Author: Ian Grieve

Ian is a Microsoft Dynamics GP certified consultant specialising in the delivery of Microsoft Dynamics GP projects and currently the Lead ERP Consultant for ISC Software Ltd., a Microsoft Partner, VAR and ISV in England. Ian has worked with Microsoft Dynamics GP since 2003 and, over the nine years since, has dealt with all aspects of the product life-cycle from presales, to implementation, to technical and functional training, to post go-live support and subsequent upgrades and process reviews. In his spare time, Ian runs the azurecurve | Ramblings of a Dynamics GP Consultant blog dedicated to Microsoft Dynamics GP and related products.

Function in Jet Reports to Get List into a String

Ian Grieve2 minute read0 comment

Jet ReportsWhile working on a Jet Report for a client recently, working with data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, I had need to return the output of an NL Filter into another function which required a string rather than a list, which meant that I couldn’t use the NL Filter directly.

Fortunately, there is a What in the NP Jet function which allows you to exactly this.

My NL Filter was in cell D4 which I can reference in the Array field of the NP function; the third field to set is the Join String which is the character which will separate the joined items from the list; you need to place the double quotes around the join string yourself:

Jet Function Wizard with a What of Join, Array of $D4 and Join String of "|"

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New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Find a Matching Record in a Power Automate Flow

Ian Grieve4 minute read0 comment

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 5th of the new functionality in the Adapt faster with Power Platform section is find a matching record in a Power Automate flow.

Using Power Automate to build flows is already relatively easy, but from time to time, makers are stumbling into this common element of a given process: querying Business Central for a single record that matches certain criteria.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Apr 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

Currently, the Find records action always returns a collection or list of records, even if there’s only one record that matches specific criteria, such as the unique record ID. The current action also requires that Power Automate makers understand the syntax of the OData query.

The new Find one record action not only lets makers find a single record that matches their criteria, but also gives them a more friendly user interface to provide parameters and define conditions.

Makers can select several conditions for various fields in the requested API, add sorting conditions so that the proper record is found, and the Power Automate connector transforms these settings into an OData query.

Finding a single record also ensures that all subsequent actions in the flow can operate on it, without requiring the Apply to each loop.

note Note

This feature is only available in Business Central online, but it’s in the Power Platform connector so it’s backward compatible with all supported versions of Business Central.

A new Find one record action in Power Automate connector

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New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Add Table and Field Mappings for Existing Integration Tables

Ian Grieve3 minute read0 comment

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 4th of the new functionality in the Adapt faster with Power Platform section is add table and field mappings for existing integration tables.

Business needs change and so do business processes. Changes of business processes require data being exchanged through integrations with Business Central to be implemented in a fast and cost-effective way.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Apr 2024
General Availability: –

Feature Details

You can add new table mappings by choosing the New Table Mapping action on the Integration Table Mappings page.

Shows New Table Mapping action in Integration Table Mappings page

The action starts the New Integration Mappings assisted setup guide, which will help you set up new integration table and field mappings.

Shows New Integration Mappings guide page with a placeholder to enter new mapping name

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Restoring the Quick Access in Windows 11 Explorer

Ian Grieve2 minute read0 comment

WindowsI changed jobs last year which meant a new laptop to setup and configure as I need. I had most things configured as I wanted them when an update to Windows 11 came through and the quick access section in Explorer disappeared; this is a section to which you can pin folders to which you want quick access when using Windows Explorer.

It appears at the top of the left navigation pane, or used to appear there anyway. At first I thought Microsoft had removed it entirely, before realising that the options to add a folder to the quick access was still on the right click context menu, which was either a very sloppy change or evidence that the functionality was still present, albeit hidden:

Windows Explorer with the quick access section missing

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Create a Calculated Field in the Jet Reports Table Builder

Ian Grieve3 minute read0 comment

Jet ReportsI’ve recently been creating some reports for a client using Jet Reports and data pulled from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. One of the requirements was to have a report which pulled out Intrastat related information in a specific format. As well as pulling out the standard information, they also wanted a calculation of the net weight for a sales order line, which mean linking from the Purch. Inv. Line (123) to the Item (27) table and multiplying the quantity by the net weight.

I initially tried to do this using a calculated field in the Excel PivotTable which was added on top of the data returned by Jet Reports, but quickly realised that the result wasn’t correct. This [prompted me to go back to the source data and see if I could perform the calculation using Jet Reports as it got the data rather than afterwards.

The report was being built using the Table Builder tool of Jet Reports; to add a calculated field in Table Builder, click the Add Formula button in the bottom left:

Table Builder with the Add Formula button ringed

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Working with Power Automate: Best Practice For Using Scopes

Ian Grieve3 minute read0 comment

Power AutomateThis article is part of the Working with Power Automate series I am writing on my experiences working with the Power Automate, which is part of the Power Platform from Microsoft. I also have a related series of articles on Power Automate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC.

Over the last couple of articles of this series, I’ve described scopes and shown how they are used.

That’s fine for the basics, but there are a few best practices I try to follow when I use them.

Not everything needs to be in a scope, so try to avoid going overboard. I would only add a scope when there are several related items, such as the document handling on OneDrive I showed in the example article I linked above.

Actions I would not put into a scope would include loops (called Apply to each in Power Automate) and calls to child flows (called Run a Child Flow) as well as the responses to a child flow.

Like all actions, I would recommend renaming the scope action to include a brief description of what the combined actions in the flow are doing and if more detail is required add a note, which is done by clicking the ellipsis button on the scope heading and clicking Add a note.

Working with Power Automate

Working with Power Automate
What is Power Automate?
What Type of Flow Are Available?
What Type of Cloud Flows Are Available?
Power Automate with Business Central
Working with Power Automate Solutions: What Are Solutions?
Working with Power Automate Solutions: What Types of Solution Are There?
Working with Power Automate Solutions: What is a Solution Publisher?
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Create a Solution Publisher
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Create a Solution
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Publish a Solution
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Version Numbering for Solutions
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Exporting An Unmanaged Solution
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Importing An Unmanaged Solution
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Exporting A Managed Solution
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Importing A Managed Solution
Working with Power Automate Solutions: Change the Managed Properties of a Solution Component
Create a Visio Diagram of a Flow
What Are Environment Variables and Why Should They be Used?
Create an Environment Variable
Create a New Cloud Flow From a Template
Managing Large Flows
What is a Scope?
Example of How to Use a Scope
Best Practice For Using Scopes
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: What are Child Flows?
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Create a Child Flow
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Change Run Only Users For Child Flow
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Add a Child Flow To a Parent Flow
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Test the Parent/Child Flow Examples
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Error Encountered Saving a Flow Which Calls a Child Flow
Working with Power Automate Child Flows: Error Encountered With Surprise Extra Parameters for a Child Flow
Calculate 30 Days Ago

Add Calculated Field to PivotTable in Microsoft Excel

Ian Grieve3 minute read0 comment

Microsoft OfficeClients often think that I know more Excel than I do, because I know how to use some functions such as IF, CONCAT and more, but my knowledge of Excel is quite limited when it comes to charts, graphs and PivotTables. I was recently writing a report for a client using Jet Reports to pull Intrastat information from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (both Jet and Business Central are irrelevant as far as the detail fo this post are concerned).

One of the things I wanted to do was create a summary of the data pulled from Business Central, which meant using a standard Excel PivotTable, something with which I have almost no experience. I managed to get most of the PivotTable configured without issue, but I needed to perform a calculation within the PivotTable and it took me a while to work out.

This is done by adding a calculated field through the PivotTable Analyze tab on the action bar; click the Fields, Items & Sets » Calculated Field button:

Excel showing the Calculated Field button on the PivotTable Analyze tab

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Working with Power Automate: Example of How to Use a Scope

Ian Grieve2 minute read0 comment

Power AutomateThis article is part of the Working with Power Automate series I am writing on my experiences working with the Power Automate, which is part of the Power Platform from Microsoft. I also have a related series of articles on Power Automate with Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC.

In the previous article of this series, I explained what a scope in Power Automate was and what it did; in this post I am going to show an example of a scope.

This example is within a flow created to perform various tasks, one of this is to create a mail merge document and convert it to a PDF document, which is performed over a number of actions; in the below diagram, these are the actions after the condition and before the append variable one:

Power Automate example showing the steps

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New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1: Share Error Details to Get Help from Another User

Ian Grieve3 minute read0 comment

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralThis post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2024 Wave 1.

The 3rd of the new functionality in the User experiences section is share error details to get help from another user.

By facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing, Microsoft are enabling teams to work together more effectively and efficiently. You can leverage the expertise of colleagues or subject matter experts to overcome obstacles and minimize downtime. The ability to share error details in Business Central enhances collaboration and problem-solving capabilities.

Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Mar 2024
General Availability: Apr 2024

Feature Details

When you’re blocked by an error, you can quickly and easily share the error details with colleagues, subject matter experts, or other users to get assistance. The details include the exact error message, error code, and other information that’s helpful when troubleshooting an error. By sharing the error details, you can effectively communicate the specific issue you’re facing, which helps your colleagues provide targeted support and guidance.

Shows new share details menu on inline validation error message

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Disable the Edge Outlook Pane

Ian Grieve1 minute read0 comment

MicrosoftThe new work laptop came with Windows 11 installed and the Edge browser as the default. While I don’t especially mind the browser being the default, there ewas one thing which I found a little annoying; if you opened an attachment from an email, an Outlook pane opened on the right side of the browser:

Edge browser with Outlook pane open

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