How to Attach Documents in Dynamics GP
Document Attach is a great feature that was introduced to GP during the Dynamics GP 2013 R2 version. It allows users to attach any type of documents to master records, transactions, and even inquiry records inside of GP. We have been receiving more and more inquiries about this feature from our clients especially from those who are in the process of implementing paperless policy in their office.
How to Set it Up:
To enable the attachment function, go to Administration – Setup – Company – Document Attachment Setup – check the box “Allow Document Attachments – Enable other options pending on your business requirements.
“Allow attachments to flow….” Enable this option if you need the attachment to flow from the master record to transactions. For example, you can attach directions to a vendor’s location to the vendor record. This direction attachment can be rolled down to the POs this vendor is assigned to.
How to Use It:
For example, in Financial – Transaction – General – Open a Journal Transaction
- Click on the Attach icon
- Click on Attach
- Select the attachment file
- Ok
What’s New in GP Next?
You can now attach documents in the following windows:
- Bank Deposit Entry
- Bank Transaction Entry
- Bank Deposit Entry Zoom
- Bank Transaction Entry Zoom
What’s the Storage Impact?
All attachments are stored in the GP database which is in SQL server. If you have some database backup process in place, the backup for the attachments will be included. At the same time your database Admin may have concerns on how it will impact your database. Before answering this question, think about the following questions-
- The purpose of attaching documents
- The volume of the attachments
- Document type and average document size
- Your current GP database size
If you are still not sure about this, we would recommend you and your DBA talk to your GP service provider for a diagnostic session. The bottom line is that if you don’t have tons of large attachments everyday and your database setup can support your requirements, the Document Attachment function is a handy feature to keep your business organized.
Delete Attachments
By default, the delete attachment option in the setup window is unchecked. This prevent users from deleting any attachments unexpectedly. In a scenario where you need to correct the attachment or re-upload a new one, you could either mark Allow Delete attachment temporarily or enter a password when delete is required.
Administration – Setup – Company – Document Attachment Setup
One By One
To delete a specific document attached, browse to the Attachment window, select the file needs to be deleted, right click, then Delete Row. Then you will notice all the deleted documents will be moved to the Deleted Tab.
Bulk Deletion
If you would like to clean up all the documents and notes up to certain date, you can go to Administration – Utilities – Company – Delete Attachment Files – Select Delete Document Attachments or/and Delete Notes Attachments – Enter the cut off date – Delete
**Note that all the deleted attachments were moved from Active to the Deleted tab. Technically all of these documents are still stored in your GP database. If your DBA needs to clean these attachments out of the database, a backend SQL fix is required. Please contact to your GP service provider to clean up SQL scripts.
SmartList
If you need a summary list of all the documents attached in the system, you could join the Document Attachment Master and Document Attachment Status Table to get a SmartList report like this:
The report shows the attachment created User ID, created date & Time, attachment status even the deleted attachment will be shown as well. BusObjKey column provides additional info on which document this file is attached to. For example, 0\PM\Vendor Maintenance\ACETRAVE0001 means the file test123.txt was attached to the Vendor Maintenance window of vendor ID ACETRAVE0001 under the purchasing module.
Thanks for reading this week’s blog on how to attach documents in Dynamics GP!
