Method Community

Hi Guys, We are creating an online form that calls into the Method API...my programmer has these questions that I'm hoping you can help us with in our development....

He writes.... "How can i make use of customfields in the table Customer in Method Integration, I found some customfields in Customer table Customize Table/Fields section.

I've tried to insert some customer information using the WebMethod using webservice file service.asmx from my .aspx page. The method name is MethodAPIInsert(sCompanyAccount,sUserName,sPassword,sInsertTable, arrInsertFieldsArray,arrInsertValueArray, ref intRecordID)

Here in arrInsertFieldsArray , i tried to pass CustomField2 with corresponding arrInsertValueArray .. But its not inserting the value in CustomField2

And also i want to know about this MethodAPIInsert function like, it accepts only array of string as arrInsertValueArray is an String Array. How can i pass some field values like TotalBalance? TotalBalance datatype is Money..so, when i tried to insert customer information along with TotalBalance amount its not inserting because TotalBalance datatype is Money? But MethodAPIInsert function accepts only array of strings arrInsertFieldsArray, arrInsertValueArray ?.."

Thanks very much.

Regards Brent

Hi Brent,

Very cool - I'm interested to see what you guys are coming up with. 

• I have answered this question, that was posted yesterday, here: http://methodintegration.com/cs/forums/p/135/327.aspx#327
• I just did an online form last week using the MethodAPI. Worked like a charm. You can check it out here: https://www.methodintegration.com/web/signupapp.aspx?app=Xora%20Connector.   On page load, it checks the app name from the URL, hits the Method account that holds the future of all Method Apps, and then loads pricing, description, etc. on the page - all using the MethodAPI.  The when the sign up goes through, all the credit card processing, email sending, and account creation is all done using the MethodAPI.  Very smooth process.  In fact, I wrote a blog about it here: http://methodintegration.com/cs/blogs/methodblog/archive/2008/11/27/fanatical-about-systems.aspx

Great to meet you at the conference in Charlotte last month -

Paul

Hi Guys, Our programmer replies below...could you help us with their questions: "I have checked Method integration issue for meninkilts project still the same problem i am facing what i have faced before. Here is the Method Integration Issues that i am facing.. I've checked the Method people's response in Method forum.. As per our requirement in meninkilts , Need to pass all the customer information along with Estimation values.. As per the Method persons response, CustomFields are not returning when i tried with MethodAPIFieldList which will return list of fields for the Customer table..(According to method documentation, we can post the values to the fileds, which is returning by the API - MethodAPIFieldList) so, i can't able to insert any values using customfields.. And another thing is like, when i tried to pass some grandtotal value to TotalBalance field in Customer table, its not allowing to insert because TotalBalance fields are not supporting for edit or add a value in to that, because Default setting for the TotalBalance fields is set as False..so, only string values can be able to insert using MethodAPI.. only the customer information can be able to insert using MethodAPI.. " Thanks again guys

Brent,

Hope your holidays went well.

"CustomFields are not returning when i tried with MethodAPIFieldList which will return list of fields for the Customer table..(According to method documentation, we can post the values to the fileds, which is returning by the API - MethodAPIFieldList"

-If there aren't any custom fields coming in, chances are the custom fields don't even exist in QuickBooks at all.  If you have custom fields setup they will should show in the API just fine.  They have to be setup in QuickBooks first if you want to use QuickBooks custom fields. (Customer > Additional Info > Define Fields).

-Without knowing what you are trying to pull in with Estimation values, it's hard for me to see if you are heading down the right path.  Where exactly in QuickBooks are you currently seeing these values that you want to get access to with the API (which screen, how do you get there, etc.)?

"And another thing is like, when i tried to pass some grandtotal value to TotalBalance field in Customer table, its not allowing to insert because TotalBalance fields are not supporting for edit or add a value in to that, because Default setting for the TotalBalance fields is set as False"

-Yes, this is true.  TotalBalance is a read only field.  It is calculated by QuickBooks.  As per my previous response, I suggest the programmer checks into the QuickBooks SDK (a link to which is given in the Method API docs) to learn more about why certain fields are read only.

"so, only string values can be able to insert using MethodAPI.. only the customer information can be able to insert using MethodAPI.."

-No, this is not true.  Just because TotalBalance is read only it does not mean that all non-string values are read only.  It just means that TotalBalance is a calculated, read only field (it is calculated based on the totals of all invoices, statement charges, credit memos, payments, etc, that hit the account).  The vast majority of date, string, and number fields all support edit and add.

-If he wants to affect the total balance, he needs to create a transaction against the customer that will affect it.

Paul

 

Hi Paul, Holidays have been great!! Hope you had a great time with your family ;-) I'm going to have the programmer post in this forum as well if they have something that may get a too technical for me.. but I want to thank you for your replies and helping us push through this learning curve. Also curious ...did you look at Google Gears and Remember the Milk (I'm sure you get tons of email...it was from email address bhohlweg AT meninkilts.net couple weeks back ...) those examples will allow you to take Method On and Offline if the internet goes down !!! Cheers Brent

Hey Brent - yes I did receive the email about Google Gears.  Thank you for sending me that.  I haven't had the time to go through everything myself, and the other Method developers have their hands full, so it's something we need to look into in the future once we get time on our hands.

Without knowing too much about it, though, it looks like what we woudl be doing is essentially taking a mirror of the web server database's tables and fields and storing changes locally in a GG database rather than sending them straight to the server.  Then once an online connection is established there is a sync between to GG database and the server database.  The only problem I see with that is all the accounting validation that we do on the server right now would be bypassed, as the sync between GG to the server database would be direct.  So we would have to do a pretty huge re-write to support it.  This is my take on it, but since we haven't researched it deeply yet, I'm not ruling anything out.

Paul...our programmer asks the following... Here is his original question again and below his follow up question:....//"CustomFields are not returning when i tried with MethodAPIFieldList which will return list of fields for the Customer table..(According to method documentation, we can post the values to the fileds, which is returning by the API - MethodAPIFieldList" Paul replies....."-If there aren't any custom fields coming in, chances are the custom fields don't even exist in QuickBooks at all. If you have custom fields setup they will should show in the API just fine. They have to be setup in QuickBooks first." So our programmers question is...... "It seems the Fields from the Customer Tables are linked with Quickbooks. If so, is it possible to get activate the customfields for Customer Table from quickbooks or is that only possible by learning the Quickbooks SDK? Any limitations on the amount of "custom fields"? Cheers Brent

"It seems the Fields from the Customer Tables are linked with Quickbooks. If so, is it possible to get activate the customfields for Customer Table from quickbooks or is that only possible by learning the Quickbooks SDK? Any limitations on the amount of "custom fields"?"-These are just the custom fields from QuickBooks.  Currently the only way to create new custom fields is to click "Define Fields" directly in QuickBooks.  You can have up to 7 custom fields in QuickBooks for a customer record, and the field types are Text only and only 30 characters.So they are very limited.  If you do not already have custom fields in QuickBooks, and it is not needed to be in QuickBooks, just create the fields you need directly in Method.  You currently cannot create new fields in Method using the MethodAPI, you need to create new fields in Method by going to Customize > Tables / Fields, and editing the table.  It should be noted that creating new fields using the MethodAPI, rather than just from the Method interface, is a new feature we are planning in the near future.Again, without knowing the context of what you are trying to accomplish, how you are currently using this data, it is hard for me to assist as I'm shooting in the dark.

Paul

Paul, I will post something for you to get a better understanding of what we are trying to do....we're in the "rabbit hole" right now and trying to work this out a bit more...so I appreciate you helping on this "granular" level as it is helping us. Cheers Brent