Microsoft Dynamics NAV by Mark Brummel

Key FeaturesSolve common business problems with the valuable features and flexibility of Dynamics NAVDesign software that is maintainable outside the ecosystem of their creatorsCreate configuration packages and perform data migration on your ownBook DescriptionMicrosoft Dynamics NAV is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application used in all kinds of organizations around the world. It provides a great variety of functionality, out-of-the-box, in different topics such as accounting, sales, purchase processing, logistics, and manufacturing. Microsoft Dynamics NAV also allows companies to grow their applications by customizing solutions to meet specific requirements.This course is a hands-on tutorial on working with a real Dynamics NAV implementation. It begins by providing an insight into the different tools available to migrate data from client legacy systems into Microsoft Dynamics NAV. If you are already live with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, you will learn about upgrades and what to expect from them. Well also show you how to implement additional or expanding functionalities within your existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV installation, perform data analysis, debug error messages, and implement free third-party add-ons to your existing installation. From here, you will be introduced to integrated development tools to make you a highly productive developer in the NAV environment.The course will serve as a comprehensive reference guide, complementing NAVs Help files. You will find this course really useful if you want to evaluate Microsoft Dynamics NAVs development capabilities or need to manage NAV-based projects. Additionally, you will also learn about the NAV application structure, the C/SIDE development environment, the C/AL language, the construction and uses of each object type, and how it all fits together. Moving on, you will be guided through the NAV way of solving problems. You will be introduced to patterns and the software NAV architecture and will then build an example application. Then, you will walk through the details of architectural patterns, design patterns, and implementation patterns and will also learn about anti-patterns and handling legacy code. You will learn how to build solutions using patterns. The course offers premium, highly practical content on this recently released version of Dynamics NAV, and includes material from the following Packt books :Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV - Third EditionProgramming Microsoft Dynamics™ NAVLearning Dynamics NAV PatternsWhat you will learnCreate reusable data migration packagesSuccessfully upgrade your installation to the latest versionManage and expand your existing installation with additional functionalitiesApply object-oriented practices to C/AL programmingRefactor legacy code and avoid anti-patternsBuild relationships with COM technologiesClone codes and their application in Dynamics NAVAutomate deployment into Dynamics NAVAbout the AuthorAlex Chow has been working with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, formerly Navision, since 1999. Over the years, he has conducted hundreds of implementations across multiple industries. His customers range from $2-million-a-year small enterprises to $500-million-a-year multinational corporations. Over the course of his Dynamics NAV career, he has often been designated as the primary person responsible for the success and failure of Dynamics NAV implementations. The fact that Alex is still in the Dynamics NAV business means that hes been pretty lucky so far . His extensive career in the Dynamics NAV business is evidence of his success rate and expertise. With a background in implementing all functions and modules inside and outside Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Alex has encountered and resolved requirements and business rules ranging from the most practical to the most complex. Through these experiences, he has learned that sometimes you have to be a little crazy to have a competitive edge. Believing that sharing these experiences and knowledge will benefit the Dynamics NAV community, Alex writes about his journey at www.dynamicsnavconsultant.com. He founded AP Commerce (www.apcommerce.com) in 2005. It is a full-service Dynamics NAV service center. In addition, Alex has written a book about Dynamics NAV entitled Getting Started with Dynamics NAV 2013 Application Development, by Packt Publishing. He lives in southern California with his beautiful wife and two lovely daughters. He considers himself the luckiest man in the world.Laura Nicolas Lorente started working with Dynamics NAV back in 2005, first in the support department, mostly solving functional issues and doubts. She soon jumped to full deployment: consulting, analysis, development, implementation, migration, training, and support. Right from the beginning, she realized that it was very important for a Dynamics NAV consultant to have deep knowledge of business workflows. Technical skills are just not enough. So, she started to train herself in accounting, taxation, supply chains, logistics, and so on.Laura discovered a whole new world and she found it very interesting. After having enough consultancy experience, she got a chance to manage the first project on her own. And then she realized that even tech and business knowledge are not enough— she also needed management skills. That is why, after reading different management books and trying different approaches on the projects she worked on, she decided to deepen her knowledge by taking a masters degree in project management. Laura is now transitioning to agile management and agile development for better project success. She continues her training in the three areas (technology, business workflows, and management) whenever she gets the chance. The Internet is a huge source of inspiration for her: groups, forums, blogs, books, and so on. She also contributes by sharing her knowledge and experience with the Spanish Dynamics NAV community. Laura is also the coauthor of the book Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, Packt Publishing which had really good feedback from different Dynamics NAV experts.Cristina Nicolas Lorente has been working with Dynamics NAV since 2005. She started in the ERP world as a developer, but soon evolved into a complete Dynamics NAV professional, doing all the tasks involved in Dynamics NAV implementations: consultancy, analysis, development, implementation, training, and support to end users. When Cristina started developing solutions for Dynamics NAV, she had no idea about accounting or any kind of business workflow. They dont teach those kinds of things for a technical university career. Soon, she discovered that it is important to know the set of tools used, but even more important to understand the meaning of whatever you develop. Without knowing the accounting rules, practices, and legal requirements, it is impossible to develop useful accounting functionalities even if you are the best developer of all. Only when you fully understand a companys processes will you be able to do the appropriate developments. Having that in mind, Cristina has taken courses in accounting, warehouse management, and operations management. She is also willing to take courses on any other company-related topics. She thinks that the best way to learn is to teach what you are learning to someone else. She has actually learned almost everything she knows about Dynamics NAV by responding to user questions on Internet forums, by writing a blog about Dynamics NAV, and of course by writing the book you have in your hands. When you have to write about something, you have to experiment, try, investigate, and read. It is definitely the best way to learn. Cristina is also the coauthor of the book Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, Packt PublishingVjekoslav Babic is a Microsoft Dynamics NAV expert, consultant, and architect with 18 years of experience in the IT industry and 14 years of experience delivering project success on large-scale, international, and high-risk and implementations of Microsoft Dynamics solutions. He has project experience in various industries, including retail, telecommunications, insurance, food and beverages, manufacturing, distribution, and many more. He has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award since 2010. Vjekoslav is an avid author and has published more than 400 technical articles about software development, database design, and Internet technologies in a number of online and printed magazines, as well as on his blog at http://vjeko.com/. He speaks regularly at Microsoft Dynamics NAV conferences worldwide.Based in Zagreb, Croatia, he runs his own Microsoft Dynamics NAV consultancy business. You can contact Vjekoslav through his blog at http://vjeko.com/.David Roys has worked in the computer industry since 1992 and currently works as a Dynamics NAV programmer and consultant for Intergen, a leading Microsoft Gold Partner. He is the Dynamics Presidents Club member in New Zealand. After coauthoring the original Implementing Microsoft Dynamics NAV book by Packt Publishing in 2009, David has written two novels.David Studebaker is the Chief Technical Officer, and cofounder, of Liberty Grove Software with his partner, Karen Studebaker. David has had a wide range of development, consulting, sales, and management roles throughout his career. He has been a partner (or owner and manager) of several software development businesses while always maintaining a significant role as a business application developer. David started programming in 1962. He has been developing in C/AL since 1996. David has been an active participant in each step of computing technology from the first solid-state mainframes to todays technology, from binary assembly language coding to todays C/AL. Davids special achievements include his role as co-developer of the first production multi-programmed SPOOLing system in 1967. He has worked on a diverse set of software applications including manufacturing, distribution, retail, engineering, and others. David has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He has been writing for publications since he was an undergraduate and has had numerous magazine and reference books published. Prior to coauthoring this book, David was the author of Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV (for the Classic Client), Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 (for the Role Tailored Client), and Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013. He has been a member of the Association for Computing Machinery since 1963 and was a founding officer of two local chapters of the ACM.Christopher Studebaker is a NAV developer/implementer and has 15 years experience in designing, developing, implementing, and selling in the NAV and SQL Server environments. He has specialized in retail, manufacturing, job shop, and distribution implementations, mostly in high-user-count and high–data-volume applications. Chris has worked on many NAV implementations with integrations to external databases and third-party add-on products. Some special applications include high-volume order entry, pick-to-light systems, procurement analysis, and web frontends. Chris acts in a consulting and training role for customers and for peer NAV professionals. He provides training both in informal and classroom situations, often developing custom course material to support courses tailored to specific student group needs. Courses have included various NAV functional and development areas.Before becoming a certified NAV developer, Chris was a certified environmental consultant working with manufacturing facilities to meet national and state regulations. His duties included regulatory reporting, data analysis, project management, and subcontractor oversight. His accomplishments include obtaining several safety certifications and managing projects for hazardous material management and abatement. Chris is an expert at NAV installation, configuration, and development. He has been working with SQL in both NAV and other Microsoft applications for over a decade. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University and has done graduate work at Denmark Technical University. Chris was a coauthor of the Packt Publishing book, Programming Microsoft Dynamics 2013.Mark Brummel is a freelance, all-round Microsoft Dynamics NAV specialist, focused on helping end users of the product. With http://nav-skills.com/, he evangelizes and documents the NAV way. This is a combination of architectural principles and design best practices, formalized in a workshop called Master Class for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Application Architecture and Design Patterns. The methodology helps in creating solutions that are easy to upgrade, recognizable for users, and maintainable outside the ecosystem of their creators. All three elements apply to the original Navision product, which was shipped in 1995 and extracted, updated, and documented in this methodology. In September 2015, Packt Publishing published his new book, Learning Dynamics NAV Patterns, which is about this methodology. He also organizes hands-on workshops together with a group of MVPs and MCTs from across the Globe. Mark started in 1997 as an end user, and worked for eight years for NAV partners after this. Designing and maintaining add-on systems were his specializations. Some of these add-on systems exceed the standard product when it comes to size and complexity.Coaching colleagues and troubleshooting complex problems are his passions and part of his day-to-day work. His first book, Dynamics NAV 2009 Application Design, was published in 2010 by Packt Publishing, and updated to Dynamics NAV 2013 Application Design, published by Packt Publishing, when a new release became available. Many end users of Microsoft Dynamics NAV struggle with the question of how to upgrade their two-tier solution to a three-tier solution. Mark can help you answer these questions and plot a roadmap to the future, retaining your investment in the solution. When Microsoft introduced the three-tier architecture in 2009, it meant a major shift for experienced NAV developers and consultants. Mark has trained most developers and consultants resident in the Netherlands and Belgium. In 2010, he started a think-tank called Partner Ready Software together with four other Dynamics NAV experts. Partner Ready Software brings fresh ideas about designing applications in NAV, and creates awareness of applying Design Patterns in creating repeatable solutions. Mark is an associate in the Liberty Grove Software network, a member of the NAVUG advisory board, the co-founder of the Dutch Dynamics Community, the vice-president of the Association of Dynamics Professionals, and an advisor to Dynamics HUB. Mark has undertaken a special performance tuning of the Dynamics NAV product on SQL Server. As a unique specialist, he has done breakthrough research into improving the performance of Dynamics NAV on the SQL Server.On http://nav-skills.com/, Mark maintains a blog. This blog contains a wide range of articles about the Microsoft Dynamics NAV and the SQL Server products. He is also a frequent speaker at Microsoft events, and publishes articles on Pulse for LinkedIn. Since 2006, Mark has been rewarded by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional award for his contribution to the online and offline communities. He has received this award ten times. Mark is married and a father of four, and lives in a small town in The Netherlands.Table of ContentsExploring Microsoft Dynamics NAV – An IntroductionWhats New in NAV 2016?Dynamics NAV – General ConsiderationsThe Implementation Process – From the ResellerThe Implementation Process on the Customer SideMigrating DataUpgrading Microsoft Dynamics NAVDevelopment ConsiderationsFunctional Changes on Existing ImplementationsData Analysis and ReportingDebuggingPopular Reporting Options with Microsoft Dynamics NAVAn Introduction to NAV 2015TablesData Types and FieldsPages – The Interactive InterfaceQueries and ReportsIntroduction to C/SIDE and C/ALIntermediate C/ALAdvanced NAV Development ToolsSuccessful ConclusionsIntroducing Dynamics NAV Patterns and Software ArchitectureArchitectural PatternsDesign PatternsBuilding an Example Application Using PatternsCoding Best PracticesAnti-patterns and Handling Legacy CodeBuilding Solutions Using Patterns