Whats the difference in 4.01 between Shortcut Dim and Global Dim?
Documents seem to have Shortcut Dim 1 & 2 as fields on the table (The rest are in the Document Dimensions Table)
Things like Customer have Global Dim 1 & 2 as fields (And the rest are in Default Dimensions)
So why the difference in field name? The system will show a different caption on all form’s anyway depending on how the dimensions are setup in GL Setup.
I know how they all fit together etc… Just wondered if anyone could answer the field name difference for me?
Global Dimensions - As you say, static for Customers, Vendors etc but there are only 2 allowed. I guess the name is Global because these dimensions appear everywhere in the database e.g. ledger entries etc, whereas all other dimensions can only be viewed from other forms, eg Posted Document Dimensions.
Shortcut Dimensions - again used dynamically but only 8 are allowed and the first two of these are the Global Dimensions. They are called Shortcut Dimensions because they appear as fields in the Journal Forms, and so can be added directly onto the journal form instead of using the Line - Dimensions entry form.
Of course it is possible to have an unlimited number of different dimensions but any other than those specified as Shortcut Dimensions must be entered using Line - Dimensions entry form.
Maybe we should have a poll to see who has the customer with the most Dimensions defined?
Global Dimensions 1 and 2 are a carryover from prior versions of Navision where departments and projects where used, departments and projects where already hard coded in the system. They simply made any reference to department code change to global 1 and project code global 2… All the rest they decided to let the customer decide what order they wanted, and thus the ability to define the shortcut
You are correct the global dimensions are legacy from before unlimited dimensions where introduced. Shortcut Dimension 1 & 2 are always the same as Global Dimension 1 and 2, and are assigned in the G/L Setup.
The main difference is that global dimension 1& 2 are carried on the actual legder entries and posted docuemts, where all other dimensions are in seperate tables. Global dimensions are in both places.
This allows you to still use the global dimensions in account schedules without having to associate an analysis view to access them.
In the US you can purchase Dimensions and you can purchase Advanced Dimensions. If you purchase Dimensions then everything works just like it used to with Department and Projects. If you purchase Advanced Dimensions( unlimited more than 2) then you also gain access to analysis views.
Analysis views are now available in Sales and Items as well as Financials. They are each seperate granules.
What is the difference between global dimension and shortcut dimension? Our company is in the middle of implemention Nav4.0 and this hasn’t been explained well.
I’ve been told that global dimension is applied to everything but shortcut dimension to specific things. But such a basic explanation really doesn’t do much to make us grasp the inner details of how and when to use dimensions, what are its impact when designing the system, what are its impact…
I guess what I’m looking for are dimension best practices with case studies of how other companies are implementing it, what to do, what not to do, etc…
Is there a document that pertains to this that anyone can share? Or can you share what you’ve done with your installation?
This is what I have found out in online help (F1).
"Shortcut dimensions offer a fast and convenient way for you to enter dimension information directly on the line in journals and in sales and purchase documents. For example, in a purchase document, you can select View, Show Column and select the shortcut dimensions that you use frequently in that particular document. To enter dimensions information for dimensions not selected as shortcuts, the user must use a separate dimensions window.
You must consider how shortcut dimensions will be used in your company. You can use shortcut dimensions purely for the most frequently used dimensions. However, you can also combine the use of shortcut dimensions with the use of default dimensions. For a frequently used dimension, you may have defined a default value that is rarely altered or cannot be altered by the user."
So the hirarchy are from global dimension, for example : divisi and department. And the shortcut dimension could be salesperson group, customergroup, area. And then you can use them in the analysis by dimension feature like sales, purchase and financial. Before use the dimension (either short cut or global), you must set the analysis view.
So the hirarchy are from global dimension, for example : divisi and department. And the shortcut dimension could be salesperson group, customergroup, area. And then you can use them in the analysis by dimension feature like sales, purchase and financial. Before use the dimension (either short cut or global), you must set the analysis view.
It is not necessary to set up an anlaysis view prior to using dimensions. The analysis view van be updated going backwards specifying a specific date or range. It is however necessary that the dimensions have been set on the posted transactions. In some cases its better and preferred to not auto update the analysis view to speed the posting routines especially if you have a lot of views. You can manually update them when you need the information (monthly,quarter, etc.).
I think part of the confusion here is with what a shortcut dimension is. And as stated above it is a quick way to enter the dimension values without having to click a button and go into the dimension form and enter them. It has nothing to do with how many dimensions you can have. You are just entering those as the most common dimensions to give the user a faster input method.
You can always change the order or selection of the shorcuts in the future if you find that you need to. This has no impact on the data, but be cautious, if you change Global 1 and 2 (Shortcut 1 and 2) this does impact the posted transactions.
You are best to get Global 1 and 2 right at the begining. These are the primary way that you want to segment your G/L account no.
This is very good advise. Its not just an issue of the basic osting of data, but of locking. Because of the way dimensions touch everything, they cause a lot of locking issues, and every chance to not lock, and rather do it as needed will help general and overall system performance.
This is a prefect task to run in the job schedular. I run it every night starting at 11pm, then every morning all analysis views are up to date. It is report 84, update analysis view.
Well I asked because I was adding new Dimension fields to a table, and wanted to get the caption right, which makes it Dev. But I suppose it could be classed as End user as well [:D]