites which can manage ad hoc business collaboration simplify the tracking and merging of document drafts.

Conclusion

Businesses move quickly, and collaboration software needs to be able to keep up. Business collaboration can be a messy ad hoc process, and collaboration software needs to be able to manage it. Merging business documents can be confusing and chaotic, and collaboration software needs to be able to simplify it. Digital Thread Technology, Digital Signature, and Version History are technologies that have combined to find a way to work the way businesses do.

Joe Miller is an author of informational articles and online advertisements on business, technology, and health. Information on collaboration software is available at NextPage.com.

Project Management Software

Writen by Thomas Morva

The great demand for project management has paved the way for the influx of project managers, some of whom may not really be credible or efficient. This demand may also be the reason behind the now widespread availability of project management software.

Project management software is actually a term covering many types of software developed to make project management easier through programs on scheduling, resource allocation, communication and documentation. These means are definitely an effective way of dealing with the tasks that come with project management.

Project Management Software Tasks

Scheduling is one of the most basic tasks involved in successful project management since it is vital for projects to come up with schedules at various points. Project management software makes scheduling easier since it aids in the proper scheduling which may include delegating tasks to whom and the resources involved for each task. Aside from scheduling, software scheduling also arranges tasks to meet deadlines considering all the requirements per task.

Project managing software is also valuable in providing information to each member of the team which may include task lists, allocation schemes, project stages overview and completion periods and even progress reports. In a nutshell, project management software are designed to make project management easier and even more cost-efficient. They are interactive and responsive tools made that runs on the computer of either a single user or may be shared by a group of project managers. Personal project management applications are commonly used to handle lifestyle or home projects. While collaborative applications are used by multiple users and are constantly updated based on the tasks set by the project managers.

Also, project management software may be used as a Web application and may be easily accessed via the Internet. This makes the applications available to many users simultaneously.

The most common criticism of project management software is its complexity in terms of learning how to use it and a lot believe that they can achieve even better results in using the simpler pen-and-paper planning.

Project Management provides detailed information on Project Management, Project Management Software, Project Management Training, Project Management Consulting and more. Project Management is affiliated with Service Management Software.

Knowledge Management Software

Writen by Kristy Annely

Knowledge management comes with its own challenges, such as identifying information that meet the "valuable" criteria. Not all information can be classified as knowledge, nor can all knowledge be considered valuable. Put simply, the secret is to separate the wheat from the chaff.

People are at the core of what knowledge management is all about. It is directly related to people's knowledge and how that knowledge can support business and organizational goals. It draws heavily on human creativity, innovation, motivation, intuition, ideas and competence. It is not technology-based, although technology is used to support knowledge management drives.

Knowledge management is very organized and goal-oriented, and has a direct link to the strategic goals of the business. It employs knowledge that is relevant, meaningful and practical. Knowledge management is not static but ongoing, not the least because knowledge keeps changing and needs to be updated, revised and sometimes done away with.

If a business needs an application to create, manage and share business knowledge, or if it needs to manage its business intelligence more efficiently, then knowledge management software may be just the thing for that business. Although knowledge sharing is a relatively old concept, it is only now that it is becoming a formalized business practice. Knowledge management software assists the process of managing and propping up the storehouse of knowledge by accessing human and organizational capital.

Knowledge management software uses an organization's intellectual capital to present an effective way to excavate, manage and share these resources. Knowledge management software also allows for the efficient management of self-service customer support, FAQ management, help desk knowledge foundation, document and project management. This software supports the sharing of the best practices in business, directing educated business decisions, and can also serve as the principal means of internal communication.

Some of the benefits of using knowledge management software include greater employee efficiency and productivity, improved customer satisfaction, competitive advantages and pioneering self-service giving rise to increased satisfaction. Knowledge management software is easily available. Therefore, it is always good to identify your requirements and install a trial version before settling for the final software solution.

Knowledge Management provides detailed information on Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management Software, Knowledge Management Systems, Knowledge Management Tools and more. Knowledge Management is affiliated with Supply Chain Management Software.

Raindance Meeting Edition

Writen by Peter Cullen

Raindance Meeting Edition is a full featured web conferencing package, sporting a number of features not found in other products. For example, the product provides a facility that will dial out to your participants at the designated meeting time (after an attendee enters their phone number online at the start of the meeting, Meeting Edition automatically calls them back). What a great convenience for the meeting participants, who no longer need to bother with keeping track of the dial-in number. Meeting Edition also provides the option of connecting your attendees to the audio portion of your meeting via phone, via webcast (through their computer speaker), or you can provide both options and let the attendee choose.

There are almost too many features available in Raindance to describe in a short article, but I'll try to cover the big ones for you, and then point you to the full blown product documentation if you need to delve deeper.

Meeting Edition does require a software installation on the user's desktop. There are two versions of the install: one for moderators (the full edition) and one for participants (light edition). The light edition doesn't provide all the functionality of the full edition, but it is handy for Mac users, people with limited bandwith, or those who prefer not to install software. The light edition requires a browser upgrade - not a full software install. In addition, companies wishing to can deploy some of the Raindance infrastructure software inside their firewalls (as an option).

The collaboration tools provided are full-featured. Raindance lets you share documents, applications, browsers (without requiring participants to surf independently), and also supports a shared whiteboarding facilty. Chatting with participants (one or all) without interrupting the meeting is provided, as well as a polling feature that lets the moderator get instant feedback from attendees. There's a question/answer facility that let's the moderator take questions from the group, flag questions that need additional attention, and report on the interactions after the meeting.

Raindance is integrated with Microsoft Outlook, so you can schedule meetings from the Outlook calendar, and users get one-click access. Raindance also supports Powerpoint (and it does preserve slide transitions-unlike some other products on the market that have a problem with that). A meeting "room" is always available - there are no reservations required.

The participant management controls provided let the moderator define what each participant can do and these controls include resource locking, muting, and dismissal functions. The moderator can also view who is on the phone, who is on the web, and meetings can be started with an ad-hoc email notice to the attendees, or the moderator can use audio dial-outs to phone numbers stored in his/her Outlook contact list.

Raindance provides a recording facility that gives you a fully synchronized meeting playback capability that includes annotations, polls and, of course, the audio and video portions of the meeting.

In summary, Raindance Meeting Edition is one of the most complete and flexible packages I've seen so far. Look for an upcoming article reviewing Raindance Seminar Edition. To get more details visit:
http://www.raindance.com

Pete Cullen runs http://www.Web-Conference-Info.com where web conferencing software is reviewed and relevant articles are posted.

Condoms For Your Pc Microsoft Patches

Writen by Tim Flynt

THEY'RE OUT TO GET US - We've all heard tales of someone losing files, having identities stolen, spending hours and hours to clean up a PC mess from malware (be it a virus, worm, a bit of spyware, or a rootkit intrusion. We all have heard criticism of Microsoft operating systems for "allowing" such nasty stuff to happen to PCs which run the Windows operating system. We see reports of updates, patches, releases, upgrades, or whatever the changes are called that are needed to correct the methods by which these "nasties" are distributed. Some people are safe from problems - but they don't use computers. For the rest of us, problems are something we face each time we turn on a PC.

MICROSOFT TO THE RESCUE - Put into your calendar the 2nd Tuesday of each month. That is the normal day on which Microsoft releases to the world whatever critical patches it determines that we need. (Of course, on occasion, Microsoft releases patches on other days - particularly if the problem to be fixed is deemed to be sufficiently troublesome.

IT'S AVAILABLE, SO NOW WHAT - Basically, you want to get the patches installed on your PC. "Not so fast," you may say - particularly if you are the one responsible for other PCs. You will want some assurance that the patches which are intended to protect your PC will not cause some program to malfunction. You may wish to install the patches on a test PC before you unleash them to your public. For most of you, however, the time it takes to perform such tests is not worth the added risk to which you put your PC while you wait to complete the tests. My advice is to install the patches and take the extra protection from potential shutdowns, total malfunctions, and possible loss of privacy for the risk that an application program may temporarily stop working.

SIMPLE IS GOOD - From within the Internet Explorer under Tools/Windows Update, you can choose to have critical patches from Microsoft automatically downloaded and installed at a time and day of the week of your choice. You can also choose to check daily at a particular time. You may choose to select Tuesday (or Wednesday in case you wanted Tuesday but were not sure of the time of day that the patches might be available). That should work for most patches because they will come on a Tuesday and will be available at any time on Wednesday. I prefer to check every day. If there are no patches, the test is fast. If there are patches, I get them that much sooner. That is simple and adds, I believe, the greatest level of operating system safety and stability.

YOU CHOOSE - You may do the patches automatically every day or one day per week. You may do the patches manually. Just choose to do the patches as soon as possible and practical.

This article contains suggestions for the use of utility programs under the Windows operating system. They are based on years of use, but they may not be the right suggestions for you and your PC environment. Before you follow any technical suggestion, be sure that you have a current (and tested) backup of all system and data files and that you can restore the system if necessary. You are welcome to contact me if you encounter a problem, but I assume no responsibility for your actions and/or use of the information provided and disclaim any legal responsibility for any negative results of such actions.

Copyright 2006 by Tim Flynt. All rights reserved.

Tim Flynt has spent over 25 years dedicated to efficient application and utility systems. Experienced in higher education, entertainment, and software development organizations. Current interest in "PC Maintenance Management."

http://AcceleratedOffice.com

Does Your Company Have Documentum

Writen by Mike Nielsen

Are you lost in the mess of documents that get passed around your company, never knowing what the latest version is and which one you should work on without worrying if someone else has already made the same editions that you are making? Perhaps you have heard of collaboration software solutions such as Documentum to help your company manage its documents that are passed around. Documentum is a very good solution to this problem but is it the only one? In this article you will be presented with some basic information about the differences in collaboration software from Documentum and NextPage.

What is collaboration software?

Collaboration software allows business professionals to work directly with other business professionals by allowing them to work together to create business documents, presentations, and budgets. Most collaboration software is centralized. This allows business professionals to work on the same documents at the same time from different locations. Some centralized collaboration software solutions include Groove Network, Microsoft SharePoint, Documentum, and Filenet.

Why use Documentum?

There are a few advantages to using centralized collaboration software such as Documentum. The main advantage being that they work very well for team collaboration. Documentum's software keeps all files, projects, and data in one centralized location that everyone who is working on the project can access. This allows them to review and update the same document that everyone else has used, which essentially keeps everyone working on the same page.

Are there any drawbacks to Documentum?

While the collaboration software solution provided by Documentum is very useful and beneficial, there are a few drawbacks to using it. The main disadvantage being that Documentum's software requires the use of an IT infrastructure. Another potential drawback is that it requires an extensive amount of installation time. This can be a major inconvenience to those business professionals who are always busy and on the go.

Other collaboration software options out there also require everyone you work with to have the same software in order to share information. All of these drawbacks to centralized collaboration software can be very expensive and inconvenient.

What else will work for my company?

NextPage provides an alternative solution to the centralized collaboration software. NextPage 1.5 Collaboration Software tracks documents with Digital Thread technology. Say, for instance, that you are working on your company's budget. You want to make sure that your facts and figures are correct so you send your spreadsheet to several of your co-workers for review. They look over the spreadsheet and make the necessary changes. They then return their spreadsheet version to you, and with NextPage 1.5, you simply merge the document versions together into one. NextPage 1.5 lets you see all of this visually via a graphical version history. With the graphical version history, you would always know where the various versions of your spreadsheet are stored, what changes have been made, who has reviewed your spreadsheet, when the revisions were made, and how the revisions fit together. NextPage makes it easy to see where the document has been and what revisions have been made, eliminating the confusion of who did what and when it was done.

What advantages does NextPage have?

The major advantages to using NextPage's collaboration software include

the following:

• Do NOT need a centralized server

• Do NOT need an IT infrastructure

• Installation can be done in a matter of minutes

• Will work with associates who are NOT NextPage subscribers

• Solves document management problems where they originate

If your company is getting lost in the mess of documents then you can benefit greatly by implementing a collaboration software solution. Solutions from Documentum or NextPage will enhance your overall organization and productivity. In this article I have got the ball rolling for you. All you need to do now is to see what solution will best fit your company. So get out there and get your company documents organized!

Mike Nielsen is a client account specialist with 10xmarketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For more information about Documentum, visit NextPage.com

Great Plains Customization Programming Autoapply In Accounts Receivable

Writen by Andrew Karasev

Microsoft Great Plains is one of three Microsoft Business Solutions mid-market ERP products: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision. Considering that Great Plains is now very good candidate for integration with POS application, such as Microsoft Retail Management System or RMS and Client Relation Systems, such as Microsoft CRM – there is common need in Great Plains customizations and integrations, especially on the level of MS SQL Server transact SQL queries and stored procedures.

In this small article we'll show you how to create auto-apply utility, when you integrate huge number of sales transactions and payments. We will be working with RM20101 – Receivables Open File and RM20201 – Receivables Apply Open File.

Let's see SQL code:

declare @curpmtamt numeric(19,5)
declare @curinvamt numeric(19,5)
declare @curpmtnum varchar(20)
declare @curinvnum varchar(20)
declare @curinvtype int
declare @curpmttype int
declare @maxid int
declare @counter int
-- Create a temporary table
create table #temp
(
[ID] int identity(1,1) primary key,
CUSTNMBR varchar(15),
INVNUM varchar(20),
INVTYPE int,
PMTNUM varchar(20),
PMTTYPE int,
INVAMT numeric(19,5),
PMTAMT numeric(19,5),
AMTAPPLIED numeric(19,5)
)
create index IDX_INVNUM on #temp (INVNUM)
create index IDX_PMTNUM on #temp (PMTNUM)
-- Insert unapplied invoices and payments
insert into #temp
(
CUSTNMBR,
INVNUM,
INVTYPE,
PMTNUM,
PMTTYPE,
INVAMT,
PMTAMT,
AMTAPPLIED
)
select
CUSTNMBR = a.CUSTNMBR,
INVNUM = b.DOCNUMBR,
INVTYPE = b.RMDTYPAL,
PMTNUM = a.DOCNUMBR,
PMTTYPE = a.RMDTYPAL,
INVAMT = b.CURTRXAM,
PMTAMT = a.CURTRXAM,
AMTAPPLIED = 0
from RM20101 a
join RM20101 b on (a.CUSTNMBR = b.CUSTNMBR)
join RM00101 c on (a.CUSTNMBR = c.CUSTNMBR)
where
a.RMDTYPAL in (7, 8, 9) and
b.RMDTYPAL in (1, 3) and
a.CURTRXAM  0 and
b.CURTRXAM  0
order by
a.custnmbr,
b.DOCDATE,
a.DOCDATE,
a.DOCNUMBR,
b.DOCNUMBR
-- Iterate through each record
select @maxid = max([ID])
from #temp
select @counter = 1
while @counter = @curpmtamt) and (@curpmtamt>0) and (@curinvamt>0)-- if the invoice amount is greater or the same as the payment amount
begin
select @curinvamt = @curinvamt - @curpmtamt	-- invoice amount remaining
-- update with the amount that is applied to the current invoice from
-- the current payment
update #temp
set
AMTAPPLIED = @curpmtamt
where
[ID] = @counter
-- update with amount of invoice remaining
update #temp
set
INVAMT = @curinvamt
where
INVNUM = @curinvnum and
INVTYPE = @curinvtype
-- update with amount of payment remaining
update #temp
set
PMTAMT = 0
where
PMTNUM = @curpmtnum and
PMTTYPE = @curpmttype
end
else if (@curinvamt 0) and (@curinvamt>0)-- if the invoice amount is lesser to the payment amount
begin
select @curpmtamt = @curpmtamt - @curinvamt	-- payment amount remaining
-- update with the amount that is applied to the current invoice from
-- the current payment
update #temp
set
AMTAPPLIED = @curinvamt
where
[ID] = @counter
-- update with amount of invoice remaining
update #temp
set
INVAMT = 0
where
INVNUM = @curinvnum and
INVTYPE = @curinvtype
-- update with amount of payment remaining
update #temp
set
PMTAMT = @curpmtamt
where
PMTNUM = @curpmtnum and
PMTTYPE = @curpmttype
end
-- go to the next record
select @counter = @counter + 1
end
-- update the RM Open table with the correct amounts
update
RM20101
set
CURTRXAM = b.INVAMT
from
RM20101 a
join #temp b on (a.DOCNUMBR = b.INVNUM and a.RMDTYPAL = b.INVTYPE)
update
RM20101
set
CURTRXAM = b.PMTAMT
from
RM20101 a
join #temp b on (a.DOCNUMBR = b.PMTNUM and a.RMDTYPAL = b.PMTTYPE)
-- create the RM Apply record or update if records already exist
update
RM20201
set
DATE1 = convert(varchar(10), getdate(), 101),
GLPOSTDT = convert(varchar(10), getdate(), 101),
APPTOAMT = APPTOAMT + a.AMTAPPLIED,
ORAPTOAM = ORAPTOAM + a.AMTAPPLIED,
APFRMAPLYAMT = APFRMAPLYAMT + a.AMTAPPLIED,
ActualApplyToAmount = APFRMAPLYAMT + a.AMTAPPLIED
from
#temp a
join RM20101 b on (b.DOCNUMBR = a.INVNUM and b.RMDTYPAL = a.INVTYPE)
join RM20101 c on (c.DOCNUMBR = a.PMTNUM and c.RMDTYPAL = a.PMTTYPE)
join RM20201 d on (d.APFRDCTY = a.PMTTYPE and
d.APFRDCNM = a.PMTNUM and
d.APTODCTY = a.INVTYPE and
d.APTODCNM = a.INVNUM)
where
a.AMTAPPLIED  0
insert into RM20201
(CUSTNMBR,
DATE1,
GLPOSTDT,
POSTED,
APTODCNM,
APTODCTY,
APTODCDT,
ApplyToGLPostDate,
CURNCYID,
CURRNIDX,
APPTOAMT,
ORAPTOAM,
APFRDCNM,
APFRDCTY,
APFRDCDT,
ApplyFromGLPostDate,
FROMCURR,
APFRMAPLYAMT,
ActualApplyToAmount)
select
CUSTNMBR = a.CUSTNMBR,
DATE1 = convert(varchar(10), getdate(), 101),
GLPOSTDT = convert(varchar(10), getdate(), 101),
POSTED = 1,
APTODCNM = a.INVNUM,
APTODCTY = a.INVTYPE,
APTODCDT = b.DOCDATE,
ApplyToGLPostDate = b.GLPOSTDT,
CURNCYID = b.CURNCYID,
CURRNIDX = '',
APPTOAMT = a.AMTAPPLIED,
ORAPTOAM = a.AMTAPPLIED,
APFRDCNM = a.PMTNUM,
APFRDCTY = a.PMTTYPE,
APFRDCDT = c.DOCDATE,
ApplyFromGLPostDate = c.GLPOSTDT,
FROMCURR = c.CURNCYID,
APFRMAPLYAMT = a.AMTAPPLIED,
ActualApplyToAmount = a.AMTAPPLIED
from
#temp a
join RM20101 b on (b.DOCNUMBR = a.INVNUM and b.RMDTYPAL = a.INVTYPE)
join RM20101 c on (c.DOCNUMBR = a.PMTNUM and c.RMDTYPAL = a.PMTTYPE)
where
a.AMTAPPLIED  0 and
not exists (select 1
from RM20201 d
where d.APFRDCTY = a.PMTTYPE and
d.APFRDCNM = a.PMTNUM and
d.APTODCTY = a.INVTYPE and
d.APTODCNM = a.INVNUM)
drop table #temp

About The Author

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, with offices in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, New York, Madrid, Brazil, Moscow ( http://www.albaspectrum.com), you can reach Andrew 1-866-528-0577, he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer; akarasev@albaspectrum.com

Microsoft Great Plains Reporting Overview For Developer

Writen by Andrew Karasev

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular, partly because of Microsoft muscles behind it.  Now it is targeted to the whole spectrum of horizontal and vertical market clientele.  Small companies use Small Business Manager (which is based on the same technology – Great Plains Dexterity dictionary and runtime), Great Plains Standard on MSDE is for small to midsize clients, and then Great Plains serves the rest of the market up to big corporations.  There are several reporting tools available and you definitely need to know which one to use for different types of reports.

If you are developer who is asked: how do we create report for Microsoft Great Plains – read this and you will have the clues on where to look further.

1. Great Plains Report Writer (ReportWriter) – this is built-in reporting tool.  All the original report in Great Plains are written in ReportWriter.  ReportWriter itself is Dexterity module.  You should use this tool if you would like to modify existing Great Plains reports, such as Blank Invoice Form - here you can place your company logo, change the positioning, fonts, colors, etc.  ReportWriter will allow you also do new  reports - simple option  if you want to export all the records from one Great Plains table - use it.  New report, however doesn't have interface where you would enter parameters - so it is not useful for real custom reports.  Another limitation of ReportWriter - you can not do cross-modules report - when you need sales and purchasing info on the same report for example.
2. FRx.  This is excellent tool when deal with financial reporting - it works on the General Ledger level (Balance sheet, P&L, Cash Flow Statement, etc.).  It also allows you to do multiple companies consolidation - when you do consolidated Balance Sheet (with inter-companies transactions elimination).
3. Smart List - Export to Excel – this is nice feature in Great Plains - you could create a list with simple criteria and then export it to Excel.
4. Crystal Reports.  It gives you unlimited functionality.  Obviously flexibility requires you to know Great Plains table structure:  Launch Great Plains and go to Tools->Resource Description->Tables.  Find the table in the proper series.  If you are looking for the customers – it should be RM00101 – customer master file.  If you need historical Sales Order Processing documents – they are in SOP30200 – Sales History Header file, etc.  Create ODBC connection to GP Company database.  Use the same technique as when you create standard ODBC connection for GP workstation – but change default database to targeted company database.  Create SQL Query to probe the data – we always recommend tuning your query and see that you are getting adequate results – in any case – Crystal Report is just a nice tool to show the results of your query.
5. Direct Web Publishing off Great Plains databases – yes - it is easy now with Visual Studio.Net and you can hire good programmers.  This is good - Microsoft Business Solutions products: Great Plains, Solomon, Navision and Axapta will be integrated into so called Microsoft Business Portal - which will have web interface - you can get the idea if you look at Microsoft CRM web client - so direct web publishing is good taste.
6. SQL Queries.  If you have SQL background - this is great field for you.  You know - with properly formatted SQL query you can realize simple EDI export/import for the integration with legacy systems.

Happy designing!  if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

Adobe Photoshop V Adobe Illustrator

Writen by Kevin M. Sugrue

What are the differences between adobe photoshop and adobe illustrator? Produced by the same company, there are some that say the difference between the two programs is small. In actuality, adobe illustrator takes some key elements of adobe photoshop to the next level and beyond.

Abobe photoshop is a very popular program used by digital photographers around the world. The abundance of

photoshop tips and tutorials make this a very easy program to learn and to use. Photoshop can be used to take any existing image and give it a professional, polished looked. Borders can be added and pictures tweaked to look better than any digital camera could make possible. Almost anything you can imagine doing to a picture is capable when using adobe photoshop.

Abobe illustrator is a different program entirely. Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program that allows you to create your own unique graphics. Adobe illustrator graphics can be used in print, online, in video, and even on your cell phone. Want to create your own background for your cell phone? It's possible when you have adobe illustrator, and something that can't be done with photoshop alone.

Both programs are vastly talked about on the web. You will find a huge array of photoshop tutorials and illustrator tutorials, illustrator and photoshop tips. Forums, chat rooms, and discussion groups that focus on both programs are also abundant on the web. Once you start looking, you'll find more and more information on adobe photoshop and adobe illustrator.

While photoshop does have some photoshop drawing and vector art tools, the tools are nothing compared to what is available on adobe illustrator. With a vast array of templates that can help you get started and a number of different drawing tools, you can create your own unique graphics and artwork using adobe illustrator. You can create unique graphics with photoshop, but you must start with a base image and your tools are limited in comparison to adobe illustrator. For the serious graphic designer, adobe illustrator is the best program to use. However, if your drawing needs are small, photoshop will probably work just as well.

Photoshop tutorials do not extensively cover photoshop drawing, and you'll have to look for some photoshop drawing specific tutorials to find truly useful information. Photoshop tips pages mention little regarding photoshop drawing and vector art tools. However, to make your digital images look perfect adobe photoshop is the perfect tool for you. Once you learn how to use photoshop to make your images perfect, you won't be able to stop yourself from "fixing" every digital image that you use.

Adobe illustrator is a different program. Where photoshop helps you create a unique look using existing images, illustrator helps you create your own brand-new images. In graphic design, adobe illustrator may be one of the best and easier tools you can use. The software is user friendly and tutorials to help you use illustrator better are all over the Internet. Whatever you need to learn about adobe illustrator, there's a tutorial for that.

There's no reason you cannot work with both adobe photoshop and adobe

illustrator to create brand new images or polish existing ones. The two programs have some basic, shared components, so by mastering one you will already have a working knowledge of using the other. To make your images as stunning as possible or to create graphics that no one else has seen before, you can use both adobe photoshop and illustrator. There is no reason to pick between the two and use only one program if you have uses for both. Because the two programs and their uses are so different, it's probably preferable to use both adobe programs for your digital photography and image creations.

In their own unique ways, adobe photoshop and adobe illustrator and great additions to your existing software. Each program has vast uses for the digital photographer and graphic designer, and you'll find that both are equally useful when it comes to creating the best and most sophisticated images. Tutorials, photoshop tips, and adobe illustrator information that you'll find online make using these programs quick and easy. The more you use these adobe programs, the more you'll want to use them. Who knows what you'll create next?

This article was written by Kevin M. Sugrue the creator of FreePhotoshopZone.com! Free Photoshop Zone offers free photoshop tutorials and free photoshop articles! To visit our site go to http://www.freephotoshopzone.com.

Erp Integrations Microsoft Dynamics Gp Great Plains

Writen by Andrew Karasev

Microsoft Great Plains integrations scenarios with legacy systems, EDI, software customizations and modifications upgrade

We would like to describe several popular scenarios from technical standpoint, their performance and feasibility, including following support and upgrade

• Microsoft Dexterity integration. You may have these custom integrations, written in Great Plains Dexterity to read tab delimited text files or ODBC data. Nowadays, Microsoft Dynamics GP Integration Manager should do most of the job.

• Integration Manager. This tool is user-friendly and intuitive. Historically IM had drawback – it was using Microsoft Great Plains OLE server, validating business logic via hidden forms – the drawback was moderate performance. However IM is on the way of being rewritten with eConnect, next subject.

• eConnect – initially it was intended as a tool for eCommerce developer to use GP as accounting back server. eConnect breaks through the limitations and complexity of pure Dexterity development and through its several interfaces (including XML Web Services) opens up GP objects to .Net developer. eConnect is realized for core and most popular modules, however in some cases you may find that it is not realized for the module you intended for your integration (Invoicing, for example). eConnect is very efficient and has excellent performance

• SQL Stored Procedures. This scripting is very powerful and at the same time requires good understanding of data distribution (and some understanding of Microsoft Dexterity architecture). The first advice would be – create intended transaction through GP interface and carefully analyze where data goes and then imitate your integration scripts. SQL Stored Procs give you the best performance, so if your integration processes high volume of transactions – you may end up to use SQL scripts

Alba Spectrum Group 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-861-5918, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is technical consultant at Alba Spectrum Group Texas ( http://www.albaspectrum.com http://www.enterlogix.com.br ) – we are serving Houston and Dallas with suburbs: Katy, Richmond, Galveston; downstate Texas: Austin, Corpus Christi, San Antonio. USA Nationwide and International integration clients, welcome, we serve you from our customer support call center in Houston, TX

Internet Explorer Benefit Analysis Versus Firefox

Writen by Matt Bacak

Most of MSIE's advantages are Firefox's disadvantages, and vice-versa. This article will discuss some advantages and disadvantages of MSIE in relation to Firefox.

Advantages

Integration with other Microsoft products

Microsoft often offers its customers good integration among its products, and MSIE is no exception. One can drag an Excel bar graph from an MSIE webpage onto an existing Excel document, or view a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation from within MSIE. Within a Microsoft-only corporate intranet, this integration is very helpful. However, for a business interacting with the outside world, the argument weakens since the foundation of the Internet is to share among different platforms. Outside users expect documents to be in platform-agnostic formats such as HTML or Acrobat PDF files.

MSIE also offers strong integration with its Microsoft operating system, though is a double-edged sword, since it contributes to its security woes.

ActiveX and VBScript support

ActiveX refers to small Windows executable programs that can be run from MSIE, and VBScript is a client-side script for Windows code.

Some business have heavily invested in either developing or purchasing custom ActiveX software (and/or VBScript), for applications ranging from web-based accounting to e-learning simulators.

The Firefox team made a conscious decision to support neither ActiveX nor VBScript, since they are not accepted web standards and are often the source of the security vulnerabilities within MSIE.

Since Firefox will not likely ever support ActiveX and VBScript, businesses whose products revolve around these technologies would be better served with MSIE than with Firefox.

Still some MSIE-only webpages

Since MSIE formerly had such a large marketshare, some businesses' webpages still only display correctly in MSIE.

However, Firefox's increasing marketshare has caused many companies to revamp their pages to work correctly in Firefox also.

There are several reasons. Businesses want to ensure that they can sell to the Firefox customers. Moreover, many of the users who purchase with credit cards have moved to Firefox because of the extra security for that sensitive transaction. Finally, many businesses see that it costs less to fix the pages, than to cover the "Why doesn't work in Firefox?" technical support calls support calls.

Arrives with a new Windows computer

MSIE arrives installed new Windows and Mac computers; Firebird does not. However, the initial MSIE is unpatched and thus riddled with security holes. Thus, novice Windows users are often disappointed as their computers become increasingly unresponsive with viruses and spyware.

Thus, the convenience of having MSIE preinstalled on Windows is minimal, since Firebird can be downloaded and installed about as easily as patching the initial insecure MSIE.

Microsoft has ceased new development of MSIE for the Mac, so it has decreasing usefulness on the Mac as an out-of-box browser.

Disadvantages

Closed source and tied to a U.S. company

Closed source prevents users from reviewing the code to ensure that there are no security backdoors included in the software.

This is particularly important for Internet communication software, as the U.S. government may approach Microsoft to either divulge or include security backdoors that can be used for information surveillance, especially on foreign governments or high-risk suspects. Some governments don't want to have a foreign country's closed source software at the heart of their information network. This may partially account for the higher adoption rate of open-sourced Firefox in countries outside the U.S.

Selling of other Microsoft items and forced end-of-life

Part of any corporation's mission is to maximize profits. For Microsoft, this includes selling the maximum number of its own products and services. So to use the newest MSIE, one has to purchase a license of their newest OS. MSIE's built-in search only works with Microsoft's MSN search, versus Firefox's built-in search toolbar that uses technically superior Google as the default and is user-selectable.

Moreover, since MSIE is closed-source software, users always face the possibility of forced end-of-life of the MSIE software and anything the user has built around it.

Total cost of ownership

Both browsers can be downloaded and used free of charge, so their initial cost is equal.

For technical support questions, both are widely enough used that many solutions to common problems can be found in free online public forums. Telephone support for Firefox costs $39.95 per incident, and Microsoft costs between $35.00 per incident and can cost over $200.00 for advanced issues.

However, MSIE has heavier ongoing support costs due to the nearly monthly security patches that are required. Also, there are ongoing costs from lost work time due to the poor stability and viruses when using MSIE. Finally, with MSIE requiring the newest version of their operating system, it forces the total cost of ownership to include the cost of updating all licenses to Windows XP SP2.

Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine's e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak's Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com

Exchange 2003 Rpc Over Http

Writen by Scott Croucher

The release of Exchange 2003 bought us some very good features such as Intelligent Message Filtering (IMF) and my favourite RPC over HTTP. This allows a user to access email using their outlook client without the use of VPN's or dial up networking. For me this feature has been a god send as I spend alot of time on customer sites and always need access to important documents stored in my email. With RPC over HTTP I can just plug my laptop onto the network, open my Outlook client and pull my emails down as if I was in the office.

The initial set up of RPC over HTTP is not simple and requires you follow a strict process. I have a great many customers call me saing that they cannot get it working so I decided to write an article dedicated to this feature.

RPC over HTTP System Requirements
To use RPC over HTTP, you must run Windows Server 2003 on the following computers:
• All Exchange 2003 servers that will be accessed with Outlook 2003 clients using RPC over HTTP.
• The Exchange 2003 front-end server acting as the RPC Proxy server.
• The global catalog server used by Outlook 2003 clients and the Exchange 2003 servers configured to use RPC over HTTP.

Exchange 2003 must be installed on all Exchange servers that are used by the computer designated as the RPC proxy server. Additionally, all client computers running Outlook 2003 must also be running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later.

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Deploying RPC over HTTP
This section provides detailed steps about how to deploy RPC over HTTP in your Exchange 2003 organization. Complete the steps in the following order.
1. Configure your Exchange front-end server as an RPC Proxy server.
2. Configure the RPC virtual directory in Internet Information Services (IIS) on the Exchange front-end server.
3. Configure the registry on the Exchange 2003 computer that communicates with the RPC proxy server to use the specific ports for RPC over HTTP communication.
4. Open the specific ports on the internal firewall for RPC over HTTP, as well as the standard ports for Exchange front-end communication.
5. Create a profile for each of your users to use with RPC over HTTP. Each of these steps is detailed in the following sections. After you have completed these steps, your users can begin using RPC over HTTP to access the Exchange front-end server.

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Step 1: Configuring Your Exchange Front-End Server to Use RPC over HTTP The RPC Proxy server processes the Outlook 2003 RPC requests that come in over the Internet. In order for the RPC Proxy server to successfully process the RPC over HTTP requests, you must install the Windows Server 2003 RPC over HTTP Proxy networking component on your Exchange front-end server.

To configure your Exchange front-end server to use RPC over HTTP
1. On the Exchange front-end server running Windows Server 2003, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
2. In Add or Remove Programs, click Add/Remove Windows Components in the left pane.
3. In the Windows Components Wizard, on the Windows Components page, highlight Networking Services, and then click Details.
4. In Networking Services, select the RPC over HTTP Proxy check box, and then click OK.
5. On the Windows Components page, click Next to install the RPC over HTTP Proxy Windows component.

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Step 2: Configuring the RPC Virtual Directory in Internet Information Services
Now that you have configured your Exchange front-end server to use RPC over HTTP, you must configure the RPC virtual directory in IIS.

To configure the RPC virtual directory
1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. In Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, in the console tree, expand the server you want, expand Web Sites, expand Default Web Site, right-click the RPC virtual directory, and then click Properties.
3. In RPC Properties, on the Directory Security tab, in the Authentication and access control pane, click Edit.
Note: RPC over HTTP does not allow anonymous access.
4. Under Authenticated access, select the check box next to Basic authentication (password is sent in clear text), and then click OK.
5. To save your settings, click Apply, and then click OK.
Your RPC virtual directory is now set to use Basic authentication. If you plan to use SSL, skip the following procedure For non-SSL configurations, however, the RPC proxy server must be configured to allow non-SSL sessions to be forwarded. The non-SSL sessions are able to be forwarded by adding a specific registry value to the server.
Warning: Incorrectly editing the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Problems resulting from editing the registry incorrectly may not be able to be resolved. Before editing the registry, back up any valuable data.

To allow non-SSL encrypted traffic with RPC over HTTP
1. On the RPC Proxy server, start Registry Editor (regedit).
2. In the console tree, navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftRpcRpcProxy
3. In the details pane, right-click and add a new DWORD Value named AllowAnonymous, and then right-click it and choose Modify.
4. In Edit DWORD Value, in the Value data box, enter 1.
The RPC proxy server is now configured to allow requests to be forwarded without the requirement to first establish an SSL-encrypted session. The setting to enforce authenticated requests is still controlled in the Authentication and access control settings.

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Step 3: Configuring the RPC Proxy Server to Use Specified Ports After you enable the RPC over HTTP networking component for IIS, you should configure the RPC proxy server to use specific port numbers to communicate with the servers in the corporate network. In this scenario, the RPC proxy server is configured to use specific ports and the individual computers that the RPC proxy server communicates with are also configured to use specific ports when receiving requests from the RPC proxy server. When you run Exchange 2003 Setup, Exchange is automatically configured to use the ncacn_http ports listed in Table 2.1.

Step 3 involves the following two procedures.
1. Configure the RPC Proxy server to use specified ports for RPC over HTTP requests to communicate with servers inside the corporate network.
2. Configure the global catalog servers to use specified ports for RPC over HTTP requests to communicate with the RPC Proxy server inside the perimeter network.
Warning: Incorrectly editing the registry can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Problems resulting from editing the registry incorrectly may not be able to be resolved. Before editing the registry, back up any valuable data.

To configure the RPC Proxy server to use the specified default ports for RPC over HTTP
The following ports are the required ports for RPC over HTTP.
Table 2.1 Required ports for RPC over HTTP
Server Ports (Services)
Exchange back-end servers 593 (end point mapper)
6001 (Store)
6002 (DS referral)
6004 (DS proxy)
Global catalog server 593 and 6004

1. On the RPC Proxy server, start Registry Editor (regedit).
2. In the console tree, navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftRpcRpcProxy
3. In the details pane, right-click the ValidPorts subkey, and then click Modify.
Figure 2.4 The RPCProxy registry settings
4. In Edit String, in the Value data box, type the following information: ExchangeBEServer:593;ExchangeBEServerFQDN:593;ExchangeBEServer:6001-6002;ExchangeBEServerFQDN:6001-6002;ExchangeBEServer:6004;ExchangeBEServerFQDN:6004; GlobalCatalogServer:593;GlobalCatalogServerFQDN:593;GlobalCatalogServer:6004;GlobalCatalogServerFQDN:6004
• ExchangeBEServer and GlobalCatalogServer are the NetBIOS names of your Exchange back-end server and global catalog server.
• ExchangeBEFQDN and GlobalCatalogServerFQDN are the fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) of your Exchange back-end server and global catalog server.

In the registry key, continue to list all servers in the corporate network with which the RPC Proxy server will need to communicate.
Important: To communicate with the RPC Proxy server, all servers accessed by the Outlook client must have set ports. If a server, such as an Exchange public folder server, has not been configured to use the specified ports for RPC over HTTP communication, the client will not be able to access the server.

To configure the global catalog servers to use specific ports for RPC over HTTP
1. On the global catalog server, start Registry Editor (regedit).
2. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSet ServicesNTDSParameters
3. From the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Multi-String value.
4. In the details pane, create a multi-string value with the name NSPI interface protocol sequences.
5. Right-click the NSPI interface protocol sequences multi-string value, and then click Modify.
6. In Edit String, in the Value data box, type ncacn_http:6004
7. Restart the global catalog server.

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Step 4: Create an Outlook Profile to Use With RPC over HTTP
In order for your users to use RPC over HTTP from their client computer, they must create an Outlook profile that uses the necessary RPC over HTTP settings. These settings enable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communication with Basic authentication, which is necessary when using RPC over HTTP. Although optional, it is highly recommended that you use the "Use Cached Exchange Mode" option for all profiles that will connect to Exchange using RPC over HTTP.

To create an Outlook profile to use with RPC over HTTP
1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, perform one of the following tasks:
• If you are using Category View, in the left pane, under See Also, click Other Control Panel Options, and then click Mail.
• If you are using Classic View, double-click Mail.
3. In Mail Setup, under Profiles, click Show Profiles.
4. In Mail, click Add.
5. In New Profile, in the Profile Name box, type a name for this profile, and then click OK.
6. In the E-mail Accounts wizard, click Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next.
7. On the Server Type page, click Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Next.
8. On the Exchange Server Settings page, perform the following steps:
a. In the Microsoft Exchange Server box, type the name of your back-end Exchange server where your mailbox resides.
b. Check the check box next to Use Cached Exchange Mode.
c. In the User Name box, type the user name.
d. Click More Settings.
9. On the Connection tab, in the Exchange over the Internet pane, select the Connect to my Exchange mailbox using HTTP check box.
10. Click Exchange Proxy Settings.
11. On the Exchange Proxy Settings page, under Connections Settings, perform the following steps:
a. Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the RPC Proxy server in the Use this URL to connect to my proxy server for Exchange box.
b. Select the Connect using SSL only check box.
c. Select the Mutually authenticate the session when connecting with SSL check box next.
d. Enter the FQDN of the RPC Proxy server in the Principle name for proxy server box. Use the format: msstd:FQDN of RPC Proxy Server.
e. As an optional step, you can configure Outlook 2003 to connect to your Exchange server using RPC over HTTP by default by checking the check box next to On fast networks, connect to Exchange using HTTP first, then connect using TCP/IP.
12. On the Exchange Proxy Settings page, in the Proxy authentication settings window, in the Use this authentication when connecting to my proxy server for Exchange list, select Basic Authentication.
13. Click OK
14. Enable RPC over HTTP by configuring your user's profiles to allow for RPC over HTTP communication with Outlook 2003. Alternatively, you can instruct your users on how to manually enable RPC over HTTP for their Outlook 2003 profiles.
Note: If you have configured the client to communicate using SSL, you must add the complete SSL certificate chain to the Trusted Root Certificate Authorities on the client machine.

Your users are now configured to use RPC over HTTP.

Scott Croucher is an IT Consultant who runs S3 Solutions IT Ltd a UK based solution provider. Scott has over 12 years consultancy experience. Visit http://www.s3-solutions.co.uk for more information.