Microsoft Great Plains security setup – overview for consultant

 by: Andrew Karasev

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is very good fit for mid-size company and probably good budget solutions for large corporation. Former product name was Great Plains Dynamics / eEnterprise. Both versions: old and new are Great Plains Dexterity written and Dexterity itself was planned as database and computer platform independent / transferable shell back in earlier 1990th. Currently Great Plains (version 8.0 and coming 8.5) is MS SQL Server based and the last multi-database version 7.5 (available on Pervasive SQL and Ctree/Faircom). But considering former goal – Microsoft Great Plains has security model, which is independent from MS SQL security and works in parallel with SQL Security

User Classes and Users

• Users. Users has nothing to do with MS SQL Logins, however if you are on SQL version – users are translated to SQL as logins and given access to all Great Plains related database: DYNAMICS and companies

• User Classes. You can automate users creation, by including new user to the class or transferring old user to different class and by doing so you have an option to reset security from the class. On the user level you can supercede class security. Class works for all the companies, while User can have different security right in each different company

Objects: Windows, Reports: modified and alternate modified

• Confuse? Yes – this is normal reaction. These all confusing terms come from the architecture of the system – you need to know architecture highlights to recognize the terminology.

• Modified Reports. These are modified via Great Plains Reporting tool: ReportWriter – Tools->Modify->ReportWriter and select the report you want to modify. The most popular is SOP Long Invoice form. When you are done with the modification (placing logo, etc.), you need to assign security either to the users who will be printing this report or user classes: Setup->System->Security select user id, company, product (Great Plains), type as Modified Reports, series Sales and you will see SOP Invoice Long form available in the list, mark it and you will have it available for this user

• Modified Forms. If you purchased Great Plains Modifier – you can modify the form, for example on Customer Maintenance screen you could place the button and attach VBA script to it – you should have VBA/Modifier with customization site enabler license. This is the realm of VBA programmer. Security should be given to the modified form

• Alternative Modified Forms and Reports. If you have in-house Dexterity customization working with SOP Entry screen for example – the technology works this way – it imports existing SOP entry screen from DYNAMICS.DIC dictionary (original Great Plains) into custom dictionary, created by Dexterity developer. Here this form is known as Alternative Form. You can go to further complexity and modify this one with Modifier and get Alternative Modified Form

Advanced Security

• Security for specific customers, accounts, etc. – you can protect specific object in Great Plains with this advanced security module. We’ll just mention this fact and do not touch details

Problems

• Central versus Local dictionary. If you have security for the user to use, say SOP Long Invoice form modified (taken from REPORTS.DIC), and you have Reports.DIC placed on local machine (check you DYNAMICS.SET file). When you give this user new computer and do not take care on transferring REPORTS.DIC from the old machine – user will get error message – can not open report: dictionary not found. The same is applicable to modified forms

Happy implementing! You can always appeal to us to help you with your system. Give as a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com