Hi all,
Brian, thanks for the answer! Although I would say that creating Word documents from AX are pretty limited if you want to do some complex stuff. We had this basic problem with updating the Word templates – if we changed anything in the query, we could not refresh it from within MS Word Add-In and we were forced to build the whole template from the start. Also, sometimes queries are not so handy when you simply need the procedural way of building your data source, e.g. you need data providers and X++ code.
Design limitations are the next big issue we were faced with, e.g. nested tables, headers, footers, dynamic images, data formatting, etc.
Then we started using Docentric AX: http://ax.docentric.com/, a Dynamics AX Add-On that improves Word templates (Document Template Libraries). It allows use of data providers, you don’t even have to create any temporary table, only plain X++ to generate data source for the document. It has Add-In for Word as well but far better than the built-in. This Add-On also improves SSRS reports (design, print destinations), you don’t have to wait all the time to refresh/restart something while working on a report. In general, we benefited a lot and I would recommend this tool to everyone who is a bit tired :) of using built-in Word Add-In and SSRS reports.
Cheers,
Emma.