Insight eNews

A Monthly Newsletter from AVF Consulting, Inc.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Solution Center &

 Microsoft Gold Certified Partner

February 2007

In this edition:

From the President: Preparing for Changes in Daylight Savings Time

Microsoft Dynamics NAV: Microsoft Dynamics NAV Compatibility with Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista, UPDATE!!

NAVUG Annual Conference: Dynamics NAV User Group Announces Date for Annual Conference

AVF News & Events: AVF Welcomes New Employees, New Customers and Convergence 2007!

Tip/Trick: Simplify Entering Dates and Date Periods

From the President: Andrew Fass

Preparing for Changes in Daylight Savings Time

This year the Energy Savings Policy Act will take affect, changing both the start and end dates for daylight saving time (DST).  This means that contrary to the prior DST schedule, DST will start three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday of March and will end one week later, on the first Sunday of November. 

Customers need to be aware that this change may have consequences for computer systems which have been programmed according to the previous DST schedule. The latest version of most Microsoft products will be up to date with the DST changes, while other products or versions may still need to be updated.

To make this transition as seamless as possible, Microsoft has been working diligently on correcting these problems and providing simple solutions for all of their effected software. You can find all the latest updates and instructions from Microsoft at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst.  Users should review this site and install all the suggested updates in their home and office computers. 

While, Microsoft Dynamics NAV will not be directly affected by the DST change, some Microsoft products that will be affected include:

• Windows Client

• Windows Server

• Windows Mobile

• Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services

• Microsoft Exchange Server

• Microsoft Office Outlook

• Microsoft Dynamics CRM

• Microsoft SQL Server Notification Services

• Microsoft Entourage

There are some precautionary measures that Microsoft asks all customers to take including:

• Pay particular attention to any meetings or appointments scheduled from March 11, 2007 to April 1, 2007 and October 28, 2007 to November 4, 2007, the "extended DST period".  Users are asked to view any meetings/appointments scheduled during this time as suspect and verify all date and times with meeting organizers or attendee's. 

• Meeting organizers may find it valuable to include the correct time within the meeting request so all attendee's are clear about the correct date and time. 

• You may also want to consider printing out your weekly calendars during the extended DST period prior to installing any updates. This will allow you to track which meetings were scheduled before and after the changes are made. 

If you require additional assistance making the necessary DST changes, you can contact the AVF IT professionals who would be happy to perform these services for you with an associated fee, 410-296-5100 or ITSupport@avfconsulting.com.   

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Compatibility with Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista

Microsoft has announced the availability of a platform release on February 16th that will make Microsoft Dynamics NAV compatible with Windows Vista and Office 2007.  Without this platform release, Microsoft Dynamics NAV is not be compatible with Office 2007 or Windows Vista.  This means that you must install the platform release prior to the upgrading to either Windows Vista or Office 2007.  For details about the platform release or how to install it in your office, please contact the AVF IT department at 410-296-5100 or ITSupport@avfconsulting.com.   

NAVUG Annual Conference

Dynamics NAV User Group Announces Annual Conference Dates

The Microsoft Dynamics NAV User Group, NAVUG, will be holding their annual conference on Wednesday, March 14th thru Thursday, March 15th in San Diego, CA.  The NAVUG conference will follow directly after the Microsoft Convergence conference, which is also being held in San Diego.  Details are still being assembled, but here is at glimpse of the agenda thus far:

• Round Table Discussion with Dynamics NAV Developers - this is your chance to have direct input for the next release.

• Security Discussion - Microsoft security as it pertains to Dynamics NAV.

• Wednesday Night Social - a great opportunity to mingle with peers and network. 

NAVUG was established to give Microsoft Dynamics NAV users and partners a venue to collaborate, learn, share and gain a greater knowledge of Dynamics NAV.  Membership details as well at more information about the NAVUG Annual Conference can be found on their website, http://www.navug.com.

AVF News & Events

AVF Welcomes New Employees: AVF would like to welcome several new employees to our organization, Sophia Papantonakis, Stelian Ileanu, and Steve Schmidt. Sophia joins AVF from Wittenbach Business Systems in Sparks, MD.  Sophia gained an extensive knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics NAV during her tenure as controller for Wittenbach.  Sophia will use her 20 years experience in accounting and her knowledge of NAV while serving AVF as a NAV consultant.  Stelian joins AVF from Le Nature's Inc. in Latrobe, PA.  There Stelian served as the Senior System Analyst, Programmer, and ERP Administrator.  Stelian has joined the development department at AVF and brings with him over 20 years of programming experience and prior certification in NAV development.  Steve joins AVF from Business Solutions Software Reseller in Long Island, NY.  There Steve was a senior product manager and implementer.  His extensive knowledge and experience with NAV make him a welcome addition to the AVF customer care department.

AVF Welcomes New Clients: This new year has brought with it several new AVF Customers including the Service Employee's International Union (www.seiu.org), Hazleton Area School District in Pennsylvania (www.hasd.k12.pa.us) and Matteo Family Kitchen in New Jersey (www.matteokitchens.com).  We welcome all of new additions to the AVF family and look forward to many years of continued partnership with all of our customers.

Microsoft Convergence 2007: The countdown is on. Convergence 2007 is set to begin in four weeks, will you be ready?  Convergence is the Microsoft customer event of the year and this year is going to be held in San Diego, CA on March 11th-14th.  At Convergence 2007, you can meet, mingle, talk, and learn how Microsoft Dynamics solutions can further benefit your business.  For more information or to register for this event, visit www.msconvergence.com/public.

Tip or Trick

Simplify Entering Dates and Date Periods

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is set up to accept many short hands, especially when it comes to entering a date or signifying a specific time period.  We have mentioned some of these shortcuts in the past, but here is a list of many more ways you can enter a date into Microsoft Dynamics NAV:

There are also several date formulas that can be used within Dynamics NAV.  You can use these date formulas in various date calculation fields and in recurring frequency fields in recurring journals. 

Here are some examples of how date formulas can be used:

• The date formula in the recurring frequency field in recurring journals determines how often the entry on the journal line will be posted.
• The date formula in the Grace Period field for a specific reminder level determines the period of time that must pass from the due date (or from the date of the previous reminder) before a reminder will be created. 
• The date formula in the Due Date Calculation field determines how the program calculates the due date on the reminder. 

The date calculation formula can contain a maximum of 20 characters, both numbers and letters.  You can use the following letters, which are abbreviations for time specifications:

You can construct a date formula in three ways:

1. Current plus a time unit.
CW — Current Week
CM — Current Month

2. A number and a time unit.  A number cannot be larger than 9999.
10D — 10 days from today
2W — 2 weeks from today

3. A time unit and a number.
D10 — The next 10th day of the month
WD4 — The next 4th day of a week (Thursday)

You can combine these three forms as needed.
CM+10D — Current month + 10 days

You can use a minus sign to indicate a date in the past.
-1Y — 1 year ago from today