Aspire Technologies (authors of QuoteWerks sales quotation software) have released a summary of information on the free QuoteWerks add-on utilities which are available from the QuoteWerks.com website.
Details can be found at the following URLs:
http://quotewerks411.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/quotewerks-dell-import-utility/
http://quotewerks411.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/quotewerks-rounding-utility/
http://quotewerks411.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/quotewerksexcelutility/
http://quotewerks411.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/grouppartnumberbuilderquotewerks/
Each of these utilities is available completely free of charge from the QuoteWerks.com website along with installation instructions.
If these utilities perhaps aren't quite your looking for in terms of enhancing QuoteWerks functionality, then please get in touch with us regarding our QuoteWerks development services. We have a large number of internally developed QuoteWerks add-on utilities, so we can cost-effectively provide solutions which fit your business' requirements. Email us - development@hilltopsit.co.uk - or give us a call on +44(0) 1782 465252. We look forward to hearing from you!
Showing posts with label .net development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label .net development. Show all posts
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
CONNECTIT: ConnectIT-WebCart beta released
We are very please to announce the release of the ConnectIT-WebCart beta. This utility links an online web shop to QuoteWerks, Sage 50, Sage MAS and Microsoft Dynamics RMS (retail management solution).
Over the years, we have created several bespoke software development utilities which link a businesses web shop to their back office system. Utilities for QuoteWerks, Sage and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. When we were approached to create a link for Microsoft Dynamics RMS as well it was a natural extension of these utilities. Plus, in a market place where high street shops are increasingly moving their business' online for the cost-saving and globalisation opportunities, strategically it was a good project to take on.
With our culture of constantly innovating and looking forward for new opportunities, rather than tackle the project as just another bespoke utility, we took the decision to wrap up all the previous work into one ConnectIT product. Followers of the blog will remember that we had a prototype version of ConnectIT-WebCart back in the early part of the year. With focus drifting onto other projects, this got put to one side, but we felt that with this project it was time to pick it back up again.
This first beta release focuses on the Microsoft Dynamics RMS link in order to satisfy the requirements of this particular project. However, given that this is built on the same data structures and code base as the other bespoke projects, then links for QuoteWerks, Sage 50, Sage Instant and Sage MAS won't be too far behind!
For more information on the ConnectIT-WebCart product, please direct your query through your QuoteWerks or ConnectIT partner. If they are unable to help, then please don't hesitate to contact the ConnectIT development team direct: development@connectit-online.co.uk
Over the years, we have created several bespoke software development utilities which link a businesses web shop to their back office system. Utilities for QuoteWerks, Sage and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. When we were approached to create a link for Microsoft Dynamics RMS as well it was a natural extension of these utilities. Plus, in a market place where high street shops are increasingly moving their business' online for the cost-saving and globalisation opportunities, strategically it was a good project to take on.
With our culture of constantly innovating and looking forward for new opportunities, rather than tackle the project as just another bespoke utility, we took the decision to wrap up all the previous work into one ConnectIT product. Followers of the blog will remember that we had a prototype version of ConnectIT-WebCart back in the early part of the year. With focus drifting onto other projects, this got put to one side, but we felt that with this project it was time to pick it back up again.
This first beta release focuses on the Microsoft Dynamics RMS link in order to satisfy the requirements of this particular project. However, given that this is built on the same data structures and code base as the other bespoke projects, then links for QuoteWerks, Sage 50, Sage Instant and Sage MAS won't be too far behind!
For more information on the ConnectIT-WebCart product, please direct your query through your QuoteWerks or ConnectIT partner. If they are unable to help, then please don't hesitate to contact the ConnectIT development team direct: development@connectit-online.co.uk
Thursday, May 14, 2009
CONNECTIT: ConnectIT-Sage v1.10.1 released
This new release of ConnectIT-Sage QuoteWerks to Sage 50 Accounts link includes the following updates and bug fixes:
UPDATE: replaced the files for the SDO (Sage Data Objects) which allow ConnectIT to integrate with Sage 50 Accounts 2009 for the revised ones released by Sage 12/5/2009. This revision allows up to 6 simultaneous SDO connections without the need to purchase additional Sage licenses.
FIXED: discrepencies seen in the Tax on Sage Purchase Order line items - ConnectIT was using the selling price tax value, not the cost price tax value when writing Purchase Order information to Sage.
FIXED: a tax amount for Carriage may show on a Purchase Order even though the ConnectIT Configuration had the Purchase Document Carriage Tax Code set as "T0" - ConnectIT was ignoring this setting when creating Purchase Order documents, the QuoteWerks document tax rate was always applied to Purchase Order carriage.
FIXED: Conversion from string "" to type 'Boolean' is not valid error when running ConnectIT - this could occur if the user had not opened ConnectIT Configuration to check the new settings added in version 1.10.0 and pressed "Save".
After more than 2 years of having no bugs in a production release, the ConnectIT development team were mortified to find out that a bug had been found in the software. As is stereotypically the case, the ConnectIT software development team have a love for fast food (second only to their love for programming!). By way of self-inflicted punishment for the bug (which was ultimately a school boy error in the code) they are banning themselves from fast food for 1 month!!! (I just hope they survive! - Ed.)
For more information on ConnectIT-Sage and the other products in the ConnectIT suite of time and labour saving products, please see the ConnectIT website here, contact your QuoteWerks / ConnectIT reseller or email info@connectit-online.co.uk
UPDATE: replaced the files for the SDO (Sage Data Objects) which allow ConnectIT to integrate with Sage 50 Accounts 2009 for the revised ones released by Sage 12/5/2009. This revision allows up to 6 simultaneous SDO connections without the need to purchase additional Sage licenses.
FIXED: discrepencies seen in the Tax on Sage Purchase Order line items - ConnectIT was using the selling price tax value, not the cost price tax value when writing Purchase Order information to Sage.
FIXED: a tax amount for Carriage may show on a Purchase Order even though the ConnectIT Configuration had the Purchase Document Carriage Tax Code set as "T0" - ConnectIT was ignoring this setting when creating Purchase Order documents, the QuoteWerks document tax rate was always applied to Purchase Order carriage.
FIXED: Conversion from string "" to type 'Boolean' is not valid error when running ConnectIT - this could occur if the user had not opened ConnectIT Configuration to check the new settings added in version 1.10.0 and pressed "Save".
After more than 2 years of having no bugs in a production release, the ConnectIT development team were mortified to find out that a bug had been found in the software. As is stereotypically the case, the ConnectIT software development team have a love for fast food (second only to their love for programming!). By way of self-inflicted punishment for the bug (which was ultimately a school boy error in the code) they are banning themselves from fast food for 1 month!!! (I just hope they survive! - Ed.)
For more information on ConnectIT-Sage and the other products in the ConnectIT suite of time and labour saving products, please see the ConnectIT website here, contact your QuoteWerks / ConnectIT reseller or email info@connectit-online.co.uk
DEVELOPMENT: meeting users expectations and easing frustration
A few tips from Justin James at TechRepublic on ways that developers can meet users expectations and ease frustration.
Introduction
It’s no surprise that users have expectations that, if not met, make those users angry and frustrated. User-friendly applications are much more likely to generate revenue, from sales of the software, sales enabled by the software, or some other revenue model. Yet for whatever reason, a significant portion of applications don't meet user expectations in a number of areas. Here are 10 common user expectations and what you can do to meet them so that you'll have a happy group of users.
See the full article here: http://i.techrepublic.com.com/downloads/dl_10_user_expectations.pdf
Introduction
It’s no surprise that users have expectations that, if not met, make those users angry and frustrated. User-friendly applications are much more likely to generate revenue, from sales of the software, sales enabled by the software, or some other revenue model. Yet for whatever reason, a significant portion of applications don't meet user expectations in a number of areas. Here are 10 common user expectations and what you can do to meet them so that you'll have a happy group of users.
See the full article here: http://i.techrepublic.com.com/downloads/dl_10_user_expectations.pdf
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
DEVELOPMENT: skills developers will need in the next five years
Tech Republic software development commentator Justin James released a paper today with his thoughts on skills developers will need in the next five years: http://i.techrepublic.com.com/downloads/dl_10_skills_dev.pdf
Clearly we can always improve, but we were really pleased to read that we already "tick the boxes" in all but one category!
The technical aspects aside - we have always considered it imperative to work with the business to understand their pain points, to be flexible in delivering the requirements which will evolve with the business and communicate effectively in a way that everyone understands.
The one box we can't tick right now if the mobile development, which to date hasn't been necessary for the type of applications and solutions we deliver. Clearly as the power of mobile technology improves and workers increasingly do business on the move, then we will need to address this. But it's encouraging to know that (at least within Justin James criteria) hilltops IT's development team are already off to a very good start!
For more information on our software development and website design and development services, please see our website or contact us direct on +44(0)1782 564252.
Clearly we can always improve, but we were really pleased to read that we already "tick the boxes" in all but one category!
The technical aspects aside - we have always considered it imperative to work with the business to understand their pain points, to be flexible in delivering the requirements which will evolve with the business and communicate effectively in a way that everyone understands.
The one box we can't tick right now if the mobile development, which to date hasn't been necessary for the type of applications and solutions we deliver. Clearly as the power of mobile technology improves and workers increasingly do business on the move, then we will need to address this. But it's encouraging to know that (at least within Justin James criteria) hilltops IT's development team are already off to a very good start!
For more information on our software development and website design and development services, please see our website or contact us direct on +44(0)1782 564252.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
CONNECTIT: ConnectIT-Workflow - QuoteWerks workflow manager
Pricing for the new product to the ConnectIT range has been released today. Plus for a limited time only we are offering free installation and training.
Product Overview
ConnectIT-Workflow manages entries on a QuoteWerks document to ensure that the QuoteWerks user has entered all the required information at each step of document creation (Quote, Order and Invoice).
ConnectIT-Workflow validates that the QuoteWerks user has entered required values into particular fields before the user is allowed to print, save, convert or email a document.
When an error is detected, then depending on the level of that error, the user is either prompted and asked to correct the problem before they are allowed to continue, or they are just warned about the problem(s).
Key Benefits
Key Features
Product Overview
ConnectIT-Workflow manages entries on a QuoteWerks document to ensure that the QuoteWerks user has entered all the required information at each step of document creation (Quote, Order and Invoice).
ConnectIT-Workflow validates that the QuoteWerks user has entered required values into particular fields before the user is allowed to print, save, convert or email a document.
When an error is detected, then depending on the level of that error, the user is either prompted and asked to correct the problem before they are allowed to continue, or they are just warned about the problem(s).
Key Benefits
- Quick to install and easy to configure to the fields you use which means your company’s quoting and sales order processing functions become instantly more accurate and more productive.
- Ensures that your customers and suppliers get complete and consistent information on the documents you send them thus improving your business relationships with them by avoiding time wasted checking, correcting and resending documents.
- Maintains integrity of input to maximise the power and accuracy of QuoteWerks reporting which means more informed business decision making.
Key Features
- When an error is detected, then depending on the level of that error, the user is either prompted and asked to correct the problem before they are allowed to continue, or they are just warned about the problem(s).
- Validates fields based on the particular document type and document status.
- Contains many different rule expressions – that a field is not blank, that a fields value is in a particular range, that a fields value is one of a particular list of options, etc.
- Contains many different rule targets – Document Header fields, Document Item fields, first Document Item row, all Optional Document Item rows, etc.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
DEVELOPMENT: Visual Studio 2010's New Look Unveiled at VSLive!
Microsoft kicked off VSLive! San Francisco 2009 this week with more news about what's planned for Visual Studio 2010.
In the keynote on Tuesday, Microsoft General Manager for Visual Studio Jason Zander showcased advances in the new VS 2010 user interface (UI) for the first time to VSLive! attendees.
"We've announced so far that we are using WPF for the new editor that we've put in place and made a lot of progress on that," he said in a pre-show interview. "With this release of the product, we will be showing our overall new UI for the product."
According to Zander, Microsoft has "modernized the look and feel for VS 2010" with a new UI built on WPF that rearranges file menus and commands at the top of the IDE. "We are making extensive use of the .NET Framework 4.0...as well as the WPF technology within the framework," he said. "We've improved the way you can examine your source code, your project system, the hierarchies that you have and all the data stored in TFS, as well." Screenshots of the new UI can be viewed at Zander's blog.
Complete story here: http://reddevnews.com/news/print.aspx?editorialsid=10632
For more information on Hilltops IT's software development services, including integration with QuoteWerks, ACT! by Sage, Microsoft CRM, Sage 50 Accounts and Sage MAS, then please contact us on +44(0) 1782 564252 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
In the keynote on Tuesday, Microsoft General Manager for Visual Studio Jason Zander showcased advances in the new VS 2010 user interface (UI) for the first time to VSLive! attendees.
"We've announced so far that we are using WPF for the new editor that we've put in place and made a lot of progress on that," he said in a pre-show interview. "With this release of the product, we will be showing our overall new UI for the product."
According to Zander, Microsoft has "modernized the look and feel for VS 2010" with a new UI built on WPF that rearranges file menus and commands at the top of the IDE. "We are making extensive use of the .NET Framework 4.0...as well as the WPF technology within the framework," he said. "We've improved the way you can examine your source code, your project system, the hierarchies that you have and all the data stored in TFS, as well." Screenshots of the new UI can be viewed at Zander's blog.
Complete story here: http://reddevnews.com/news/print.aspx?editorialsid=10632
For more information on Hilltops IT's software development services, including integration with QuoteWerks, ACT! by Sage, Microsoft CRM, Sage 50 Accounts and Sage MAS, then please contact us on +44(0) 1782 564252 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
Friday, February 20, 2009
DEVELOPMENT: Fortnightly digest - what's happening at Hilltops IT and the world of software development
Development Team Diary
Most of the effort this last couple of weeks has been on some of our own software products in the ConnectIT suite. With last weeks ConnectIT-WebCart prototype release and a new beta release of ConnectIT-Sage QuoteWerks to Sage 50 Account link out today.
Other smaller projects include a bespoke software development utility for a client which validates QuoteWerks fields for values entered in particular fields. Commercially available utilities to do this were unfortunately cost-prohibitive because they contain far more features that the client actually requires. Fortunately we have been able to develop the solution for less than half the price, which the client is over the moon with!!!
For further information on our software development services, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44(0)844 357 7360 or +44(0)1782 564252 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you!
Most of the effort this last couple of weeks has been on some of our own software products in the ConnectIT suite. With last weeks ConnectIT-WebCart prototype release and a new beta release of ConnectIT-Sage QuoteWerks to Sage 50 Account link out today.
Other smaller projects include a bespoke software development utility for a client which validates QuoteWerks fields for values entered in particular fields. Commercially available utilities to do this were unfortunately cost-prohibitive because they contain far more features that the client actually requires. Fortunately we have been able to develop the solution for less than half the price, which the client is over the moon with!!!
For further information on our software development services, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44(0)844 357 7360 or +44(0)1782 564252 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CONNECTIT: new product added to suite
Internally, we released a new prototype product to fit into the ConnectIT suite today.
This new product transfers information from an online ordering database into QuoteWerks, Sage 50 Accounts, Sage MAS 90 or Sage MAS 200. So, rather than manually re-entering your website orders into your back office system, ConnectIT now takes the hard work out of it for you!
As with the other products in the ConnectIT suite, this new application will save significant time and effort with the manual re-entry. Plus save the cost of mistakes that are inevitably made.
The product is built on the same .net development technology used for other ConnectIT products and leverages some of the techniques utilised in other bespoke software development and website development projects which we have been involved in. The prototype links to a .net web service using XML to transfer the information.
For more information on the features, integration options and release schedules, please contact development@connectit-online.co.uk. On release, full details will be made available on the ConnectIT website.
Finally: we haven't decided on the name yet - possibly ConnectIT-WebTransfer, ConnectIT-WebCart or ConnectIT-Trolley - if you've got a snappy idea for a name, then please email sales@connectit-online.co.uk. If your suggestion gets taken up, then you'll win a free copy of the final released software!
This new product transfers information from an online ordering database into QuoteWerks, Sage 50 Accounts, Sage MAS 90 or Sage MAS 200. So, rather than manually re-entering your website orders into your back office system, ConnectIT now takes the hard work out of it for you!
As with the other products in the ConnectIT suite, this new application will save significant time and effort with the manual re-entry. Plus save the cost of mistakes that are inevitably made.
The product is built on the same .net development technology used for other ConnectIT products and leverages some of the techniques utilised in other bespoke software development and website development projects which we have been involved in. The prototype links to a .net web service using XML to transfer the information.
For more information on the features, integration options and release schedules, please contact development@connectit-online.co.uk. On release, full details will be made available on the ConnectIT website.
Finally: we haven't decided on the name yet - possibly ConnectIT-WebTransfer, ConnectIT-WebCart or ConnectIT-Trolley - if you've got a snappy idea for a name, then please email sales@connectit-online.co.uk. If your suggestion gets taken up, then you'll win a free copy of the final released software!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
BLOG: Hilltops IT customer wins award for their website
Sourcing City has won BPMA Website of the Year 2008. Hilltops IT worked alongside Akiko Design to develop the site – each company focussing on their strengths in a project which involved automatic database and FTP synchronisation between remote data sources, complex search functionality, user tracking through the site, plus (of course!) a slick user interface.
Says David Long (Chairman, Sourcing City): “Thanks and congratulations to all of the team that have contributed to our Award; I really appreciate what you do to get us to the top. Many people put a lot of effort into making sure we are the best at what we do and now it has been officially recognised by our National Trade Association. I think we all have every reason to feel really proud of what we have achieved together. To put thing into perspective, we are now officially the Best Website in the £1 Billion Promotional Merchandise Industry.”
Says Stephen Siggs (CEO, Hilltops IT): “It’s fantastic to have been associated with this project and the award. It is particularly exciting in light of the imminent release of a new site, which has improvements in every area plus lots of new features. Wait until your customer-base and BPMA get a load of that!!!”
About the Site
The current site allows users to search (and find!) promotional merchandise products and suppliers thereof from a database of over 80,000 products. Over the five years since its original launched, Sourcing City has become an increasingly utilised tool for Distributors in the Promotional Merchandise industry to find products and for Suppliers to advertise their products.
The site has several product categorisations to help users find products and suppliers. It also has features which allow the user to email information on the product direct to their client.
As well as having a significant design facelift, the new site has hugely improved search functions to help users search and find different and innovative products for their clients’ promotional activities. With this alongside the reporting, ‘page turning’, ‘real-time branding’ and ‘lite’ quotation tool features, users can look forward to a significantly enhanced experience.
Technical Specifications
The current website was originally developed using SQL Server 2000 for data storage (subsequently upgraded to SQL Server 2005) with a Visual Studio 2005 .net 2.0 with AJAX developed front end and content management system (CMS).
The new website (due to be launch imminently) uses the same SQL Server 2005 database for data storage, SQL Server Reporting Services for reporting with a Visual Studio 2008 .net 3.5 with AJAX developed front end and content management system (CMS).
The data which ‘drives’ the site is automatically synchronised from Sourcing City’s [in-house system] plus statistics on “who’s clicking on what and when” are captured as part of the site for market analysis purposes.
Further Information
If you'd like more information on our experience with website design, website development or business intelligence reporting services, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44(0) 844 357 7360 or +44(0) 1782 564252 or email info@hilltopsit.co.uk
Says David Long (Chairman, Sourcing City): “Thanks and congratulations to all of the team that have contributed to our Award; I really appreciate what you do to get us to the top. Many people put a lot of effort into making sure we are the best at what we do and now it has been officially recognised by our National Trade Association. I think we all have every reason to feel really proud of what we have achieved together. To put thing into perspective, we are now officially the Best Website in the £1 Billion Promotional Merchandise Industry.”
Says Stephen Siggs (CEO, Hilltops IT): “It’s fantastic to have been associated with this project and the award. It is particularly exciting in light of the imminent release of a new site, which has improvements in every area plus lots of new features. Wait until your customer-base and BPMA get a load of that!!!”
About the Site
The current site allows users to search (and find!) promotional merchandise products and suppliers thereof from a database of over 80,000 products. Over the five years since its original launched, Sourcing City has become an increasingly utilised tool for Distributors in the Promotional Merchandise industry to find products and for Suppliers to advertise their products.
The site has several product categorisations to help users find products and suppliers. It also has features which allow the user to email information on the product direct to their client.
As well as having a significant design facelift, the new site has hugely improved search functions to help users search and find different and innovative products for their clients’ promotional activities. With this alongside the reporting, ‘page turning’, ‘real-time branding’ and ‘lite’ quotation tool features, users can look forward to a significantly enhanced experience.
Technical Specifications
The current website was originally developed using SQL Server 2000 for data storage (subsequently upgraded to SQL Server 2005) with a Visual Studio 2005 .net 2.0 with AJAX developed front end and content management system (CMS).
The new website (due to be launch imminently) uses the same SQL Server 2005 database for data storage, SQL Server Reporting Services for reporting with a Visual Studio 2008 .net 3.5 with AJAX developed front end and content management system (CMS).
The data which ‘drives’ the site is automatically synchronised from Sourcing City’s [in-house system] plus statistics on “who’s clicking on what and when” are captured as part of the site for market analysis purposes.
Further Information
If you'd like more information on our experience with website design, website development or business intelligence reporting services, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44(0) 844 357 7360 or +44(0) 1782 564252 or email info@hilltopsit.co.uk
Friday, January 23, 2009
DEVELOPMENT: Fortnightly digest - what's happening at Hilltops IT and the world of software development
Hilltops IT Developer's diary
Since last fortnight's post, most development activity has been on the following projects:
Since last fortnight's post, most development activity has been on the following projects:
- Website development - development work on our Hilltops IT website for re-branding. this has been the main focus for us - bringing together the design work with the "nuts and bolts" of the mechanics of the site. there are still a couple of tweaks to make, but the site is looking really good. Everyone internally is really excited about being able to announce the launch.
- Business Intelligence reporting - continued work on a bespoke project reporting on 3,000,000+ rows of data from disparate data sources using SQL Server Reporting Services.
Industry News
Development tools component makers see 2009 as a big year for MS platforms
Introduction: The gears are turning for implementations of Microsoft's next generation of platform technologies, and as a matter of course, component makers are the leading-edge innovators. In 2009, some of the latest Microsoft technologies will be gaining the most traction as Silverlight's star rises and developers rethink how they structure Web applications. Silverlight is rapidly becoming a popular platform for component developers to target. ComponentArt, ComponentOne, Developer Express and Infragistics are all making controls for creating business applications and filling in functionality that Microsoft has omitted.
See the full article here: www.sdtimes.com/link/33194
So as Microsoft Partners, leading edge software and website developers and providers of Microsoft platform-based business solutions, Hilltops IT are perfectly placed to take advantage of these new innovations.
Free e-book Introducing SQL Server 2008
Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 by Peter DeBetta, Greg Low, and Mark Whitehorn
ISBN: 9780735625587
Learn about major new features in SQL Server 2008 including security, administration, and performance.
Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008:
- Chapter 1: Security and Administration
- Chapter 2: Performance
- Chapter 3: Type System
- Chapter 4: Programmability
- Chapter 5: Storage
- Chapter 6: Enhancements for High Availability
- Chapter 7: Business Intelligence Enhancements
Download it here: http://csna01.libredigital.com/?urss1q2we6
For further information on our website and software development services, please do not hesitate to contact us on +44(0)844 357 7360 or +44(0)1782 564252 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you!
Friday, January 9, 2009
DEVELOPMENT: Fortnightly digest - what's happening at Hilltops IT and the world of software development
Hilltops IT Developer's diary
Since last fortnight's post, most development activity has been on the following projects:
Plus! We've been looking at the feasibility of a new product in the ConnectIT range. More on that soon.
Since last fortnight's post, most development activity has been on the following projects:
- Website development - development work on our Hilltops IT website for re-branding. This has been the main focus for us - bringing together the design work with the "nuts and bolts" of the mechanics of the site. there are still a couple of tweaks to make, but the site is looking really good. Everyone internally is really excited about being able to announce the launch.
- Business Intelligence reporting - continued work on a bespoke project reporting on 3,000,000+ rows of data from disparate data sources using SQL Server Reporting Services.
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM - minor tweaks to an existing customer's MSCRM system for additional summary information in their Accounts screen.
Plus! We've been looking at the feasibility of a new product in the ConnectIT range. More on that soon.
Industry News
Microsoft Releases Windows 7 Beta
Microsoft have released Windows 7 Beta as a free download
For more details on what to expect from Windows 7, see the home page here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx
To download the free beta, see here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx
For further information on our website and software development services, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on 0844 357 7360 or 01782 564252 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you!
Friday, December 19, 2008
DEVELOPMENT: Fortnightly digest - what's happening at Hilltops IT and the world of software development
Hilltops IT Developer's diary
Industry News
SQL Server 2005 SP3 released
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 (SP3) contains all the cumulative updates for SQL Server 2005, and fixes to issues that have been reported through our customer feedback platforms. These include supportability enhancements and issues that have been reported through Windows Error Reporting.
Download the service pack here.
The read about what's new, click here.
Sage CRM Solutions 2010 Strategy
A very interesting insight into Sage CRM Solutions's thoughts on CRM and CRM solutions generally, plus future development roadmap plans.
INTRODUCTION
Since the inception of CRM, the balance of power has shifted dramatically between buyers and sellers, with the rate of change accelerating in the past five years. Today, companies must
offer extremely cost-efficient, differentiable customer experiences to acquire and retain profitable customer relationships. In our highly globalized economy, CRM is critical to enable businesses of every shape and size to fulfill the needs and expectations of their customers.
See the full article here.
Business Intelligence reporting - continued work on a bespoke project reporting on 3,000,000+ rows of data from disparate data sources using SQL Server Reporting Services.
ConnectIT-Sage - work on an interim release for a particular client's requirements. this feature will be rolled into a future build release for all users.
Website development - design work on our Hilltops IT website for rebranding.
Website development - prototyping work on our ConnectIT website for advertising using image banner ads.
Industry News
SQL Server 2005 SP3 released
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 (SP3) contains all the cumulative updates for SQL Server 2005, and fixes to issues that have been reported through our customer feedback platforms. These include supportability enhancements and issues that have been reported through Windows Error Reporting.
Download the service pack here.
The read about what's new, click here.
Sage CRM Solutions 2010 Strategy
A very interesting insight into Sage CRM Solutions's thoughts on CRM and CRM solutions generally, plus future development roadmap plans.
INTRODUCTION
Since the inception of CRM, the balance of power has shifted dramatically between buyers and sellers, with the rate of change accelerating in the past five years. Today, companies must
offer extremely cost-efficient, differentiable customer experiences to acquire and retain profitable customer relationships. In our highly globalized economy, CRM is critical to enable businesses of every shape and size to fulfill the needs and expectations of their customers.
See the full article here.
For further information on our software development services, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us on 0844 357 7360 or 01782 721301 or email development@hilltopsit.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you!
Monday, December 1, 2008
DEVELOPMENT: Microsoft .NET Services SDK (Dec 2008 CTP) released
Microsoft .NET Services is part of the Azure Services Platform. .NET Services include three services: Access Control Service, Service Bus, and Workflow Service.
This SDK includes API libraries, samples, and documentation for building connected applications with the .NET platform. It spans the entire spectrum of today’s Internet applications – from rich connected applications with advanced connectivity requirements to Web-style applications that use simple protocols such as HTTP, Atom, and RSS to communicate with the broadest possible range of clients.
For more details and to download the SDK, then see the Microsoft site here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=83e1e30f-bd9a-4284-80a6-388ba2e768fd&displaylang=en
This SDK includes API libraries, samples, and documentation for building connected applications with the .NET platform. It spans the entire spectrum of today’s Internet applications – from rich connected applications with advanced connectivity requirements to Web-style applications that use simple protocols such as HTTP, Atom, and RSS to communicate with the broadest possible range of clients.
For more details and to download the SDK, then see the Microsoft site here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=83e1e30f-bd9a-4284-80a6-388ba2e768fd&displaylang=en
Sunday, November 2, 2008
DEVELOPMENT: issue with DateTime datatype in SQL Server Reporting Services
We recently upgraded a client’s SQL Server 2000 business intelligence reports to SQL Server 2005, and from a Visual Studio .net 1.1 software development environment to Visual Studio 2005.
It should be a simple transition we thought, which it was… apart from some anomalies around the datetime parameters in SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services.
There were a couple of things we noticed going wrong. Firstly, defaulting a value to 2/11/2008 (dd/MM/yyyy) for example would come through on the report as 11/2/2008. Secondly, when changing the date from 11/2/2008 using the datepicker to 12/2/2008 would display 2/12/2008 in the textbox. Basically, the dd/MM/yyyy was getting transposed to MM/dd/yyyy and back again.
Also there were "the value provided for the report parameter [parameter name] is not valid for its type" selecting the dates and running the report when dates like 13/2/2008 or 2/13/2008 were selected.
Searching the internet we found a number of reports of similar issues with several different fixes being required. Unfortunately no blog or knowledgebase article seemed to have all the information in one place, so we have centralized the details of fixes here.
We hope that you find it useful.
Report Server changes
1) First, ensure that all up to date SQL Server Service Packs are installed – there are reports that the problem for server-side issues were fixed in Services Pack 1 but the reintroduced in Service Pack 2. At time of writing the issue is understood to be fixed with patch releases to date.
SQL Server Service Packs and Hot Fixes can be found by using Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Centre: http://download.microsoft.com/
2) Next, we need to change (or add) the Culture value in Report.aspx to:
<%@ Page language="c#" Codebehind="Report.aspx.cs" AutoEventWireup="false" Inherits="Microsoft.ReportingServices.UI.ReportWrapperPage" EnableEventValidation="false" Culture="en-GB"%>
<%@ Page language="c#" Codebehind="Report.aspx.cs" AutoEventWireup="false" Inherits="Microsoft.ReportingServices.UI.ReportWrapperPage" EnableEventValidation="false" Culture="en-GB" %>%@ Page language="c#" Codebehind="Report.aspx.cs" AutoEventWireup="false" Inherits="Microsoft.ReportingServices.UI.ReportWrapperPage" EnableEventValidation="false" Culture="en-GB" %
Report.aspx can be found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.?\Reporting Services\ReportManager\Pages\
3) Finally, change the culture in the IIS to "en-GB": Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager \ Properties \ ASP.NET tab \ Edit Configuration button \ Application tab \ Globalisation Settings section \ Culture
Report Definition changes
The blog entry we found on this said to ensure that the language for the report itself is set to your country (Layout view, Report Properties). We couldn’t find this place in the UI to change this, so instead did a Find and Replace on “en-US ” for “en-GB ”.
Changing the Language and redeploying the reports should now fix the problem for the user. If however the users still get problems, then ask them to check the Language Settings of their browser are “English (United Kingdom) [en-gb]”
Development machine changes
Ok – so you have fixed the problem for your users, but Visual Studio still doesn’t behave quite right. We need to change the Regional Settings slightly.
First close visual studio, then change the Regional Settings on your development machine. Customize the short date format to "yyyy-MM-dd" (Control Panel \ Regional and Language Options \ Regional Options \ Customize button \ Date) This fixes the report Preview from Visual Studio.
Note that this may cause problems with other applications. If anyone has a better fix for this particular issue, please email development@hilltopsit.co.uk and we will update this post.
It should be a simple transition we thought, which it was… apart from some anomalies around the datetime parameters in SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services.
There were a couple of things we noticed going wrong. Firstly, defaulting a value to 2/11/2008 (dd/MM/yyyy) for example would come through on the report as 11/2/2008. Secondly, when changing the date from 11/2/2008 using the datepicker to 12/2/2008 would display 2/12/2008 in the textbox. Basically, the dd/MM/yyyy was getting transposed to MM/dd/yyyy and back again.
Also there were "the value provided for the report parameter [parameter name] is not valid for its type" selecting the dates and running the report when dates like 13/2/2008 or 2/13/2008 were selected.
Searching the internet we found a number of reports of similar issues with several different fixes being required. Unfortunately no blog or knowledgebase article seemed to have all the information in one place, so we have centralized the details of fixes here.
We hope that you find it useful.
Report Server changes
1) First, ensure that all up to date SQL Server Service Packs are installed – there are reports that the problem for server-side issues were fixed in Services Pack 1 but the reintroduced in Service Pack 2. At time of writing the issue is understood to be fixed with patch releases to date.
SQL Server Service Packs and Hot Fixes can be found by using Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Centre: http://download.microsoft.com/
2) Next, we need to change (or add) the Culture value in Report.aspx to:
<%@ Page language="c#" Codebehind="Report.aspx.cs" AutoEventWireup="false" Inherits="Microsoft.ReportingServices.UI.ReportWrapperPage" EnableEventValidation="false" Culture="en-GB"%>
<%@ Page language="c#" Codebehind="Report.aspx.cs" AutoEventWireup="false" Inherits="Microsoft.ReportingServices.UI.ReportWrapperPage" EnableEventValidation="false" Culture="en-GB" %>%@ Page language="c#" Codebehind="Report.aspx.cs" AutoEventWireup="false" Inherits="Microsoft.ReportingServices.UI.ReportWrapperPage" EnableEventValidation="false" Culture="en-GB" %
Report.aspx can be found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.?\Reporting Services\ReportManager\Pages\
3) Finally, change the culture in the IIS to "en-GB": Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager \ Properties \ ASP.NET tab \ Edit Configuration button \ Application tab \ Globalisation Settings section \ Culture
Report Definition changes
The blog entry we found on this said to ensure that the language for the report itself is set to your country (Layout view, Report Properties). We couldn’t find this place in the UI to change this, so instead did a Find and Replace on “
Changing the Language and redeploying the reports should now fix the problem for the user. If however the users still get problems, then ask them to check the Language Settings of their browser are “English (United Kingdom) [en-gb]”
Development machine changes
Ok – so you have fixed the problem for your users, but Visual Studio still doesn’t behave quite right. We need to change the Regional Settings slightly.
First close visual studio, then change the Regional Settings on your development machine. Customize the short date format to "yyyy-MM-dd" (Control Panel \ Regional and Language Options \ Regional Options \ Customize button \ Date) This fixes the report Preview from Visual Studio.
Note that this may cause problems with other applications. If anyone has a better fix for this particular issue, please email development@hilltopsit.co.uk and we will update this post.
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