AX2009_ENUS_ADM_06

Chapter 6: Alerts

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CHAPTER 6: ALERTS Objectives

The objectives are:

• Define Microsoft Dynamics® AX. • Set up alerts. • Create alert rules. • Create alert rule templates. • Receive alerts and show the flow of events when alerts are triggered. • Explain why alerts are not sent.

Introduction Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 provides the capability for users to stay informed on the condition of their business by using alerts. Users can set their own alerts for almost any condition that might occur within their business.

For example, users can set up alerts to do the following:

• Notify when a payment on a purchase order is due and payment has not been recorded

• Show when sales targets have changed • Show when delivery dates change • Inform the user that a customer address has changed • Notify that a sales order was deleted • Notify when a production order due date was reached and the order

is not reported as finished

The alerts functionality is designed so that alert rules can be set up in all modules of Microsoft Dynamics AX. They can be set on any table field or for any specific event, and this provides lots of flexibility for users to creatively keep themselves informed on the operations of their business.

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Scenario A company wants to make sure that the appropriate personnel are informed when certain business conditions exist. To do this the company has decided to implement the Alerts feature in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

The technical staff of the company handles the general setup of alerts for all users of the company. Then end-users must be educated on how to set up alert rules in forms that they use.

Define Alerts in Microsoft Dynamics AX Alerts is a notification system that is used to alert users about important events in Microsoft Dynamics AX throughout the workday.

With some clicks of the mouse users can set up their own set of rules that will generate an alert message about overdue deliveries, deleted orders, changed prices, or other events.

Users define the alert rules from the Microsoft Dynamics AX form that displays the data to be monitored. For a change of a sales target amount, the alert rule is defined in the Sales organization form where the targets for each period are displayed.

When alert messages are displayed the user can drill down for more information about the relevant business data.

As an alternative to creating each alert rule from scratch, users can apply the Company Account Template feature to create an alert rule based on a template that is defined by the Administrator of the system.

Alerts can also help users who do not always work in the application. Alerts are viewable in the Enterprise Portal and users can also set up alerts to be sent in e-mail.

Microsoft Dynamics AX integrates e-mail alerts with Microsoft® Outlook® . From the alert e-mail message, the user can decide to click a link that opens Microsoft Dynamics AX and displays the related business data, or displays the alert and all previously received alerts. The user can also click a link in the e-mail that displays the alert rule in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

In addition to alerts that are set by individual users, administrators can streamline alert setting process. Administrators can do the following:

• Create, modify, and delete alert rules for individual users • Create alert rule templates


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• Define an HTML or XSL template that merges alert data into an e-mail message at runtime

• Set up scheduled batch processes to detect date-driven events and to process events that are derived from changes in the database

Detection of changes in the database is based on the Database Log technology.

Alerts benefit customers by making it simpler to keep track of key data in Microsoft Dynamics AX to help them perform their jobs more efficiently.

Alerts benefit partners by enabling them to construct new alert rule templates and import them to customer systems. Partners can also develop new event types and new actions to be performed when an alert is sent.

Additionally, partners can add and expose new database fields on a form. The fields must be maintained so that users can create alert rules on those fields by using the Create Alert Rule form.

Alert Rule Structure

Microsoft Dynamics AX provides the ability for users to create several different kinds of alert rules. Additionally, it provides options for the duration of the alert rules, for the delivery of the alerts. The kinds of alert rules are as follows:

• Event (Alert me when) • Conditions (Alert me for) • Expiry of Rule (Alert me until) • Alert Conditions (Alert me with) • Alert Method (Alert me by)

Event (Alert Me When)

The event may be a date that is reached or a specific change that occurs. Events are predefined, and the events that are available for a field depend on the field selected. For example, if the field where one would want to set up an alert rule is Start date, the event type Is due in is available, but for a field like Cost center, the event type Due date is unavailable. However, for Cost center, an event like Has changed is available.

There are three kinds of event alerts:

• Due date events: Triggers an alert when a date is met. • Update events: Triggers an alert when data in a particular field

changes. • Create and delete events: Triggers an alert when a record is created

or deleted.



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Changes that occur can be either a change that a user starts or a change that is part of a process. An example of a change initiated by the user may be one where the user changes the delivery date of a purchase order. An example of a change that is part of a process may be that the Status field of a form changes to reflect the life-cycle of different processes in the system

Conditions (Alert Me For)

Conditions are used to control when the alert is triggered. The user can tell the system that they want to be alerted when a date on a record occurs, but only if the record matches a certain set of conditions.

For example, suppose that a user wanted to be alerted when the status of a purchase order changes to received. This is the event.

Then a decision is made about what records must be used, whether it be the All records in purchase orders option, the Current record in purchase orders option, or the Only records in purchase orders that match the selected filter option. This is where the condition is selected.

If the alert is set up for a specific purchase order, an alert will be received when the status of that specific purchase order changes to received.

When the Only records in purchase orders that match the selected filter option is selected, use the query functionality in an Inquiry form in Microsoft Dynamics AX to set up the conditions in a flexible way.

Expiry of Rule (Alert Me Until)

Specify how long the alert rule is to be active.

Alert Contents (Alert Me With)

Define the subject and message with which to be alerted.

Delivery Method (Also Alert Me By)

Specify whether alerts are delivered as a pop-up form or by e-mail.

NOTE: The e-mail message option and the pop-up option can be disabled in the Options form. As soon as they are disabled, the options are not visible in the Create alert rule form.


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Set Up Alerts For users to create their own alert rules administrators must first complete some preparatory setup tasks. These include the following:

• Set security keys • Set up alert batch • Create e-mail alerts

o Create e-mail templates (can be language dependent) o Connect template IDs with an alert o Make sure that users have a valid e-mail address in the User

option form o For e-mail alerts, set up a retry schedule for sending e-mail o Set up connections to the SMTP server o Define limits for attachments to e-mail messages o Define the location of safe folders where bitmaps that are to be

included with e-mail messages are stored o Set up drill down capabilities in e-mail templates. This includes

merge fields o Set up navigation target. This is used in the drill down link from

an alert e-mail in the attempt to reach the correct database where the alert is stored (relevant if users can connect to more than one Microsoft Dynamics AX installation)

o Set up preferences in the E-Mail parameters form o Set up e-mail batch

Some of these tasks are explained more in this lesson. More information about other tasks can be obtained from the Microsoft Dynamics AX Help or from technical training courses.

Security Keys

Administrators must grant users appropriate permissions and table access for users to do the following:

• Manage their alerts • Create their alert rules • View their alerts • Drill down to business data



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Administrators must also decide:

• What users, if any, will be able to view and administer the alert rules of other users in the organization

• Who will control batch jobs (typically the administrator) • What data has to be accessed for drill down purposes and who needs

access to the data

For specific information about the security keys that must be enabled to run these tasks, view the technical help topic “Set Up Security Keys for Alerts.”

Set Up Alert Batch

Alerts are processed with the batch processing functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX. Batch processing must be set up for alerts to be delivered.

Microsoft Dynamics AX supports two event types:

• Triggered by change-based events, the so-called Create/Delete and the Update events

• Triggered by due dates

Batch processes can be set up for each of these kinds of events.

Process Batches for Change-Based Events

Microsoft Dynamics AX reads all change-based events (field updates, records deleted, or records created) that have occurred after batch processing was performed the last time, and these events are matched with the conditions set up in alert rules. The batch process generates an alert when an event matches the rule conditions.

Set up a Batch Frequency for Change-based Events

For change-based events, set up a batch job that triggers the processing of an event soon after the event is logged by the system. The more frequent the batch job runs, the sooner users will receive their alerts after a change has occurred. However, a high-frequency number might adversely affect the performance of the system.

If, on the other hand, the frequency is low and scheduled for times when the system load is low, the effect on performance is minimal. However, a low batch-processing frequency might not fulfill users’ demands for alert timeliness.

Therefore, when setting the frequency of change-based event batches, consider the balance between alert timeliness and overall system performance.


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The larger the number of users who create alert rules, the more relevant these considerations are. That is, the number of events to be processed does not change with the frequency. However, the more users who create rules, the more checks have to be performed. This kind of data exchange can affect system performance.

NOTE: The time that passes before users receive their alerts is also controlled by the time interval by which Microsoft Dynamics AX polls for new alerts. The time interval must be set in minutes. The minimum value is 1 and the maximum value is 1440 minutes (one day).

Procedure - Set the Time Interval to Poll for New Alerts

To set the interval of time between system polls, follow these steps.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options to open the Options form. 2. Select the Receive alerts every (minutes) field under Alerts. 3. Enter the time interval.

Examine the Risks of Low Batch Frequency

If the change-based batch processing is set to a low frequency users can lose alerts, because data relevant to alert rule conditions change before the batch is processed.

For example, consider an alert rule that will trigger an alert when the event is “customer contact changes” and the condition is customer = BB. The customer contact changes for customer BB and the event is logged, and the batch processing system is set up with a low frequency in relation to the frequency of data entry. Therefore, before the event is processed, the customer name changes again from BB to AA. When the event is processed, the data in the database no longer matches the rule condition (customer BB), and no alert is generated.

Process Batches for Due Date Events

Microsoft Dynamics AX detects all events caused by due dates. These events are matched with the conditions set up in alert rules. The batch process generates an alert when an event matches the rule conditions.

Set up Batch Frequency for Due date Events

For due date events, set up batch jobs that run during the night, or at specific times of the day, to balance the system load. Set up the batch to run at least one time per day. For alerts to be sent as early as possible, the batch processing must occur immediately after the system date changes. To generate alerts from due date events that occur after a due date batch has processed alerts, run the batch one more time on the same day.



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If a purchase order is created by using a due date that will trigger an alert on that same day, the batch must run after the purchase order is created to receive the alert on that day. However, if user does not run the batch again on that day, the next day's batch job detects any non-processed due date events from the previous days.

NOTE: Even though the batch process is run multiple times a day, alerts are not generated two times for the same due date event and conditions. Alerts are only generated for any dates that have become due because of changes in the system that occurred after the last batch was performed.

Set up Batch Frequency for Due date Events

Alert-rule processing can be stopped in a company for reasons like vacation, system failure, or other issues that can cause batches not to be run for a designated time.

To avoid situations where due date alerts become obsolete because the batch has not been running for several days, use the batch-processing window interval to enable the batch not to run for a specified number of days.

With the batch-processing window set to some days, an alert is sent when the alert rule is processed, even though the alert exceeds the time limit defined in the due date criteria.

Example:

Create an alert rule to run an alert when an employee birthday was two days ago.

The batch processing window interval is set to 10 days.

Day Batch Runs Alert Generated

Run on Day 1 Alerted about employees whose birthdays were 2 days ago

Not run on day 1; run on day 2 Alerted about employees whose birthdays were 2 days and 3 days ago

Not run on day 1 or 2; run only day 3 Alerted about employees whose birthdays were 2, 3, and 4 days ago

Not run on days 1-9 but only day 10 Alerted about employees whose birthday was 2-11 days ago.

Not run on days 1-10; First time batch runs is day 11

Alerted about employees whose birthdays were 2-12 days ago

Not run on days 1-11; First time batch runs is day 12

Alerted about employees whose birthdays were 2-12 days ago


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From this example, it seems that if the batch-processing window interval is set to 10, there can be a period of at the most 10 days when the batch does not run. The batch has to run at the latest the tenth day to make sure that the alert is generated.

If the batch processing window is set to 0, an alert is run only if the batch runs two days after the birthday. In this case, the batch has to run every day not to lose any alerts.

Procedure - Set the Batch Processing Window Interval

To set the number of days the batch may not be run and still send an alert, follow these steps.

1. Open Basic > Setup > Alerts > Alert parameters. 2. In the Batch Processing Window (days) field, enter the number of

days for due date flexibility.

Delete the Event Queue

When a batch is enabled that processes change-based events for a company, examine the event queue and decide whether all the events in the queue must be sent out as alerts. If the old, non-processed, and obsolete events are not deleted, the batch generates alerts and potentially sends unsolicited e-mail messages to users.

Users might have set up alert rules long before the batch process is started, and the events that are generated might create many obsolete alerts. Users might have had access to create rules months before the batch is enabled, and the events that are triggered by the users’ rules are logged by the system regardless of whether the batch is enabled or not.

If a decision is made that the events in the event queue must be regarded as obsolete and not sent out as alerts, the event queue can be deleted.

To delete the queue:

1. In the Application Object Table (AOT), select Data dictionary > Tables.

2. Select the EventCUD table, locate the events to be deleted, and delete as appropriate.

Turn Off Event Generation during Data Import

When data is imported into an existing company that has alert rules already created, it is good practice to turn off the alerts. Importing new data might trigger alerts. Therefore, turning off the alerts can avoid users being sent unsolicited e-mail messages.



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To turn off event generation during a data import:

1. Open Administration > Periodic > Data export/import > Import. 2. In the Import options dialog box, select the Advanced tab. 3. Clear the Generate alerts during import check box and then click

OK.

Set User Options

Each user can set options for the receipt of alerts. These options are found on the Notifications tab of the Options form as shown in the figure, Notifications Tab of Options Form.

Tools > Options

FIGURE 6.1 NOTIFICATIONS TAB OF OPTIONS FORM

Users can set the following options:

• Frequency of receiving alerts • Pop-up link destination • When alerts are sent as e-mail messages, pop-up windows, or both


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Create Alert Rules Before creating an alert rule, consider when or in what situations alerts are wanted. When deciding which event to be notified about, locate the form in Microsoft Dynamics AX where the data that causes the event is displayed. The event can be a date that occurs or a change that occurs. The Microsoft Dynamics AX form is found where this date is stated or where the changed field or new record is displayed. When this information is obtained, the rule can be created.

Creating an alert rule composes the criteria that the system must meet to trigger an alert. Think of criteria as a match between the occurrence of an event and the fulfillment of specific conditions. When an event occurs, the system starts checking according to the conditions that are set up in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Access is Required

New or modified alert rules are only accepted if users have access to all tables and fields that are required to use the rules.

For example, suppose that a user creates a rule on a table. With the user's current security permissions the user can create this rule. Later, the user's security permissions are limited to the effect that the user cannot access the table.

In this situation the rule will remain visible in the Manage alert rule form, but no alerts will be generated and sent to the user based on this rule.

The same situation will occur if a rule is set up on a table and there is a reference to another table in the rule's filter. If the user loses permissions to the referenced table the user's alert rule will be obsolete and no alerts will be generated from this rule.

When a rule is created that has a filter in an Inquiry form, the rule's owner will have the same rights and the same limitations as the user ordinarily does when they use the Inquiry feature where all tables in the list have either a one-to-many or many to one relationship with the first table.

Procedure: Create an Event Alert Rule

This procedure details the steps that are involved in creating an event alert rule.

1. Open the form that contains the data to monitor. 2. Right-click the field to set up an alert rule for, or right-click

anywhere in the form. 3. Click Create Alert Rule.



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Right-click Any form > Create alert rule

FIGURE 6.2 CREATE ALERT RULE FORM WITH ALL FIELDS EXPANDED

4. To monitor only a specific field in the form, select the desired field

for the alert rule in the Field field. 5. Select the event type inside the Event field. 6. Make the desired selection in the Alert me for area of the form. 7. To monitor a specific set of records, click Select to open a Query

form to define a filter for the records that are to be monitored for the alert.

8. Click End date to put an expiration date on the alert. Clicking End date enables the adjacent field where the end date is entered. If no end date is desired, leave the default No end date selected.

9. Enter text in the Subject field for the title of the alert message. 10. Enter text in the Message field for informational text that

accompanies the alert message.


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11. Administrators of alert rules can designate the employee to be notified by making the appropriate selection in the User ID field. Appropriate security keys are required for this action.

12. Click the Show pop-ups check box to display a pop-up for the alert. 13. Click OK to save the alert rule. Click Cancel to discard the alert

rule.

Procedure: Use a Template to Create an Alert Rule

To create an alert rule from an existing alert rule template, follow these steps.

1. Open Tools > Manage alert rules. 2. In the Manage alert rules form, open Create alert rule > From

template or press Ctrl + n. A list of company-specific templates is displayed if any templates are available.

3. Select the template to use, and then click OK. 4. In the Manage alert rules form, click the General tab. 5. Change the criteria on this tab and close the form.

Create Alert Rule Templates An alert rule can be defined as a template. An alert rule template can be used to create a new alert rule without deciding on all the details of the alert rule.

When basing alert rules on a predefined template, decisions on all the details of the alert rule setup do not have to be made.

Setting up alert rules as templates requires appropriate security keys that control access to the company account template functionality.

Procedure: Define an Alert Rule as a Template

To define an alert rule as a template, follow these steps.

1. On the Tools menu, click Manage alert rules. 2. In the Manage alert rules form, right-click the rule to be applied as

a template. 3. Click Record info and then select User template to create a user

specific template or Company account template to create a company-wide template.

4. In the Create template dialog box, name the template and provide a description.

5. Click OK.



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Receive Alerts Use the View alerts form to view the received alerts. An icon appears in the status bar when there are unread alerts. Click the icon to open the View alerts form.

To make sure that users do not overlook any alerts, they can also be delivered as pop-up messages or as e-mail alerts.

Pop Up Messages

Pop-up messages appear at the bottom of the desktop area when the Microsoft Dynamics AX application is open. The option to receive alerts as pop-up messages are set up in the Options form.

From the pop-up message, the user can either view the alert listed in the View alerts form or drill down to the origin of the alert to view the context in which the alert was triggered.

An e-mail alert is triggered in Microsoft Dynamics AX and sent out as an e-mail message.

If alerts delivered are delivered by e-mail, alerts about events can reach users even when they are not working in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

NOTE: E-mail alerts cannot be created or sent manually, they must be processed through the Microsoft Dynamics AX e-mail system.

Receive Alerts in Enterprise Portal

Alerts can be sent to the Enterprise Portal so those users who have access to the portal can stay informed of the condition of the business.

In the Enterprise Portal users can do the following:

• View alerts • Delete alerts • View the alert rule • Disable alerts for the rule


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Flow of Alerts

A general series of events occur when certain conditions exist within Microsoft Dynamics AX that trigger an alert.

Alert is Triggered

When the polling mechanism in Microsoft Dynamics AX detects that an alert is triggered when the alert rule owner is logged in, a pop-up is displayed immediately and the unread alerts count in the status bar is updated.

The pop-up contains information about the following:

• Company name, if more than one company is registered in Microsoft Dynamics AX

• Alert subject as defined in the Create alert rule form • The form header information from the form where the alert is

generated • Any message defined by the user

Users have options with regard to the pop-up:

• Users can dismiss the pop-up if they want to • If the user does not interact with the pop-up, it automatically closes • Users can obtain details about the alert directly from the pop-up by

clicking the link in the pop-up

When users start Microsoft Dynamics AX, the pop-up is not displayed for alerts that were generated when the user had Microsoft Dynamics AX shut down.

An indicator displays the number of new alerts and is updated immediately when new alerts occur. This indicator also displays the number of unread alerts. This includes those generated when the user had their client application shut down.

Users can open the Notification list form from the alert icon that is displayed when an alert is generated.

Notification List Form

Basic > Setup > Alerts > Manage alert rules > Notification list button

The Notification list form presents all alerts in an overview style. For each alert, the following information is visible:

• Unread/Read status • Alert subject name • The form /table label, where the alert was created from



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• Company name • Date/time occurred • E-mail alert requested

FIGURE 6.3 NOTIFICATION LIST FORM

The default sort order for the alerts is date/time. However the alerts can be sorted by the columns in the grid.

The following capabilities are provided to the user in the Notification list:

• Click Alert origin to drill down to the record caption level where the event occurred.

• Select an alert and then click Manage alert rules to view the corresponding alert rule in the Manage alert rules form.

• Click Change status to change the status between read/unread. • Select an alert and view detailed alert information on the General

tab. • Delete alerts from the form: select and alert and then click the Delete

button in the toolbar.

If the user tries to view an alert rule that was deleted after the alert was raised Microsoft Dynamics AX informs the user that the rule was deleted. However, the user will not be informed if the rule was modified after the alert was raised.

When a user decides to drill down into the alert the user is directed to the best available context in Microsoft Dynamics AX from where the alert rule was created.


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The user is directed to the inserted/updated record or the due date record according to these rules:

• The user will be directed to the form and the selected event field, where the alert rule was created If the user cannot do that, the user is directed to the default form reference and selected event field for the table in which the rule was created If the user cannot do that, the system informs the user that the form cannot be opened by drill down and informs the user about the form name in which the alert rule was created.

• If the record no longer exists a message informs the user that the field/record was deleted and is not available.

• If the record was updated after the alert was created, the user is directed to the updated record. If the user permissions no longer let the user be directed to a specific form or table, the user is denied access to the form or table and receives a notification that access is denied.

• To be able to drill down from an e-mail alert, the e-mail template must be set up to accept the link to the appropriate form and field generated by the system. For the link to work the user must also be logged in to Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Unsent Alerts Sometimes alerts are not sent to users, even though they may be expected. The following information poses some scenarios where alerts may not be sent even though users expect them to be generated.

Data Changes before Alert is Generated

If a user does not receive an expected alert it might be because data changed before the event was processed and the conditions to trigger the alert are no longer present. In this case, the alert is not sent.

When a batch is run, it processes the logged events and matches actual data in the database together with the rule conditions. However if the data changes after the event was logged, the result may be that certain conditions are no longer met and no alerts are generated. That is why administrators must understand the risks involved in a low frequency of running batchs.

Disregarded Alert Rules during Data Import

During data import, the processing of alerts can be turned off to avoid many alerts being sent to users who have created alert rules. When the alert generation is turned off, no alerts are triggered by the imported data, even though some existing rules match conditions of the imported data.



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Delayed Alerts

If batch processing is set to be run with low frequency, alerts based on rules with a narrow time limit may not be sent in time to be of any use.

EXAMPLE: A user has specified that they want to be alerted when a purchase order is due in two days. If the batch is only run every second day, the purchase order might actually be due one day after the alert is received and the user did not receive the expected two-day notice. The same is true for due date alerts that alert users about past due dates. For example, perhaps a user might want to be alerted five days after a purchase order was due. If batches are only run every second day, the purchase order was actually due six days ago and not five days ago when the alert was received.

Obsolete Alert Rules

The due date alert rules can be set up with some flexibility with regard to time limits. That is, the due date alert rules can have a built-in time allowance to allow for situations where batches are not run for some time. However, if the time allowance set up for alert rules is exceeded, alerts become obsolete and no alerts are sent.

Deleted Event Queue

If the event queue is deleted before a batch job is run, users who have active alert rules in the system do not receive alerts that are generated.

Changed Security Settings

If security settings change and a user no longer has permission to access the data that forms the basis of an alert rule, no alerts generated by this rule are delivered to the user.


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Summary Alerts are used in the Microsoft Dynamics AX system to inform users when conditions exist in the system. Generally alerts fall into two categories:

• Event alerts • Due date alerts

Alerts can notify users in several ways:

• Pop-up forms in the application • E-mail • Alerts in Enterprise Portal

Alerts can be set up for all modules in the system. This makes them a method to keep users informed of most business situations.



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Test Your Knowledge 1. List three areas where an administrator may want to implement a system

alert.

2. Generally, where in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 application are the alert rules defined?

3. List three ways alerts can be monitored and received.


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4. The Notification list form presents all alerts in an overview style. List at least three pieces of information that given for each alert.



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Lab 6.1 - Create Alert Rule Scenario

A production line operator has to know when production orders are released for production. The operator can set up an alert rule to notify the operator when the status of a production order has changed to released. The operator wants to be notified by a pop-up. In this case, the user to be notified is Admin.

Challenge Yourself!

• Open the Create alert rule form from the appropriate form. • Select the Alert me when the Status is set to Released.

Need a Little Help?

1. Open the Production orders form. 2. Right-click anywhere on the Production orders form to open the

Create alert rule form. 3. Select the Field “Status.” 4. Select the Event “is set to” and then select “Released.” 5. Set the Also Alert me by option to Pop-up.

Step by Step

1. Follow the path Production > Production orders to open the Production order form.

2. Right-click anywhere in the body of the Production order form and select Create alert rule.

3. In the Field field select Status from the drop-down list. 4. In the Event field select has changed from the drop-down list. 5. In the second Event field select Released from the drop-down list. 6. Expand the Alert who field group. 7. In the User ID field select Admin. 8. Expand the Also alert me by field group. 9. Select the Show pop-ups check box. 10. Click OK.


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Lab 6.2 - Create Alert Rule Template Scenario

A production line operator has created an alert rule to notify the operator when the status of a production order has changed to released. Now the operator wants to make this alert rule available to the company as an alert rule template. Take the steps that are required to create a template based on this new alert rule and make it available company-wide.

Challenge Yourself!

• Open the Manage alert rules form. • Create a company accounts template based on the newly created

alert.

Need a Little Help?

1. Open the Manage alert rules from the Basic menu. 2. Right-click the newly created alert and select Record Info. 3. Create a company accounts template based on the newly created

alert.

Step by Step

1. Follow the path Basic > Setup > Alerts > Manage alert rules to open the Manage alert rules form.

2. Right-click the newly created alert and select Record info to open the Record information form.

3. Click the Company accounts template button. 4. Enter a descriptive name in the Name field such as Production order

released. 5. Enter some descriptive text in the Description field. 6. Click OK.



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Lab 6.3 - Use a Template to create an Alert Rule Scenario

A production supervisor wants to create an alert rule by using the template created by the production line operator. Take the steps that are required to create an alert rule identical to the operator's alert rule for the production supervisor. Try to use Guest as the User ID of the production supervisor.

Challenge Yourself!

• Open the Manage alert rules form. • Click Create alert rule to access the alert rule template. • Create the new alert rule.

Need a Little Help?

1. Open the Manage alert rules form. 2. Click Create alert rule and select From template. 3. Select the appropriate template and create the new alert rule. 4. Change the User ID for the new alert to Guest.

Step by Step

1. Follow the path Basic > Setup > Alerts > Manage alert rules to open the Manage alert rules form.

2. Click Create alert and select From template to open the Select a template for Alerts form.

3. Mark the check box next to the newly created company account template.

4. Click OK. 5. In the User ID field of the newly created alert, select Guest from the

drop-down list. An infolog will be displayed that states that Guest does not have sufficient rights for this alert.

6. Click Close. The User ID will revert to Admin.


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Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned Take a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this chapter:

1.

2.

3.



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Solutions Test Your Knowledge

1. List three areas where an administrator may want to implement a system alert.

MODEL ANSWER - - Notify when a payment on a purchase order is due

and payment has not been recorded - Show when sales targets are changed -

Show when delivery dates change

2. Generally, where in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 application are the alert rules defined?

MODEL ANSWER - Users define the alert rules from the Microsoft

Dynamics AX form that displays the data that is to be monitored. For a

change of a sales target amount, the alert rule is defined in the Sales

organization form where the targets for each period are displayed.

3. List three ways alerts can be monitored and received.

MODEL ANSWER - - Pop-up messages - E-mail alerts - Using Enterprise

Portal

4. The Notification list form presents all alerts in an overview style. List at least three pieces of information that given for each alert.

MODEL ANSWER - – Unread, whether the alert was read – Subject, title of

the alert. – Company, the company the alert was created from


Documents

AX2009_ENUS_ADM_06