How to Configure Electronic Reporting | Part 1

Hello everyone hope all of you are doing well.

Today we will discuss about the electronic reporting that is an amazing feature and tool available in Dynamics 365 F&O to modify the Business documents and manage them. we will create a report from scratch in this series, stay tuned.

First of all we will be discussing the basic concepts that are much important to understand the logic behind the ER.

So, in the first blog we will be discussing the steps to setup the ER and how to use the pre-defined reports that are already available in the LCS.

Navigating to the Electronic Reporting workspace

The ER workspace is available in the workspace tab.

You can access the workspace tab from here to setup the ER configurations you have to open the organization and admin & here you will find the Electronic reporting. The settings in ER are shared cross-company so for set up purposes it does not matter which legal entity you are in.?

Setting up a configuration provider

When you are in the Electronic Reporting (ER) workspace, you will find a convenient overview of various configuration types, configuration providers, and relevant menu items for navigation. The default configuration provider is Microsoft, and it cannot be removed from the workspace. However, if you want to add a new configuration provider, you can click on the "configuration provider" link. This will allow you to incorporate additional configuration providers into your ER workspace.

If you will click on the configuration provider here you will find the two main options one related to Name and other one of internet address, this address has nothing to do with the configuration you can you just put random link or can create custom own your like the DXC.COM etc based on the configuration name.

Once you have set up a configuration provider, there are two ways to return to the ER workspace. You can either close the configuration provider form or navigate directly to the ER workspace. However, before you can utilize your newly added configuration provider in your own configurations or derived configurations, you need to mark it as active. This is indicated by a checkmark displayed in front of the configuration provider. If you want to change the active status, follow these steps:

1. Click on the configuration provider you wish to modify.
2. Within the configuration provider, click on the three dots (...) to access additional options.
3. From the dropdown menu, select "Set Active."

By performing these steps, you can toggle the active status of the configuration provider in order to enable or disable its usage in your configurations.

Importing from the LCS repository

The primary repository that is commonly used is the Microsoft Lifecycle Services (LCS) repository. However, the process for other repositories remains the same. When opening the Global LCS repository, it may take some time due to the large number of configurations it contains. To expedite this process, you can increase the number of threads used to load the repository by adjusting the settings in the Electronic Reporting Parameters menu. :

1. Access the Electronic Reporting Parameters menu.

2. Within the parameters, navigate to the LCS tab.

By increasing the number of threads, you allow for parallel processing, which can help speed up the loading of the LCS repository.

After successfully opening the LCS repository in Electronic Reporting, the next step is to navigate to the specific configuration format that you wish to import. Follow these steps:

1. Browse through the repository to locate the desired configuration format.

2. Once you have found the format you want to import, select it.

3. Click on the "Import" button to initiate the import process.

Please note that importing a configuration and its related configurations can be a time-consuming task. Depending on the size and complexity of the configuration, it may take up to 10 minutes. Ensure that you have a stable internet connection and be patient during the import process.

After clicking the "Import" button, a confirmation message will appear, asking if you want to import the selected configuration and all its related configurations. To proceed with the import, click on "Yes". This will trigger the import process, which includes importing the required models, model mappings, and parent formats associated with the selected configuration.

During the import process, it is recommended to grab a cup of coffee and give it some time to complete, considering the potential duration and the reliance on your internet connection.

And after the import you can acess them from this tab

Thank you! I'm glad I could assist you in learning about setting up a configuration provider and repository, adjusting parameters for faster loading, and importing configurations in Electronic Reporting. If you have any more questions or need further assistance in the future, feel free to ask. Happy Electronic Reporting to you too!

Next part

1. Part 2 = In Depth Data Models
2. Part 3 = In Depth Data Model Mapping
3. Part 4 = Format Mapping
4. Part 5 = Format Mapping Designer
5. Part 6 = Format Mapping Transformation

Stay tuned for the upcoming series...

Thank you & best regards,

Salman Ahmad..