Overview

Alerts “sticky notes” that you can attach to master records and documents in Dynamics GP. Everywhere that master record (such as an Item Number) or transaction (such as a Sales Transaction) is used the Alert will pop-open to present the alert to the user.

Alerts in some transactions trace links to other documents and will show linked alerts. For example, Alerts in Sales Transaction Entry will display linked PO Alerts.

Alerts comes with a large number of pre-built alerts. These “System Alerts” are enabled/disabled per window. Enabling Alerts for a window may turn on an entire group of alerts, such as item alerts, customer alerts, vendor alerts, and document alerts. Enabling alerts on Sales Transaction Entry, for example, turns on Customer, Item, and Sales Transaction Alerts.

If multiple System Alerts are enabled for a window, such as Sales Transaction Entry, you can use Alert Builder to further customize the Alerts by turning specific Alerts on or off, and changing the navigation to reach the alerts. For example, enabling the System Alerts on the Service Depot Entry window adds a Work Order Alert, two different Item Alerts, Equipment Alerts, Customer Alerts, and PO Alerts. If only the Work Order Alert is needed on this window, use the Alert Builder window to disable the other alerts.

Alert Builder is used to tailor the System Alerts, as well as to create new Alerts on 3^rd Party Product windows or customizations.

“Out of the box” Alerts can be created for:

- Customers
- Inventory Transactions
- Inventory Transfers
- Items
- Purchase Orders
- Receivables Transactions
- Sales Transactions
- Service Calls
- Service Configurations
- Service Contracts
- Service Equipment
- Service RMAs
- Service Transfers
- Service Work Orders
- Vendors

Setup

Navigation: Tools >> Setup >> Company >> Setup GP PowerPack. On the GP PowerPack window click the GoTo button >> Alerts – Enable/Disable

The Alerts Setup window is used to enable/disable a set of System Alerts by GP window. System Alerts are pre-defined Alerts that are part of the Alerts module. The Alert Build window is used to create new, User Alerts.

Enabling Alerts for a window may turn on a large number of alerts, some of which you may not want to have active. Alert Builder, covered in the next section, can be used to further refine Alerts by enabling/disabling specific Alerts on each window.

Buttons

GoTo

Alert Errors reports any errors encountered by Alerts when registering Alert triggers, or when attempting to display Alerts. If an Alert is not working as expected, check for Errors.

Fields

Alert Background Color: Set a background color for the Alert View window (shown below). Setting a bright color can help grab attention when the Alert pops-open.

Alert Window Type: There are two options: (1) Require Acknowledgement, and (2) Allow to Remain Open. The first option opens the Alert as a “warning”—the window comes to the foreground and it must be closed before continuing.

The second option displays Alerts as informational messages, similar to how Notes windows work. The Alert will pop into the foreground when it needs to display a new Alert, but the window can remain open. Additionally, multiple Alerts windows can be open at the same time (i.e. if there is a Customer Alert on Sales Transaction Entry, and then also an Item Alert).

The following table shows the Alerts enabled by marking each checkbox in the Alert Setup window.

System Alerts

Location	Alerts
IV: Item Maintenance	Add/Edit Item Alert Alert pop-up when Item Number is entered This alert must be enabled to be able to create Item Alerts. In any other location that refers to “View Item Alert”, the Item Alert is created by the Add/Edit Alert menu on Item Maintenance.
IV: Item Transaction Entry	Add/Edit Item Transaction Alert (attached to the transaction) Alert pop-up when Transaction is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when Item is entered
IV: Item Transaction Inquiry – Add/Edit Alert	Add/Edit Transaction Alert. Since the inquiry displays posted transactions, enabling Add/Edit on the Inquiry window means that an Alert on a posted transaction could be edited. Alert pop-up when Transaction is selected View Item Alert
IV: Item Transaction Inquiry – View Only Alert	View Transaction Alert. The Alert is not editable Alert pop-up when Transaction is selected View Item Alert
IV: Item Transfer Entry	Add/Edit Item Transfer Alert (attached to the transaction) Alert pop-up when a transaction is selected View Item Alert Alert pop-up when Item is selected
PM: Apply Payables Documents	View Vendor Alert Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected
PM: Payables Manual Payment Entry	View Vendor Alert Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected
PM:Payables Transaction Entry	View Vendor Alert Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected
PM: Vendor Maintenance	Add/Edit Vendor Alert Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected This alert must be enabled to be able to create Vendor Alerts. For other location that refers to View Vendor Alert, the Vendor Alert is created by the Add/Edit Alert menu on Vendor Maintenance.
POP: Purchase Order Entry	Add/Edit Purchase Order Alert Purchase Order Alert pop-up when PO is selected View Vendor Alert Vendor Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when Item is selected The Item Alerts in this location work on both the main window, and the Detail Entry window. The PO Alert links to Vendor, Sales (SOP-POP Links), and Service Call Alerts, so if a PO has a SOP-POP Link and the linked Sales Order has an Alert, that alert will pull-through and display when the PO is selected.
POP: Purchase Order Inquiry Zoom – Add/Edit Alert	View PO Alert PO Alert pop-up when PO is selected View Item Alert The PO Alert links to Vendor, Sales (SOP-POP Links), and Service Call Alerts, so if a PO has a SOP-POP Link and the linked Sales Order has an Alert, that alert will pull-through and display when the PO is selected.
POP: Purchase Order Inquiry Zoom – View Only Alert	View PO Alert PO Alert pop-up when PO is selected View Item Alert The PO Alert links to Vendor, Sales (SOP-POP Links), and Service Call Alerts, so if a PO has a SOP-POP Link and the linked Sales Order has an Alert, that alert will pull-through and display when the PO is selected.
POP: Purchasing Invoice Entry	View PO Alert PO Alert pop-up when PO is selected View Vendor Alert Vendor Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when Item is selected The PO Alert links to Vendor, Sales (SOP-POP Links), and Service Call Alerts, so if a PO has a SOP-POP Link and the linked Sales Order has an Alert, that alert will pull-through and display when the PO is selected.
POP: Receivings Transaction Entry	View PO Alert PO Alert pop-up when PO is selected View Vendor Alert Vendor Alert pop-up when Vendor is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when Item is selected The PO Alert links to Vendor, Sales (SOP-POP Links), and Service Call Alerts, so if a PO has a SOP-POP Link and the linked Sales Order has an Alert, that alert will pull-through and display when the PO is selected.
RM: Apply Sales Documents	View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when Customer is selected View Credit Document Alert (i.e. an Alert attached to a Cash Receipt) View Debit Document Alert (i.e. an Alert attached to a Sales Invoice)
RM: Cash Receipts Entry	Add/Edit Cash Receipt Alert Cash Receipt Alert pop-up when document is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when Customer is selected
RM: Customer Maintenance	Add/Edit Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when Customer is selected This alert must be enabled to create Customer Alerts. Any location that refers to View Customer Alert will display the Alert created on the Customer in Customer Maintenance.
RM: Receivables Transaction Entry	Add/Edit Receivables Transaction alert (an Alert attached to the transaction) Receivables Transaction Alert pop-up when transaction is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when Customer is selected
SOP: Sales Transaction Entry	Add/Edit Transaction Alert Transaction Alert pop-up when a transaction is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when Customer is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when Item is selected Item Alerts work on both the main window and the Detail Entry window. The Transaction Alert links to POP and Customer Alerts. If there is a SOP-POP link and the PO has an Alert, it will pop-up when the Sales Transaction is selected. Likewise, if the Customer has an alert, it will pop-open when the transaction is selected.
SOP: Sales Transaction Inquiry Zoom – Add/Edit	Add/Edit transaction Alert Transaction alert pop-up when transaction is selected
SOP: Sales Transaction Inquiry Zoom – View Only	View transaction Alert Transaction alert pop-up when transaction is selected
SVC: Configuration Maintenance	Add/Edit Configuration Alert Configuration Alert pop-up when Configuration is selected View Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when Equipment is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when Customer is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when Item is selected
SVC: Contract Entry/Update	Add/Edit Contract Alert Contract Alert pop-up when a Contract is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when a Customer is selected View Item Alert – Contract Item Alert pop-up when a contract Item is selected View Item Alert – Non Covered Item Alert pop-up when a non-covered Item is selected View Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected
SVC: Desktop Audit	View Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected
SVC: Equipment Inquiry – Add/Edit	Add/Edit Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected
SVC: Equipment Inquiry – View Only	View Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected
SVC: Equipment Maintenance	Add/Edit Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when a Customer is selected This alert must be enabled to add/edit Alerts on Equipment records. Any location that refers to View Equipment Alert will display the Alert attached to the Equipment record created in this window.
SVC: Equipment Service Calls	This is not the Service Call window. Go to Inquiry >> Service Call Mgmt >> Equipment Service Calls View Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected View Service Call alert
SVC: Inventory Receipts	View Transfer Alert Transfer Alert pop-up when a transaction is selected View Item Alert
SVC: Inventory Transfers	Add/Edit Transfer Alert Transfer Alert pop-up when a transaction is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when an Item is selected
SVC: RMA Entry/Update	Add/Edit RMA Alert RMA Alert pop-up when an RMA is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when a Customer is selected View Item Alert – Return Item Return Item Alert pop-up when a Return Item is selected View Item Alert – Misc Item Misc Item Alert pop-up when a Misc Item is selected View Equipment Alert – Misc Misc Item Equipment Alert pop-up when an Equipment record is selected
SVC: Service Call Entry/Update	Add/Edit Service Call Alert Service Call Alert pop-up and a Service Call is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when a Customer is selected View Item Alert Item Alert pop-up when an Item is selected View Item Alert – Parts Item Alert pop-up when a Parts Item is selected View Item Alert – Additional Item Alert pop-up when an Additional Item is selected View Equipment Alert Equipment Alert pop-up and an Equipment record is selected View PO Alert – Additional View PO Alert – Expenses View PO Alert – Parts
SVC: Service Call Inquiry – Add/Edit	Add/Edit Service Call Alert Service Call Alert pop-up when a Service Call is selected View Customer Alert View Item Alert View Item Alert – Parts View Item Alert – Additional View Equipment Alert View PO Alert – Additional View PO Alert – Expenses View PO Alert – Parts
SVC: Service Call Inquiry – View Only	View Service Call Alert Service Call Alert pop-up when a Service Call is selected View Customer Alert View Item Alert View Item Alert – Parts View Item Alert – Additional View Equipment Alert View PO Alert – Additional View PO Alert – Expenses View PO Alert – Parts
SVC: Work Order Entry/Update	Add/Edit Depot Work Order Alert Work Order Alert pop-up when a WO is selected View Item Alert – Inbound Inbound Item Alert pop-up and an Item is selected View Item Alert – Outbound Outbound Item Alert pop-up when an Item is selected View Item Alert – Parts Parts list Item Alert pop-up when an Item is selected View Equipment Alert – Inbound Equipment Alert pop-up and an Inbound Equipment record is selected View Customer Alert Customer Alert pop-up when a Customer is selected View PO Alert – Parts

Alert Builder

Use Alert Builder to create new Alerts attached to GP window, or windows in 3^rd party products or customizations. Alert Builder can also make some changes to the pre-built System Alerts.

Navigation: Tools >> Setup >> Company >> Setup GP PowerPack. On the GP PowerPack window click the GoTo button >> Alert Builder

Buttons

NEW

Start a new custom alert by clicking the NEW button. Alerts will be numbered starting at 22,000. The System Alerts provided with the product all have IDs below 22,000. You can view System Alerts by marking the Show System Alerts checkbox in the Lookup Alert ID window:

No changes can be made to System Alerts. However, they are a good resource for learning how to create custom Alerts.

SAVE

Save the currently displayed Alert.

DELETE

You will be prompted to confirm you want to delete the Alert. User Alerts can be deleted, System Alerts cannot. Deleting an Alert ONLY deletes the “trigger” for the Alert. It does NOT delete the data saved for the Alert. For example, deleting a SOP Alert would remove the trigger from setup, but it would not delete the alerts attached to SOP Documents.

COPY

You can copy a System Alert or a User Alert. First select the Alert you want to copy, then click the Copy button. It will be copied to a new Alert ID.

Fields

Alert ID

Enter the ID for an existing Alert, or select one from the Lookup. Click the NEW button to create a new Alert ID.

Alert Type

Select the location (window/series/module) where the Alert will be attached. If you are creating an alert for a location/window/product that does not exist in the dropdown list, select Custom.

Alert Window

Select Alert Entry to create an “Add/Edit” Alert window.

Select Alert View to create a View Only Alert window. Use this type to create the “alert pop-up”.

You will often need to create two Alerts, one using the Alert Entry window so you have the ability to create new Alerts, and one using the Alert View window so the Alerts will pop-up when the record is selected.

Hot Key

Either type of window can be assigned to a Hot Key (i.e. CTRL+T).

The following Hot Keys can be used:

A to Z (capital A to capital Z)

p to z (lower case p to lower case z). These map to F1 to F11, so using “p” will result in the Hot Key CTRL + F1, and “q” will result in CTRL+F2.

0-9

Menu Name

Enter a name for the menu option that will appear in the Additional Menu. For example, “Add/Edit Alert” or “View Alert”.

Trigger Type

FORM is used to add an Additional Menu option to open the Alert window.

FOCUS is used to provide the automatic pop-open of an Alert. The FOCUS trigger will be on a field on the window. For example, a Customer Alert would have a FOCUS trigger on the Customer Number field so that when a value is entered into that field it “triggers” the Alerts module to check for and display an Alert.

Attachment

This is only used with FOCUS triggers. Normally you will use CHANGE. This means that the FOCUS trigger will fire after the field CHANGEs.

Trigger Point

A Trigger Point is the dexterity Form (for FORM triggers), or a dexterity field (for CHANGE triggers). You can type this directly into the field, but it may be easier (and more accurate) to use the Lookup Resource window.

For a FORM trigger (which adds the Additional Menu navigation), select the Product, Series and Form name.

For a CHANGE trigger, select the Product, Series, Form, Window and Field.

Keys For Record

Select one or more fields from your custom window which define a unique record. For example, on the Item Maintenance window, “Item Number” is enough to define a unique record because each Item Number is unique. However, on Sales Transaction Entry you need two keys (SOP Type and SOP Number) to define a unique record (depending on how the document numbering sequences are set up, it is possible that Orders and Invoices could have the same document number, so the SOP Type is needed to identify one from the other).

You can use up to four fields. It is required to have at least one.

Keys For Display

As you select Keys For Record, they will automatically populate into the Keys For Display fields. The Display Keys are used on the Alert Window (and report) as a “label” for the Alert. In a composite key (where more than one field is needed), you may want only one or two of the fields to “display” when showing the Alert. For example, for a SOP Alert you might show only the SOP Number.

Activate

Mark the Activate checkbox to make the new Alert active. Then click the GoTo button and select Re-Register Alerts Triggers. This process will enable the new triggers for the current user (other users will need to close GP and log-in again).

Re-Register Alerts

Navigation: GoTo Button >> Re-Register Alerts Triggers

Click the button to re-register the Alerts triggers. These changes become active for the current user. Other users will need to close GP and then log-in again for any changes to be activated.

Export Alerts

Navigation: GoTo Button >> Export Alerts

You can export one Alert, all System Alerts, or all User Alerts. To export a single Alert, select it so it is displayed in the Alert Build window before opening Export Alerts.

Select a folder where you want to save the Alert(s), and provide a name for the file. The Alerts will be exported as a CSV file. You do not need to add the file extension to the file name.

Click the EXPORT button.

Import Alerts

Navigation: GoTo Button >> Import Alerts

Select an Alert Export file, then click the Import button. Alert IDs will NOT be overwritten. New IDs will be created for each imported Alert.

Creating a New Alert

Creating Custom Alerts requires a high degree of familiarity with Dexterity. WilloWare Support can create Custom Alerts for you. Please contact support@willoware.com for rates.

Alerts are, in general, created using two types of “triggers”.

- 1. A trigger on a “form” (a GP window) which adds the Additional menu option to Add/Edit or View the Alert. This is a FORM Trigger.
  2. A trigger on a field change script which causes an Alert to pop-open. This is a FOCUS Trigger.

When creating a new Alert the first step is to create a Form Trigger. The Form Trigger adds the Additional Menu navigation to open the Alert Entry window or Alert View window. If you are adding the Alert to a Maintenance or Transaction Entry window, you should add navigation to the Alert Entry window. If you are adding the Alert to an Inquiry window, you should add navigation to the Alert View window.

However, you can have the Alert Entry window open from Inquiry windows too, if you want users to have the ability to Add/Edit Alerts, but not have access to the Maintenance or Transaction window where the records are created.

Each Alert usually requires at least one other trigger—a trigger to make the Alert pop open. This is usually a Focus Trigger on a field on the window. For example, a Focus Trigger on the CHANGE of Item Number on Item Maintenance could be used to pop-open Alert View.

The following steps will add a new alert on Kit Maintenance. Before creating a new alert you need to gather information about the location where the Alert will be added. You will need to know the dexterity technical name of the form, window, and field. A good way to get this information is to open the desired window in Modifier.

In Modifier you can see several important pieces of information:

Series = Inventory
Form Name = IV_Item_Kits
Window = IV_Item_Kits
Field = Item Number

In the Properties window (below) you can see the Title of the window is “Item Kit Maintenance”. This is what will appear in the Window Name field in the Resource Lookup window.

Click the NEW button on Alert Builder to generated the next Alert ID.

Alert ID: This must be generated by the system. User Alerts are numbered 22,000 and up. The System Alerts are numbered 1 to 21,999. The System Alerts can be viewed, but cannot be changed or deleted. Viewing the existing System Alerts is a good way to see how to create new alerts.

Alert Type: select Custom.

Alert Window: select Alert Entry. The Alert View window is used for the “pop-up” Alert display. As described in more detail below, the Alert View is usually launched by a field change trigger. The Alert Entry window is used to create and maintain an Alert, and is usually accessed only via the Additional menu on the primary window associated with the Alert Type.

Trigger Type: select FORM. Form triggers are used to add navigation to manually open the Alert Entry or Alert View window.

Hot Key: This is used only for Form Triggers (Additional Menu navigation), and provides a keyboard shortcut to open the window. Enter Hot Key = E, and Menu Name = Add/Edit Alert.

Trigger Point: For a Form Trigger the Trigger Point is just the name of the form. We found this earlier by opening the form in Modifier, so you can enter IV_Item_Kits. The capitalization needs to match exactly. You can also lookup the form. Using the Lookup window ensures correct spelling and capitalization.

Keys For Record: Select one or more fields from the window that are the record key. You may need to look up the Table Definition to see what the primary key is. For an Item Alert the key is the Item Number field. For a SOP Alert the key is SOP Type and SOP Number. For Alerts that have multiple keys, such as a SOP Alert, it is important that the key fields be entered in the correct order. Look at the System Alerts if you are unsure what the key fields are.

If you are familiar with Dexterity syntax you can manually type in the field name. However, to ensure correct spelling and punctuation, use the Lookup.

Select the Item Number field, then click SELECT.

Keys For Display: The Keys for Display will fill-in automatically as you select the Keys for Record. The Keys for Display have no effect on the storage or retrieval of the alert. Normally they are the same as the Keys For Record, but they do not need to be. For the SOP Alerts, for example, the only field selected for Keys for Display is the SOP Number field. If both SOP Number and SOP Type were included in the Keys for Display the top of the Alert window would show “Alert for B000003~2”, which is a combination of the SOP Number and the numeric value which corresponds to “Order”.

Your Alert Builder window should now look like the sample shown below.

Click the SAVE button.

The second trigger is the one that makes the Alert pop-open automatically. On Item Kit Maintenance the obvious place to put this trigger is on the Item Number field. It appears that when you enter an Item Number, select one from the Lookup, or use the scrolling buttons, the Item Number field “changes”.

However, this is often not the case. The auto-open Alert trigger requires more investigation. The best way to do this is with a dex script log. If you are not familiar with editing the dex.ini file or how to create a dex script log, do not proceed with these steps.

As shown above, add the following line to the dex.ini file: ScriptDebugger=TRUE. This will add a new Menu to GP through which you can enable/disable script logging from inside GP so that you can capture a log of just the activity you want to examine.

Log-in to GP and open the Item Kit Maintenance window.

From the Debug menu, select Log Scripts. Save the file to your Desktop (or another location you can find easily).

Type in a Kit Item Number and press the TAB key. This will cause the Item Number “change script” to run. Go back to Debug and unmark Log Scripts.

Open the script log. You can see that the first line (IV_Item_Kits Item_Number_CHG) is the Item Number “change script” running. Then “Display() of form IV_Item_Kits” runs. When you see parentheses after a word that means it is a FUNCTION. ExistsForItemID() and Create() are also functions. SetRangeItemID does not have parentheses, so it is a PROCEDURE.

Record another script of clicking once on the scrolling buttons. In that script you will also find Display() of form IV_Item_Kits, but you will NOT find IV_Item_Kits Item_Number_CHG. This means that the Item Number “change script” does not run each time the Item Number changes. However, Display() of form IV_Item_Kits does run regardless of how the Item Number is entered/selected.

So, the “pop up Alert” trigger will need to be a Function Trigger.

Click NEW to start a new trigger.

Alert Type: Select Custom

Alert Window: Select Alert View

Trigger Type: Select Function

Trigger Point: enter the following: Display of form IV_Item_Kits

There is no Lookup to find this—it must be manually entered. Note that the parentheses are NOT included.

Keys for Record: This is the same key used for the Additional Menu trigger. The Alert is attached to the Kit Item Number.

Keys for Display: this will populate automatically with the Item Number entered in the Record Keys.

Click SAVE.

To activate newly created Alerts, click the GoTo button and select Re-Register Alerts Triggers. On the Register window click the Register Alerts Triggers button.

This will only activate the new Alerts for the current user. Other logged-in users must restart GP for the changes to take effect.

Tables

Table Name	Physical Name	Purpose
wAlertErr	W5026AlertErr	Stores errors encountered by Alerts when it attempts to register Alert triggers, or display Alerts.
wAlerts	W5026105	Stores the Alerts. Alert Key is a composite field that may contain up to four pieces of information. The fields are separate with "~". So SOP Type Invoice and SOP Number "STDINV2233" will appear as "3~STDINV2233".
wAlertSetup	W5026AlertSetup	Stores the Alert Triggers. Both System and User Alerts are stored in this table.