Custom development - Microsoft Dynamics Entrepreneur

M.Looren

Does anyone know if it is possible to do custom development on Entrepreneur?

Are there for example services available for import and export of items, or orders or other information in Entrepreneur?

kauffmann

M.Looren wrote:

Does anyone know if it is possible to do custom development on Entrepreneur?

Are there for example services available for import and export of items, or orders or other information in Entrepreneur?

No, it is not possible to do custom development on Entrepreneur.
However, there is a possibility to add 'User Defined Fields' to certain tables like Items, Customers, Vendors and even Sales and Purchase documents.

Services for import and export of master data like Items, Contacts, Customers and Vendors are available through the Setup Wizard and also via menu Administration -> Company Setup -> Master Data.
It is not possible to create new dataports using an Entrepreneur end user license.

navvy

No, it is not possible to do custom development on Entrepreneur.

If it is not possible to do custom developments, is it "allowed" to do some queries direct to the db (with .NET) or would this be violation of the license agreement ?

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

No, it is not possible to do custom development on Entrepreneur.

If it is not possible to do custom developments, is it "allowed" to do some queries direct to the db (with .NET) or would this be violation of the license agreement ?

From the EULA (End User License Agreement):

In addition to the server software license, you must acquire a user license for the total number of users that access the system database directly or indirectly at any one time

Yes, it is possible to query the database from .Net. Entrepreneur uses SQL Express as a database system, and that is an open database system compared to C/SIDE database. However, the license agreement states that you must have a user license for each user that accesses the database at one time.

tinoruijs

kauffmann wrote:

No, it is not possible to do custom development on Entrepreneur.

I noticed it is possible to add new fields with a developers license.
And use the new fields with a end-user license.

navvy

I noticed it is possible to add new fields with a developers license.
And use the new fields with a end-user license.

I have also made this experience. It seems that it is also possible to add a new codeunit. #-o

navvy

When I look into the install directory of Entrepreneur (where the unzipped install files are located) there is a NAS:

http://www.frei-informatik.ch/nas.jpg

Does anybody know, is there a NAS included ?

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

I noticed it is possible to add new fields with a developers license.
And use the new fields with a end-user license.

I have also made this experience. It seems that it is also possible to add a new codeunit. #-o

Yes, technically it is possible to use a NAV developer license.
But customer do not have a license that permits them to do modifications. And VAR's have a contract that do not allow them to make any modification in the code. No matter if they have a NAV developer license. So it is not legal to modify Entrepreneur code.

New fields can be added by the end user themselves by using the 'User Defined Fields' functionality.

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

When I look into the install directory of Entrepreneur (where the unzipped install files are located) there is a NAS:

http://www.frei-informatik.ch/nas.jpg

Does anybody know, is there a NAS included ?

Yes, a NAS is included to use with the Outlook integration.

navvy

kauffmann, thank you for your answers !

Yes, a NAS is included to use with the Outlook integration.

Last question: is it allowed / possible to use the NAS for an Addon (= Webshop-Addon which needs a NAS to connect to the DB)?

tinoruijs

kauffmann wrote:

navvy wrote:

I noticed it is possible to add new fields with a developers license.
And use the new fields with a end-user license.

I have also made this experience. It seems that it is also possible to add a new codeunit. #-o

Yes, technically it is possible to use a NAV developer license.
But customer do not have a license that permits them to do modifications. And VAR's have a contract that do not allow them to make any modification in the code. No matter if they have a NAV developer license. So it is not legal to modify Entrepreneur code.

New fields can be added by the end user themselves by using the 'User Defined Fields' functionality.

All right. Clear explanation.

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

kauffmann, thank you for your answers !

Yes, a NAS is included to use with the Outlook integration.

Last question: is it allowed / possible to use the NAS for an Addon (= Webshop-Addon which needs a NAS to connect to the DB)?

Thats a good question. As you probably know it is technical possible to have one NAS running more than one single instance codeunit. From that point of view it is possible. From a architecture and performance point of view this is not recommended. Especially when having a webshop that relies on fast and stable processing. However, the Entrepreneur pricelist does contain a NAS option.

First of all, a webshop for Entrepreneur should be registered as an Entrepreneur add-on. If the add-on requires a NAS than the add-on granule should come with a NAS granule or the NAS should be added as an option to the pricelist. This should be part of the Entrepreneur add-on registration process.

navvy

I'm asking, because we have developed for NAV a connector for the Open Source Webshop osCommerce (xtCommerce). Now we want to make it compatible with Entrepreneur.

In that case, the NAS has only to run a custom codeunit on Entrepreneur for once (see my Post). After that, the connector will "communicate" with Entrepreneur over COM. So I think the performance will be ok.

The question will be, is it possible for a customer to license (buy) and add a new custom codeunit to Entrepreneur ? (Unfortunately, I can't find a price list for Entrepreneur on PartnerSource )

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

I'm asking, because we have developed for NAV a connector for the Open Source Webshop osCommerce (xtCommerce). Now we want to make it compatible with Entrepreneur.

In that case, the NAS has only to run a custom codeunit on Entrepreneur for once (see my Post). After that, the connector will "communicate" with Entrepreneur over COM. So I think the performance will be ok.

The question will be, is it possible for a customer to license (buy) and add a new custom codeunit to Entrepreneur ? (Unfortunately, I can't find a price list for Entrepreneur on PartnerSource )

No, Entrepreneur customers cannot buy single objects (i.e. 100 Codeunits). The only way to have a solution available on Entrepreneur is to register it and pass the Entrepreneur ISV test. Microsoft is working on this topic to get the ISV add-on registration process up and running.

ajhvdb

@navvy
Hi, for NAV we are implementing TradePoint for our customers. This uses .aspx pages and is working through NAS and there own component.

At the moment this seems to be a bit expensive for Entrepreneur customers. Could you send me more info on your solution?

navvy

No, Entrepreneur customers cannot buy single objects (i.e. 100 Codeunits)

All right, clear answer. thanks.

The only way to have a solution available on Entrepreneur is to register it and pass the Entrepreneur ISV test.

On the Partnersource-Site "Microsoft Dynamics Entrepreneur Solution Add-On Registration" they write:

Although all Microsoft partners are thoroughly trained to use Microsoft development tools and all solution have to pass a software verification test

Does this means, Microsoft will install our connector (import one codeunit and install the .NET application)? Because, if they want to test the connector, they also have to install the Shop (osCommerce on Linux with Apache, PHP, MySQL)....

Does anybody know, how much the add-on registration process will cost?

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

...
Does this means, Microsoft will install our connector (import one codeunit and install the .NET application)? Because, if they want to test the connector, they also have to install the Shop (osCommerce on Linux with Apache, PHP, MySQL)....

Does anybody know, how much the add-on registration process will cost?

Most likely the test will be done by the same company that do the NAV add-on tests. As far as I know that is Veritest today. No idea of they are going to install all external components.

At the other hand, the Entrepreneur Add-on registration is not needed when no objects in the database are used. Maybe you could think about a solution that has no need for a custom codeunit (don't know if that is possible in your case :-s )

Solutions which only connect to Microsoft Dynamics Entrepreneur using interface technologies such as C/FRONT or C/ODBC are not required to be registered.

Currently there is no information available about pricing of the add-on registration.

Just a question: what does your solution costs? It should be in line with the price for Entrepreneur.

navvy

Just a question: what does your solution costs? It should be in line with the price for Entrepreneur.

Our connector is a complex piece of software which tooks several months for development. The price of the connector for Entrepreneur isn't defined yet. Perhaps between USD 1,500 - 2,000 ... would this be a reasonable price for Entrepreneur ?

BTW: sorry for my bad english

p.willemse6

Navvy, the percentage is incorrect. Posting margins on the public web is not very smart by the way...

navvy

p.willemse6 wrote:

Navvy, the percentage is incorrect. Posting margins on the public web is not very smart by the way...

Sorry, it's deleted. I found the margins on the mentioned Partnersource-Site (Document "Frequently Asked Questions for the Add-On Program")...

navvy

At the other hand, the Entrepreneur Add-on registration is not needed when no objects in the database are used. Maybe you could think about a solution that has no need for a custom codeunit (don't know if that is possible in your case )

Solutions which only connect to Microsoft Dynamics Entrepreneur using interface technologies such as C/FRONT or C/ODBC are not required to be registered.

That means, C/FRONT and C/ODBC are included in Entrepreneur ?

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

At the other hand, the Entrepreneur Add-on registration is not needed when no objects in the database are used. Maybe you could think about a solution that has no need for a custom codeunit (don't know if that is possible in your case )

Solutions which only connect to Microsoft Dynamics Entrepreneur using interface technologies such as C/FRONT or C/ODBC are not required to be registered.

That means, C/FRONT and C/ODBC are included in Entrepreneur ?

Yes, in the customer licenses that I've seen C/FRONT and C/ODBC is included. C/FRONT is used in the Outlook integration. C/ODBC does not make sense since it is mentioned for C/SIDE databases and not for SQL. Entrepreneur is only shipped as a SQL database.

navvy

kauffmann wrote:

Yes, in the customer licenses that I've seen C/FRONT and C/ODBC is included. C/FRONT is used in the Outlook integration. C/ODBC does not make sense since it is mentioned for C/SIDE databases and not for SQL. Entrepreneur is only shipped as a SQL database.

ok, now I'm a little bit confused :-s

kauffmann wrote:

... However, the license agreement states that you must have a user license for each user that accesses the database at one time.

Over C/ODBC and C/FRONT I can access the DB for free (license included) but when I connect direct to MS SQL I have to buy an additional user license ?!

kauffmann wrote:

Yes, a NAS is included to use with the Outlook integration.

Does Outlook integration need both: C/FRONT and the NAS ?

#-o

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

ok, now I'm a little bit confused :-s

...

Over C/ODBC and C/FRONT I can access the DB for free (license included) but when I connect direct to MS SQL I have to buy an additional user license ?!

I can understand, it is somewhat confusing. This is how I understand the license agreement. Anybody, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

The license agreement states that you should have a user license for each user that accesses the database at one time, directly or indirectly. It does not mention the technology that is used to access the database. That could be the NAV client (mostly of course) or any other way like C/FRONT or C/ODBC (for C/SIDE databases). Imagine that you have a few users that use the complete functionality and a lot of other users who only use some screens. Technically you could build your own solution that uses C/FRONT to access and maintain a small part of the database data. However, if you don't have a license for the max number of concurrent users, that would be a violation of the license agreement.
Talking about C/FRONT and C/ODBC in the license: that is just a matter of allowing it that you use these techniques to access the database. It does not say how many users may access the database at one time.

navvy wrote:

Does Outlook integration need both: C/FRONT and the NAS ?#-o

Yes, Outlook integration uses both: C/FRONT to connect from Outlook to the database and place a request in table 472 Job Queue Entry and to read the response from table 473 Job Queue Response. The NAS monitors table 472 (using Codeunit 448 Job Queue Dispatchers), handles the requests and places the response in table 473.

navvy

Thank you for this detailed information.

kauffmann wrote:

The license agreement states that you should have a user license for each user that accesses the database at one time, directly or indirectly. It does not mention the technology that is used to access the database. That could be the NAV client (mostly of course) or any other way like C/FRONT or C/ODBC (for C/SIDE databases). Imagine that you have a few users that use the complete functionality and a lot of other users who only use some screens. Technically you could build your own solution that uses C/FRONT to access and maintain a small part of the database data. However, if you don't have a license for the max number of concurrent users, that would be a violation of the license agreement.

Last week I've askeda similar license question about the NAS:

As far as I know, the NAS connect to the NAV DB under a specified NAV user account. Do we have to license this user separately or is this user included in a NAS license ?

The answer was:

Navision comes free with 1 NAS user ...

So if I have only 1 user license, I can also use the NAS to access the DB on the same time the user is working on the NAV-Client. Is my conclusion wrong?

kauffmann

navvy wrote:

Last week I've askeda similar license question about the NAS:

As far as I know, the NAS connect to the NAV DB under a specified NAV user account. Do we have to license this user separately or is this user included in a NAS license ?

The answer was:

Navision comes free with 1 NAS user ...

So if I have only 1 user license, I can also use the NAS to access the DB on the same time the user is working on the NAV-Client. Is my conclusion wrong?

Your conclusion is correct. With an 1 user license you can access the DB with the NAV client and the NAS simultaneously. If you look at File -> Database -> Information, tab Sessions, you will see that an 1 user license has 2 licensed sessions.

wwestendorp

If I look into the way to setup new companies there is a possibillity to use XML Templates.

There are 4 now avvailable.

In the table 30066 there is a list of the XML files.

How can we add new company types for different type of customers? Or isn't allowed.

The Table is somehow NOT edditable (Even not with a developer license).

Is there a way to, once you have created a totally new setup to export thes settings to your own XML Setup? Like the RIM modules do?

kauffmann

wwestendorp wrote:

If I look into the way to setup new companies there is a possibillity to use XML Templates.

There are 4 now avvailable.

In the table 30066 there is a list of the XML files.

How can we add new company types for different type of customers? Or isn't allowed.

The Table is somehow NOT edditable (Even not with a developer license).

Is there a way to, once you have created a totally new setup to export thes settings to your own XML Setup? Like the RIM modules do?

I assume that you mean Form 30066? This form is automatically populated with the content of the Configuration.xml in the Company Settings folder.
New company types / templates can easily be added by providing an extra template in the Company Settings folder and adding an extra entry in the Configuration.xml
Form 8627 can be used to export a new template. You can use one of the existing templates as a basis for your new template by importing them first.

cmol

As said by Kauffmann earlier it is not possible to custom develop in Entrepreneur. MS wants every additional functionality for Entrepreneur tested and standardised. Our company is now making one of the first AddOns for Entrepreneur, we are just entering the Veritest next month.
Our AddON concerns a tool for importing and exporting data in Entrepreneur (e.g. webshops).

We noticed that we had to make the AddOn very open and flexible because of these high standards. Normally you develop an interface for a webshop or you develop an interface for the customers payroll system. But because you have to test and standardise the end result you have to develop AddOns which can be used for multiple purposes, otherwise the testing (which costs quite a bit of money) would be too expensive. For us it resulted in a tool which is very versatile in use and very powerful at the same time.

I heard that MS wants one AddOn for each purpose, unlike NAV where you have lots of AddOns for one thing. What we found very practical is that when making an AddOn for Entrepreneur, you are also making an AddOn for NAV. So it can be helpful. So development in Entrepreneur is only possible through this way.

navvy

FYI: http://www.mibuso.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 641#135641