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AxUtil and Windows PowerShell Commands for Deploying Models

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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

Two command line tools are available for deploying and managing models and the model store:

  • Windows PowerShell, a command-line scripting tool

  • AXUtil, a command-line utility

Both tools offer the same functionality, but we recommend that you use Windows PowerShell cmdlets, for the following reasons:

  • You can use Windows PowerShell cmdlets to create scripts that combine multiple actions.

  • You can use other Windows PowerShell cmdlets for Microsoft Dynamics AX to add users and user authentication, and to manage configurations for communication between Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services.

  • The AXUtil command-line utility is becoming obsolete in a future version of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

The following table describes the Windows PowerShell cmdlets and the equivalent AXUtil commands that can be used to manage models and the model store.

Windows PowerShell cmdlet

AXUtil command

Description

Edit-AXModelManifest

axutil edit

Modify the properties of a model's manifest.

For more information, see How to: View or Change the Manifest Properties of a Model and Edit-AXModelManifest.

Export-AXModel

axutil export

Export a model to an .axmodel file.

For more information, see How to: Export and Import a Model and Export-AXModel.

Export-AXModelStore

axutil exportstore

Export a Microsoft Dynamics AX model store to an .axmodelstore file. For more information, see How to: Export and Import a Model Store and Export-AXModelStore.

There is no equivalent Windows PowerShell cmdlet.

axutil genlicense

ISVs use this command to generate a customer-specific license file for a solution.

Get-AXModel

axutil view

Return a list of the models in the model store, or a list of the elements in a specific model or model file.

Note

Get-AXModel –details and axutil view /verbose return slightly different information.

For more information, see How to: View and Verify Contents of a Model and Get-AXModel.

Get-AXModelManifest

axutil manifest

Retrieve the properties of a model file.

For more information, see How to: View and Verify Contents of a Model and Get-AXModelManifest.

Get-Help <cmdlets>

axutil /help

Get help for a command.

Grant-AXModelStore

axutil grant

Grant the account that an instance of Application Object Server (AOS) runs as permissions to the model store in the Microsoft Dynamics AX database. For more information, see Grant-AXModelStore.

Import-AXModelStore

axutil importstore

Import a model store from a file to a database.

For more information, see How to: Export and Import a Model Store and Import-AXModelStore.

Initialize-AXModelStore

axutil schema

Create an empty model store that is associated with the specified schema, update the existing schema for a model store, or remove a non-default model store.

For more information, see How to: Create, Drop, or Reinitialize a Model Store and Initialize-AXModelStore.

Install-AXModel

axutil import

Install a model from an .axmodel file to the model store.

For more information, see How to: Export and Import a Model and Install-AXModel.

Move-AXModel

axutil move

Move the content of one model in the Microsoft Dynamics AX model store to another model in the same layer.

For more information, see How to: View or Change the Manifest Properties of a Model and Move-AXModel.

New-AXModel

axutil create

Create an empty model in a Microsoft Dynamics AX model store. You can specify properties for the model by passing in either a manifest file or a series of manifest properties.

For more information, see How to: Create a New Model from the Command Line and New-AXModel.

Optimize-AXModelStore

axutil optimize

Run a series of steps to optimize the model store for run-time performance.

For more information, see How to: Optimize a Model Store for Runtime and Optimize-AXModelStore.

Set-AXModelStore

axutil set

Set a flag in the model store that indicates the action that is taken when a model is modified. If the -InstallMode parameter is used, a dialog box appears when the Microsoft Dynamics AX client is started after a model has been modified. From the dialog box, you can open the Model code upgrade checklist.

By default, when you import a model from Windows PowerShell or AXUtil, the installation mode is set to display the Model code upgrade checklist when the Microsoft Dynamics AX client starts.

For more information, see Set-AXModelStore.

Test-AXModelData

axutil exists

Verify whether a specified model or layer contains data.

For more information, see How to: View and Verify Contents of a Model and Test-AXModelData.

Uninstall-AXModel

axutil delete

Remove a model from the model store in the Microsoft Dynamics AX database.

For more information, see How to: Remove (Uninstall) a Model and Uninstall-AXModel.

Windows PowerShell

After you install Microsoft Dynamics AX, the applicable Windows PowerShell cmdlets are available from the Microsoft Dynamics AX Management Shell. For more information about other Windows PowerShell cmdlets, and for information about how to write scripts, see Administering Microsoft Dynamics AX by using Windows PowerShell.

To obtain help for any Windows PowerShell cmdlet, use the Get-Help cmdlet.

Access Windows PowerShell

  1. On the Start menu, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft Dynamics AX Management Shell.

  2. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt, PS C:\>, enter the Get-Help command, and then press ENTER.

    Get-Help AXModel

    The command in this example returns a list of all model-related cmdlets.

    Get-Help Export-AXModel -Full

    The code in this example retrieves help for the Export-AXModel cmdlet.

AXUtil

After you install Microsoft Dynamics AX, the applicable AXUtil commands are available from the directory for Microsoft Dynamics AX Management Utilities.

To view the Help for AXUtil, enter the command AXUtil /?.

Access AXUtil

  1. On the Start menu, click Command prompt.

  2. Navigate to the directory for the management utilities. Typically, the location of this directory is %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Dynamics AX\60\ManagementUtilities.

  3. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER.

    axutil /?

    This command displays the Help for AXUtil.

See also

Models, Layers, and the Model Store

Administering Microsoft Dynamics AX by using Windows PowerShell

Windows PowerShell for Microsoft Dynamics AX