Storing Document Attachments within SharePoint

With the release of Dynamics AX 2012 R2, a new document location type is available for the Document Types which allows you to archive files to SharePoint rather than to the usual network file locations. This is a much better place to store files since you can add metadata to the uploaded files, and also you can add features like version control and document security around the files.
In this example we will show how you can create a new document type that stores it’s attached files within SharePoint.

How to do it…

To create a Document Type that stores the document within SharePoint, follow these steps:

1. To start setting up your new document type, open up the Document types menu item from the Document management folder within the Setup group of the Organization administration area page.
   
2. Click on the New button in the menu bar to create a new record, and then assign a Type, & Name to your document type.
   
3. Set the Class to Attach file and the Group to File.
   
4. In the Location field, select SharePoint.
   
   
5. Now we need to create a SharePoint document library for our files to be sent to. To do this, open up SharePoint, and from the Site Actions menu, select the New Document Library menu item.
   
   
6. Now we need to create a SharePoint document library for our files to be sent to. To do this, open up SharePoint, and from the Site Actions menu, select the New Document Library menu item.
   
   
7. When the Document Library has been created, copy the base URL for the library.
   
   
8. Then paste the Document Library URL into the Archive directory field within the Document type that you are in the middle of creating.
   
   
9. You can now click Close to finish the process.
   

How it works…

To see this in action, open up an existing record, and click on the Attachments button in the ribbon bar.

From the New dropdown menu item in the menu bar, you should see the new document type that you just created.

When you create a new attachment, you will be able to navigate to the file that you want to attach to the record. When you click the Open button it will upload the file to SharePoint for you.

You will be able to see the reference location for the new uploaded file in the notes section of the document attachments form.

Note: You can download and view the file by clicking on the Open button in the header.

Also, if you return to your Document Library in SharePoint, you will see file stored away there.

How cool is that.