New UDF Process Question

Epicor ERP 10
1

When creating a new UDF our typical pattern is to do this in rapid succession after business hours, or on the weekend:

  1. Create the UDF in Epicor Using the User Defined Column Maintenance.
  2. Go into the Epicor admin server and then stop the application pool
  3. Regenerate the database
  4. Turn application pool back on
  5. Stop and start the affected slot’s task agent

The question one of my colleagues asked is can we just add the fields in User Defined Column Maintenance throughout the week? Then when someone does have the opportunity to stop the server and regenerate the database after hours over the weekend, they just have to perform the task on the server of regenerating, not actually creating the fields in the Epicor on the Epcior screen.

The task of actually creating all the fields in Epicor is what we’re hoping to eliminate by having each developer just “prep” by creating the fields they need. Currently we have to keep track of all the needed custom fields amongst ourselves in a shared document.

We know we can’t use them on customizations or BPMs until they’ve been rengerated, so is there any problem having those tables marked [Table Not In Sync]? I’ve seen problems happen when a new UDF was used on a customization prior to the database getting regenerated, but is there any harm to having the fields sit there? It would remove the need for the poor sap over the weekend to add half a dozen fields and maintain a separate file of fields, descriptions, types etc.

2

We’ve seen issues before with reporting specifically when you add the fields and don’t do a regen. It’s against our change policy to do it that way but interns you know… :upside_down_face: Anyway, if there were any reports that used the table that the field got added to they wouldn’t run until the table was in sync. Not sure if that’s still an issue or it was specific to our environment/version.

3

Same here - I’ve been burned and learned the hard way to not add fields during work time. I don’t have a specific memory of what messed up, but it affected enough actual users that I vowed to not do that again.

Yet I feel like others have said the opposite and I have the same thought of “Can’t I just regen later?”

4

I always add them to dev and test first, so I can work. I run the regen and then just recycle the app pool. I do the same for live when I move the work over and have never had an issue of users reporting something.

I close and open Epicor and am in sync.

5

You mean during work hours you recycle the app pool? What if users are running PO suggestions or posting invoices or something?

Also, you say “the” app pool - you have only one?

I have 4

  • Main (browser endpoint)
  • Integration endpoint
  • EKW endpoint
  • And then the task agent on SQL server

So I always recycle all of them if I do a regen.

6

I have 4 also and I do recycle all of them. did it yesterday
I do glance at the system monitor, but suggestions run scheduled and posting are a morning thing before I get in.

1 Like