Microsoft Dynamics AX Technical ConferenceFebruary 3–5, 2014Bellevue, WA

Finding and creating help for AX2012 R3Margo CrandallPrincipal Technical Writer

IntroductionWe are excited to share Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 with you…• This presentation contains Microsoft confidential information• Dynamics AX 2012 R3 is pre-release software and subject to change• Microsoft provides no license, express or implied, in this presentation• Please review and respect the disclaimer included in all printed

and electronically distributed materials

• Know where to find Help resources, both outside and inside the product

• Know how the Help system inside the product works and how customers and partners can customize Help

• Know how to use Task Recorder to create videos, diagrams, documents, and presentations

• Know how to find out what the Microsoft Dynamics AX content team is doing and how you can help us

Session objectives and takeaways

Where are the resources?

Outside the product

Inside the product

Outside the product

A plethora of sites…Microsoft.com/dynamics/ax

Microsoft Dynamics

Marketplace

TechNet MSDN

Community.dynamics.com

CustomerSource* and PartnerSource* InformationSource*Lifecycle Services*

* Subscription required

Customer lifecycle phases and sitesmicrosoft.com/dynamics/ax Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace

Lifecycle Services* Microsoft Dynamics Community

InformationSource*

MSDN

AXErd

TechNet

CustomerSource*

Microsoft Learning

Evaluation

Customization

Implementation

Use

Maintenance

* Subscription required

Evaluation and purchase sitesMicrosoft.com/dynamics/ax

Microsoft Dynamics Marketplace

Evaluation

Customization sites

AXErd (Entity relationship diagrams)

MSDN library and Developer Center(articles and videos)

* Subscription requiredInformationSource*

(Core concepts and Services)

Microsoft Dynamics community

Customization

Lifecycle Services*(Customization & Upgrade

analysis)

Implementation and rollout sitesTechNet Library

(System administratorsApplication users)

Microsoft Dynamics community

CustomerSource* (Training)

InformationSource* (Core concepts and

Services)Microsoft Learning

(Training)

Lifecycle Services*(Project space, BPM, License

sizing, Usage profiler)

* Subscription required

Implementation

Production use sitesTechNet Library

(Application user section)

Microsoft Dynamics communities

(forums, blogs, and videos)

Use

Maintenance and support

TechNet Library (System administration

section)

Microsoft Dynamics community (forums and

blogs)

CustomerSource* (updates, logging

cases)

Microsoft Dynamics AX Support blog (posts and content updates)

* Subscription required

Maintenance

Lifecycle Services*(Issue Search)

Partner sitesPartnerSource*

(Microsoft Dynamics-specific partner information)

InformationSource* library

Microsoft Partner Network* (partner information for all Microsoft

products)

Lifecycle Services* (RFP responses library)

* Subscription required

How to find contentBing and other search engines for publicly available sitesImportant: CustomerSource, PartnerSource, InformationSource, and Lifecycle Services are not externally searchable

Web search page (WebSearchAX)Scoped search of TechNet, MSDN, Community, and code samples, that only covers Microsoft Dynamics AX content

Microsoft Dynamics AX Support blog and Twitter @AXContentContent update announcements

Help and Resources Datasheet on Microsoft Download CenterHelps you navigate our websites and in-product help, and understand when to use each resource

Content strategy post on Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX blog

Inside Microsoft

Dynamics AXblog

WebSearchAX

MicrosoftDynamics AX Support

blog

Inside the product

• Audience-focused• Help experience: F1• Help experience: Web search• Help updates• Help server

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Help system

• Different audiences, different Help• Application users: Configuring and using• System administrators: System administration planning and tasks• Developers: Coding how-to, application programming interface (API)

reference, and best practices

Audience-focused

Help experience: F1

Help experience: Web search

• New content published to MSDN and TechNet monthly• Microsoft Dynamics AX Support blog• Twitter @AXContent

• Installable Help updates• Ship with cumulative updates and feature packs• Replace Microsoft content on the Help server with updated application user content

from TechNet• Will not overwrite customizations that are in separate publisher folders• May add additional language or region support

• Translated content• TechNet offers translated content for application users• Translated versions are available on PartnerSource and CustomerSource

Help updates Use Maintenance

How the Help server works

Internet Information Services (IIS) Help server

AOS

Client

Help viewer

Press F1 or Help button

Returns URL for the Help service on the Help server

Client calls Help viewer

Request for the topic ID

If local, retrieves HTML file with topic ID, retrieves labels from Axapta Object Server (AOS), and adds them to the file

If local: Help viewer displays topic

Where’s the Help service? Microsoft

If web-based, returns URL

If web-based: URL is opened in browser

How customized Help works

IIS Help server

AOS

Client

Help viewer

Press F1 or Help button

Returns URL for the Help service on the Help server

Client calls Help viewer

Request for the topic ID

Retrieves all HTML files with topic ID, retrieves labels from AOS, and adds them to the files

Help viewer displays disambiguator topic- Contoso version- Microsoft version

Where’s the Help service?

Microsoft

Contoso

Customizing Help

• Provide accurate process and UI descriptions• Business processes evolve, so their descriptions should too

• Make policies visible in context• Inform the user about requirements, preferences, or general policy in

the context of the business task

Why customize the Help?

• It’s easy!• The system has three main components• Basic authoring tools are provided• Hide or show content from multiple

publishers• You can modify the table of contents

Key points

• To add your own content, you need:• The content, as XHTML• Permission to the publishing directory• To choose a tool: Word, copies of our HTML templates, or any HTML

editor

Customizing Help is easy!

Microsoft Word templateThe Word template and HTML files are available in the product and on TechNet.

Information on MSDN

Creating training with Task Recorder

Task recorder gets new features in R3 Create business process diagrams for use with Lifecycle ServicesCreate videos, Visio diagrams, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations

Demo

Summary

• Subscribe to the RSS feed for the Microsoft Dynamics AX Support blog

• Follow us on Twitter @AXContent• Check our blog post at Inside Microsoft

Dynamics AX to find links to content resources

• To give direct feedback, contact us at adocs@microsoft.com

Follow us!

• Session objectives• Know where to find Help resources, both outside and inside the product• Know how the Help system inside the product works and how customers and partners

can customize Help• Know how to use Task Recorder to create videos, diagrams, documents, and

presentations• Know how to find out what the Microsoft Dynamics AX content team is doing and how

you can help us

• Takeaways• Content is organized on sites around the phases of the customer lifecycle; use the

datasheet to find information and WebSearchAX to make your searches better• Help can be customized by using HTML or Word• Task Recorder helps you create other custom content• Follow us on Twitter or on the Microsoft Dynamics AX Support blog, and send us

feedback!

In review: Session objectives and takeaways

Resource URLsResource URL

Datasheet http://aka.ms/AXContentPDF

WebSearchAX http://aka.ms/websearchax

Microsoft Dynamics AX Support blog

http://aka.ms/AXSupportBlog

Inside Microsoft Dynamics AX blog

http://aka.ms/AXContentStrategy

Twitter handle @AXContent

Email adocs@microsoft.com

Help system development http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg882383.aspx

THANK YOU for attending! Your feedback is extremely important, please complete an evaluation using one of the following options:

• On the fly from the mobile event app• Communications Kiosks located in the Evergreen Foyer, Grand

Ballroom Foyer and Regency Foyer

• Via the Dynamics AX Technical Conference website: www.microsoft.com/dynamics/axtechconference

DisclaimerThis presentation contains Microsoft Confidential Information. Microsoft may use any suggestions, comments, or other feedback that you provide for any purpose without obligation. This presentation is provided for informational and training purposes only. It represents Microsoft’s view as of the presentation date. Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information after the presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted as a commitment on Microsoft’s part. This presentation is provided “as-is”.

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 is pre-release software under development. All dates, features, and descriptions specified are preliminary, are based on current expectations, and are subject to change at any time without notice.

Sample code included in this presentation is made available AS IS.  THE ENTIRE RISK OF THE USE OR THE RESULTS FROM THE USE OF ANY SAMPLE CODE REMAINS WITH THE USER.

MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION. NO LICENSE (EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE) TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS GRANTED BY THIS PRESENTATION.

© 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

© 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.