Microsoft Dynamics™ AX 4.0Rapid Configuration Tool

Virtual Companies

Virtual Companies in Microsoft Dynamics™ AX• Virtual companies enable tables to be shared by multiple

“Real” companies• The virtual company tables are used instead of the

individual company tables • A virtual company is a company that does not exist; it can

not be accessed by a user• Only the tables of the virtual company exist

Tables in Microsoft Dynamics™ AX

• Data in Microsoft Dynamics™ AX is stored in tables. The structure of the data and tables can be viewed in the Application Object Tree (AOT).

Company A

Zip Code Table

Company B

Zip Code Table

Company A Company B

Virtual Company Tables

Company A

Zip Code Table

Company B

Zip Code Table

Company A Company B

Virtual Company Zip

Codes

Setup

Administration > Setup > Virtual company accounts

Setup

• The Company accounts tab is where the companies are selected that will be associated to the virtual company created.

• When a company is associated to a virtual company, the shared virtual tables will be used instead of the company tables.

Setup

• The Table collections tab is where tables to be shared are selected

• Related tables are grouped into collections in the AOT• A default table collection can be selected or user-defined

collections can be created using the AOT

Application Object Tree

• The AOT should only be used by trained IT professionals• It is accessed by selecting the AOT icon from the toolbar

• The default table collections can be opened to view the individual tables within each collection

Application Object Tree

AOT > Data Dictionary > Table Collections > Global

• Right click on Table collections and select New Table Collection.

• Right click on the new table collection that is created and select Rename. Rename to something meaningful (i.e. ZipCodes)

Create Table Collections in the AOT

• Right click on Tables and select Open new window• Scroll through the list of tables to find the table that will be shared• Drag and drop the table(s) to your new table collection and save

Create Table Collections in the AOT

Setup

• The new table collection now appears in the setup for virtual companies

• If the “Zipcodes” collection is selected, then only the zip code table will be shared.

• If any data exists in the company table before the company is linked to the virtual company, the data will not be accessible. Export any existing data before sharing tables.

© 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.