In the latest updates of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can now store pictures for Item Variants, making it easier to visually differentiate product options such as color, size, or style.
This enhancement improves usability for sales teams, warehouse staff, and product managers by allowing quick identification of product variations directly from the system.
Why This Feature is Useful
Many companies manage products with multiple variants, for example:
T-shirts with different colors
Jewelry with different metal types
Shoes with different sizes
Previously, variants were identified mainly through codes or descriptions. Now you can attach variant-specific images, making it easier to visually confirm the correct option.
Example:
Item
Variant
Image
Ring
Gold
Gold ring image
Ring
Silver
Silver ring image
This helps reduce order errors and improves product clarity.
How to Add a Picture to an Item Variant
Follow these steps to attach an image to a variant.
1. Open the Item Card
Navigate to the Item Card of the product.
2. Open Variants
Choose the Variants action to view the list of item variants.
3. Select a Variant
Select the variant you want to update and open the Item Variant Card.
4. Add or Manage the Image
On the Picture FactBox, choose one of the following actions:
Where This Feature Helps Most
This feature is particularly valuable in industries with visually distinct variants:
Retail
Fashion
Jewelry
Manufacturing
E-commerce integrations
Warehouse staff can quickly verify the correct variant during picking and packing, reducing mistakes.
Practical Example
Suppose you sell a Bracelet with multiple color options.
Variant Code
Description
Image
BR-GLD
Gold Bracelet
Gold image
BR-SLV
Silver Bracelet
Silver image
BR-BLK
Black Bracelet
Black image
By attaching pictures, users can instantly confirm they are selecting the correct variant.
Summary
The Item Variant Picture feature in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central enhances product management by:
Allowing images for each variant
Improving visual identification
Reducing selection errors
Enhancing user experience
This is a small but powerful improvement that helps organizations manage complex product catalogs more efficiently.
Every major release of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central introduces improvements that impact how developers design, build, and maintain extensions.
Version 28 (2026 Release Wave 1) focuses strongly on performance optimization, platform modernization, and improved developer productivity.
For developers building extensions using AL and Visual Studio Code, several changes require attention during upgrades.
In this article, I will walk through the Top 10 developer changes in Business Central v28 and what they mean for your extensions.
1. Legacy Pricing Engine Removed
One of the biggest platform changes in v28 is the complete removal of the legacy pricing engine.
Microsoft introduced the new Price List architecture in earlier versions, and now it becomes the only supported pricing model.
Developer Impact
Extensions relying on older pricing logic must migrate.
Areas to review include:
custom price calculations
discount logic
pricing-related code units
integrations referencing legacy pricing tables
The new pricing system provides a more flexible framework for managing pricing rules and discounts.
2. FlowField Calculation Optimization
Business Central v28 introduces an important optimization for FlowField calculations.
Previously, FlowFields could be calculated even if they were not visible on the page.
In v28, FlowFields are calculated only when the field is visible in the UI.
Benefits
fewer SQL queries
faster page loading
improved scalability for large datasets
3. Improved Search Metadata
Search and navigation are significantly improved in v28.
Developers can now provide better search metadata that improves how users discover pages, actions, and data.
Why this matters
In large Business Central environments with hundreds of pages and reports, improved search helps users locate functionality much faster.
Developers should review:
page captions
action captions
field descriptions
Clear naming improves search results and usability.
4. Resource Files in Extensions
Another useful improvement in v28 is the ability to include resource files within extensions.
These files can store:
configuration data
templates
initialization data
Benefits
Developers can package configuration data directly with the extension instead of writing complex installation code.
This simplifies deployment and improves maintainability.
5. Profile Extension Objects
Customizing user profiles previously required copying base profiles, which created upgrade issues.
Business Central v28 introduces profile extension objects, allowing developers to extend profiles without duplication.
Advantages
cleaner customization model
easier upgrades
better maintainability
Developers can now modify Role Centers and user experiences in a more structured way.
6. Improved Performance Profiling
Performance troubleshooting becomes easier with new profiling improvements.
Developers can capture performance data to analyze:
long-running AL procedures
page load times
inefficient database queries
Why this matters
In large implementations with many extensions, performance bottlenecks can be difficult to detect.
Profiling tools help developers identify inefficient code earlier.
7. SQL Telemetry Insights
Business Central v28 provides better telemetry insights for database operations.
Telemetry data includes:
SQL query execution time
table interactions
query performance statistics
This information integrates with Microsoft Azure Application Insights.
Developer Advantage
Developers can monitor real production workloads and optimize extensions based on actual usage patterns.
8. Sandbox Upgrade Testing Improvements
Upgrade testing is easier in v28.
Developers can now upgrade existing sandbox environments to preview versions.
Benefits
test extension compatibility earlier
simulate production upgrades
reduce upgrade risks
This is particularly important for partners maintaining multiple customer environments.
9. AI Agent Development Scenarios
Microsoft continues to move toward AI-assisted development workflows.
New tools and integrations enable AI agents to assist developers in tasks such as:
analyzing AL code
generating documentation
improving developer productivity
This aligns with Microsoft’s broader AI strategy across the Dynamics ecosystem.
10. Enhanced VS Code Development Experience
The development experience in Visual Studio Code continues to improve.
Enhancements include:
better debugging capabilities
improved symbol downloads
smoother Git integration
improved navigation in large AL projects
These improvements help developers manage complex extension projects more efficiently.
What Developers Should Prepare for in v28
Before upgrading to Business Central v28, developers should review their extensions carefully.
Key areas to validate include:
pricing logic compatibility
FlowField calculations
performance-sensitive code
search metadata
extension initialization processes
Testing extensions in sandbox environments before production upgrades is strongly recommended.
Business Central v28 continues Microsoft’s focus on modernizing the platform and improving developer productivity.
The most significant changes for developers include:
removal of legacy pricing logic
optimized FlowField calculations
improved telemetry and profiling tools
better development workflows in Visual Studio Code
The world of Business Central development is evolving rapidly—and one of the most powerful accelerators in recent years is Copilot. With AI deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem, developers building extensions with AL now have an intelligent partner that speeds up development, enhances accuracy, and improves productivity.
🧠 What Is Copilot in Business Central?
Copilot is Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant designed to help developers, consultants, and end-users across Dynamics 365. For Business Central development, Copilot works in multiple ways:
It acts like a smart co-developer—always ready, always fast.
💻 Copilot Inside AL Development (VS Code Integration)
To leverage Copilot for AL development, developers use the GitHub Copilot extension in Visual Studio Code. This integration enables:
✔ Instant AL Code Generation
Developers can write a comment or a simple description, and Copilot generates the AL code structure automatically.
Example:
// Create a sales quote scheduler job that sends reminders
Copilot produces the full codeunit, job logic, and scheduling pattern.
✔ Faster Page & Table Extensions
Copilot instantly creates field additions, actions, triggers, and layouts without manual typing.
✔ API & Permission Set Generation
Perfect for rapid prototyping.
🤖 Using AI Inside AL Extensions
You can integrate AI into your custom extensions using Copilot-enabled system codeunits or external AI services.
Example: A simple AI-driven item description generator:
codeunit 50100 "Item AI Description"
{
procedure Generate(ItemRec: Record Item): Text
var
Copilot: Codeunit "Copilot System";
begin
exit(
Copilot.GenerateText(
'Create a professional marketing description for item: ' + ItemRec.Description
)
);
end;
}
This allows users to generate product descriptions instantly saving hours of manual work.
⚡ How Copilot Improves AL Developer Productivity
🟦 1. Rapid Coding
Copilot reduces 60–70% of repetitive development effort.
🟦 2. Fewer Syntax Errors
Copilot understands AL structures and suggests correct patterns.
🟦 3. Code Understanding
It can analyze and explain legacy AL code—very useful during upgrades from NAV to BC.
🟦 4. Documentation
Automatically generates comments and XML documentation.
🟦 5. Code Quality
Copilot suggests modern patterns like interfaces, single-responsibility design, and event-driven architecture.
🚨 Limitations—What Developers Should Know
Despite its strengths, Copilot is not perfect:
It may generate outdated syntax or patterns.
It cannot validate AL compiler rules.
It sometimes repeats code blocks unnecessarily.
Developers must always review and refactor generated output.
Copilot is a booster, not a replacement for AL expertise.
Copilot is not just a trend—it’s a game changer for Business Central developers. It speeds up AL development, supports learning, and enhances overall code quality. By embracing Copilot, organizations can deliver extensions faster, reduce development cost, and empower developers to focus on business logic rather than repetitive tasks.
The future of Business Central development is AI-assisted, and Copilot is leading the way.
Recently while running a tenant synchronization in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (on-prem), I encountered an error during the Sync-NAVTenant process:
This error typically occurs during tenant synchronization and can halt your deployment or upgrade process. The issue stems from corrupted or incomplete metadata in the app schema snapshot table, specifically related to table extensions.
The error indicates that the $ndo$navappschemasnapshot system table contains table extension records that are missing the required appid field. This can happen due to:
Incomplete app installations or uninstallations
Failed upgrade processes
Database corruption during extension deployment
Manual modifications to extensions without proper cleanup.
The Solution
The fix involves cleaning up the corrupted table extension metadata from the schema snapshot table. Here’s the SQL query that resolves the issue:
USE [YourDatabaseName]
GO
DELETE FROM [$ndo$navappschemasnapshot]
WHERE (istableextension = 1)
GO
The “Missing appid on table extension metadata” error can be frustrating, but it’s usually straightforward to resolve with the SQL cleanup approach. Remember to always backup your database before making direct SQL modifications and test the solution in a non-production environment first.
If you face a similar issue during tenant sync or app upgrade, this SQL cleanup should help you recover quickly.
Data privacy and security have become paramount concerns for businesses across all industries. With increasing regulatory requirements and growing awareness of data protection, organizations need robust yet user-friendly solutions to safeguard sensitive information. Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Business Central Wave 2 2025 introduces a game-changing feature that addresses this challenge: the new ‘Concealed’ text field type with the innovative Mask Type property.
The Challenge: Balancing Security and Usability
Traditionally, we faced a dilemma when handling sensitive data fields. The existing ExtendedDataType = Masked property offered security by displaying field values as dots, but this approach had limitations:
Always hidden: Once masked, the data remained permanently concealed, even from authorized users
Poor user experience: Users couldn’t verify entered data, leading to potential input errors
Limited flexibility: No option to reveal data when legitimate access was needed
These limitations created friction between security requirements and practical usability, forcing developers to choose between protecting sensitive data and maintaining a smooth user experience.
Business Central Wave 2 2025 introduces the new MaskType enum property, revolutionizing how we handle sensitive data display. This property offers two distinct values:
MaskType Values Explained
None (Default)
Standard behavior where field values are fully visible in the UI
No masking or concealment applied
Suitable for non-sensitive data fields
Concealed
Field values are hidden by default, appearing as masked dots
Users can reveal the actual value through an explicit action
An interactive “eye” button appears next to the field for toggling visibility
Perfect balance between security and accessibility
Implementing the concealed field type is straightforward. Here’s how to configure it in your AL code:
Not supported: List page repeaters and grid controls
The introduction of the ‘Concealed’ text field type with the MaskType property in Business Central Wave 2 2025 represents a significant advancement in data protection capabilities. This feature successfully bridges the gap between security requirements and user experience, providing organizations with a flexible, user-friendly approach to protecting sensitive information.
When working with barcode printing in RDLC reports on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central On-Premise, I recently ran into an issue that had me stumped for hours — and as it turns out, it all came down to a subtle but critical font installation step.
If you’re using Business Central and your barcodes refuse to show up in your reports (even after installing the right fonts), read on — this might just be your solution.
🚫 The Problem: Barcode Fonts Not Showing in RDLC
Here’s what I tried — the standard advice you’ll find across most forums:
✅ Installed the barcode font (Code 128, Code 39, Free 3 of 9, etc.) on the service tier machine
✅ Installed the same font on the user/client machine
✅ Restarted the Business Central Server/NST
✅ Restarted the entire machine
✅ Checked that RDLC reports were using the correct font name
Still — no barcodes were rendered.
🕵️ The Hidden Detail: “Install for All Users”
After much trial and error, I stumbled across the real fix:
When installing a font on the Business Central service tier (server), you must choose “Install for all users” — not just a regular install.
Here’s why:
Business Central’s NST runs under a system account, not your logged-in user.
Fonts installed only for the current user aren’t visible to the NST process.
Unless the font is registered system-wide, RDLC won’t be able to use it.
Install the Barcode Font on the Server
Right-click the font file (e.g., Code128.ttf)
Choose ➡️ Install for all users
Install the Font on Client Machine (Optional but recommended)
This ensures previews and printed reports render properly when opened locally.
Restart the Server
Not just the NST service — a full restart helps Windows fully register system fonts.
It’s always the little things! A simple checkbox — “Install for all users” — was all it took to fix what seemed like a mysterious RDLC issue.
If you’re working with barcode fonts in RDLC reports on Business Central and nothing seems to work, double-check your font installation method — this could save you hours of frustration.
With the release of Business Central 2025 Wave 1, business central continues to enhance developer and user experience in reporting and data analysis. One such powerful addition is the new property: ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets. This feature addresses a long-standing limitation in Excel export scenarios—allowing multiple datasets to be exported into separate sheets within a single Excel workbook.
What is ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets?
The ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets property is a new setting introduced for report objects that use Excel layouts. It enables developers to bind multiple data items or datasets to different worksheets in an Excel layout file (.xlsx), making reports more organized and structured when exported.
🧩 Structured Reports Separate sheets for different datasets make it easier for business users to navigate complex reports—such as Sales Orders on one sheet, Customer Info on another, and Totals on a summary sheet.
🛠️ Developer Control You can name your data items and match them to sheet names in your Excel layout. This gives you more granular control and reduces the need for workarounds.
How to Use ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets
report 50100 MyMultiSheetReport
{
UsageCategory = ReportsAndAnalysis;
ApplicationArea = All;
DefaultRenderingLayout = MyExcelLayout;
ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets = false; // Global setting is to use a single sheet
dataset
{
dataitem(Customer; Customer)
{
column(CustomerNo; "No.") { }
column(CustomerName; Name) { }
}
dataitem(Vendor; Vendor)
{
column(VendorNo; "No.") { }
column(VendorName; Name) { }
}
}
rendering
{
layout(MyExcelLayout)
{
Type = Excel;
ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets = true; // Override for this specific layout
}
}
}
In this example, even though the global ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets property for the report is set to false, the MyExcelLayout will render the output with two separate worksheets:
Data_Customer containing the customer data.
Data_Vendor containing the vendor data.
If the ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets property within the MyExcelLayout definition was set to false (or not specified), both datasets would be combined into a single “Data” sheet in the Excel output.
The enhancement of the ExcelLayoutMultipleDataSheets property in Business Central Wave 1 2025 offers developers greater flexibility and control over Excel report layouts. By enabling the creation of multi-sheet Excel files at the layout level, you can deliver more user-friendly and better-organized reports, ultimately empowering your users to gain deeper insights from their Business Central data.
When developing reports in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, performance and scalability are crucial—especially in cloud environments where system efficiency impacts everything from responsiveness to cost. One often-overlooked feature that can significantly enhance report performance is the DataAccessIntent property.
What Is DataAccessIntent?
The DataAccessIntent property is available on report objects in AL. It specifies how a report should access the database—whether it’s read-only or read-write.
The property supports two values:
DataAccessIntent = ReadOnly
DataAccessIntent = ReadWrite
ReadOnly
When you set DataAccessIntent = ReadOnly, you are explicitly telling the platform that your report only needs to read data from the database and will not perform any write operations.
Why is this important?
Better Performance: In Business Central SaaS, reports marked as ReadOnly can run on read-only replicas of the database. This reduces the load on the primary (read-write) database and enhances scalability.
Improved Report Execution Time: Since queries are routed to optimized replicas, report rendering can be faster and more efficient.
ReadWrite
If your report needs to modify data during execution—a rare scenario—you should use DataAccessIntent = ReadWrite. This forces the report to run on the primary database.
However, you should avoid using ReadWrite unless absolutely necessary because:
It eliminates the benefit of using read replicas.
It may degrade performance, especially under high concurrency.
By default, if you don’t specify the property, it behaves as ReadWrite. So it’s a good practice to explicitly set it to ReadOnly when applicable.
Important Considerations
The DataAccessIntent property is only a hint to the Business Central server. The server may not always be able to use a read-only replica, even if the property is set to ReadOnly.
If a report with DataAccessIntent set to ReadOnly attempts to modify data, a runtime error will occur.
The DataAccessIntent property can be overridden by the user through the “Database Access Intent List” page in Business Central.
In short: if your report doesn’t write data, use DataAccessIntent = ReadOnly. It’s an easy win for performance and best practice compliance.
When building customizations or integrations in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, performance is often a key concern—especially when working with large datasets. One powerful tool for improving performance is the SETLOADFIELDS method on record variables.
🚀 What is SETLOADFIELDS?
In Business Central, when you retrieve a record (using FIND, GET, NEXT, etc.), all fields of the record are loaded from the database by default. This includes fields you might never use, such as FlowFields (which are calculated on the fly). This can lead to unnecessary memory usage and slower data retrieval.
SETLOADFIELDS tells the system which fields to load, so it skips the rest. This can dramatically improve performance, particularly when:
You’re looping through large datasets
You’re only using a few fields per record
Your table includes FlowFields or BLOBs
📘 Syntax
Rec.SETLOADFIELDS(Field1, Field2, ...);
You place this line before reading the records. This tells the AL runtime engine to load only the specified fields when the records are retrieved.
Let’s say you need to loop through all items and check their No. and Inventory:
Item.SETLOADFIELDS("No.", Inventory);
if Item.FINDFIRST then
repeat
if Item.Inventory > 0 then
// do something
until Item.NEXT = 0;
Use SETLOADFIELDS only when needed – Overusing it without understanding the data flow may result in missing fields or unexpected behavior.
Calling CALCFIELDS still works – You can still explicitly calculate FlowFields after using SETLOADFIELDS.
Resets on modification – If you call MODIFY, INSERT, or VALIDATE, the load fields context is reset. Use SETLOADFIELDS again if necessary.
BLOB and FlowFields – Avoid loading BLOBs and FlowFields unless absolutely necessary. SETLOADFIELDS helps you skip them efficiently.
👨💻 Summary
Feature
Without SETLOADFIELDS
With SETLOADFIELDS
Data Loaded
All fields
Only specified fields
Memory Usage
High
Lower
Speed
Slower
Faster
By leveraging SETLOADFIELDS, developers can significantly optimize the performance of their AL code in Business Central. It’s a small addition that can make a big difference in speed and scalability.
Avoid it when doing full record operations like MODIFY, unless you’re confident about which fields are required.
With the release of Business Central 2025 Wave 1, BC continues to enhance administrative control and governance features. One of the most welcome additions for global organizations is the ability to limit the available language options per environment. This is a game-changer for companies seeking better localization control, user experience consistency, and governance.
🚀 What’s New?
Until now, Business Central environments would display all installed languages by default, allowing users to switch freely. While flexibility is good, it posed problems in certain scenarios:
Local subsidiaries wanting only their national language.
Confusion due to long lists of unused language options.
Incorrect UI labels or translations due to unintended language selection.
Wave 1 2025 introduces the ability to define which languages are allowed per environment. Admins can now limit language choices for users based on the business unit, geography, or internal policy.
🔧 How to Configure Allowed Languages
To define allowed languages for a specific environment, follow these steps:
Sign in to the Business Central
Navigate to the new section: “Allowed Languages”.
From the list of installed languages, check the boxes for only those you wish to allow.
Once applied, users in this environment will only see the allowed languages in their My Settings > Language dropdown.
This new feature may seem minor at first glance, but for global businesses and IT admins, it’s a powerful tool for consistency, control, and compliance. Whether you’re managing multiple countries, brands, or test environments, defining allowed languages per environment helps streamline operations and avoid confusion.
Ammolh Saallvi Blog 