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Enablement, Demo Environment & Training

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For partners: before you deliver Docentric on a client project, get your own team fluent and build an internal environment you can learn and demo in. This page is the learning journey, while the client-delivery journey is covered separately in the Implementation methodology.

The good news for teams new to Docentric: most of this you can do on your own, in your own environment, using the replicas and tutorials below. You do not need a live client project to become competent.

We recommend working through the following order. Each step builds on the previous one and can be done in an internal development or sandbox environment.

  1. Understand the architecture. Read the Docentric AX architecture overview so you know how Docentric sits on top of the standard D365FO reporting pipeline. See also How Docentric fits the D365FO reporting pipeline on the guide's main page.
  2. Install Docentric and prove the loop. Install the core models and the Designer (prerequisites are in Before You Start - Prerequisites and environment compatibility), then run the Start here: your first hour steps from the main page: install, register, preview a Purchase order confirmation, change a title color, re-preview.
  3. Complete the basic setup tutorials. Follow the Basic setup video series and the how-to manuals (links below) to get comfortable with template modification, report setup, parameters, and template storage.
  4. Customize one Docentric SSRS replica. Take a replica template into the Docentric AX Designer and make real layout and data-binding changes, then apply and preview it.
  5. Add data through a DSP class. Have a developer extend a DSP class to add fields or a custom placeholder, regenerate the DDSP file, and add the new data to the template. This is the core technical pattern you will reuse.
  6. Configure one email distribution scenario. Set up a Docentric Email print destination, with a dynamic subject/body and an attachment.
  7. Configure one archiving or SharePoint scenario. Save a generated document to an archive, SharePoint, or Azure Blob storage.
  8. Practice moving setup between environments. Export and import report setup and Print management settings, and move templates, so you understand promotion from DEV to TEST/UAT to PROD before you do it on a client project.

After working through these, your team should be ready to take on a first implementation. Support and additional partner resources are available through your partnership (see the end of this page).

2. Build an internal demo and training environment

A dedicated internal environment gives your consultants a safe place to learn the implementation pattern they will repeat on client projects, and doubles as a demo environment. The goal is not to showcase every Docentric feature, it is to cover the patterns that come up on real projects.

A good demo/training environment includes:

  • Docentric AX installed, with the appropriate partner or customer license loaded.
  • The Docentric AX Designer installed on the machines used for template design.
  • Sample legal entities and demo data.
  • At least one implemented Sales invoice.
  • At least one implemented Purchase order confirmation.
  • One custom template variation (for example, a branded version of a replica).
  • One email distribution scenario.
  • One archiving or SharePoint saving scenario.
  • One example with additional data added through a DSP class.
  • One example with multiple templates for a single report.
  • One example of Print management setup (original vs copy, or a conditional setting).

Build this once and keep it. It becomes your reusable baseline for onboarding new consultants and for client demos.

3. Sample templates, demo data, and reusable scenarios

You do not start from a blank page. Several reusable assets are available:

  • Docentric replicas are your ready-made templates. The Docentric AX SSRS Replicas model ships replica templates and DSP classes for a large set of standard reports (around 80 report/format combinations), and the Docentric AX CBD Replicas model adds replicas for most common ER/Business Document formats. For common reports you customize an existing replica rather than design from scratch.
  • Standard D365FO demo data works well for practice and demos. The standard demo legal entities and data that ship with D365FO development environments are enough to generate realistic documents while you learn.
  • Your internal environment is your accelerator. The scenarios you build in section 2 (branded template, email, archive, DSP extension, multiple templates, Print management) become the reusable starting points your team applies on client projects.
  • Partner-specific materials. Additional partner accelerators, curated demo assets, and reference materials are provided through the Docentric partner resource center, arranged as part of your partnership onboarding.

4. Training and materials for consultants

Train (at least) two groups, matched to the two roles that carry a Docentric implementation.

Functional consultants and key users should attend the Docentric Basic training and the Docentric Advanced functional training (or receive equivalent internal training). They should be able to:

  • configure reports and understand where templates are stored,
  • preview and test documents from the business process,
  • generate DDSP files,
  • maintain Print management and understand how it affects output,
  • maintain templates through their lifecycle,
  • recognize whether an issue is in standard D365FO or in Docentric, and whether it is a setup, data, template, or code problem.

Technical consultants and developers should attend the Docentric Technical training (or receive equivalent internal training). They should understand:

  • the Docentric architecture,
  • report registration and DDSP generation,
  • DSP classes and how to add or reshape data,
  • deployment of system templates,
  • troubleshooting and diagnostics.

Self-serve resources

These are freely available and are the fastest way to make progress alone:

We also run scheduled live Basic and Technical trainings. We recommend registering your consultants for the next available session early in your onboarding.

Partners: to be connected with your Docentric contact and to get access to the partner resource center, training schedule, and licensing, use the channels set up during your partnership onboarding.

See also

Implementation Guide (top-level) >>
Before You Start >>
Implementation Methodology >>

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