What's New: Enterprise Portal for Developers in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 [AX 2012]
Updated: December 13, 2011
Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
This topic describes the new and enhanced features of Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. Enterprise Portal provides a web-based application framework that allows for users to interact with data in Microsoft Dynamics AX through a web browser.
The following improvements have been made for this release of Enterprise Portal:
Microsoft SharePoint 2010
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft SharePoint 2010 provides core features that are used by Enterprise Portal, such as document libraries that store Enterprise Portal pages. | Enterprise Portal uses Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. | Enterprise Portal uses SharePoint Foundation 2010 or SharePoint Server 2010. | SharePoint 2010 provides features, such as the SharePoint Ribbon, that improve the functionality and user experience for Enterprise Portal. |
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You use Visual Studio 2010 to develop Enterprise Portal integrations. | Enterprise Portal integrations are developed with Visual Studio 2008. | Enterprise Portal integrations are developed with Visual Studio 2010. | Visual Studio 2010 is a standard development tool for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. |
Support for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Features
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Portal supports tables that are structured into a table hierarchy. | Feature not available. | In Enterprise Portal, you can use tables that are structured in a hierarchy. | Allows for a more efficient database structure. | |
| Enterprise Portal supports tables that use surrogate keys. | Tables typically displayed the key values. | Tables can have surrogate keys that are not displayed to the user. | Provides a user interface that is more user-friendly. | |
| Enterprise Portal uses the new security model. | The security model was less flexible. | The security model is much more flexible and configurable. | System administrators have better control over security settings. |
User Interface and Usability Improvements
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pages can be opened as modal windows. | Pages always opened in-line, replacing the previous page that was displayed. | Pages can open as modal windows. This allows the previous page to remain. | Context is preserved when the user performs actions in Enterprise Portal. | |
| Enterprise Portal has new User Control components. | The User Control components for Enterprise Portal pages limited the layout possibilities. | New user control components, such as AXColumn and AxMultiColumn, allow for more flexible layout. | Improved visual appearance of pages in Enterprise Portal improves user productivity. | |
| Enterprise Portal can use optimized lookups. | Lookups load data at the time that they are displayed. | Lookups can be configured to load data at the time the page loads. | The user experience is improved, because users do not have to wait for the lookup to load. |
List Page Framework
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create list pages for use in Enterprise Portal. | Separate list pages are created for Enterprise Portal. | A list page can be created and used in both the Microsoft Dynamics AX client and Enterprise Portal. | Saves development time when you are creating lists. |
Services Framework
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Portal uses Microsoft Dynamics AX services to access data and metadata. | Enterprise Portal used the .NET Business Connector to access data and metadata. | Enterprise Portal uses the Microsoft Dynamics AX services to access data and metadata. | Allows for more flexible deployment of Enterprise Portal. | Not applicable |
Search
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search for data in Microsoft Dynamics AX. | Data Crawler is used to implement search. | The SharePoint search infrastructure is used. | By using the search infrastructure of SharePoint, you can choose the appropriate search tool for your organization, such as Search Server Express or SharePoint Search Server 2010. |
Pluggable Authentication
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Portal can use Windows Live ID to provide authentication for external-facing pages. | You must use Active Directory accounts for external users. | You can use Windows Live ID accounts for external users. | You do not have to have external users added to the Active Directory for your organization. | Content not yet available. |
Proxy Support
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code for Enterprise Portal can use the new proxy implementation. | Proxies are limited to Enterprise Portal and not easy to set up. | Proxies can be used throughout Microsoft Dynamics AX. This includes Enterprise Portal. | Proxies are easier to set up and use. They enable Enterprise Portal code to access Microsoft Dynamics AX resources, such as X++ classes. |
Cross-reference Support
| What can you do? | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 | Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 | Why is this important? | Where can I find more information? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You can use the cross-reference tool in the MorphX IDE to see how resources for Enterprise Portal are used. | The cross-reference tool does not support Enterprise Portal resources. | The cross-reference tool supports Enterprise Portal resources. | It is now easier to see how resources are used in Enterprise Portal. | Not applicable |
If you have created User Controls for Enterprise Portal pages in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, you will need to update them for use in Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. See User Control Changes for details about how to do this. See Converting Enterprise Portal Content for additional information about upgrading existing Enterprise Portal integrations.
