Menus for Visual Studio Tools - The wait is over

David MeegoSome brilliant news for Microsoft Visual Studio developers who use Visual Studio Tools to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0.

Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 has now been released on PartnerSource Secure Link and CustomerSource Secure Link.

While I was in Fargo, ND for the Microsoft Dynamics GP Technical Airlift 2008 last May, I spent some time with the Dynamics GP Developer Support Team.  During this time I discussed the main support topics being raised for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP (part of the Developer Toolkit). One of the biggest issues was that a Visual Studio developer was still required to create a Dexterity customization to add menu items to the application navigation menus.  In many cases that was the only function that the Dexterity customization included.

After the conference I was attending a 3 day Developer Toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 training course run by Steve Gray from 4penny.net. On the morning of the last day of the course I came up with a concept that would allow a Visual Studio Tools developer to call into a generic menu navigation API (Application Programming Interface) created in Dexterity. By the end of the day I had a working prototype of the Dexterity code which could provide up to 20 menu items. Thanks to Steve and Leslie for encouraging me to run with my idea.

Since then the functionality and features have been improved based on feedback from the support and development teams in Fargo and from a number of beta testers. It now includes support for 100 menu items, form level security, sub menus and much more.

 

For more information on the tool, please see my previous blog posting:

Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0

Also, have a look at this great posting on Mariano Gomez's blog for an introductory look at the product:

First Look at Menus for Visual Studio Tools

 

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my colleagues on the Asia Pacific Microsoft Dynamics GP support team (Allan, Amy, Marian, Rob & Rochelle) and my Manager (Neil) for supporting me while I was developing the code. 

I would also like to thank the members of the working group (from support and development) who helped with all aspects of getting the final product ready for release. They include Scott, Steve, Corey, Brian, Erik, Rob, Andrew, Alice, Dave, Patrick, Emily, Ryan, and Sally.

Finally, a thank you to the beta testers, Steve, Micheal, Mariano, Habib, Nigel, Loren, Edwin, and Vaidy.

 

Downloads

For downloads, please see the Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal Page:

Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal

 

Support Information

Technical support for Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 can be obtained through the standard Dynamics GP Support channels. Information on contacting support can be found in the support area of the MSDN Dynamics GP Developer Center.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/gp/bb468042.aspx

For customers or partners on a Dynamics specific support plan, please use the following link from CustomerSource or PartnerSource to log a "Visual Studio Tools-Developer Toolkit" case.

https://mbs.microsoft.com/support

 

More Information

For more information, please see the Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal Page:

Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal

 

I hope you find Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 and GP 2010 to be a useful and time saving product.

Please provide feedback on your experiences as comments on this posting.

David

13-Oct-2008:  Created post on Using Menus for Visual Studio Tools from VBA.

24-Jun-2010: Added Updated Links including Menus for Visual Studio Tools for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010.

03-Nov-2010: Added links to related articles.

16-May-2013: Changed More Information and Downloads to go to Menus for Visual Studio Tools Portal Page.