Shane Erstad articles

Shane Erstad
Published 
3 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Password maintenance in the POS 

A new feature introduced in AX for Retail R2 CU7 is password maintenance in the POS.  This means that users can change their own password and store managers can reset passwords for staff in their store.  Here are a few tips to get started with this new feature. First of all there is a minor
Published 
4 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Using Multiple Blank Operations and Triggers 

If you have done any POS development for AX for Retail you are already pretty familiar with the Blank Operation, as it is one of the primary ways to extend the product (see AX for Retail: The Blank Operation Explained for an introduction to the Blank Operation). One of the shortcomings of the Blank Operation
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2 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Using the Extensions folder for POS Customizations 

[Update:  2013-09-28]  For the Extensions folder to function properly the POS must be build 6.2.1000.1629 or higher.  Install KB 2857746 or Cumulative Update 6 to get this fix. One great feature we added in AX for Retail 2012 R2 was a nice place for developers to drop in customizations without overwriting existing services and triggers. 
Published 
6 min read

AX for Retail: Managing and Maintaining POS Customizations 

One of the most challenging aspects of an AX for Retail deployment that we in Support help out with is dealing with ongoing maintenance of POS customizations. The AX for Retail POS application was designed to be easily customized:  many of the components are shipped with full source code and a developer can simply modify,
Published 
7 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Run-down on Log Files 

Logging and tracing has changed quite a bit between AX for Retail 2009 and 2012 R2 so an updated version of my AX for Retail: Run-down on Log Files article is somewhat overdue.  Hopefully this will be a quick reference guide that you can use for all Retail components. Retail POS This is the component
Published 
5 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Working with Custom Fields for Receipts 

Note:  (2013-May-31):  We recently published a hotfix that backports this functionality from AX 2012 R2 to AX 2012 R1 (Feature Pack).  Please contact your Partner or Microsoft Dynamics Support for this hotfix (KB 2852548) if you would like to use this functionality. In the initial release of AX for Retail 2012 we introduced the ability to add custom
Published 
9 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Troubleshooting the Real-time Service 

This is a follow-up from my previous post AX for Retail 2012 R2: Installing the Real-time Service and should give you some tips if you run into problems installing and configuring the Real-time Service.  Before getting into those tips, I want to go through the configuration of logging, as that will be necessary for your
Published 
7 min read

AX for Retail 2012 R2: Installing the Real-time Service 

[Note:  Please see the companion article for Troubleshooting Tips for the Real-time Service.] Possibly the biggest change with AX for Retail 2012 R2 is the re-architecting of the Retail Transaction Service. The first thing you will notice is that the name has been changed: Retail Transaction Service is now Commerce Data Exchange: Real-time Service. Store Connect
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2 min read

AX for Retail: Custom command-line arguments for POS training mode 

We recently had a scenario where a customer wanted to be able to start the POS in training mode directly from an shortcut instead of having the user go in and select training mode from the menu.  They would then have two icons for POS:  one for “live” operation and one for training.  Usually this
Published 
5 min read

AX for Retail: Printing Receipts with Windows Drivers 

When you set up a receipt printer in AX for Retail you have the choice to use either OPOS or Windows drivers.  With very few exceptions, you should always use OPOS drivers for standard receipt printers. Edit 2015-03-24:  This article was written for AX for Retail 2009.  Since this time the product team has added
Published 
4 min read

AX for Retail: Customizing the Retail Transaction Service 

[Update: April 18, 2012 – This ability to customize the Transaction Service has been greatly enhanced in AX for Retail 2012.] A common request that we get from customers wanting to extend the AX for Retail is how to customize the Retail Transaction Service to send custom data back and forth between the POS and