Wednesday, June 5, 2019

SSAS Role not Being Used

I recently ran into a situation where one of our users was seeing all the data in our SSAS tabular cube/model. Yes, they were in the AD group specified in the Role, but they were also not an SSAS Admin. It seemed like the role wasn't even being taken into account when the user logged in.

I couldn't find anything on the internets to pinpoint the issue, so I'm writing it up in case anyone else runs into this.

As far as I knew the only reason the role would get skipped was if the user was an SSAS Admin, which like I said they weren't.

Running a SQL Profiler of the SSAS instance and logging in to the cube as the user showed me a Session Initialize value of "*, model access" which means they had access to everything (*) and to our one role "Model Access" (if specifically selected).


If I ran it as me, an SSAS Admin, I got the same exact thing.

Running as a user who was not having access problems showed only access to "Model Access".


So how were they bypassing the role even though not specified as an SSAS Admin in the Analysis Server's properties?

Local Windows admin.

Somehow an AD group the user was in was included as a local admin on the Windows server of our SSAS service. And if you look in the SSAS Admin list the local Administrators group is not listed there, so it might not be the first thing you think of when troubleshooting this kind of access.

There is an Advanced Property in the Analysis Service instance's settings called Security > BuiltinAdminsAreServerAdmins. If you want to include all the local Admins to see all the contents of your SSAS cubes you can leave it enabled (true), but if those users are not the same users who should have full data access you will want to disable that option.

Bradley Schacht's blog post describes how to turn this off as well as the dangers of shutting it off before adding people/groups as SSAS Admins.

Hope this helps!

Monday, June 18, 2018

Automatic Screen Capture 2.0

I have updated the Automatic Screen Capture utility to include something I've wanted to add for a long time but never got around to it: A prompt after unlocking my computer so I can make a note of what I was doing when away from my computer. This comes in handy when I've been working with a user or client away from my laptop but still need to know how to track my time.

Download here from OneDrive

Description:
A utility to create automatic screenshots. Multiple monitors supported.
I created this program to help me go back through my day to see what all I worked on.
This is freeware. No reverse-engineering or anything like that. Use at your own risk.

One known issue - it does not handle the larger Windows 8 DPI settings very well. That will be the next thing I tackle whenever I get back around to working on the program.

WARNING:  
This is not intended to capture someone's screen without their knowledge.
I will not change it to hide the system tray icon nor the process in Task Manager.

How To:

Settings Screen
PrefixFile name prefix
SuffixFile name suffix, including timestamp; currently this is not editable
FolderFolder in which to save the screenshots
CompressionPercent to which to compress the image files
A lower number creates smaller files; a higher number is higher quality
20 percent is the lowest suggested value that is still readable
Capture IntervalAmount of time between screenshots
Stop Reminder IntervalAmount of time between reminders if the auto capture is stopped
Notice TimeAmount of time the computer is locked before the inactive notice
prompt appears
Notice Snooze TimeAmount of time to snooze the inactive notice after it appears
EnabledWhether or not to utilize the inactive notice feature
SnoozeSnooze the capture and stop warnings
SetPress to save and apply the settings
Start/StopStart or stop the auto capture
MinimizeMinimize the window to the system tray
ExitClose the capture program
System Tray
Double-clickCreate a screenshot right now
Right-click | SettingsOpen the settings window
Right-click | StartStart or stop the auto capture
Right-click | CaptureCreate a screenshow right now
Right-click | SnoozeSnooze for duration of selected time
Right-click | ExitClose the program

Notes:

If you stop the auto capture but do not fully exit the program, the settings window will pop up
after the interval specified in the Stop Reminder Interval. This is designed so you do not forget
to turn on the auto capture if you needed to stop it for a period of time but don't use snooze.

Version Info:

2.0
-------
Added inactivity notice and report to optionally track what non-computer work was done while the computer was locked
Added settings for configuring the inactivity notice
Rearranged config screen

1.8
-------
Fixed a bug when manually entering a save folder
Added a capture button on the Settings window
Added statistics of Captures vs Missed timed screenshots
Added About window

1.7
-------
Added Snooze functionality to the system tray
Updated system tray icons to show the current status of the auto-capture; yellow if snoozed, red of stopped
Various code streamlining

1.6
-------
Added Snooze functionality; use from the settings window; this will pause captures and stop warnings
The Set botton will turn yellow when settings have changed but are not Set
The Snooze button will turn yellow while snoozing
Added warnings for un-Set changes before starting capture or exiting the program
Setting window format update

1.5
-------
Added the Stop Reminder Interval
Added Start/Stop to the system tray
Added Settings to the system tray
Changed the system tray double-click to be a manual screenshot
Updated the message box when closing the program from the settings screen

1.0
-------
Original version


Future enhancements
-------
Program icon
System Tray icon
Monitor selection
Option to suppress screenshots when the computer is locked

Monday, May 16, 2016

SSAS Data Connection in Excel - Unable to connect to server

I just ran into a very odd situation trying to connect a user's Excel 2013 to a SQL Server Analysis Server using Data Connections. When setting up the Data Connection, it was acting as if the server wasn't there - an "unable to connect to server" or "server not found" sort of thing. Needless to say, spelling was checked, basic network connectivity was checked, and SSAS connectivity was successfully checked on another computer.

Additionally, the local firewall was turned off, a different user logged in and tried (and failed), the computer could ping the server, and even a SQL Server Data Connection in Excel to the same server worked.

I finally did a Repair on Office 2013 in Add/Remove programs (or, now, Uninstall a Program), and that did the trick. There must have been something corrupt in the components that handled the SSAS Data Connections.

Hope this helps anyone else who runs into this.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Upgrade Progress Script v2

A few years ago I created a script (version 1) to see how far along Dynamics GP Utilities was in the process of upgrading company databases. If you've ever upgraded GP before you know the upgrade screen doesn't always refresh nor does it give any real indication of time. With the arrival of GP 2015, I needed to update my original script to work correctly. I figured it was also about time to give the script a major face-lift.

This script will now also take into account simultaneous company upgrades - using multiple GP clients to upgrade the company databases. (Tip: If you have a lot of GP companies to upgrade - or several large ones - using multiple clients to upgrade a subset of the companies can be a great way to reduce the upgrade time without affecting performance too much, providing the disk subsystem on the server can handle it.)

The estimated remaining time is based on the average completion time of companies that have completed so far. If you have only one GP company then this metric is pretty useless to you. If you have a few very small companies that already upgraded and the last one is your main company, the estimated time may be off by quite a bit, but you will still have some sort of idea how long it will take.

Special thanks to Lance Brigham for the upgrade statuses.

USE [DYNAMICS]
DECLARE @NewVersion int
DECLARE @NewBuild int

SELECT
    @NewVersion = db_verMajor,
    @NewBuild = db_verBuild
FROM
    DB_Upgrade
WHERE
    PRODID = 0
    AND db_name = 'DYNAMICS'

IF object_id('tempdb..#Completed_List') IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
   DROP TABLE #Completed_List
END

SELECT * 
INTO #Completed_List
FROM (
    SELECT
        Completed_Company = RTRIM(db_name),
        Started_At = (SELECT TOP 1 start_time FROM DB_Upgrade WHERE db_name = DBU.db_name and PRODID = 0),
        Ended_At = CASE WHEN (MIN(db_verOldMajor) <> @NewVersion OR MIN(db_verOldBuild) <> @NewBuild OR MIN(db_verOldMajor) <> MIN(db_verMajor) OR MIN(db_verOldBuild) <> MIN(db_verBuild)) AND MAX(db_status) <> 0 THEN GETDATE() ELSE MAX(stop_time) END,
        Run_Time = 
            CASE WHEN (MIN(db_verOldMajor) <> @NewVersion OR MIN(db_verOldBuild) <> @NewBuild OR MIN(db_verOldMajor) <> MIN(db_verMajor) OR MIN(db_verOldBuild) <> MIN(db_verBuild)) AND MAX(db_status) <> 0 THEN
                GETDATE()-(SELECT TOP 1 start_time FROM DB_Upgrade WHERE db_name = DBU.db_name and PRODID = 0)
            ELSE
                MAX(stop_time)-(SELECT TOP 1 start_time FROM DB_Upgrade WHERE db_name = DBU.db_name and PRODID = 0)
            END,
        Upgrading = CASE 
            WHEN EXISTS (select top 1 * from DU000030 DU INNER JOIN SY01500 SY on DU.companyID = SY.CMPANYID WHERE DU.Status NOT IN (0,15) AND DU.errornum <> 0 AND SY.INTERID = DBU.db_name) 
                THEN -1 
            WHEN MAX(db_status) NOT IN (0,15) AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM duLCK L WHERE L.INTERID = DBU.db_name) 
                THEN -1 
            WHEN MAX(db_status) NOT IN (0,15) 
                THEN 1 
            WHEN EXISTS (SELECT * FROM duLCK L WHERE L.INTERID = DBU.db_name) 
                THEN 2 
            ELSE 0 
        END,
        Status = db_status
    FROM
        DB_Upgrade DBU
    WHERE
        (
            EXISTS(
                select *
                from DB_Upgrade where
                db_verMajor = @NewVersion
                and db_verBuild = @NewBuild 
                AND PRODID =  0
                AND db_name <> 'DYNAMICS'
                and db_name = DBU.db_name
            )
        )
        AND PRODID = 0
    GROUP BY db_name, db_status
    UNION
    SELECT
        Completed_Company = RTRIM(db_name),
        Started_At = NULL,
        Ended_At = NULL,
        Run_Time = 0,
        Upgrading = 2,
        Status = db_status
    FROM
        DB_Upgrade DBU
    WHERE
        EXISTS (
            select *
            from duLCK where
            DBU.db_name = duLCK.INTERID
        )
        AND PRODID = 0
        AND db_status = 0
    GROUP BY db_name, db_status
) a


SELECT
    Status = CASE Upgrading WHEN 2 THEN 'Pending' WHEN -1 THEN 'Failed' WHEN 1 THEN 'Upgrading' ELSE 'Completed' END,
    Company = CL.Completed_Company,
    [Last Step Completed] = CASE Status
            WHEN 0 THEN ''
            WHEN 1 THEN 'Step 1/59: Upgrade started'
            WHEN 2 THEN 'Step 2/59: Defaults loaded'
            WHEN 3 THEN 'Step 3/59: Tables created'
            WHEN 4 THEN 'Step 4/59: Indexes created'
            WHEN 5 THEN 'Step 5/59: Views created'
            WHEN 6 THEN 'Step 6/59: Dexterity procs created'
            WHEN 7 THEN 'Step 7/59: Changed Dexterity procs dropped'
            WHEN 8 THEN 'Step 8/59: Changed application procs dropped'
            WHEN 9 THEN 'Step 9/59: Changed indexes dropped'
            WHEN 10 THEN 'Step 10/59: Changed views dropped'
            WHEN 11 THEN 'Step 11/59: Changed triggers dropped'
            WHEN 12 THEN 'Step 12/59: Changed rules dropped'
            WHEN 13 THEN 'Step 13/59: Changed tables dropped'
            WHEN 14 THEN 'Step 14/59: SQL code updates ran'
            WHEN 15 THEN 'Step 15/59: New tables added'
            WHEN 16 THEN 'Step 16/59: Loading table stored procedures'
            WHEN 17 THEN 'Step 17/59: Loading required data'
            WHEN 21 THEN 'Step 21/59: Existing data conversion process started'
            WHEN 23 THEN 'Step 23/59: Existing data conversion process checkpoint'
            WHEN 30 THEN 'Step 30/59: Existing data conversion process completed'
            WHEN 41 THEN 'Step 41/59: New views added'
            WHEN 42 THEN 'Step 42/59: New triggers added'
            WHEN 43 THEN 'Step 43/59: Rules created'
            WHEN 44 THEN 'Step 44/59: Stubs created'
            WHEN 45 THEN 'Step 45/59: Misc stored procs created'
            WHEN 46 THEN 'Step 46/59: FRx data created'
            WHEN 47 THEN 'Step 47/59: Permissions script ran'
            WHEN 48 THEN 'Step 48/59: Table defaults bound'
            WHEN 49 THEN 'Step 49/59: Procs recompiled'
            WHEN 53 THEN 'Step 53/59: Functions loaded'
            WHEN 54 THEN 'Step 54/59: Application stored procs created, running misc scripts now'
            ELSE 'Step ' + CAST(Status as CHAR(2)) + '/59'
            END,
    Pending = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN (select COUNT(*) FROM duLCK WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM #Completed_List AS c INNER JOIN duLCK as l ON c.Completed_Company = l.INTERID WHERE upgrading = 1 and INTERID = duLCK.INTERID) ) ELSE NULL END,
    [Not Upgraded] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor <> @NewVersion OR db_verBuild <> @NewBuild) AND PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') ELSE NULL END,
    Upgraded = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor = @NewVersion AND db_verBuild = @NewBuild AND db_verOldMajor = db_verMajor AND db_verOldBuild = db_verBuild)  and PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') ELSE NULL END,
    [Avg Time Per DB] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(DAY,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0))-1) + 'd ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(HOUR,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0))) + 'h ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(MINUTE,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0))) + 'm ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(SECOND,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0))) + 's '
        ELSE '' END,
    [Est. Remaining Time] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(DAY,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) * (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor <> @NewVersion OR db_verBuild <> @NewBuild) AND PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0)
                        +
                        (
                            (SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0) -
                            (SELECT TOP 1 Run_Time FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 1)
                        ))-1) + 'd ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(HOUR,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) * (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor <> @NewVersion OR db_verBuild <> @NewBuild) AND PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0)
                        +
                        (
                            (SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0) -
                            (SELECT TOP 1 Run_Time FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 1)
                        ))) + 'h ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(MINUTE,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) * (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor <> @NewVersion OR db_verBuild <> @NewBuild) AND PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0)
                        +
                        (
                            (SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0) -
                            (SELECT TOP 1 Run_Time FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 1)
                        ))) + 'm ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(SECOND,(SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) * (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor <> @NewVersion OR db_verBuild <> @NewBuild) AND PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0)
                        +
                        (
                            (SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0) -
                            (SELECT TOP 1 Run_Time FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 1)
                        ))) + 's '
        ELSE '' END,
    [Estimated End Time] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN
        CONVERT(varchar(20),
            GETDATE() +
            (SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) * 
                (select COUNT(*) from DB_Upgrade WHERE (db_verMajor <> @NewVersion OR db_verBuild <> @NewBuild) AND PRODID = 0 and db_name <> 'DYNAMICS') 
            as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0)
            +
            (
                (SELECT CAST(AVG(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 0) -
                (SELECT TOP 1 Run_Time FROM #Completed_List WHERE Upgrading = 1)
            )
        )
    ELSE '' END
    ,
    [Elapsed Time] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(DAY,(SELECT CAST(SUM(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List))-1) + 'd ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(HOUR,(SELECT CAST(SUM(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List))) + 'h ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(MINUTE,(SELECT CAST(SUM(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List))) + 'm ' +
        CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(SECOND,(SELECT CAST(SUM(CAST(Run_Time as FLOAT)) as DATETIME) FROM #Completed_List))) + 's '
        ELSE '' END
    FROM #Completed_List CL
    WHERE Upgrading <> 0
    ORDER BY Status DESC, Company 

SELECT
        [Completed Company] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = 1 THEN Completed_Company + ' - Upgrading' WHEN Upgrading = -1 THEN Completed_Company + ' - Failed' ELSE Completed_Company END,
        [Completed Company Name] = RTRIM(CMPNYNAM),
        [Started At] = Started_At,
        [Ended At] = CASE WHEN Upgrading = -1 THEN Started_At ELSE Ended_At END,
        [Run Time] = 
            CASE 
                WHEN Upgrading = -1 THEN '0h 0m 0s'
                ELSE
                    CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(DAY,(Run_Time))-1) + 'd ' +
                    CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(HOUR,(Run_Time))) + 'h ' +
                    CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(MINUTE,(Run_Time))) + 'm ' +
                    CONVERT(varchar(4),DATEPART(SECOND,(Run_Time))) + 's '
            END
FROM
    #Completed_List
LEFT JOIN
    SY01500 ON #Completed_List.Completed_Company = SY01500.INTERID
WHERE
    Upgrading <> 2
ORDER BY 
    Upgrading DESC, 
    [Ended At] DESC

IF object_id('tempdb..#Completed_List') IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
   DROP TABLE #Completed_List
END

Friday, April 10, 2015

Beginning Balances not Showing in Management Reporter

We ran into an interesting issue where the numbers in Management Reporter did not match what was in Dynamics GP. We did the standard first step of re-creating the data mart and integration, but the numbers were still off.

Upon further investigation, the beginning balances were missing from the report. We looked in GP, and the trial balance looked right, but the MR numbers were still off.

Then we noticed that the Source Document for the beginning balances was not the standard "BBF"; it was "BF". It appeared that something had happened to GP during the year end close, so they created a journal entry to replace it then altered it in SQL to change the transaction date.

We had to update the Source Document in SQL and gave it an Original Transaction Source of "CLOSE". After re-creating the data mart, all was well in the world.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Time Log Excel Spreadsheet

As a consultant, I need to keep track of my day to make sure our company bills our customers for the appropriate hours I spend. If I'm working on one customer all day, it is pretty easy to enter my time into our billing system at the end of the day. On the other hand, when I'm working on several customers throughout the day and being interrupted by other customers and other consultants via meetings, e-mails, and phone calls, I need a spreadsheet where I can track every minute of the day - and is easy to see what I worked on for each external or internal customer when I'm entering my time into the billing system.

A colleague of mine had created the basic format, but it was very static. Always trying to improve and streamline, I changed it into a dynamic interface. Plus, I really wanted it to be easy to see all the work I did throughout the day for one particular customer and project. 


I have been trying to ween myself off VBA in Excel whenever possible, so this spreadsheet contains no VBA macros - it is all Excel formulas and conditional formatting. The sheet is protected to keep data entry in the designated places, but there is no password if you want to poke around and see how it works.


Shoot me a comment if you find the spreadsheet useful.

Friday, December 12, 2014

eConnect error - Name cannot begin with the 'x' character.

I just ran into a rather interesting error I'd never seen before in Integration Manager. This integration uses the eConnect destination adapter going into Purchase Orders.

The error we received was as follows:

 eConnect error - Name cannot begin with the '6' character, hexidecimal value 0x36. Line 1, position 12559.

Integration Manager / eConnect creates the XML code automatically, so how would we even troubleshoot this?

I found a reference to an article on PartnerSource for saving the XML files IM/eConnect creates to a folder for troubleshooting, but the link was down and I couldn't find reference to it anywhere else on the internet (of course). See this page for a little more about the link (scroll down to the "Creating XML Data Files") section.

Looking at the data file and the error a few more times, I had a hunch there may be something wrong in the parsing of the import data so I looked through the text file for a '6' with a special character nearby. I found a 6 with the "less than" sign. Apparently Integration Manager 10 / eConnect couldn't handle this very well. I had the customer remove the "less than" sign, and all came in just fine.

Here is a screenshot from the import file (most of it is obscured for privacy reasons):