Overview
Before you can create a Data Source connection to a GP database located on a server on your network, you must first download and install the Jet Excel add-in from the Jet Reports download website.
Because Jet Reports does not connect to the Dynamics GP client, you will need login credentials for GP's underlying SQL database. You may need to contact your system administrator to create that for you.
How-To Video
This video will be a step by step overview of Setting up a GP Data Source for...
- Jet Reports
- Jet Basics
Pre-Requirements
You will need a working installation of the Jet Excel add-in and the following information:
- Jet License Activation Code
- Server Name or Address
- The name of your "Dynamics" Database
- Authentication Type (Windows or Database) and login information
Step-by-Step
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To create a new data source connection to your GP database, start by selecting Data Source Settings from the Jet ribbon.
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On the Data Source Settings window, click the Add button.
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Add Data Source dialog, provide a unique name for our GP data source, select Dynamics GP for the Database Type, and On Premises for the Connection Method.
Click Add
Be sure to select On Premises for the Connection Type. Remote Data Service is used for connecting to cloud-based or remotely-hosted databases and requires pre-configuration by the host. -
The Data Source Settings window will now display the information for your new (empty) data source.
On the Authentication tab, if the database login (created for you by your system administrator) recognizes your Windows login credentials, you can select Windows Authentication. Otherwise, you'll need to select Database Authentication and specify the user name and password which were provided to you by your system administrator.
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On the Connection tab...
You will need to provide the either the name or IP address of the server on which your database is located.
Finally, click the pull-down arrow for the Company and select the appropriate default company name. Even if you only have one company in your database, you must select it here.
If you database includes multiple companies, you can always change the selected company on this screen, the Jet ribbon, or even within individual Jet functions.
Versions of GP prior to GP 2013 contained a database with the name Dynamics. Later versions of GP allow system administrator to use a name other than Dynamics. You will want to specify the correct Dynamics database by clicking the pull-down arrow and selecting the database name provided to you by your system administrator. -
On the Display tab...
You can choose your display preferences, which will determine how your tables and fields display in the various Jet wizards.
You can choose whether or not to display the tables that contain no data and if you want to display how many records are in each table (next to the table name).
Most importantly, if Friendly Names have been added to your database, you can choose to enable them for your use. This is a very useful feature that can be a significant help in finding your data.
More information about Friendly Names can be found in our GP Update Utility article.
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On the Advanced tab...
It is a best practice to trim blank spaces from fixed-length text fields.
Jet Reports recommends leaving these setting configured in their default settings. Once you are very familiar with using the Jet Excel add-in with your GP data, you can revisit these settings, if necessary.
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Once the Data Source Settings are correct, you can test them by clicking the Test Connection button at the top of the Data Source Settings window and should see the Test Connection Succeeded message. If there are any issues, the message should help you in troubleshooting.
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If you would like this data source to be the default data source that Jet will use, click the Set Default button. Click OK and your Dynamics GP data source is now ready for use with the Jet Excel add-in.
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