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Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnterprise are Dexterity-written applications. Also small business line: Microsoft Small Business Manager or Small Business Financials is written in Dexterity and uses the same code base as Great Plains.
The history of the Dexterity:
The history of the Dexterity. Great Plains Dexterity - is proprietary programming language and technology, designed backin tothe earlierearly 1990th1990s with the goal to build platforma platform-independent graphical accounting package - Great Plains Dynamics. Dexterity itself is written in C (followingwith popular those daysthe hope - that C willwould provide platform independence). You can install Dexterity from Great Plains 7.5 CD #2. Obviously itIt requires a lot of learning / training, but it allows your custom piecepieces to be seamlessly integrated with the Great Plains interface.
• Native Dexterity Cursors.:
Dexterity was designed as a platform -independent programming language. and so ifIf you want your code to be operable on all currently supported databasesGreat -Plains youdatabases, use Dexterity ranges and loops to manipulate the records
• Great Plains Dexterity with SQL Stored Procs: Nowadays
Currently, most of Great Plains installations arehave been moved to MS SQL Server - so you can use Dexterity for custom forms drawing only and make the buttons run SQL stored procedures.
• COM Objects calls:
• COM Objects calls. Beginning with version 7.0 Dexterity supports COM objects - you register them as libraries in Dexterity. Refer the manual as to how to do this. This technique allows you to call such nice things as web services across the internet.
• Dexterity Forms:
• Dexterity Forms - if you likeUsing VBA and are comfortable to dohandle all the business logic in VBA - you can use Dexterity as a new forms creator/editor. This isrequires OKthe -purchase but you have to purchaseof VBA/Modifier and Customization Site Enabler from MBS.
• Great Plains Alternate Forms:
• Great Plains Alternate Forms. These are modification to existing forms – the ones found in DYNAMICS.DIC. The most popular customizationcustomizations are made on the SOP Entry form. If you are designing your customization – we recommend that you to avoid alternate forms – the problem is customization version upgrade. In the case of an alternate form – customization should be redone.
• Some restrictions:
Some restrictions. Great Plains is actually an integration of multiple dictionaries: DYNAMICS.DIC, ADVSECUR.DIC, EXP1493.DIC, etc. In your Dexterity customization you can deal with one dictionary - DYNAMICS.DIC. If you need cross dictionaries customization - consider using SQL Stored Procs for crossing dictionary borders and pulling data/making changes in the other dictionary.
Great Plains macros are also recorded in Dexterity. The ability to handle [[branch (computer science)|branches]] does not appear to exist in these macros.
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