ENTERPRISE

Microsoft Dynamic AX 2009 : Configuration and Security - IntelliMorph

11/16/2013 2:44:33 AM
Although Dynamics AX is an international product with support for multiple countries, languages, company sizes, and industries within the same deployment, it is also a productive development platform that ensures a uniform yet very configurable and automatically arranged layout of application functionality. The unique presentation technology is based on model element properties, licensing, configuration and security settings, and personalization, which together lay out the presentation controls on forms, reports, menus, menu items, and corresponding Web elements for each individual user. The technology is called IntelliMorph, and it works with both the rich client and the Web client types in Dynamics AX.

A primary driver of the IntelliMorph technology design is support for international distribution, but with a different approach than other enterprise resource planning (ERP) products; IntelliMorph needs to be ready for multiple countries in multiple languages within the same deployment, and it has to offer the same user experience, regardless of the user interface language. These requirements necessitate the design of a metadata-driven and property-driven user interface in which forms, reports, menus, and menu items react to both global and local configuration and security settings. A positive side-effect of this design is that users can personalize the interface in multiple ways. The personalization capability has been extended even further in Dynamics AX 2009, in which individual users can choose from the following options:

  • Reference all rich client forms as individual favorites to which they can attach any query.

  • Show or hide controls.

  • Change the size of forms and controls.

IntelliMorph automatically arranges functionality based on licensing, configuration and security, and personalization—without programmable changes. Figure 1 illustrates the filtering structure for the layout of elements such as forms, reports, menus, and Web pages.

Figure 1. IntelliMorph presentation structure


The layout includes the license code that opens the parent configuration key, which holds either the security key references or the configuration key children to the security keys. Security keys determine access to the menu items that reference available functionality for user groups and individual users. The final factor in the interface experience is personalization, which allows the user to modify the user interface by hiding, showing, and configuring the presentation controls.

We describe the elements and their interactions and dependencies in greater detail in the following sections, and we also drill down on personalization options.

Note

The presentation and layout of the user interface are not limited to support for IntelliMorph technology; they also provide a rich set of design options for developing Windows forms with many different control types, such as ActiveX and list view controls. You can also customize Dynamics AX reports with the Visual Report Designer, which allows you to visually design a report while using both the X++ syntax and the properties window for arranging and formatting.


Best Practices

Understanding how IntelliMorph works can help you develop the run-time presentation for application extensions. If you follow the best practice design rules and patterns, you can optimize your use of the IntelliMorph technology and ensure a uniform application run-time interface. The best practice principles focus on using the default property settings for the presentation controls that determine how to present elements and functionality. They also cover the general use of labels, field groups, extended data types, auto groups, security and configuration keys, and menu items. The standard Dynamics AX application is developed using all the best practice rules and patterns, which provide a uniform way of interacting with the application and the underlying business logic.

Principles for Forms

Designing application forms can be a very time-consuming task if you always design from scratch, especially if your application must run in a multiple-language deployment. To avoid this time and effort, you should follow the best practice of creating forms and reports by dragging as often as possible and setting very few properties manually. If the system’s default property values don’t suit your needs, you can customize almost any property to fit your application.

When you design the layout of a form for which a table or view is used as the underlying data source, you find that the same field groups and field structures in the original Tables and Views nodes are in the Application Object Tree (AOT). This allows you to drag these field groups and field structures from the form’s Data Sources node directly to the form’s Design node. You should configure the Data Sources to use the Dynamics AX AutoJoin system to ensure that data is synchronized when two forms are linked. When you work with the layout and property settings, you must keep the Auto or Default settings. These settings optimize the use of the auto-arrange technology and limit the need to move pixels to unify and align the form presentation with the rest of the application.

When designing forms, you should adhere to the recommendations in the following list whenever possible to optimize the use of the auto-arrange technology. Most patterns are property settings on the form design.

  • Use default settings, especially for the attributes Left, Top, Width, Height, Frame, WindowResize, WindowType, and HideToolbar.

  • Use the DataGroup attribute when using tables or views as Data Sources.

  • When using the DataGroup attribute, change the AutoDataGroup property to Yes. This setting adjusts the overall behavior based on the data source behavior.

  • Use labels instead of hardcoded strings.

  • Add Help text (status bar Help) as labels instead of hardcoded strings.

  • Use the TitleDatasource property to provide a better and more visible data experience for the user.

  • Set the AutoDeclaration property to Yes if the control features must be accessible from X++ code.

  • Use the AutoJoin system where possible.

If your customers require a unique user experience, you could completely remodel the user interface—no design restrictions prevent you from taking that step. One disadvantage of such an overhaul is that training, flexibility, and upgrading become more complex.

Principles for Reports

IntelliMorph is even more important for reports than for forms. The best practices for reports primarily involve retaining the default settings for properties. When you design a report, however, you often don’t know much about the environment in which the report will execute. The following examples illustrate the types of information you won’t have at design time:

  • The size of the paper in the user’s printer

  • The length or content of the labels according to the user’s installation profile and language

  • The names of the fields disabled by security and configuration key settings

  • The length of the fields (extended data types) in the user’s installation

  • The sort order of the data sent to the report

  • Whether the user wants to print using the subtotals setting or just the totals setting

  • The default settings for font and font size

  • The number of records in the tables from which the report gets its data

Reports can be broadly classified into internal or external reports. Internal reports are circulated and viewed only inside the organization. In such reports, the report presentation and format aren’t critical. Some examples of internal reports are Ledger Transaction List, Project Profitability Statement, bank transactions, and so on. External reports are circulated external to the organization, so their format and layout are important. Such reports include Purchase Orders, Sales Invoices, Vendor Check Payments, and so on. Such reports are usually printed on preprinted stationery and require precision design. Both internal and external reports can be created using the Auto design or Generated design reporting features of Dynamics AX. You can use Auto design for all internal reports and Generated design for external reports that can’t be implemented with Auto designs because they require precise design and layout capabilities such as the following:

  • Reports that are forms with externally determined layouts and where the information is expected to display in specific positions.

  • Reports that are forms for which the design is likely to be adjusted to the customer needs at deployment time. Invoices are one example. Most controls should have their positions fixed (not set to Auto) to simplify moving them by using the Visual Report Designer.

You should follow these design patterns whenever possible:

  • Use default property settings, especially for orientation, width, label, width of label, and other formatting information because fixed settings cause the report controls to disregard the IntelliMorph auto-arrange technology available from the property window.

  • Use the Auto design report type when possible.

Working with IntelliMorph

IntelliMorph provides numerous options for personalizing Dynamics AX forms. These options allow you to move controls, set properties on controls, and add extra fields to forms. Forms are customized at application run time, and settings are saved on a per-user basis. You can invoke the personalization options from multiple places, depending on the type of personalization desired. The personalization options use the same framework whether a column is hidden via the Command entry on the menu bar, moved within the form runtime by using the mouse, or renamed by using the advanced personalization form.

The advanced personalization form, shown in Figure 2, provides the user with customization options.

Figure 2. Advanced personalization form

By using this form, the user can change the tab page order, move elements around, remove fields, add additional fields from existing form Data Sources, rename the field, prevent the field content from being edited, change the default field length, and even choose among multiple versions of the form presentation. The personalization settings can also be shared. For example, a department that wants a common presentation that differs from the standard company presentation but doesn’t want to modify the global form layout could have all users personalize their form settings in the same way.

To make user personalization work, you must define different levels of personalization by using the form design properties AllowUserSetup and AllowAdd. Four levels of personalization are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Personalization Levels
Personalization LevelDescriptionAllowUserSetupAllowAdd
Limit user personalization of formsUser can change only the size and position of the form, not the properties of individual controls. Position and size of the form are saved (the size is saved if SaveSize is set to Yes), so an entry for this form is in the SysLastValue table even though no personalization is allowed.NoNo
Enable customization of controlsUser can change the behavior of individual controls but can’t move them or add new controls. Personal values can be defined for Enabled, Visible, Skip, Width, and Label.RestrictedNo
Enable customization of layoutUser can adjust properties on controls and move controls between containers, move controls from within the Setup form by dragging or by using the navigation buttons, and move grid columns within the grid by dragging them directly onto the form. This feature lets the user create a tab page that encompasses all the information normally entered for a given record or grid, so most forms you create should support this level of personalization.YesRestricted
Enable customization of layout and contentUser can customize layout and add new fields from the Setup form. To support this level of personalization, all code must be moved to the data source fields. Added controls don’t have any code. The properties are the default values for this type of control and data. Only data fields can be added, not any unbound controls or controls bound to display methods.YesYes

The personalization levels also depend on how the form’s X++ code is written. For example, if you override the methods that take the position of the control into account, the kernel can automatically restrict the user setup level.

Other  
  •  Microsoft Dynamic AX 2009 : Reflection APIs (part 3) - Treenodes API
  •  Microsoft Dynamic AX 2009 : Reflection APIs (part 2) - Dictionary API
  •  Microsoft Dynamic AX 2009 : Reflection APIs (part 1) - Table Data API
  •  Microsoft Dynamic AX 2009 : Reflection System Functions
  •  Microsoft Enterprise Library : Banishing Validation Complication - Diving in With Some Simple Examples (part 4)
  •  Microsoft Enterprise Library : Banishing Validation Complication - Diving in With Some Simple Examples (part 3)
  •  Microsoft Enterprise Library : Banishing Validation Complication - Diving in With Some Simple Examples (part 2)
  •  Microsoft Enterprise Library : Banishing Validation Complication - Diving in With Some Simple Examples (part 1)
  •  Microsoft Enterprise Library : Banishing Validation Complication - How Do I Use The Validation Block?
  •  Microsoft Enterprise Library : Banishing Validation Complication - What Does the Validation Block Do? (part 2)
  •  
    Top 10
    Extending LINQ to Objects : Writing a Single Element Operator (part 2) - Building the RandomElement Operator
    Extending LINQ to Objects : Writing a Single Element Operator (part 1) - Building Our Own Last Operator
    3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 2) - Discharge Smart, Use Smart
    3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 1) - Charge Smart
    OPEL MERIVA : Making a grand entrance
    FORD MONDEO 2.0 ECOBOOST : Modern Mondeo
    BMW 650i COUPE : Sexy retooling of BMW's 6-series
    BMW 120d; M135i - Finely tuned
    PHP Tutorials : Storing Images in MySQL with PHP (part 2) - Creating the HTML, Inserting the Image into MySQL
    PHP Tutorials : Storing Images in MySQL with PHP (part 1) - Why store binary files in MySQL using PHP?
    REVIEW
    - First look: Apple Watch

    - 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 1)

    - 3 Tips for Maintaining Your Cell Phone Battery (part 2)
    VIDEO TUTORIAL
    - How to create your first Swimlane Diagram or Cross-Functional Flowchart Diagram by using Microsoft Visio 2010 (Part 1)

    - How to create your first Swimlane Diagram or Cross-Functional Flowchart Diagram by using Microsoft Visio 2010 (Part 2)

    - How to create your first Swimlane Diagram or Cross-Functional Flowchart Diagram by using Microsoft Visio 2010 (Part 3)
    Popular Tags
    Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft OneNote Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Project Microsoft Visio Microsoft Word Active Directory Biztalk Exchange Server Microsoft LynC Server Microsoft Dynamic Sharepoint Sql Server Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Windows 7 Windows 8 Adobe Indesign Adobe Flash Professional Dreamweaver Adobe Illustrator Adobe After Effects Adobe Photoshop Adobe Fireworks Adobe Flash Catalyst Corel Painter X CorelDRAW X5 CorelDraw 10 QuarkXPress 8 windows Phone 7 windows Phone 8 BlackBerry Android Ipad Iphone iOS