Setup

Navigation: Tools >> Setup >> Manufacturing >> MFG Data Archive Setup

Use this window to specify the Archive Company database, and to enable/disable MFG Data Archive. Enabled MFG Data Archive is a company-specific setting. If you have multiple live companies, each company can have its own Archive.

If you have not already created an Archive Company per the Professional Advantage instructions, follow the Create Archive Utility instructions below.

Enable Mfg Data Archive: mark this box to enable the archive for the current company database. You must have first created the Archive company database and specified the database name in the Archive Company Database field.

Archive Company Database: If you are using Company Data Archive (CDA) from Professional Advantage, select the Company ID you created as an archive for CDA. NOTE: the archive company must already have manufacturing installed and must be at exactly the same version level as the live company. If the CDA archive company was created without manufacturing installed, contact Microsoft Professional Services for instructions and support on adding Manufacturing to an existing company.

Utilities button: The Setup Utilities allow you to manually perform some database preparation activities that would normally be performed automatically when using the Create Archive Utility. If you manually created an archive database, see the instructions below for Setup Utilities.

Create Archive button: Opens the Create Archive Utility. See instructions below.

Click SAVE to store the settings.

Creating an Archive Company

If you do not have an archive company, there are two options:

1. Create a new, empty company using GP Utilities. See the Dynamics GP Installation.pdf document for instructions.
2. Use the Create Archive Utility included with MFG Data Archive. This method creates the archive by copying the live company, then it removes data from tables that will be covered by the archive. See instructions below for Create Archive Utility.

 

 

Creating an Archive Company

If you do not have an archive company, there are two options:

1. Create a new, empty company using GP Utilities. See the Dynamics GP Installation.pdf document for instructions.
2. Use the Create Archive Utility included with MFG Data Archive. This method creates the archive by copying the live company, then it removes data from tables that will be covered by the archive. See instructions below for Create Archive Utility.

 

Create Archive Utility

To run this utility, you must be logged in as SA.

The Archive Utility will create an archive company by creating an empty database, making a backup of the live database, then restoring the backup of live into the archive database. The final step removes all data in the archive database from tables that will be populated by the archive.

It also removes SQL table triggers from archive tables. SQL Triggers can interfere with the archiving process. This approach to creating an archive database can be faster than creating a new, empty company using GP Utilities.

Database Name: this will default to the current company. You must be logged-in to the live company for which you want to create an archive.

Company Name: name of the current company.

Save Backup To: this will default to the Backup path specified on the SQL server. If it is blank, enter the path to a folder where the backup can be stored. Make sure the backup location has enough free space to store the backup file.

Archive Database Name: provide a 5-character database name for the archive company.

Archive Company Name: provide a company name. This must be different than the company name for any other GP company.

Data File Location: this will default to the data file location specified on the SQL server. Only change this if instructed to do so by the database administrator. Changing the database location later is extremely difficult to do.

Have all users out of the live company before proceeding.

Click Create Archive Company.

NOTE: this process may run for many a long time depending on the size of your company database. GP may appear to be “Not Responding”. Do not force GP to close during this process.

 

Setup Utilities

WARNING: these utilities mass delete data. They should never be against a live company database. Make backups of your databases before running these utilities.

Clear Manufacturing Tables and Drop All Triggers run automatically when the archive database is created using our Create Archive Utility.

You must enter an Archive Database on the Setup window before you can open the Utilities window.

The system will check whether data already exists in the Manufacturing tables. If it does, it must be cleared before using Mfg Data Archive or the archival process will generate errors.

If you manually created an archive database by restoring a backup of live, all utilities should be run before starting to use Mfg Data Archive and Company Data Archive.

Clear Manufacturing Tables: this process removes all manufacturing transaction data from the archive database.

Clear CDA Tables: (OPTIONAL): Only use this utility if you will be using Company Data Archive (CDA) from Professional Advantage. This utility removes all Dynamics GP transaction data for transactions covered by CDA. DO NOT run this if you have been using Company Data Archive and already have archived data.

Drop All Triggers: Dynamics GP databases have SQL table triggers that help keep different tables in-sync. When the archive software adds records to the archive database these triggers can execute, resulting in errors. Since Dynamics GP will not be used to create new transactions in the archive company, or to add, remove, or update master records, these triggers serve no purpose and must be dropped.