Key tasks: Maintain external vendor catalogs
Important
This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.
Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
After you configure access to a vendor’s external catalog site, you can maintain the catalog by doing the following:
Verify that the external vendor catalog configurations are correct and test that the vendor catalog site opens correctly. You can test the configurations on the vendor’s external staging site, their production site, or both.
Activate the external vendor catalog configurations and add the external vendor catalog to your procurement catalog so that it can be made available on your procurement site. After the external vendor catalog is added to the procurement site, employees can view and access the vendor’s catalog site when they search for items and services.
Inactivate the external vendor catalog to prevent users from accessing the vendor’s catalog website.
Update the configuration settings for the external vendor catalog whenever the vendor changes the configuration data. Configuration data can include information such as the destination URL or key values that are required for the user to access the vendor’s catalog website.
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Validate external catalog configurations
Activate or inactivate an external catalog
Modify configuration data for an external catalog
Delete an external catalog
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External vendor catalogs overview
Validate external catalog configurations
Before you activate an external catalog so that users can access it, you can test the catalog configurations to verify that they are correct.
Validate the external catalog production site settings
Click Procurement and sourcing > Common > Catalogs > External catalogs.
On the External catalogs list page, double-click the external catalog that you want to test.
In the Maintain details for an external catalog form, on the Remote production site settings FastTab, click Validate settings.
If your production settings are correct, the external vendor’s catalog site opens.
Note
When you view the external vendor's catalog site during validation, you cannot order items and services from the vendor. To order items and services, you must access the vendor's catalog site through Enterprise Portal for Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Optional: Validate the external catalog staging site settings
Click Procurement and sourcing > Common > Catalogs > External catalogs.
On the External catalogs list page, double-click the external catalog that you want to test.
In the Maintain details for an external catalog form, on the Remote staging site settings FastTab, click Validate settings.
If your staging settings are correct, the external vendor’s catalog site opens on the staging site.
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Activate or inactivate an external catalog
To add an external vendor’s catalog to the procurement catalog and to give employees access to the external vendor’s catalog site, you activate the external catalog. To remove access to the external vendor’s catalog site, you inactivate the external catalog.
Activate an external catalog
Click Procurement and sourcing > Common > Catalogs > External catalogs.
On the External catalogs list page, select the external catalog that you want to activate.
On the Action Pane, on the External catalog tab, click Activate catalog.
In the Confirmation message, click OK.
Inactivate an external catalog
Click Procurement and sourcing > Common > Catalogs > External catalogs.
On the External catalogs list page, select the external catalog that you want to inactivate.
On the Action Pane, on the External catalog tab, click Inactivate catalog.
In the Confirmation message, click OK.
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Modify configuration data for an external catalog
Use this procedure to modify the configuration data for an external catalog when a vendor updates access configurations for their external vendor catalog site.
Click Procurement and sourcing > Common > Catalogs > External catalogs.
On the External catalogs list page, double-click the external catalog that you want to modify.
In the Maintain details for an external catalog form, on the Remote production site settings FastTab, enter the updated configuration data. If the vendor uses a remote staging site setting, enter the updated configuration data on the Remote staging site settings FastTab also.
On the Remote production site settings FastTab, click Validate settings to validate the updated configuration settings on the external vendor’s catalog production site.
Optional: On the Remote staging site settings FastTab, click Validate settings to validate the updated configuration settings on the external vendor’s catalog staging site.
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Delete an external catalog
Use this procedure to delete an external catalog from Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Note
If a product from the external vendor catalog has been requested, the external vendor catalog cannot be deleted. Instead, the external vendor catalog is set to a status of inactive. If you want to remove access to the external vendor’s catalog site, but not delete it, change the external catalog status to Inactive.
Click Procurement and sourcing > Common > Catalogs > External catalogs.
On the External catalogs list page, select the external catalog that you want to delete.
On the Action Pane, on the External catalog tab, click Delete.
In the Confirmation message, click OK.
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Maintain details for an external catalog (form)