I fielded a query from a customer recently where they reported that when doing some testing in a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central sandbox environment (they were considering using the Manufacturing functionality), they had assigned permission sets which gave access to Manufacturing windows, but when they searched or browsed the role explorer they could not see the pages from manufacturing that they expected:
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The eighth of the new functionality in the User experiences section is Use actions to navigate or fix errors from inline validation dialog.
Business Central validates data to improve its accuracy and reliability. When there’s an error, Business Central shows a small validation dialog to inform you. Microsoft have added actions on validation dialogs that take you to the problem so you can fix it, or have Business Central fix it for you when possible. The clear and actionable information in validation messages helps you quickly resolve errors so you can get about your business.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Sep 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023
Validating data helps reduce the risk of errors and inconsistencies and raises its overall quality. However, finding errors is one thing, resolving them can be another. In the previous release wave, Microsoft introduced actions on error messages that either take you to the page where you can fix an error or have Business Central fix it for you. To further increase your ability to resolve errors yourself, Microsoft are bringing those same capabilities to validation dialogs. If you enter data that causes an error, you can go to the page where you can fix the problem or have Business Central do that for you.
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The seventh of the new functionality in the User experiences section is search for pages and data in the mobile app.
More and more people use mobile phones or tablets to access Business Central. The ability to quickly find pages or data on mobile devices opens up many new possibilities for mobile scenarios.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Sep 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023
This feature adds the popular Tell Me experience to mobile devices that run the Business Central app. It also provides access to the Tell Me built-in data search.
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The sixth of the new functionality in the User experiences section is Peek at summarized data from editable fields.
Peek view offers a quick and easy way to access and understand key information about related records. Peeking records can improve decision-making by providing a clear and concise overview of important information without leaving your current task.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Sep 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023
Until now, the peek control was available only in lists and non-editable forms. You can now use the peek control to access summarized information about related records on every page, which can help you stay focused on the task at hand.
This sounds like it could be good, but I dp really want to see how it is implemented.
I’ve been doing some work with a client recently, helping them implement Document capture (DC) from Continia Software. One of the queries which cam eup, was how to add a prefix onto a purchase order number.
The issue was that they were sending purchase orders out with a company specific prefix (e.g. FAB- for Fabrikam, Inc. or CRO- for Cronus UK, Ltd.), but when the invoice came in, the supplier was not including the prefix so the invoices were not matching up with the receipts.
I did a little experimenting and came up with a solution of the client which both worked and was easy for them to maintain in future. We did this by adding two new fields (PO Prefix and PO Number Without Prefix) and changing the standard Our Order No. field to have a formula where the two new fields were concatenated.
The example below is one I have mocked up, rather than using screenshots from the clients system. In this example, the new PO Number field has a Formula set to 'PO' (on the client’s system this would have been something like 'FAB-') and set to not required and not to search for the value:
ImportantThe planned features for this release wave have been updated and this feature appears to have been removed.
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The fifth of the new functionality in the User experiences section is manage user expectations with selection context-based actions.
Microsoft have made the experience of using actions on pages easier to understand and more consistent. While you’re working, only the actions that are relevant to your current selections are available. Because only the actions you can use are available, you’ll spend less effort on trying to figure out what you can do with your selections.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Sep 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023
You might want to request approval for multiple documents or send multiple sales order confirmations to customers. However, some actions don’t work for more than one thing at a time. To clarify what you can do when you haven’t selected anything, or you’ve made single or multiple selections, only the actions that you can use are available.
I like this; there has been a few occasions recently where I’ve selected multiple rows and found that when I select an action it was only one row which was impacted. More clarity around this will be really good.
I was doing some work with a client implementing Document Capture (DC) from Continia Software. This is an extension for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central which allows PDF invoices to be scanned and (optionally) matched against purchase orders and/or receipts. I provided some training to clients on doing the setup of vendor templates and let them get on with creating the required templates.
However, they brought one to me as they could not get the invoice line fields to recognise. The issue was down to it being an invoice from a mobile phone (cellnet for any Americans reading) company where the header (and footer) fields were on the first page and all of the lines on the second page.
I did some digging and found that two of the footer fields, Amount Incl. VAT and VAT Amount, needed a setting changed. These fields are set up with the Stop Lines Recognition set to If Caption or Value is on same line. As these fields were on the first page and the lines on the second page, there setting on the Stop Lines Recognition meant that DC found these fields and stopped looking for lines.
I changed the setting on both fields to a blank:
The Amount Excl. VAT field is also set the same way, but there was a subtotal below the lines so I was able to use this field as the footer to stop recognising lines; which was necessary as there was an additional four pages on the invoice, none of which needed to be recognised.
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The fourth of the new functionality in the User experiences section is share readable deep links to pages and records.
Like many web applications, Business Central offers deep linking to pages and records, enabling users to copy the current URL and share that with others, or add links to their browser favourites. In this wave, the Business Central web client introduces a simple and consistent naming convention so that pasting a link to any Business Central page or record results in a readable hyperlink that clearly indicates context but hides the full URL, which is often daunting to work with. Not only does this feature enrich hyperlinks pasted into rich text editors such as in Outlook, OneNote or Teams, it also delivers a better experience when you use Business Central with modern browser features, such as collections in Microsoft Edge.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Aug 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023
Business Central uses a simple and consistent naming convention for deep links when you copy the URL in the browser or use the Copy Link action and paste the link into any rich text editor:
The following table includes examples of deep links pasted in a rich text editor.
| Pattern | Example | Hyperlink caption |
|---|---|---|
| List page | Items list page | "Items" |
| List view | "Open" filtered view on Sales Orders list | "Sales Orders – Open" |
| Single record | Item card showing single record | "Item Card – 1896 ∙ ATHENS Desk" |
| Setup pages | Sale sand Inventory Forecast Setup page | "Sales and Inventory Forecast Setup" |
| Draft records | New customer card | "New – Customer card" |
| Root URL | Business Manager Role Center home page | "Dynamics 365 Business Central" |
| Profile override | URL includes ?profile=DISPATCHER | "Service Manager – Dynamics 365 Business Central" |
When you paste a link into a simple text field or plain text editor, the URL is pasted instead of a readable hyperlink.
This sounds like a good addition; the current links that you can supply to people are not in the slightest friendly.
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The third of the new functionality in the User experiences section is distinguish browser tabs when multitasking.
Users work more efficiently in Business Central when they use multiple browser tabs or windows to compare data, even across companies, or deal with new tasks as they appear. But navigating across open windows—for example, by selecting the Alt+Tab keys—quickly becomes challenging when all windows look alike. In this wave, Business Central helps to distinguish one open window from the next, making it easier to switch context.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Aug 2023
General Availability: Oct 2023
Business Central now uses a simple and clear schema for naming browser tabs and windows that’s automatically updated while you navigate within the web client.
The following table includes examples of browser tab naming:
| Pattern | Example | Browser tab name |
|---|---|---|
| list page | Items list page | "Items" |
| list view | "Open" filtered view on Sales Orders list | "Sales Orders – Open" |
| single record | Item card showing single record | "Item Card – 1896 ∙ ATHENS Desk" |
| setup pages | Sale sand Inventory Forecast Setup page | "Sales and Inventory Forecast Setup" |
| draft records | New customer card | "New – Customer card" |
| root URL | Business Manager Role Center home page | "Dynamics 365 Business Central" |
| profile override | URL includes ?profile=DISPATCHER | "Service Manager – Dynamics 365 Business Central" |
Business central doesn’t seem to lend itself especially well to multi-tab use, but maybe I’m missing something. Being able to differentiate tabs sounds like it would be beneficial to multi-tab usage.
This post is part of the New Functionality In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2 series in which I am taking a look at the new functionality introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
The second of the new functionality in the User experiences section is get to data search from anywhere in Business Central.
Office workers spend up to 20 percent of their working time searching for information. Finding specific information in a timely manner across different areas of a business management solution often requires tailored queries within its different parts. Because the volume of data constantly increases, it becomes increasingly important to get relevant content fast. Business Central lets you search across all data that’s relevant for your role, and not just business transactions. The most relevant results show first, which saves valuable time and lets you focus on higher-value tasks.
Enabled for: Users, automatically
Public Preview: Oct 2023
General Availability: –
You can start a search directly from the Tell Me dialog by using the Alt+Q shortcut key combination from anywhere in Business Central. To search for data, enter one or more keywords in Tell Me. Or, when you run Tell Me in the context of an editable page, it will automatically search for the value in the currently selected field.
