By Steve Endow
A few weeks ago, a question was posted to the GPUG Open Forum asking why the AP Transaction Inquiry by Document was so slow.
The post explained that the company has so many different vendor accounts for FEDEX that they can't easily search based on vendor ID. So they find it easier to search by vendor Invoice Number.
Unfortunately, because they have so much transaction history, and because the window pre-loads some data, it takes over 3 minutes for the inquiry window to even be displayed.
That. Is. Crazy.
I was...intrigued.
What would cause a seemingly simple Dynamics GP inquiry window to take 3 minutes just to open? That's just weird.
So I decided to test the window and trace the SQL activity that occurs when the window performs a search.
It...was...bad. The PM Transaction Inquiry Document window throws out SQL queries like they're going out of style.
Every single PM transaction record that is retrieved by the inquiry window results in at least 3 subsequent queries. FOR. EACH. RECORD.
After seeing that, I gave up on attempting to "fix" or optimize the window. It wasn't a SQL performance issue or a question of optimization. It's just a terrible design.
So, what would an ideal PM Transaction Inquiry window look like?
How about this:
A window that allows you to search by date range AND vendor ID AND vendor name AND document number AND document amount. All simultaneously.
Here is a video explaining the project and demonstrating the PM Transaction Search window that is included in version 1.0:
As you type each character, this magical search window calls a SQL stored procedure and updates the search results. In real time.
To keep the window honest, a status bar at the bottom of the window shows how many records were retrieved, how many milliseconds it took to retrieve the data from SQL, as well as how many milliseconds it took to display the data in the window.
We're talking real-world accountability here, folks.
Don't like the columns that are displayed in the search window data grid? No problem. You can modify the included stored procedure. Want to add a column or two to the data? No problem. Just add a few fields to the procedure.
Are you so thrilled by the results of your search that you want to share them with your coworkers? No problem. You can click on the Copy button to copy all of the data in the grid and paste it into Excel. Or you can click on the CSV button and save the data to a CSV text file.
And the GP Transaction Search tool is extremely simple to install. Just run a SQL script to create a stored procedure in each of your GP company databases, then copy 3 files into the GP AddIns subdirectory. It really is that easy.
You must be thinking: Wow, with all of those features, that fancy search window must cost a fortune!
But that's where you're wrong! The Dynamics GP Transaction Search tool is available for FREE!
Here is the (temporary) link to download the search tool from OneDrive:
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Au567Fd0af9TogwHx8OKAarDM3Zm
Once I update my web site, it will be available for download in the Free Products sections of my web site at:
https://www.precipioservices.com
But that's not all! In addition to offering the tool for the rock bottom price of Free, I'll be publishing the code as an open source project so that others can contribute to the project. Once I figure out how to create an open source project, that is...
If anyone has created an open source project and wants to help, please contact me.
If you have any questions about the search tool, or if you have used it in a real GP environment and have any suggestions for improving it, please contact me!
https://precipioservices.com/contact-us/
