Dynamics AX 2012 - Reset/Clear your user's usage data

Within Microsoft Dynamics AX (2012 and earlier), you may encounter issues where someone within your organization asks you to clear your 'usage data'. It will likely be because you are experiencing issues in your AX application that isn't happening for everyone else and maybe after an AX code promotion or deployment. It's usually one of the first things people check when debugging an issue for an end user or system tester.

CAUTION: By clearing your usage data, you will loose any previously stored queries and personalized forms used via Intellimorph. If its a specific area of functionality you need to fix, you might be able to clear the specific usage data creating the problem without loosing everything.

It's not too crazy of a process but can be intimidating if you are new to the system and don't know where to go and what it does. I will explain 1) how to clear your user data, 2) what usage data is exactly, and 3) why you may need to clear it

How to clear your usage data:

1. In your Dynamics AX instance, you will want to navigate to ‘File’->Tools->’Options’ (Figure 1 below)
2. Click on ‘Usage Data’ in the ‘Options’ form that opens up (Figure 2)
3. Click on the ‘Reset’ button in the ‘Usage Data’ form that opens up (Figure 3)
4. Click ‘Yes’. (Figure 4)  NOTE: This will only reset the usage data for your user, not anyone else’s

To make sure everyone is clear, the above will remove all your personalizations under your user including boxes that you previously checked as 'Do not ask me again'.

What is usage data?
Usage data is essentially AX's way of storing what you did last in order to provide a way for end users of the system to personalize and optimize their experience with the ERP.  Usage data is unique for every person.

For example, if you go into an AX form and move a field on a grid one field to the left, every time you go into that form in the future, AX will show you that field moved to the left. This way, every user in AX can have AX remember what they last did to that object whether it is values in a query/report, form layouts, templates, etc.

Technical dive example:
When a form is opened, AX will look at the universal object for the form. From there, it will see if the user opening the form has done any personalization to the form (aka a usage data record for that object seen in Figure 5 below). If the record doesn't exist, the form will open like it looks in base. If the record does exist, the data in the usage data record for that object is considered. The data in the record is a container that basically tells the system what data the user entered last or what needs to be where (like fields) that varies from what the base AX object in the AOT.

Why do I need to clear it?
On occasion, like in the case of new development to the underlying objects in the AOT, AX will not be able to translate the data in the usage data container for an object being used. This can result in an error upfront or a non-critical error that just creates extreme slowness or 'weirdness' as it can be reported.

Hitting the 'Reset' button in Figure 3 below will just tell AX to wipe the slate clean on things. It's a safe, fast bet to resolve whatever might be ailing you in AX that might only be happening to only you and not your fellow cohorts in your business unit.

UPDATE 11/21/2014 - Read the comments below for information in regards to selectively deleting records from usage data as well as how usage data templates are stored and removed. I added a picture in Figure 6 to supplement the comments as well.

UPDATE 3/20/2015 - STILL NOT WORKING AFTER TRYING EVERYTHING?
Is there still something not working? The field you just added to the form still not showing up for certain user(s) even though it is for others? Here are some things to check:

1. Make sure they are in the correct environment 
2. Try an apples to apples sanity check:
1. Log into AX from a working user. 
2. Make sure the field(s) in question are there. 
3. Share your screen with the user having issues. 
4. Right click on the Dynamics AX icon in the start menu in the way to run AX as a different user (in Windows Server 2012, go to the Start screen, richt click the Dynamics AX 2012 application tile and select that option)
5. have the user then enter their credentials by giving them control of your screen
6. Verify the issue exists/is fixed and go from there
3. Go to the users machine and make sure that they don't have the form up anywhere when the usage data is reset. This includes if it is in a ListPage embedded in AX. Get another list page loaded if you have to, then reset the usage data
1. The reason for this is that the usage data is recorded in AX when the form is navigated away from. If its still up, the usage data is cleared, then the user navigates away and back to it (to refresh the form), the old usage data will be saved again when the page is closed and then reloaded with the old data unintentionally.

 

Figure 1 - The 'Options' location for your Dynamics AX user

 Figure 2 - The 'Usage data' button under user options

Figure 3 - The 'Reset' button under usage data form

 Figure 4 - Click on 'Yes'

Figure 5 - A close look at the data within usage data

 Figure 6 - Usage data record rendered on form vs the template record (see comments below)