Lasernet FO Connector 6.18 New Features and Fixes

Lasernet Connector for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations

Release version: 6.18

Release date: 22nd September 2022

Introduction

This page describes the new features, fixes, and enhancements in Lasernet FO Connector 6.18.

Click to view the Lasernet FO Connector 6.18 Release Notes.

New Features, Enhancements, and Fixes – Lasernet FO Connector 6.18

Lasernet FO Connector version 6.18 is released for Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations version 10.0.28 (PU52) and 10.0.29 (PU53).

The same source code is used across all versions.

The Connector contains many new features that can assist in improving performance, and it has been optimized in relation to performance. This version also contains features that can reduce the content of the XML file and, therefore, optimize performance.

The main focus of these enhancements:

• Performance

• Reliability

• Usability (user experience) and flexibility

• Simplicity

This is aimed to be a quality update, provided through the following new features, fixes, and enhancements in Lasernet FO Connector 6.18.

Autoform DM Integration

The latest version of Lasernet Connector for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations 6.18 includes an integration of Autoform DM.

For more information on Autoform DM for Dynamics 365, watch the Introduction to Autoform DM for Dynamics 365 video.

The following Autoform DM integrations and enhancements are now included with this version of Lasernet FO Connector:

• Seamlessly connect to Dynamics.

• View all documentation for a specific account within the FO interface.

• Search for and retrieve documents quickly.

• Share FO documents with non-Dynamics users.

• Enable access to document sets for customers or suppliers external to your domain.

• Secure storage of all files (PDFs, invoices, video files, audio files) alongside metadata.

• Automatic indexing and content type allocation.

• Centralized administration and access controls.

• A fast and simple Document Import tool.

• ISO 27001 compliant.

For more details about this product, visit the Autoform DM for Dynamics page on the Formpipe website.

A full description of the Autoform DM integration enhancements can be found in the relevant additions to the Lasernet FO Connector User Guide.

Expression Editor Enhancement

The auto-complete function will show up as soon as you start typing in the new . It will automatically filter values based on context of the expression and what has been already typed.

The icons in the auto-complete lookup indicate the types of available objects.

If you start typing ‘C’, the editor will automatically show all available sources starting with ‘C’. CustConfirmJour and CustConfirmTrans are the available tables for the report, and in this example, the SalesConfirmReplacement is used.

If you select or type the table name and continue typing the field name, all available fields and methods will appear in an auto-complete list.

Error Reporting

Syntax analysis and error reporting are automatic. If an error occurs in the Expression, an automatic callout with a short error message will appear, and a longer version will appear in the status line below the editor. Note that the error position in the status line is indicated with <-!->.

Syntax Updates

Multi-line expressions are now supported. Comments are also added to improve the documentation of some of the expression parts.

Example:

Switch CustConfirmJour.CustGroup

            case "Regular" then "Regular customer"

            case "Priority" then "Priority customer" /* Special name for Priority customers */

            default "Other customers"

End + " "  + "order"

Syntax Colors

Syntax elements are now color-coded:

Be aware that syntax highlighting can be slow in environments with high network latency. Because of automatic validation and highlighting, quite a few roundtrips to the server and back are required. You can monitor latency in your browser by clicking F12 > Network.

An established VPN connection can also slow performance, as the latency can be higher than when running the software without a VPN.

Enums

There is a new value source called Enums. Enums will also appear in the auto-complete lookup, but only when the filter reduces the number of them below 20. This is done to avoid loading a massive amount of data, as there are many Enums in the system.

Enums now support three types of values. For example, if SalesTable.Sales status is Open order:

1. (New) SalesTable.SalesStatus would return the numeric value of the Enum, such as 1.

2. SalesTable.SalesStatus:NAME would return a symbolic representation of the Enum, such as Backorder.

3. SalesTable.SalesStatus:LABEL would return the label of the , such as Open order.

If these are used in expressions, ensure that you compare the same type of value. The best practice is to use :NAME as this will be the same across all environments, even where numeric values might differ.

Test of Expression

New functionalities for testing an Expression have been implemented. You can test expressions with different values that can be plugged into them and observe the output result. To test your Expression, specify the test values, then click Calculate test result.

All test values are saved as LastValues in the user’s Usage data under Class > LACExpressionParser > TestValues. The Calculate test result checkmark is also saved in Usage data as Form > LACExpressionEditor > CalculateTestResult. Normally, test values can be reused across various expressions, as these are common for all of them. Only relevant values are shown by default, but you can show all test values saved for the user by clicking Show all. Select Clean test values to indicate how many test values are saved for a user.

Support for SharePoint 365 Graph in Lasernet

A new option to support Microsoft ®/Lasernet Graphs when working with SharePoint is now introduced.

The support for SharePoint 365 Graph in Lasernet can be accessed by navigating to Setup > Administration > Connection > Graph setup in Lasernet.

Adjustment of the Lasernet Configuration

The following adjustments are required within the Lasernet configuration to support the Sharepoint 365 Graph in Lasernet:

1. Update script:

Attach documents > AttachDocumentGeneric (prefix, prefix2)

The code in StorageType is the SharePoint part of the method.

logger.logEvent(0, prefix + ' loading file from: ' + job.getJobInfo(pref + 'StorageType'));
if (job.getJobInfo(pref + 'FilePath') != job.getJobInfo(pref + 'FilePathGraph'))
{  
    // On graph full path should be in FileStorage
    job.setJobInfo('AttachmentFileStorage', job.getJobInfo(pref + 'FilePathGraph')+
                                             job.getJobInfo(pref + 'FileStorage'), true);
    job.setJobInfo('AttachmentFileStorageCategory', '', true);
}
else
{                
    // Setting file name for azureStorageCommand
    job.setJobInfo('AttachmentFileStorage', job.getJobInfo(pref + 'FileStorage'), true);
    job.setJobInfo('AttachmentFileStorageCategory', job.getJobInfo(pref + 'FilePath'), true); 
}

2. Update script:

LAC functions > SetOutParameters

job.setJobInfo('OutFilePathGraph', job.getJobInfo(mergedPrefix + 'FilePathGraph'), true);

3. Open the SharePoint Output module, select Pre JobInfos, and add additional value with the criteria. This will set OutFilePath to OutFilePathGraph if OutFilePath is not equal to OutFilePathGraph.

316466@LAC365FO – Improve warning when resending documents to predefined destination and not use Force rerun

An improved warning is added for attempts to resend documents by using a predefined destination and not using Force rerun.

Force-rerun is required when resending documents and when using predefined destinations, as this would require all data (tables/fields) to identify the proper destination.

The following warning is introduced when resending:

312295@LAC365FO – T&P: Top picking for SSRS SalesInvoice and SalesConfirmation

Lasernet FO Connector 6.18 supports the use of SSRS reports for Top picking used within the Test & Performance Suite.

This is useful when there is a need to benchmark report performance and memory when using a standard/customized SSRS report.

305374@LAC365FO - Date format applied on report value is not respected in the Email body

The new option ReportValueFormatted is introduced and issued for using the formatting applied to an element within the structure.

This is useful if there is a need to use specific formatting of information, such as an email body.

Apply the required formatting for the required field, such as the Custom format for ConfirmDate in the following example:

305298@LAC365FO - Change in TOP records 6.17

The option Top reset is introduced and used in relation to the Top records.

The Top reset option controls when the number of records used for Top records should get reset/set to zero.

It is possible to use the Top reset for any tables and in any subqueries used within the Query.

• Top reset Report

Top resets are in the following example set to Parent for the tables (data source) SalesTable and SalesLine. The Top records are also set to two for both.

• Top reset Report and Parent

Setting the Top reset to Parent for SalesLine and selecting two in Top records will generate an output containing two records for both tables.

• Top reset: Report, Parent, and zero for Top records

Setting Top records to zero for the SalesLine will return all records for each sales line.

271957@LAC365FO - Decouple XML and PDF storage for SharePoint 365

There is a new option to use one Storage/Storage type for the XML file and another Storage/Storage type for the PDF file.

This approach ensures much better, faster, and more stable communication, such as using SharePoint (or Autoform DM) to archive the documents (normally PDF files).

317135@LAC365FO – Archive performance sorting parameter

A new feature has been introduced that provides the option to improve performance when there are many entries (records) in the Lasernet Archive and when making a resend from the Archive.

When there are many records, the issue is not resending and creating an entry in the Archive, but when the selected entry (record) needs to be re-selected (current record).

The default option, Newest to oldest, which has also been the standard in previous versions of Lasernet FO Connector, could cause the system to become unresponsive when resending from the Archive and when having many entries in the Archive. Selecting the new option Oldest to newest makes the system much more responsive when there are many entries in the Archive and when making a resend. It will find the same records, but it will set the focus (current record) to the end of the Archive.

• Newest to oldest

Records are sorted by default by descending order of the Created date and time, the same pattern as in previous versions of Lasernet FO Connector.

• Oldest to newest

Sorting from Oldest to newest will show the newest records at the end of the Archive, in ascending order of the Created date and time.