Open dashboard as fullscreen active window on login

Epicor ERP 10
1

Hello everyone. I’m trying to set up a display in our plant that will auto-login to Epicor on startup, and then open (full-screen) an automatically refreshing dashboard.

We are upgrading to 10.2.500.8, and our old .sysconfig edits that allowed for a dashboard to open on login in older versions is no longer working. We have also tried to use the ‘Tabs’ section under preferences, but that just opens the dashboard minimized and in the home bar.

Has anyone else had luck doing something like this? I am leaning toward creating a script based on logged keystrokes and mouse clicks but if there is an easier way let me know.

Thanks!
-Cole

2

Have you tried it with the classic shell?

How about a custom sysconfig file? There’s a section in the sysconfig files called <shortcut> that you might be able to force to launch the dashboard.

Here’s an example of a sysconfig file’s shortcut that opens a specific sales order:

  <Shortcut>
    <Company>MC</Company>
    <Plant>MfgSys</Plant>
    <AppServerURL>net.tcp://xxxxxx00371/PRD_102300</AppServerURL>
    <DateTime>1/10/2020 11:04:25 AM</DateTime>
    <Originator>System Manager</Originator>
    <Process>
      <ProcessID>OMMT3001</ProcessID>
      <Description>Sales Order Entry (SOE_07)</Description>
    </Process>
    <RecordIDS KeyFields="OrderNum" KeyFieldsType="System.Int32" TableName="OrderHedList" DataSourceType="OrderHedListDataSet">
      <RecordID>2150999</RecordID>
    </RecordIDS>
    <Search>
      <NamedSearch>Search Name</NamedSearch>
      <SearchCriteria>Search Criteria</SearchCriteria>
    </Search>
  </Shortcut>

the ProcessID OMMT3001 is just the menu ID for Order Entry.

The RecordIDS values might not be so easy to figure out for a dashboard

1 Like
3

We have tried using the classic shell, and while that method does seem to work, we don’t really want to expose users to that interface if we don’t have to. There will be a user that is responsible for making sure this dashboard is open at all times, and will have to be shown how to open it if it closes.

With that said, we are using a nearly identical section in our .sysconfig file in 10.2.300.11 and it works. When we upgraded to 10.2.500.8 we no longer see a section in the .sysconfig and have to paste in our old one manually. We are not sure where this section gets generated from and are just using the old one pasted in to the new file.

We are putting the section at the bottom of the .sysconfig file between and . When we try to load Epicor in 10.2.500.8 with the new .sysconfig file it crashes before Epicor can even open. Maybe we are putting it in the wrong place? Or maybe we need to create a new version of this section under the new Epicor version?

Let me know if you have any more thoughts on this, thanks!
-Cole

4

You need to escape the XML formatted text. use a single grave before an after for in-line escaping:

image
to show as

Between <Process > ... </Process>

(I’m talking about posting here, and not in the sysconfig file)

5

The shortcut data is an older feature that you never see directly in a delivered sysconfig file. It was written to support the ability in the distance past to share a record with another user. This example uses Tip of the day but pick your favorite form:

  1. Log in
  2. Open Tip of the day
  3. Find and display a tip
  4. Open the file menu \ send \ record to file

The file that gets saved is effectively a copy of the *.sysconfig file you used to launch the client with the shortcut section added, prefilled to open that form with that record displayed. I would generate one this way, then adjust the values to open the menu you need.

6

Any idea as to what values would be used for a dashboard?

Should it be a runtime dashboard, with the ProcessID be that of the generic dashboard form (the one you’d then search for a dashboard to load), with RecordIDS containing the dashboard name?

7

Pretty sure you need to app deploy the dashboard. I don’t believe you can use the send feature with a run time dashboard

8

That would have been my guess.

But then what would the values be in …

<RecordIDS ....>
    <RecordID> ... </RecordID>
</RecordIDS>
9

Those are there to support standard forms like customer or order entry. Dashboard designer is a special case form. I tried quickly on my local system and while the menu items are there, they do nothing. I’m assuming that was either deliberately turned off or the underlying base functionality required to light up the feature does not exist for the dashboard designer.

10

That makes sense. Since a deployed dashboard really doesn’t have a particular record to load like an OrderNum.

Seems’ All I needed in the sysconfig file’s <Shortcut> section is:

<Shortcut>
    <Company>MC</Company>
    <Plant>Guth</Plant>
    <AppServerURL>net.tcp://xxxx00371/UAT_102300</AppServerURL>
    <DateTime>1/10/2020 11:04:25 AM</DateTime>
    <Originator>System Manager</Originator>
    <Process>
      <ProcessID>BlldComp</ProcessID>
    </Process>
  </Shortcut>

With BlldComp the menuID of the deployed dashboard

11

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I am going to give some of these things a try.

12

Cole did you find a good solution to this auto-dashboard-launch for your shop floor display? I have been tasked with the same request.

13

Couldn’t you customize classic MES and launch that?

We don’t use it anymore, but I had a dashboard embedded in my MES customization. You could make it the whole thing, I guess.

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And to clarify, the client configuration specifies which MES customization to use - if you needed to have multiple.