Last Revised: August 15, 2012

X L C O N N E C T A N D

X L C O N N E C T C O N T E N T 9 . 0 5 S P 2

Installation Guide

This guide describes the steps required to install XL Connect and XL Connect Content Pack for your accounting system. If you are installing on a Terminal Services or Citrix server, please also refer to XL Connect 9.05 SP2 Citrix_Terminal Sevices Deployment for steps specific for that environment.

Installation Files

You will have received a CD from Epicor Customer service for XL Connect 9.05 SP2 which will contain the XL Connect runtime engine installer as well as the files necessary for implementing XL Connect Content Pack for the General Ledger module of your Epicor software package. The installation disk contents are as follows:

Folder Name Contents

Client XL Connect Content pack client add-in files for General Ledger

Documents Documentation for the product

2 | P a g e

Reporting Services XL Connect Content pack for General Ledger reporting services solution and reports for deployment on your Reporting Services server

Server Contains files to be copied to your XL Connect shared directory

Admin XL Connect security files. These files are kept separate from the content files

Scripts If present, this folder will contain any scripts that need to be run against the

Epicor database.

XL Connect Runtime Installation files for the XL Connect runtime engine

3 | P a g e

If you have purchased XL Connect Content packs for additional modules of your Epicor Software, you

will receive a separate installation disk for those modules which will be organized similarly. The

installation instructions will reference these different directories.

4 | P a g e

Installation Overview

Creating and installing a new XL Connect environment requires the following steps. These steps presume that Reporting Services is already installed and configured.

Installation Activities on the Server

1. Installing and Verifying Reporting Services Installation a. Verify your SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Installation b. Steps to Verify SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Installation

2. Implement RDL files

3. Configure Data Source for SQL Authentication (optional)

4. Enable TCP/IP and Add Firewall Exceptions a. SQL Server 2005 b. SQL Server 2008 or higher c. Add Windows Firewall Exceptions

5. Create and Populate Shared Directory

6. Assign XL Connect Security to User

Installation Activities for Each Client Workstation

7. Install XL Connect

8. Install Client Components to Client Workstation

9. Configure XL Connect

10. Verify the XL Connect installation

If you are upgrading your XL Connect installation to a new version, please refer to the Upgrading your XL Connect Environment section at the back of this Installation Guide.

Notice: Screenshots in this document may not exactly match what you see due to the use of a pre-

release version of XL Connect to prepare this document. Screenshots illustrating installation steps for XL

Connect Content pack elements will vary by content pack. This document includes screenshots from

various content packs. In addition, screenshots used to illustrate SQL Server Reporting Services may

also differ due to the version used during the preparation of this document.

5 | P a g e

Step 1: Installing and Verifying Reporting Services Installation

Reporting Services is a required component for XL Connect 9.05 SP2. You can use SQL Server 2005

Reporting Services, SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services or SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services. An

advantage to using the SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services is that version no longer requires the use of

IIS.

Whichever version you choose to go with, Microsoft provides information on how to install Reporting

Services. Following are the links to MSDN articles describing installing Reporting Services for these two

versions.

SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144290(SQL.90).aspx

SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143736.aspx

NOTE: If you are adding Reporting Services to an already existing SQL Server installation, it may be

necessary to reapply services packs to ensure that any Reporting Services files affected by the service

packs are applied.

Refer to the document named “Installing SQL Server and Reporting Services” provided with the XL

Connect product documentation for examples of the various installation scenarios.

IMPORTANT: Epicor Software Support will not provide support for your reporting services installation

so it is important to verify that Reporting Services is running correctly after installation before

proceeding with the XL Connect installation. Should you encounter problems installing or configuring

Reporting Services, please contact Microsoft Support for assistance.

If you are using SQL Server 2008, click here to jump to the steps for verifying your Reporting Services

installation.

6 | P a g e

Verify your SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Installation

After installing Reporting Services, do the following to verify that the installation is running and

accessible.

1. Click on Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2005 > Configuration Tools > Reporting

Services Configuration Manager.

2. Connect to the Reporting Services instance you just installed.

7 | P a g e

3. In the Configure Report Server dialog, confirm that the status indicators for the top 6 items are green

checks.

You must resolve any problems that prevent these top 6 status indicators from being green checks

before proceeding.

4. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager (Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools >

Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager), right-click on the ReportServer virtual directory and

choose Browse.

The URL to this page will be your “Web Service URL” and you will need to enter it during the

installation of XL Connect. The Web Service URL for the above screenshot would be represented as

“http://w2k3r2/reportserver”.

8 | P a g e

You may receive the following error when accessing the site:

Do the following to resolve this error:

Open the folder indicated in the error message.

Right-click the folder and click Sharing and Security.

Click the Security tab and click Add.

In the Enter the object names to select box, type the name of the account indicated in the error

message, and then click OK.

Under Allow, ensure that the Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, Read and Write check boxes

are selected.

9 | P a g e

Click OK.

When the warning message is displayed, click Yes.

5. In Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, right-click on the Report manager virtual directory and

choose Browse. This is the administration site for Reporting Services and is where you should have

assigned your XL Connect users Content Manager rights. Refer to the document titled “Installing

SQL Server and Reporting Services” if you have not done this step.

10 | P a g e

6. IMPORTANT: Go to the client workstation where XL Connect will be installed and confirm that the

end user can browse to the web service website and run an RDL successfully.

If the reporting services site cannot be accessed by the user at all, check the server’s Windows Firewall

settings to ensure that the port being used by Reporting Services is not blocked.

If this step fails with the below error, refer to the Reporting Services Security section of the Installing

SQL Server and Reporting Services guide for the steps to assign the user the appropriate

permissions in Reporting Services.

11 | P a g e

Verify that the user can run a report. If the following error occurs when the report is run, confirm that

the user has rights in SQL Server to the database. These steps are documented in the Installing SQL

Server and Reporting Services guide. Refer to the section titled “Reporting Services Security”.

If all of the above tests are successful, you are ready to proceed with the XL Connect installation.

12 | P a g e

Steps to Verify SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Installation

After installing Reporting Services, do the following to verify that the installation is running and

accessible.

1. Click on Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Configuration Tools > Reporting Services

Configuration Manager

2. Connect to the Reporting Services instance you just installed

13 | P a g e

3. In the Reporting Services Configuration Manager dialog, make sure that the Report Service Status is

“Started”. This should be the first thing you see after logging in.

4. Click on the Web Service URL in the left pane and then click on the URL hyperlink to the Report

Server service website to confirm that the Report Server website is accessible.

14 | P a g e

It can take a few seconds for the website to display.

Make a note of this URL. You will need to provide it during the installation of XL Connect.

5. Click on the Report Manager URL in the left pane and then click on the URL hyperlink to the Report

Manager website to confirm that the Report Manager website is accessible.

15 | P a g e

It may take a few seconds for the webpage to load.

6. IMPORTANT: Go to the client workstation where XL Connect will be installed and confirm that the

end user can browse to the Report Manager website and run an RDL successfully.

If this step fails with the above error, refer to the Reporting Services Security section of the Installing

SQL Server and Reporting Services Installation Guide for the steps to assign the user the appropriate

permissions in Reporting Services.

16 | P a g e

Verify that the user can run a report. If the following error occurs when the report is run, confirm that

the user has rights in SQL Server to the database. These steps are documented in the Installing SQL

Server and Reporting Services guide. Refer to the section titled “Reporting Services Security”.

If all of the above tests are successful, you are ready to proceed with the XL Connect installation.

17 | P a g e

Step 2: Implement RDL files

Before you implement the RDL files for a [Module] Content Pack, install Epicor Enterprise SQL Server

components and update the Epicor Enterprise databases.

a. If it is the first time you install Epicor XL Connect for Epicor Enterprises SQL Components, review

the Epicor XL Connect Calendar Update Instructions document located in <drive

letter>:\Documents directory.

b. Navigate to <drive letter>:\ and execute the autorun.exe.

18 | P a g e

c. Click Product Installation, and the Server Installation.

19 | P a g e

d. Choose your preferred option and click Next.

e. Browse to the destination folder and click Next.

20 | P a g e

f. Choose the program group and click Next.

g. Click Next.

21 | P a g e

h. Once the Server Components are copied to the computer, the DBUPDATE will start

automatically, if not, navigate to Program Files\Epicor\Epicor XL Connect 9.05 SP2 Enterprise\GL

Content Pack\Server\DBUPDATE and double-click DBUPDATE.exe.

22 | P a g e

i. Choose your database server (if there is no server in the list, navigate to Windows Start - Run

and enter cliconfg.exe. Add an Alias for your database server). Type credentials and click OK.

j. Click Next.

23 | P a g e

k. Drag and drop the module content to the database you want to install. Click Next.

l. Review the Confirm Update Options and click Next.

24 | P a g e

25 | P a g e

1. Click on Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (or Microsoft SQL Server 2008/2008 R2)

> SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio

IMPORTANT: If your server operating system is Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

and User Account Control is enabled, Ctrl+Shift+Right-click on SQL Server Business Intelligence

Development Studio and choose “Run as administrator”.

2. Click on File > Open > Project/Solution

Browse to the Reporting Services directory of the XL Connect installation disk and select the file that ends in the .sln extension. This project file name will vary by content pack. Click Open.

26 | P a g e

If you are installing using SQL Server 2008’s Business Intelligence Development Studio, you may be prompted to convert to the 2008 format. Just click Yes and/or Finish to perform the conversion and proceed with the next step.

3. In the Solution Explorer pane on the right, expand the Shared Data Sources folder and double-click

on the icon to the left of the .rds Data Source entry.

27 | P a g e

4. In the Shared Data Source dialog, click on the Edit button.

28 | P a g e

5. In the Connection Properties dialog, provide the database server name that hosts your Epicor

database in the Server name field. Make sure the Use Windows Authentication radio button is

selected. In the Connect to a database section, select the software package database.

IMPORTANT: If the software package uses a System (or control) database, be sure to select the

system database at this point rather than an individual company database.

6. Click on the Test Connection button to confirm that you are able to connect to the database. If the

test connection succeeds, click OK.

Then click OK in the Connection Properties window and click OK again in the Shared Data Source

Properties window.

29 | P a g e

7. Right-click on the project name in the Solution Explorer pane and choose Properties.

8. Change the Target Server URL to the correct path for your report server Web Service URL. Click OK.

IMPORTANT: If your Report Server Web Service URL uses a non-default port, be sure to include that

port number in the TargetServerURL. For example “http://EpicSvr:8080/ReportServer”.

30 | P a g e

9. Click on Build > Deploy your solution.

If you get this error during deployment, you have entered the Report Manager URL for the

TargetServerURL instead of the Web Service URL (ex. http://servername/ReportServer).

10. In the Output dialog window, confirm that the Build and the Deploy were successful.

11. Close the Business Intelligence Designer Studio.

31 | P a g e

Step 3: Configure Data Source for SQL Authentication XL Connect can be configured to retrieve data using SQL Authentication. By default, when the Reporting

Services data source is deployed, it is configured to use Windows Authentication for connecting to the

Epicor database. If you prefer to use SQL Authentication, do the following:

1. Browse to the Reporting Services Report Manager URL. This URL will be very similar to the Web

Service URL but will use “Reports” instead of “ReportServer”. For example, if your Report Server

Web Service URL is http://EpicSvr/ReportServer, your Report Manager URL will be

http://EpicSvr/Reports.

2. Click on the Data Sources folder.

3. Click on the content pack data source. If there are multiple data sources listed and you’re not sure

which one is the one being used by XL Connect Content, go back to the Reporting Services Solution

and look at the name of the .rds object in the Solution Explorer.

32 | P a g e

4. Select the Credentials supplied by the user running the report radio button.

5. Click Apply to save the change.

When the data source is configured to prompt the user for credentials, be sure to check the Persist SQL

Credentials checkbox in the XL Connect Application Settings on the client workstation to ensure that the

user is not prompted each time a data retrieval call is made.

33 | P a g e

34 | P a g e

Step 4: Enable TCP/IP and Add Firewall Exceptions To use the new XMLFast feature added in the 9.05 SP2 XL Connect build, the TCP/IP protocol must be

enabled for SQL Server and exceptions added to the Windows Firewall.

To enable TCP/IP, the steps vary depending on your SQL Server version. The steps for SQL Server 2005

are as follows. For SQL Server 2008 or higher, click here.

SQL Server 2005

1. Click on Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2005 > Configuration Tools > SQL Server Surface Area Configuration.

35 | P a g e

2. Click on Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections.

3. In the left pane, click on SQL Server Browser. When the right pane has refreshed with the options for the SQL Server Browser, make sure that Startup Type is set to Automatic and click on Start if the service is not started.

36 | P a g e

4. Under Database Engine, click on Remote Connections. Select the Local and Remote Connections radio button to enable remote users to access this SQL Server instance. Click Apply.

5. An alert dialog will be displayed indicating that the changes will not take effect until the Database Engine service is stopped and restarted. Click OK.

37 | P a g e

Under Database Engine on the left, click on Service. In the right pane, click on Stop and then click on

Start when that button becomes enabled. Once the service is restarted, click OK to exit the Surface

Area Configuration tool.

Click here to skip to the section describing adding Windows Firewall exceptions.

38 | P a g e

SQL Server 2008 or higher

1. Click on Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (2008 R2) > Configuration Tools > SQL

Server Configuration Manager.

2. Expand SQL Server Network Configuration and select the Protocols for InstanceName that

corresponds to the SQL Server instance that hosts the accounting system database

3. Verify that the TCP/IP Protocol is Enabled. If it is not enabled, double-click on the protocol and

change its properties to enabled. You will receive a warning that the service will need to be stopped

and restarted:

39 | P a g e

4. Go to the SQL Server Services section. Select the SQL Server service and click on the restart the

service button.

40 | P a g e

Add Windows Firewall Exceptions

Server 2003 (click here to go to the Server 2008 instructions)

6. Click on Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall

7. On the Exceptions tab, click the Add Port button.

41 | P a g e

8. In the Add a Port dialog, enter a name for the exception entry and type 1433 for the port number.

Click OK.

9. Add a second port exception for UDP 1434.

42 | P a g e

10. Click the Add Program button then click the Browse button

11. Browse to the SQL Server installation’s Binn directory and select the sqlservr.exe.

43 | P a g e

12. Close the Firewall dialog after making these additions and go to the next step, Step 5: Create and

Populate Shared Directory.

Server 2008

1. Click on Start > Administrative Tools > Windows Firewall with Advanced Security

44 | P a g e

2. Click on Inbound Rules.

3. Click on New Rule.

45 | P a g e

4. Choose the Port radio button and click Next.

5. Leave the TCP option selected and type in port 1433. Click Next.

46 | P a g e

6. Leave the Allow the connection radio button selected and click Next.

7. Uncheck the Public checkbox and click Next.

47 | P a g e

8. Type a name and description for the exception and click Finish.

9. Repeat these steps to add a UDP port exception for port 1434.

48 | P a g e

10. Add a third new inbound rule for a program exception.

11. Click on the Browse button and browse to the SQL Server installation’s Binn directory and select the

sqlservr.exe. Then click Next.

49 | P a g e

12. Leave Allow the connection selected and click Next.

50 | P a g e

13. Uncheck the Public checkbox and click Next.

14. Type a name and description for the exception and click Finish.

51 | P a g e

Step 5: Create and Populate Shared Directory

1. Create a shared network directory and ensure that all XL Connect users have read and write

permissions to the directory.

2. Copy your XL Connect license file into this shared network directory.

Step 6: Assign XL Connect Security to Users

Each XL Connect user’s Windows account name must be added to a .users file in the Admin shared

directory in order for that user to perform any XL Connect action. To assign XL Connect security to your

users, do the following:

1. In the Admin shared directory, open the .users file that corresponds with the XL Connect

permissions this user should have. The .users file can be opened and edited with Notepad. For

example, if the user should have Designer permissions, you would open the Designer.users file.

2. In the .users file, add the Windows account name of the XL Connect user. The Windows account

name does not need to be preceded with the domain name. For more information on the different

user types, refer to the document named “XL Connect User Types” .

2. Perform these steps for each user who will be using XL Connect, adding their name to the

appropriate .users file that corresponds with the permissions they should have in XL Connect. Add

each user to only one .users file in the shared directory.

IMPORTANT: As you add Windows account names to the .users files, add only as many as you have

licenses. If you add more Windows account names than you have licenses or you have an extra line

return in the file, users will get an error message similar to the following when they open Excel after XL

Connect is installed:

52 | P a g e

Step 7: Install XL Connect

IMPORTANT: If XL Connect is being installed on a Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008

environment AND User Account Control is disabled, XL Connect must be installed in a directory outside

Program Files.

1. Browse to the XL Connect Runtime folder on the installation disk.

2. Open the Excel folder that corresponds to the version of Excel installed on the client workstation

and double-click the Setup.exe.

3. The installation will check to see if Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 is installed. If not installed, the

following dialog will display. Click Accept.

53 | P a g e

4. The installer will also check for the presence of the correct Windows Installer version and, if not

found, will install it.

5. The installation will then check to see if the Microsoft Office Primary Interop assemblies for the

installed Excel version are installed as well as a specific Microsoft Update that is necessary for

proper Excel add-in functionality. If not found, the following dialog will display. Click Install.

IMPORTANT: If you are installing on a client workstation with Office 2010, you may need to

manually install the Office 2010 Primary Interop Assembly files. Refer to the section titled Installing

XL Connect on an Office 2010 Workstation for more information and steps on how to install these

files.

54 | P a g e

6. The splash dialog will open. Click Next to continue.

7. The Welcome dialog will open. Click Next to continue.

55 | P a g e

8. The License Agreement dialog will open. Read through the agreement and if you agree with the

terms, click the I agree radio button and then click Next.

9. Accept the default installation directory or browse to a location of your choice. IMPORTANT! If you are installing on a Vista, Windows 7 or Server 2008 environment AND User Account Control is disabled, this path must be to a directory outside of the Program Files directory because of the additional security applied to that location by these operating systems. Click Next.

56 | P a g e

10. You are next prompted to provide some key paths to the installer.

Shared Directory for Content files – This should be the path to the network folder that contains your .biz files and your XL Connect Content add-in files (.dll, .dna and .xll). Shared Directory for Administration files – This should be the path to the network folder that contains your license file (.lic file) and your .users files Reporting Services Server – Enter the Web Service URL for your Report Server site. If you do not know what this URL should be, go back to Step 1: Installing and Verifying Reporting Services Installation. Reporting Services Folder Name – Enter the name of the folder on the Reporting Services site that contains the XL Connect Content reports (.RDLs). If uncertain of this folder name, browse to the Reporting Services web service URL to determine which folder contains the XL Connect Content reporting services reports.

57 | P a g e

The following is a completed example of this dialog. The values shown below are examples of what appropriate values should look like. The actual values you enter will be different.

Click Next.

11. Click Next at the Confirm Installation dialog.

58 | P a g e

12. Once the installation completes, click Close.

13. Copy the two files with .biz extension from the <drive letter>:\XL Connect Runtime of the XL Connect

CD to your shared directory.

Installing XL Connect for the Non-Administrative User

If you have installed XL Connect while logged in as a different login than the XL Connect end user, you

will need to perform the following additional steps in order to get XL Connect functioning for this user.

1. After completing all of the preceding steps to install XL Connect, log out of the client workstation

and log back in as the XL Connect user.

2. Open Windows Explorer and browse to the reg5 subdirectory of the XL Connect local directory.

3. Double-click the file named Register XL Connect for Excel xxxx OnDemand.bat, where “xxxx” is the

Excel version (2003, 2007 or 2010).

4. If the workstation is running Windows 7 with User Account Control (“UAC”) enabled, click Yes to all

UAC pop-ups. Click Yes or OK to all dialogs that open.

59 | P a g e

IMPORTANT: If you get the following error when running the .bat file, you must edit the file named

“Register XL Connect for Excel xxxx OnDemand.bat” to add the file directory path to each line.

To edit the Register XL Connect for Excelxxxx_register_OnDemand.reg, open it with Notepad and

add the file directory path to each entry in the file. For example, in the below screenshot, XL

Connect was installed to C:\Epicor\XL Connect and the paths to the .reg and .dll files were added to

each line:

5. When the .bat file completes, start Excel and continue with the next steps.

60 | P a g e

Step 8: Install Client Components to Client Workstation

1. In the client machine, execute the autorun.exe located in <drive letter>:\.

61 | P a g e

2. Click Product Installation, and the Client Installation.

3. Set the path where you want to install your Client Components.

Default path is “C:\Program Files\Epicor\Epicor XL Connect 9.05 SP2 Enterprise\<Module> Content

Pack\Client”.

62 | P a g e

4. Click Finish.

Step 9: Configure XL Connect

1. Open Excel.

2. If you receive the following error message, you have entered more names in the .users file than you

have licenses. Go back to Step 6: Assign XL Connect Security to Users and review your .users files.

If you receive the following message, you need to make sure that you have copied your license file

to the admin subdirectory of your shared network directory. If you are evaluating the product,

click OK.

63 | P a g e

3. If you configured the Reporting Services data source to prompt for credentials in Step 4: Configure

Data Source for SQL Authentication, click on the Application Settings button on the Epicor XL

Connect ribbon (Excel 2007 and Excel 2010) or the Epicor XL Connect toolbar (Excel 2003) and check

the Persist SQL Authentication checkbox.

4. On the Epicor XL Connect ribbon (Excel 2007 and Excel 2010) or the Epicor XL Connect toolbar (Excel

2003), click on the Scan for Content button.

NOTE: If you do not have an Epicor XL Connect ribbon (or toolbar), close Excel and click on Start >

All Programs > Epicor > Register XL Connect for Excel xxxx On Demand and check in Excel again.

64 | P a g e

You will receive the following information message. Check the path to which the content files are

being copied. IF it is not a local hard disk location, you must change the content folder location for

this user.

IMPORTANT: If this dialog indicates that the user’s profile directory is mapped to a network

location rather than a local drive, you must go to Application Settings and override the content path

before scanning for content. To do this, click on the Local Content Path button in the Application

Settings dialog, check the Override checkbox to enable the Local Content Path field and browse to a

new location this is on a local hard drive of the workstation.

65 | P a g e

After making this change, click on the Scan for Content button again and click Yes to scan for

content.

5. You may see a message indicating that Excel is not closed. This will occur if XL Connect tries to

execute the Scan for Content process before Excel has had a chance to close. Click Retry.

6. Click OK when the Scan For Content is complete.

7. Re-start Excel.

8. If you receive the following error upon starting Excel, it indicates that the content add-in is 32-bit

but Excel is 64-bit. Click No and then uninstall and reinstall a 32-bit Excel in order to use the content

add-in.

66 | P a g e

9. By default, XL Connect does not start automatically when Excel starts. To start XL Connect so that

the Navigation Pane is displayed, go to the XL Connect tab and click on the XL Connect Explorer

button.

10. Your Navigation Pane should now be populated.

NOTE: If you receive the following error message, check to be sure that you have copied your .biz files

to the content subdirectory of your shared network directory (created in Step 5 Create and Populate

Shared Network Directory). Also check your Configuration Path in Application Settings to make sure it is

correct and points to the directory that contains the .biz files.

67 | P a g e

11. Add the <Module> Content Pack add-in to Excel. The next steps depend on the version of Excel you

use. Follow the steps designed for each version: Excel 2010®, Excel 2007®, Excel 2003®.

Excel 2010

a. Click File > Options.

b. In the left pane, click Add-ins. In the right pane, go to the bottom page, and click Go.

68 | P a g e

Excel 2007

a. Click the Office button and then click Excel Options .

b. In the lepft pane, click Add-ins. In the right pane, go to the bottom of the page and click Go.

69 | P a g e

Excel 2003

a. From the Tools menu, click Add-Ins.

b. In the Add-ins dialog, click Browse.

70 | P a g e

12. Browse to the directory where XL Connect Client Components is installed (for example, <Drive

Letter>:\Program Files\Epicor\Epicor XL Connect 9.05 SP2 Enterprise\<Module> Content

Pack\Client ), and select the .xll file in that directory. Click OK.

The Add-ins dialog displays.

Click OK.

13. Exit Excel.

The name of the .xll file varies

depending on the product.

The name that displays

varies depending on the

Epicor product

implemented.

71 | P a g e

14. Browse to the Shared Directory directory the XL Connect Client Components are located. (for

example, <Drive Letter>:\Program Files\Epicor\Epicor XL Connect 9.05 SP2

Enterprise\<Module> Content Pack\Client\Shared Directory ) and merge the Content Pack.

a. Navigate to the folder where you installed the Client. The default folder is “<Drive

Letter>:\Program Files\Epicor\Epicor XL Connect 9.05 SP2 Enterprise\AP Content

Pack\Client\Shared Directory”. Double-click EpicorXLContentMerge.exe.

The EpicorXLContentMerge.exe is a tool used to merge content into the current installation

of XL Connect.

b. Set the values required for doing the merging and click Merge.

Content Template -This is the path of the template file for the content to install.

DBContent Template - This is the path of the DB template file for the content to install.

Destination file – This is path where the BizInsight.biz file is located. Commonly located

in C:\Program Files\Epicor\XL Connect\BizInsight.biz

DestinationDB file – This is the path where the BizInsight.biz file is located. Commonly

located in C:\Program Files\Epicor\XL Connect\BizInsightDB.biz

Default Parameters - Set the default parameters for the current client installation.

72 | P a g e

15. Restart Excel.

16. XL Connect does not start automatically when Excel starts. To start XL Connect navigate to the

Epicor XL Connect tab and click Epicor XL Connect, the Navigation Pane displays.

17. Your Navigation Pane populates.

NOTE If the “Load all trees failed” message displays, verify that the .biz files are copied to your

Epicor XL Connect installation folder.

The content of the Navigation Pane

varies depending on the Epicor

content pack implemented.

73 | P a g e

Step 10: Verify the XL Connect Installation

1. In three separate cells in your Excel worksheet, type in a valid Company Code, Fiscal Year and

Period.

In the Navigation Pane, expand YourContentPackName > Functions > Month to Date and then click on

MTDNET and drag it into a cell in the Excel worksheet.

IMPORTANT: If you are not able to expand the content pack node in the Navigation Pane, go back to

Step 6: Assign XL Connect Security to Users and make sure your current login has been added to the

Designer.users file.

74 | P a g e

2. If the Function Arguments dialog does not automatically open, click on the Excel Insert Function

button ( )

IMPORTANT: If the function arguments dialog does not contain any parameters,

verify that the content subdirectory of the shared directory contains the XL Connect Content .dll,

.dna and .xll files and that the Configuration Path in the Application Settings dialog is correclty

pointed to the content folder of the shared directory.

75 | P a g e

3. Click on the cells containing your three parameters.

4. You should see a pop-up indicating that the data is being retrieved from the database.

If the function returns data or a zero, your installation and configuration are correct.

76 | P a g e

If you received an error or no data, check your “Default Reporting Services Server” parameter in

Application Settings to ensure that you have the correct Reporting Services web service URL.

Next Steps:

If you have purchased additional XL Connect Content packs for your company, refer to the

document titled “Implementing Additional Content Packs” for steps on how to implement the

additional content packs.

Install and configure XL Connect and XL Connect Content for all additional workstations.

77 | P a g e

Installing XL Connect on an Office 2010 Workstation

As of this release, Microsoft has not released a distribution package of the Microsoft Office 2010

Primary Interop Assembly files (“PIAs”). These files are critical for XL Connect to work correctly with

Office 2010. In the absence of a distribution package, you may need to install the PIAs manually. The

PIAs may have been installed by default if Microsoft .NET Framework was already installed on the

workstation prior to the installation of Office 2010.

After installing XL Connect on a workstation running Office 2010, if you receive the following error when

opening Excel, the PIAs are not present and need to be installed.

Clicking on Details will show the following additional information. The key information is highlighted. --- (Inner Exception) Date and Time: 9/7/2010 8:25:41 PM Machine Name: WSLDXP IP Address: 192.168.0.189 Current User: WSLDXP\linda Application Domain: C:\Program Files\Epicor\XL Connect\bin5\ Assembly Codebase: file:///C:/Program Files/Epicor/XL Connect/bin5/AddinExpress.MSO.2005.DLL Assembly Full Name: AddinExpress.MSO.2005, Version=6.0.3037.2005, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=4416dd98f0861965 Assembly Version: 6.0.3037.2005 Assembly Build Date: 4/25/2008 2:06:50 AM Exception Source: BizInsightXL Exception Type: System.IO.FileNotFoundException Exception Message: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel, Version=11.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. Exception Target Site: AddinModule_AddinInitialize To install the PIAs, do the following:

78 | P a g e

1. Click on Start > Control Panel and open the Add/Remove Program control panel applet (or

Programs and Features for Windows Vista/Windows 7).

2. Select the Office application and click Change.

79 | P a g e

3. Select the option “Add or Remove features” and click Continue.

4. Expand Microsoft Excel and choose the .NET Programmability Support option. Click Continue.

5. Click Close when the installation completes.

80 | P a g e

Upgrading your XL Connect Environment

Refer to the document named “Applying XL Connect and XL Connect Content Updates” for instructions

on implementing a new XL Connect or XL Connect Content release. This document is available for

download from the Epicor Software Customer Portal,

http://biznetsoftware.icentera.com/portals/login.asp.