Dynamics AX 2012 R2 - OData Improvements

I hope everyone has had a productive Dynamics filled week! Today I wanted to spend time, talking about a topic that I've covered a good bit in the past 12 months. Specifically, that is the improvements that have came with the release of Dynamics AX 2012 R2 around the topic of OData.



If your just now reading about this topic for the first time, OData is an underlying technology protocol that helps enable Personal BI concepts for use with Microsoft Dynamics AX. With the release of Dynamics AX 2012 R2, we do have some improvements to speak towards in this area. Specifically these improvements revolve around Document Data Sources. You can find this, under Organization Administration > Setup > Document Management > Document Data Sources.



As seen in the above screen shot, the document data sources form has changed a bit with this new release. Specifically what is pointed out, is the option for creating custom query elements. Also, the edit button, which happens to be disabled until after selecting and registering a query for target of custom filtering.

That is actually the biggest improvement with this release, in regard to the topic of OData. Someone that is an Administrator, not necessarily a developer, can filter queries beyond what they have in their specific designs.



What we see in the image above is the screen that pops up after selecting a custom query option, and having a target query element to create customer filtering options for. We are able, similar to the query options on most grids and forms, select and give specific values for query execution.



Having this set, we are then able to see the Edit Query button enabled for such custom query elements within the Document Data Sources form. Further, once we have our query filtering set, we can rename such elements in the form, that better reflect the nature of the filter being applied. This can be seen in the following image.



Having this, we can now consume the ODataQueryService that comes as part of every AOS for creating Personal BI artifacts through tools like PowerPivot & PowerView. That is what we see in the following image, our valid OData query elements within the design space of PowerPivot.



Now I will point out, the majority of the design requirements for query elements to be valid OData feeds has not changed. You can find out more specific information on that topic, from the following CodePlex Open Source project.: AX-OData Project.

Well that's all for this week. I plan on getting back into a more 2-3 post routine, per week very soon. There is a lot going on in the Dynamics space, and specifically with my new Role as Director of Business Intelligence for Sunrise Technologies, Inc. I will be posting a lot about Dynamics AX and BI in the coming weeks and months, further launching something brand new with MyDynamicsBI.com More on that soon. Make sure to check back next week! Till Next Time!

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OData Query Utility for Dynamics AX 2012

Well I hope everyone is doing well, and finding yourself very productive in this Exciting Week for Microsoft Dynamics. Of course, I'm talking in reference to the now released Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2.

While that for sure deserve's a lot of attention, there is something I wanted to give to the community at large, as my Christmas present if you will to everyone. What I'm talking about is an Open Source Project I created called.: AX-OData Queries



As the above image implies, it's the gift that keeps on giving! That is, this open source project has ready to use, a Utility Wizard, and context action that makes understanding which Queries in a Dynamics AX 2012 instance, are valid candidates to become PowerPivot OData Feed sources!



Further as part of this project, there is a Library component that I started, in which I have placed a customer aging query, in the standard folder location. You can read more, by visiting the project's home page.

Further, important, is the documentation, so the following is a direct link to that.: AX-OData Queries Project Documentation. Make sure to read the Read Me, and then following along from there. This includes from Install, through to How To Use Guide.



The above image is the Dynamics AX 2012 project that currently comprises as v1.0.0 of the OData Query Utility scope. This again, includes a Wizard as well as an Context menu, that lives under the Add-in's section.



Like all projects, this needs revision and refinement. This is an Open Source project, and so I do encourage you to get involved as you can. Help make this better! Further, the changes and impacts of AX 2012 R2 has not be tested against this. So there is plenty of chances to make this a much better set of tools, and queries for common data sets.



As-is, you can download the Utility as an XPO file, and import it into a target Dynamics AX 2012 RTM or Feature Pack instance. Then you can either run the Wizard, or you can execute the Context Menu for a specific single query element. The goal, is to help enable the continued theme of creating a System of Engagement with Microsoft Dynamics AX. This specific will help on the Personal BI landscape, in helping faster enable use of PowerPivot, via OData Feeds.

Well that's all for now! (Early) Merry Christmas! As updates happen, of course I will take the time and let everyone know. Please visit the project, download, test, enjoy, contribute! Till Next Time!

Update: There was a slight feature added this afternoon. One that I thought was important to make the first grid, in which you filter the searching of queries by layers. We have added a new field called "Number of Queries".



Now I admit the speed in which the utilElements table can be read, which is a key to the majority of this, is not at the level I like. This is one of the area's that will be focused on next.
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