Defining commands

When you define the commands for your integration, use the following guidelines to maintain consistency within the application.

Commands to create

Create commands for the following items in your integration:

Any forms that are opened directly from a menu or a toolbar. This includes any forms that a user may want to explicitly open, even if they are not part the integration’s default navigation.
Any actions or processes that a user can start independently, or that you want to specifically control access to.
Any groups of commands that will appear as a submenu or toolbar in the application.
Commands for actions that will be performed for list items.

Naming commands

When naming commands, use the following conventions:

Command type	Command name	Display name
Form	The technical name of the form that is being opened.	The display name for the main window that is being opened.
Script	A name that describes the purpose of the command, typically without spaces.	The name of the action, with spaces allowed.
Command List	A name that identifies the group of commands, beginning with CL_.	The name of the group. This name will be used for the menu or submenu name.

Images

Native pictures or icon resources are used for command images. In Microsoft Dynamics GP, several images used for commands are defined as native pictures in the Dynamics.dic dictionary. Several other images used for commands are defined as icon resources in the GPIcons.dll file that is installed with Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Various native pictures for commands are already defined in the Dynamics.dic dictionary, and may be appropriate for your commands. If you have implemented standard windows for your integration, such as transaction, inquiry, or list windows, we recommend that you use the standard images for the corresponding commands. The images are listed in the following table.

Image	Name	Image	Name
	Cmd_Cards		Cmd_Routines
	Cmd_Inquiry		Cmd_Setup
	Cmd_List		Cmd_Transactions
	Cmd_Reports		Cmd_Utilities

If you create your own command images, the images should be 20 pixels by 20 pixels to display properly on a toolbar. Native pictures used for commands typically have Cmd_ as the prefix for their name.

The icon images included in the GPIcons.dll are typically used when creating commands that are used as actions for lists. The Dynamics.dic dictionary already contains a reference to this icon assembly, so the icon resources in this resource assembly are easily available for your. You will learn more about creating commands for list actions in Commands for the Action Pane.