Trials of a New SLX Web Developer

One Door CLoses and Another on Opens..

richeaton — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:44:11 +0000

On October 1, 2010 I was informed that Sage would be terminating my contract with the PSG group. I can’t say I am surprised by this, I might even say I am somewhat relieved. I was asked by the then Director of CRM to join Sage in a position that would have used my skill set to the fullest. I would be assisting companies, “The Key Companies”, that had SalesLogix implemented explore how they might use the application better and generate a stronger ROI. During the almost 3 years at Sage I had never been engaged to do this type of review. I was asked to learn the new 7.2.2 Web Client. Then following a great job by the training department, was sent out into the field as the “Expert” on version 7.2.2. Since it was just a short time after the 7.2.2 release they quickly brought out a 7.5.0 and then 7.5.1 and now we are now at version 7.5.3 it was apparent that version 7.2.2 was close to the worst release of product software Sage has ever made. However, I followed the company doctrine and tried to defend it. The concept of what SalesLogix wants to do makes sense, the web is the future of the business and applications are moving there quickly. This is evident even with the new features in v7.5.3. Functionality like drag and drop capabilities, User generated Widgets and increased performance are some of the newer advantages of the platform.
I was continually asked to jump into the fire and help companies and business partners having issues with the application.

So this brings me to the next thought .. Where do I go from here ?

With a skill set that allows for Project Management, Development and End user training I could be leaning towards a single company. Head back to helping a single company make the most of their CRM investment.
So for all of those that have followed this blog and been disappointed in the lack of postings cheer up. The frequency will increase here as a new and exciting adventure begins.

Dynamic Picklists — Well Sorta

richeaton — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:03:13 +0000

I know it has been some time since I last wrote in this blog however, I have not been doing any real development work with SalesLogix Web. I have been focusing on some LAN client upgrades and some customizations for clients who have not yet moved to the web client. Just a short time ago I was presented with another upgrade project this time it is a Web to Web upgrade. The client is currently running the older SalesLogix Web Client and would like to migrate to the 7.5.2 client.

Things had been going along very smooth until I get to one item; the client would like to have a new lookup displaying the Team names inside this lookup. Well, this seemed to me like a pretty simple task however, I was surprised to learn it took a little more than I thought.

First I tried using the Lookup control: Using the OwnerRights object to get the listing of team names. While this started out simple for me soon I realized that I was getting multiple returns for all the SeccodeDescriptions in the database, when I tried to apply the filter as a Owner.type = 2, the lookup wouldn’t return anything.

After a few tries at resolving these issues and not having much luck I choose to try a technique used in the LAN client many times. What if I could create the picklist dynamically, make a SQL call into the database return what I wanted and put that into a picklist.. this would resolve my issues. I can’t say enough about the SalesLogix community and the number of people who share code and ideas because a simple search returned me something written by CustomerFX that shows how to populate a combobox in the web client.

Taking this example here is what I ended up with ——

===================== CODE =====================

// Added to gather Selection of SalesLogix Team Names and populate bombo box with the names to simulate lookup control.
// First gather all team names, then bind the resulting list to control and add a blankline so control will show nothing if

// there is no data in the field.
using (Sage.Platform.Orm.SessionScopeWrapper session = new Sage.Platform.Orm.SessionScopeWrapper())
{

cboTeam.Items.Clear();
cboTeam.Items.Insert(0, new ListItem(” “, ” “));
// Get List of Teams from the database
string qry = String.Format(“Select SecCodeDesc From Seccode Where SeccodeType = ‘G’”);

NHibernate.IQuery query = (NHibernate.IQuery)session.CreateSQLQuery(qry).AddScalar(“SecCodeDesc”, NHibernate.NHibernateUtil.String);

System.Collections.IList list = query.List();
list.Add(“”);

cboTeam.Items.Clear();
cboTeam.DataSource = list;
cboTeam.DataBind();
cboTeam.Items.Insert(0, new ListItem(” “, ” “));

}

======================= END OF CODE ===============

This turned into a good working solution for my issue at hand. Next some interaction with a WebService.. lets see how that falls out.

Into the Future

richeaton — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:34:51 +0000

Well, my absence has been a little longer than I had previously thought it would be however seems that items are now flowing in the positive direction once more. I am excited and glad to be back into full swing. So, what is the next task I have been given ? I am sure many of you will be excited to see this and I am sure we may find a few more followers than we have had in the past, the new topic… drum roll please …. SalesLogix Cloud !!

Yes I am being asked to learn and handle many of the aspects of living in the cloud. This includes assisting Business Partners and Clients alike move start new or move their existing environments to the new cloud structure. I have found one f the best ways to start understanding this new platform is to read as much as possible, and then to try it out. We at PSG have moved our internal SalesLogix system to the cloud approximately 1 month ago. I can say that the performance has been great I can access our instance from anywhere regardless of a VPN connection or not. This first item is a big winner for us.

In the reading area I have found a few places where I have started to gather information, these rae very valuable and offer some great insight on the technology.

The first is Amazon Web Services they offer quite a bit of information about the cloud and the EC2 project

Another is a Daily Email I get from TechNet called SearchCloudComputing.

As I move deeper into the projects I will share with you the trials and successes we have as we move clients to the new platform. THanks everyone for your support and thoughts the emails have been great and it feels good to be back in the swing.

7.5.2 Soon to be RTM But this is really great..!!

richeaton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:18:18 +0000

I have made mention many times to my lack of actual coding experience and how I have managed to learn just about everything I know through SalesLogix. Developing in the LAN client had become easier over the years due to the contributions of many functions, things like Application.BasicFunctions.GetWhatIWant. On last Friday I had the opportunity to sit in on the SalesLogix Developers Challenge, this is an internal Sage meeting that occurs every 2 weeks or so. This week, Mark Dykun presented MySLX, this seems to be the first steps for the new web product that pseudo coders like me can take advantage of. I suggest you check out Mark’s blog for more information on this. In the next coming days I am going to be diving deep into SalesLogix 7.5.2 and trying to expose and show you some of the advancements that have been made.

One other main product development inclusion is the official release of sData or Sage Data. A communication protocal that will make integration with SalesLogix and other application much easier. This also now provides a standard platform for integration for all Sage products including MAS Accounting packages. Ryan Farley has a great post on sData I would make sure to read that before going to Sage Summit this next coming week in Atlanta.

So after a brief absence… Now What..??

richeaton — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:29:35 +0000

There has been some time lag between my last post and now. I am sure the vast following of this blog is taking this all in stride and checking each and everyday to see when I might get back to documenting the perils of my development experiences. Well hopefully this will happen shortly, I just wanted to share today that at certain ages your perspective on everything changes and sometimes it changes based on circumstances beyond your control. The latter was the case for me over the last few months. Personal issues with my family have made it very hard to place any priority on anything but making sure they were well or getting better. The experiences over the last few months have shown me there is much more than 14-15 work days, constant learning and vacation-less years. I am trying now to better manage my time and while I still struggle with getting everything done the one thing I am sure of is it will get done. I hope many of you reading this will have the opportunity to attend Sage Summit this year in Atlanta, sadly I will not be there. This will be the first time since Sage has started the Sage Summit that I will not be attending. I know that I’ll be thinking about the friends I have made over the years who maybe attending and hopefully they will have a great time and see some of the drastic improvements in the SalesLogix Web Client.

Well if anyone has any ideas and or issues they are trying to resolve please feel free to mention them and we can take a shot at trying to resolve them together, until I am deep into the 0′s and 1′s I hope your all well and healthy.

Mission Completed

richeaton — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:32:50 +0000

This week I have the opportunity to attend and present two sessions at the SalesLogix Bootcamp for business partners. While getting a chance to reconnect with friends I have made in the BP community is always a good thing this time it was something a bit more. The typical promotional agenda took a back burner to the technology and training that was so drastically needed. I would have to start off saying that the training group at SalesLogix is unsurpassed in everything they do, in just 6 weeks they threw together an event that was heralded by all. Session from very deep dives on the new SP2 architecture, Optimizing SalesLogix Web Performance to actual coding sessions where everyone had a chance to build some customizations while all together. I heard numerous times that this was something they needed.

During the bootcamp the SalesLogix Beta for SP2 was released and beside the numerous defect fixes there are some major improvements in performance. Reading the upgrade manual will help breakout the new additions.

Well next up my sessions, while I have been one of the biggest critics of the 7.2.2 migration utility, I would have to say that the versions since 7.5.1 have been great. I tried in my presentation to provide the business partners with a good view of the tool, how to install and use it, what to expect from it and how I have been using it. I was presented with a beta version of the 7.5.2 mid week before bootcamp and struggled with getting the 7.5.2 SP installed finally getting an image that was working on Monday at bootcamp with my presentation on Thursday. We can just say in everyones history there is the one presentation that fail to meet not only the audiences expectation but the presenters also.. this was mine. Errors crept up and reared their ugly head. Well, I think I’ll try and create a quick review document that might help recap my presentation minus the error.

Well back into the swing of client projects, I’d love to hear about anything your working on that might be fun and exciting or ideas you might have for customizations we can work through.

SalesLogix Bootcamp 2009

richeaton — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:24:50 +0000

Well in the midst of summer, business activities always seem to slow down a little and this year is really no different. While we are waiting on a few clients to finish their reviews and approvals one of the things I seem to find myself doing is looking for new ideas and possibly some training classes to help my limited knowledge-base. This week Sage has announced a new program called “SalesLogix Champion Program”. The purpose is to help people become more aware of the application and have a better understanding of what it can and can’t do. The program consists of Technical and Sales information, input to Sage on future design and functionality as well as some access to various people within the Sage organization.

SalesLogix Bootcamp is the first to kick off here are the details:

• When: August 17 – 21, 2009
• Where: Scottsdale, Arizona
• Who: SalesLogix Business Partner Technical and Business staff
• Cost: Attendees pay their individual airfare and hotel accommodation costs. Sage will cover the conference facilities, breakfast and lunch during training and at least one evening event dinner.

The agenda is still being finalized, but proposed topics include the following:
Technical (80% – Approximately 4.5 Days)
• Upgrading from v6.2.x/v7.0 LAN to v7.5.x LAN
• Migrating from LAN to 7.5.x Web
• Migration tools
• Best Practices
• Intellisync
• Exchange Link
• Web dashboards
• Mobile installation, set-up and configuration
• Performance Tuning
• Database
• Web servers
• Customization
• Best practices
• Application Architect
• Codeless customizations
• Coded customizations
• Future-proofing customizations
• SalesLogix Architecture
• sData/web services integration
• Visual Analyzer
• Troubleshooting
Sales and Business Strategy (20%, approximately 1.5 Days)
• Competitive analysis
• Strategic direction, vision and roadmap
• Effective use of Sales tools
• How to do killer demos
• Positioning/sales strategy
• Open discussion/feedback with Sage Executive Leadership
The Technical track will be all week and the Sales/Business Strategy track will run concurrently, in mid-week. To get more specifics, register and keep abreast of the event please go to the following link:

http://www.sageu.com/ns_crm/bp/champion/bootcamp.html

Please note, everyone attending the Technical Track of the Boot Camp must take the 2 Day “.NET Fundamentals” course (or have equivalent experience) which is being offered by Sage for a limited time at no charge. Please see http://www.sageu.com/ns_crm/bp/champion/fundamentals.html for sign up for this class. We also have planned a number of technical webinars, in advance of the Boot Camp on a number of specific technical topics; see http://www.sageu.com/ns_crm/bp/champion/technicalwebinar.html for the list and to register. Please direct questions about the Boot Camp, Technical Webinar Series or .NET Fundamentals course to training.crm@sage.com or call 888-765-6662.

Also, be sure to join the Boot Camp discussions in the Partners area of the Sage SalesLogix Community http://community.sagesaleslogix.com/slsl/board?board.id=bootcamp_champion to provide feedback and get additional information.

I look forward to seeing you all in Scottsdale in August, I suggest you all pack a sweater it might be a little chilly.. well a guy can wish can’t he?

What is a wireframe..?

richeaton — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:23:59 +0000

In all my efforts to become more knowledgeable on web development and project estimation I have realized that I was missing a critical element in my skill set, Wireframes. Yes, I too asked the question when I first heard about them.. What is a wireframe? Well to make it simple it is nothing more than a design tool that can be used as a reference for what your web page will look like. I had some issues with the forms I could find on the web and using them with SalesLogix. Basically they had all the elements one could want, but seemed to be missing the connection to the business rules. This led me to create my own basic wireframe for SalesLogix. A simple frame with places for picklists, business rules, control level requirements, naming, entity binding and any other functionality each control should have. Once I had created this it makes a create template to effectively and quickly outline the functionality of your web pages and interactions. Check out wireframes they will aid you in reducing your development time.

A few more resources

richeaton — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:26:56 +0000

Here are a few resources I came across today that might be helpful for anyone considering a web project for SalesLogix:

Effective Strategy To Estimate Time For Your Design Projects

Adaptive CSS-Layouts: New Era In Fluid Layouts

SLXGrid Helper

Importing Data Via SQL DTS

Trilllian Astra Beta Open for Downloads

Upgrading from LAN to Web for SalesLogix

richeaton — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:02:42 +0000

Upgrading version of critical software in any venture is difficult enough but when the upgrade includes migration to a different delivery method and platform the task may appear to be undaunted. Over the course of the last year and a half I have been assisting our business partners as they look to upgrade some of their key accounts form the LAN client to the Web client of SalesLogix. The readers of this blog understand that prior to joining Sage I was working on the client side and upgrading to the SalesLogix web client wasn’t even a thought for me. Since the release of 7.2.2 and with the now released 7.5.1 I am a web advocate. The change in my thought has come to me based upon a few things

Technology — years ago when everything was mainframe/blue screen SalesLogix moved towards the client server platform. This was near cutting edge at that time, now they are doing very much the same thing. While the Internet and the web are not cutting edge in the basic sense, in the technical sense it still is as many of the newer technologies are being developed for the web. Things like Mashups, AJAX controls, single sign-on and of course many different places one can find information
Ease of Implementation — much easier to have the end users use a web browser than have installed software
Ease of Support — With many of the moving parts now located in the server space it makes overall support of the end users easier

Since I am now a convert I thought I would share with you how I have been going about migrating clients form the LAN client to the Web client. The first and foremost thing that needs to be understood is that this is a different platform so you really can’t compare things you did in the LAN client to things you can do in the web client. Since the underlying technology is different some of the things that have been done in the past have to be re-examined and perhaps changed so that similar functionality can be achieved. You just can’t say “Well it took me 2 hours to build this form in the LAN client, so it should take me 2 hours to build it in the web.” While this might be true for some forms the majority will find it takes slightly longer when your first getting started. I figured since I have been through a few now I would outline the steps I use when upgrading to 7.5.1 Web Client.

Review the current database — Look at much of the functionality, are the current customizations being used?
Create a form by form design outline — a quick schema outlining the controls and functionality of them
Upgrade the existing database to version 7.5.1 — I still use the guide supplied because as I have said before make sure you do all the steps. This is not the same simple platform it was before
Install the Sage Migration tool — this gets installed into Application Architect
In the LAN Architect — create projects based on forms to be converted, I create each detail form as it’s own project. The tabs from the major entities are each their own project. Single out any form you believe to have lots of functionality or is customized extensively.
In Application Architect — extend any fields that were added to the tables to the web. This includes bringing in new tables/entities
Use the migration tool to start bringing in the projects — do them one at a time from start to completion to ensure your not missing any functionality. You’ll need to understand that the migration tool doesn’t always bring you 100% of the way there but it can get you very close. I then review the code from the LAN form that has been converted to C# code by the migration tool. Add back any code / functionality that may not have converted.
Review the form post conversion — this is an important step because it is here that you might be able to provide a better end user experience than the existing form by combining controls into areas as Tasklets, Mashups and menu lines.

This is the basics that have been working for me. The key thing to remember is that not all functionality that is available in the LAN client is available in the web yet, so you might have to create a work around or two. These situations have led me to the numerous resources I have posted about in a privious blog.