Horizons International

Support - Frequently Asked Questions

Installation Issues

• Installation and Upgrade window always appears
  • Q: Every time my users log in, they get the 'Installation and Upgrade' window. How can I make this go away?
    
  • A: There are two issues to check:
  • Be sure that you click the Table Updates Completed and the Current Changes have been read boxes.
  • Also, be sure that ALL workstations have the exact same build. To see the build, look at the HMS Version window (HMS | About HMS). All information is relevant, including the date. If one user logs in with the incorrect version (even if they don't access to any Horizons screens) they will set a flag in a setup table, and then all subsequent users will get the screen.
  
  
  
• Table Errors
  • Q: I keep getting an error message about a table not being installed?
    
  • A: You have not installed Smartlist or added the tables that Smartlist are looking for:
  • Open Smartlist in Dynamics GP (Microsoft Dynamics GP | Smartlist)
  • Open the Table Information (Microsoft Dynamics GP | Tools | HMS | HMS Utilities | Smartlist Setup)
  • Click the Add/Remove Tables button to open the Add/Remove Tables To/From Smartlist window.
  • Click the Add button. You will see a progress box as the tables are added to Smartlist. Click OK after the process is complete.
    
    
• Registration Issues
  • Q: Why can't I register my product?
    A: There are a number of reasons that registration fails. Check the following:
    
    
  • Are you in the test company, "Fabricam" while accessing the registration screen? Instead, access it from your company database.
  • Is the company name correct? Instead of trying to visually compare the name in the Horizons Registration window to that in the Great Plains Registration one, try copying the Horizons name and pasting it into the Great Plains screen.
  • Sometimes copying and pasting from a word document (such as an email editor) will put unwanted, invisible characters into the keys. Instead, try copying the reg keys into notepad first.
    If none of these work, call technical support as your keys may have been improperly generated.
  
  
• How to remove HMS tables from a company:
  • Q: I accidentally logged into Dynamics as 'sa', and now I have HMS tables in a company that won't be using it. How do I get it uninstalled from just that one company, leaving the other company intact?
  • A: Follow the steps to uninstall the server in the topic below for 'Uninstalling Horizons Manufacturing System'
• Uninstalling Horizons Manufacturing System
  • Q: I want to uninstall Horizons, both from the workstations and from the server.
             What are the steps?
  • A: To un-install a workstation, the procedure is exactly like any other 3rd party product:
    
  • Remove Horizons from the Dynamics.set file
  • Reduce the number of products by 1 (that is the first line in the file)
  • Remove the ID for Horizons and the title
         - 490
         - Horizons Manufacturing System
  • Remove the dictionary paths
         - :C:Program Files/GP ALT1/BOM.DIC
         - :C:Program Files/GP ALT1/BOMFORMS.DIC
         - :C:Program Files/GP ALT1/BOMRPTS.DIC
  • A: To uninstall from the server, follow the above steps for the client, plus remove
             all files and stored procedures related to Horizons:
    
  • Using Enterprise Manager (please refer to Microsoft documentation if you are unfamiliar
         with how to use Enterprise Manager)
         - Open the table list for your company database
         - Highlight all tables that start with 'BOM' (be careful not to select any that start with 'BM')
         - Push the delete button on your keyboard. Answer 'Drop All' to the 'Drop Objects' dialog.
         - Open the Stored Procedures list for your company
         - Highlight all stored procedures that start with 'zDP_BOM'
         - Push the delete button on your keyboard. Answer 'Drop All' to the 'Drop Objects' dialog.
         - Open the table list for the DYNAMICS database
         - Find the HZ00100 table and delete it.
         - Open the stored procedures list for the DYNAMICS database and delete all stored
           procedures that start with 'zDP_HZ00100'.

Upgrade Issues

• Installation and Upgrade window always appears
  • Q: Every time my users log in, they get the 'Installation and Upgrade' window.
    How can I make this go away?
  • A: There are two issues to check:
    
  • Be sure that you click the Table Updates Completed and the Current Changes have been read boxes.
  • Also, be sure that ALL workstations have the exact same build. To see the build, look at the HMS Version window (HMS | About HMS). All information is relevant, including the date. If one user logs in with the incorrect version (even if they don't access any Horizons screens) they will set a flag in a setup table, and then all subsequent users will get the screen.
• Some Tables not upgraded
  • Q: I have several companies, some of which don't need Horizons. How can I avoid creating tables when I log in?
  • A: Don't log in as 'sa'- that is the only user ID that will trigger the automatic table generation. If 'sa' accidentally logs into a company and the tables get created, having empty Horizons tables in a database won't harm anything. To prevent 'sa' from inadvertently creating tables, create a Dynamics.set launch file that does not include Horizons. Please refer to Great Plains documentation for further information on how to edit a launch file.
• Getting errors during conversion
  • Q: I have a 'Get/Change' operation on a table 'failed accessing SQL Data' and now the conversion has stopped. What can I do now?
  • A: Sometimes a table will fail because there is no data in it, and sometimes because of other, more serious reasons. Here are the steps to resume the upgrade:
    
  • 1. Write down the exact name of the table that failed and click the OK button.
  • 2. Close the 'Progress' window if the conversion process has stopped. Sometimes the upgrade process will continue and you can complete the rest of the tables before dealing with the table that failed.
  • 3. In the 'Easy Conversion' window, click on the refresh button. You will see that there may be some tables that are flagged as already converted. Find the table that failed and mark the Updated box.
  • 4. Click on the Process button. The same dialog box will appear as when you first started the upgrade. Click on the Continue button.
  • 5. A second dialog box will appear to warn you that some tables have already been converted. Click on the Continue button.
  • 6. It is not uncommon to have other tables fail. If this happens, just repeat the process above, making careful note of which tables have not upgraded.
    After the process is complete, perform the steps in the Verify Conversion section of this document. If no tables fail during the insert, then all the data really did convert, or were new tables for the new versus old HMS versions, and you are done with the conversion. If one of the tables that you bypassed in the routines above fails the file maintenance, then further action must be taken. Please contact technical support.
• Some tables fail the 'Insert All>>' in File Maintenance
  • Q: I have some tables that have an 'Incorrect record' length error when I insert them in the BOM File Maintenance window. How can I correct that?
  • A: Another typical error is 'Invalid Column Name'. There are several options to solve this:
    
  • If the data in the table is unimportant or non-existent, the table and stored procedures can be recreated using the 'SQL Maintenance' screen (File | Maintenance | SQL).
  • Make sure that all users are out of the system and that you have a good backup.
  • Log in as 'sa'.
  • Drop and Recreate both the Table and the Auto Procedure.
  • If the table is too large or irreplaceable, please contact technical support.
• Configurator Errors even when CFG not installed
  • Q: I don't have Configurator installed or registered, but after successfully upgrading Manufacturing, I'm getting an error that refers to a 'CFG' table when I try to use the Auto-Create Workorders from SOP' window.
  • A: This can happen on any HMS build. To solve this, log into Great Plains as 'sa' and use the 'SQL Maintenance' window to drop and re-create the CFG_SOP_HDR table and auto procedures (Be careful to only get the one table that you want-don't ever use Ctrl+A to select all when using the SQL Maintenance window). If you get another error that refers to CFG_SOP_DETAIL, perform the same steps.
• Didn't Update Stored Procedures before installing new code
  • Q: I forgot to update the stored procedures before I installed the new HMS code and the upgrade is failing. Can I just recreate them now?
  • A: No, you cannot recreate them with the new code installed. You must install the old HMS code and then recreate them. Note that if your old version is 7.5-72 or earlier, there will be no HMS option in the GP cascading menus in 8.0 or 9.0--you will need to add the 'HMS Installation and Updates' window to the Shortcuts bar to complete the required steps:
    
  • To install the 'old' code in the newly upgraded (to 8.0 or 9.0 GP) install, rename (or remove) the BOM.dic that has the new code and put in the chunk file for the old version.
  • If you do not have the old chunk file, then you can copy the old BOM.dic into the folder. Launch Great Plains and open the 'HMS Installation and Updates' window and click on the 'File Maintenance' button (HMS | Utilities | Install and Update'). Follow the instructions under File Maintenance earlier in Pre-update Procedures in the Online help file or the upgrade manual. Once those procedures are complete (including removing Smartlist for HMS), you may install the new code and HLM10XXX.dat and HLM10XXX.idx files and proceed with the upgrade.
• Getting errors Integrity Check
  • Q: When I ran the integrity check process as part of the preparation for the upgrade, I received many errors--what do they mean and what should I do about it?
  • A: It depends on what the errors were and what tables were involved. The errors mean that a value in a field is outside of the acceptable parameters for that field type. These errors sometimes arise because of data issues, or sometimes because a field in a table wasn't properly upgraded in the past. If the error is on a critical field, then use SQL Query Analyzer or Enterprise Manager to correct it. Many errors can just be ignored if they are on a table that isn't used in your company.
    
  • Negative value for a list field--check the table for negatives and change them to a positive number.
         - Invalid value for checkbox field--this should be either 0 or 1.
         - Invalid value for true/false field--should be either 0 or 1
         - Invalid digits for dollar field.
         - Invalid length string for combo box field.--check the length of the field in Resource
           Descriptions and be sure that your data complies. (Tools > Resource Descriptions > Tables
           Please refer to the Dynamics GP documentation for help with this tool)
         - Invalid length for string field. Same as Combo Box errors above.
         - Invalid date field.
         - Invalid time field.
         - Invalid length for a picture field.
• Reports Didn't upgrade
  • Q: I'm getting errors when I try to run my modified reports after my upgrade. What can I do?
  • A: Reports are notorious for being difficult to upgrade. If the standard procedure that automatically upgrades them while the code is being included doesn't work, there are additional steps you may attempt. Sometimes, you simply can't upgrade reports and they will need to be re-created in the new version:
         - Remove all security to the old modified reports by re-naming or deleting the BOMRPTS.dic
           and reconciling security.
         - Create a brand-new, empty BOMRPTS.dic by launching Report Writer for HMS.
         - If you have the old BOMRPTS.dic, use the import function in Report Writer to import your reports.
           You may now grant security access to those modified reports using GP security and test them.
         - If that didn't work and you saved packages of each report during the pre-upgrade preparation
           steps, you can also try to import the package for each report that you couldn't upgrade using
           Customization Maintenance in GP.

Posting Errors

• Not Enough Qty has been transferred to the Production Component Location. Transfer or change the Prdctn Location
  • Cause: The 'Non Serial/Lot Items Cannot Post if Not Enough Transferred to WIP' in WIP Setup has been selected, and a WIP transfer has not yet been posted.
  • Solution:
    
  • Post a WIP transfer for the required components to the final location as specified in the Production Component Detail window.
  • Change the final location for each component in the Production Component Detail window.
  • Use the Work Order Detail window to globally change the 'Default Location to Relieve Component Stock'.
• Some Tables not upgraded
  • Cause: Either a component or the parent item has not been assigned to a site required for production (Finished Good location, Initial Location or Final Location) and the first one the system could find has been assigned instead.
  • Solution:
  • Assign the item to the required site and then manually change the site on the item in the workorder.
  • Change the location to one that has been assigned to the site.
  • To change the required sites on the workorder:
         - For the finished good, use the Finished Good Distributions window
         - For the final location for a component, use Production Component Detail
         - For the initial location for a component, use the Production Transfer window
• Not enough component stock for production - overrides not allowed
  • Cause: The system has been set to not allow negatives, and there is not enough available stock for the component as required for the workorder.
  • Solution:
    
  • Choose a substitute item in the Production Work In Process window
  • Correct the stock shortage (post a PO receiving or an adjustment)
• An Acct Segment has been entered for this location but the resulting Acct is no Found or is Inactive.
  • Cause: An account number/site segment combination is required, but that account has not been set up in general ledger. This is caused by having a Dynamics GP site with an Account Segment ID specified that is different than the 'default' and the resulting account number doesn't exist. This situation may be 'critical' depending on the setups in HMS Setup.
  • Solution:Set up the proper accounts in Dynamics GP
  • Change the site being called for to one that uses the 'default' segment.
  • Override the GL account numbers being used on the workorder.
         - For the FG, use the Finished Good Distributions window
         - For components, use the Production Component Detail window.
    
• Invalid or Inactive posting account for F.G. Location Distribution
  • Cause: The account number specified in the Finished Good Distributions window is missing or invalid.
  • Solution: Choose a valid posting account. Usually this is caused by having an invalid index number in a setup, or by having a site segment that has not been set up in GL. Check the account number in the item card for the parent item, and check that the account number for the site exists.
• The Quantity Completed/Rejected and/or Time has not been entered for this required step
  • Cause: A SFC router has been attached to the Work Order that has 'required' steps that have not yet been completed.
  • Solution: Post the required steps in 'Traveler Processing'.

Other Issues

• Q: Are We There Yet?
  • A: No.