Using Cues in Microsoft Dynamics AX to Customize Role Tailored Dashboards

One of the great features in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 is the ability to customize role tailored dashboards. Role tailored dashboards help improve decision making by ensuring users are empowered with the business intelligence they need. To customize the role tailored dashboards, you need to leverage cues.

This blog builds on a previous article called ‘Saving Queries in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012’. Once you know how to save a query (also known as a filter), you are able to create cues.

Filter and Cues Overview

Before we get into details on how to create a cue, let’s quickly review what filters and cues are.

Filters
Filters are generally used to work with a subset of the data in a form. When a filter is applied, you see only the records that meet the criteria that has been specified. Filters are also company specific. Once a filter has been saved, it can then be added to a Dynamics AX cue.

Cues
A cue is a Dynamics AX component that represents a query. It shows the number of the records that the query retrieves. Cues provide the information that appears in a cue group in the FactBox pane of a form. They are also used on Role Centre pages for Enterprise Portal.

Cues are useful for end-users to customize and display relevant information and tasks in one area to increase their productivity. You can use the Manage Cue link on the Home Page to organize the appearance of the user Role Centre.

Using Filters as a Cue in Role Centre

A saved filter can be set to display as a cue in the user tailored Role Centre. Here’s how.

1. Remove any previous Dynamics AX queries.

2. Apply the filter to the grid that is to be made into a cue.
The image below has a filter applied only on Canadian currency vendors in Vendor Group 20.

3. Save as a Cue.

Note that the visibility of the cue can be set by the user. They can decide if the cue should be saved for just themselves, for all users, or for specific profiles. If all users are selected then the saved cue can be used on any Dynamics AX user’s dashboard without having to build the filtered query first.

4. Click on OK.

5. Navigate to Role centre -> applicable Company to display the cue -> Home

6. Choose Add Cue.

7. Select the saved query under cue to be added.

8. Then click OK

The cue appears on the Home Page and is linked to the filtered query.

9. From the Home Page, click on the cue to view the filtered results.

10. Click the Home page link to drill into the filtered query results.

You can customize your cues to fit the requirements for your end user’s role tailored dashboard.

For more information on cues visit the Microsoft Developer Network.