Using Automation to Create a Graph in Microsoft Excel

In this walkthrough, you will transfer data for top 10 Customers Sales Contribution to Microsoft Excel and create a graph.

This example shows how to handle enumerations by creating a graph in Excel that shows the distribution of Sales by Customer.



You will run the codeunit directly from Object Designer. In a real application, you would call it from an appropriate place, such as from a menu or any other window.

About This Walkthrough

This walkthrough illustrates the following tasks:

• Creating a codeunit that declares the Automation variables that are required for using Excel Automation.


• Adding a function to calculate Top 10 Customers Sales Contribution.


• Adding C/AL code to the codeunit to run the Automation object that opens Excel.


• Adding C/AL code to the Automation codeunit to transfer data from a table record to Excel.


• Adding C/AL code that creates a graph in Excel. 

Prerequisites 

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

• Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 with a developer license.


• The CRONUS International Ltd. demo data company.


• Microsoft Excel 2013 or Microsoft Excel 2010.

Creating the Codeunit and Declaring Variables

To create the codeunit and declare variables

• To implement Automation in a codeunit, you define the Automation variables. To define an Automation variable, you specify an Automation server and the Automation object.


• The language in the regional settings of your computer matches the language version of Microsoft Excel.

• In Object Designer, choose Codeunit, and then choose the New button to create a new codeunit.


• On the View menu, choose C/AL Globals.


• On the Variables tab, add the following variables:

Note

For the Automation data type variables, the subtype Microsoft Excel 15.0/14.0 Object Library defines the Automation server, and the class specifies the Automation object of the Microsoft Excel 15.0/14.0 Object Library.

Name	DataType	Subtype	Length
xlApp	Automation	'Microsoft Excel 15.0 Object Library'.Application
xlBook	Automation	'Microsoft Excel 15.0 Object Library'.Workbook
xlSheet	Automation	'Microsoft Excel 15.0 Object Library'.Worksheet
xlChart	Automation	'Microsoft Excel 15.0 Object Library'.Chart
xlRange	Automation	'Microsoft Excel 15.0 Object Library'.Range
Cust	Record	Customer
Window	Dialog
CustAmount	Record	Customer Amount
CustFilter	Text
CustDateFilter	Text		30
ShowType	Option	[Sales (LCY),Balance (LCY)]
NoOfRecordsToPrint	Integer
CustSalesLCY	Decimal
CustBalanceLCY	Decimal
MaxAmount	Decimal
BarText	Text		50
i	Integer
TotalSales	Decimal
TotalBalance	Decimal
ChartType	Option	[Bar chart,Pie chart]
ChartTypeNo	Integer
ShowTypeNo	Integer
ChartTypeVisible	Boolean
Integer	Record	Integer
Customer	Record	Customer
CellNo1	Text		5
CellNo2	Text		5

• Close the C/AL Globals window.

Adding the Code

Now you add the code for the codeunit.

To add the code

• Add a Function to calculate Top 10 Customers Sales Contribution as:

Add code to it as:

I have not used all the values, just shown this way also you can think of while you design any such code & functions.

Window.OPEN(Text000);

i := 0;

Cust.RESET;

IF Cust.FINDSET THEN

REPEAT

Window.UPDATE(1,Cust."No.");

Cust.CALCFIELDS("Sales (LCY)","Balance (LCY)");

IF (Cust."Sales (LCY)" <> 0) OR (Cust."Balance (LCY)" <> 0) THEN

BEGIN

CustAmount.INIT;

CustAmount."Customer No." := Cust."No.";

IF ShowType = ShowType::"Sales (LCY)" THEN BEGIN

CustAmount."Amount (LCY)" := -Cust."Sales (LCY)";

CustAmount."Amount 2 (LCY)" := -Cust."Balance (LCY)";

END ELSE BEGIN

CustAmount."Amount (LCY)" := -Cust."Balance (LCY)";

CustAmount."Amount 2 (LCY)" := -Cust."Sales (LCY)";

END;

CustAmount.INSERT;

IF (NoOfRecordsToPrint = 0) OR (i < NoOfRecordsToPrint) THEN

i := i + 1

ELSE BEGIN

CustAmount.FIND('+');

CustAmount.DELETE;

END;

TotalSales += Cust."Sales (LCY)";

TotalBalance += Cust."Balance (LCY)";

ChartTypeNo := ChartType;

ShowTypeNo := ShowType;

END;

UNTIL Cust.NEXT = 0;

CustSalesLCY := Cust."Sales (LCY)";

CustBalanceLCY := Cust."Balance (LCY)";

Window.CLOSE;

IF CustAmount.FIND('-') THEN

REPEAT

CustAmount."Amount (LCY)" := -CustAmount."Amount (LCY)";

Customer.GET(CustAmount."Customer No.");

Customer.CALCFIELDS("Sales (LCY)","Balance (LCY)");

IF MaxAmount = 0 THEN

MaxAmount := CustAmount."Amount (LCY)";

CustAmount."Amount (LCY)" := -CustAmount."Amount (LCY)";

UNTIL CustAmount.NEXT = 0;

• In the C/AL Editor, make call to above function by adding the following code to the OnRun trigger.

CustAmount.DELETEALL;

TopTenCustomer(10,ShowType::"Sales (LCY)",ChartType::"Bar chart");

• Create an instance of Excel by adding the following code.

CREATE(xlApp, FALSE, TRUE);

• Add a new workbook to Excel.

xlBook := xlApp.Workbooks.Add(-4167);

xlSheet:= xlApp.ActiveSheet;

xlSheet.Name := ‘Top 10 Customer';

The following describes the code:

• In the first line, you use the Add method of the Workbooks collection to return a new workbook. The attribute -4167 is the enumerator value of worksheets as they apply to Workbook objects.


• In the second line, you use the ActiveSheet property of the Application class to ensure that what is done next affects the active sheet of the new workbook.


• In the third line, you use the Name property to name the sheet.

Transferring Data

To transfer the data, you must calculate the data and transfer the results of the calculation.

To transfer data

• In the C/AL Editor, on the codeunit, use following code to transfer data of Top 10 Customers to Excel. To transfer the data to Microsoft Excel, add the following code.

CellNo1 := 'A1';

CellNo2 := 'B1';

IF CustAmount.FINDSET THEN

REPEAT

CellNo1 := INCSTR(CellNo1);

xlSheet.Range(CellNo1).Value := CustAmount."Customer No.";

CellNo2 := INCSTR(CellNo2);

xlSheet.Range(CellNo2).Value := ABS(CustAmount."Amount (LCY)");

UNTIL CustAmount.NEXT = 0;

• The final step is to create the graph. You will use the ChartWizard method to create chart. This is a fast and simple way to do it. You can more tightly control the design of the graph by setting it up using the methods and properties of the various Chart objects, such as ChartArea and Legend.

Creating the Graph

The final step is to create the graph. You will use the ChartWizard method to create chart. This is a fast and simple way to do it. You can more tightly control the design of the graph by setting it up using the methods and properties of the various Chart objects, such as ChartArea and Legend.

To create the graph

•   In the C/AL Editor, on the current codeunit, define a range for the data in the graph.

xlRange := xlSheet.Range('A2:'+FORMAT(CellNo2));

• Add a new chart sheet and give it a name.xlChart.Name := ' Top 10 Customer - Graph';

xlChart := xlBook.Charts.Add;

xlChart.Name := ' Top 10 Customer - Graph';

• Create the graph.

xlChart.ChartWizard(xlRange,-4101,7,2,1,0,1,'Top 10 Customer');

The following table describes the optional arguments that are used in the ChartWizard method.

Argument	Description	Value in method call
Source	The range that contains the source data for the new chart.	xlRange – The object returned by xlSheet.Range(‘A2:C3’).
Gallery	The chart type.	-4101 – The enumerator for the Chart Shown above.
Format	The option number for the built-in auto formats.	7
PlotBy	An integer specifying whether the data for each series is in rows or columns.	2 – The enumerator for the xlRows XlRowCol enumerator.
CategoryLabels	An integer specifying the number of rows or columns within the source range that contains category labels.	1 – There is one row with category labels (the department names).
SeriesLabels	An integer specifying the number of rows or columns within the source range that contains series labels.	0 – There are no series labels in your data.
HasLegend	TRUE to include a legend.	1
Title	VARIANT with the title of the chart.	You pass a string such as ‘Top 10 Customer’.

• Make Excel visible by adding the following code.

xlApp.Visible := TRUE;

Excel produces a General Protection Fault error when you close a new Excel worksheet that is created when Excel is invisible. To resolve this, you can make Excel visible immediately after you create a new worksheet. You can also make Excel visible just before you create a new Excel worksheet and then make it invisible again immediately after creating the new Excel worksheet. In this case, you would add the following code.

xlApp.Visible := TRUE;

xlBook := xlApp.Workbooks.Open(FileName);

xlApp.Visible := FALSE;

•  Clearing the Temp Table by adding the following code.

CustAmount.DELETEALL;

• Complete code in OnRun trigger should look like below:

Saving and Running the Codeunit

You can test the codeunit for creating the graph by running the codeunit from Object Designer.

To save and run a codeunit

1. On the File menu, choose Save.


2. In the Save As window, enter an ID and name, and then choose the OK


3. In Object Designer, select the codeunit, and then choose the Run

The Microsoft Excel graph should appear. As show above in beginning of the post.

Note

If you get an error states Old format or invalid type library, then make sure that the language in the regional settings of your computer matches the language version of Microsoft Excel.

Below detailed reference to the values used in above code:

 

XlChartType

Name	Value	Description
xl3DArea	-4098	3D Area.
xl3DAreaStacked	78	3D Stacked Area.
xl3DAreaStacked100	79	100% Stacked Area.
xl3DBarClustered	60	3D Clustered Bar.
xl3DBarStacked	61	3D Stacked Bar.
xl3DBarStacked100	62	3D 100% Stacked Bar.
xl3DColumn	-4100	3D Column.
xl3DColumnClustered	54	3D Clustered Column.
xl3DColumnStacked	55	3D Stacked Column.
xl3DColumnStacked100	56	3D 100% Stacked Column.
xl3DLine	-4101	3D Line.
xl3DPie	-4102	3D Pie.
xl3DPieExploded	70	Exploded 3D Pie.
xlArea	1	Area
xlAreaStacked	76	Stacked Area.
xlAreaStacked100	77	100% Stacked Area.
xlBarClustered	57	Clustered Bar.
xlBarOfPie	71	Bar of Pie.
xlBarStacked	58	Stacked Bar.
xlBarStacked100	59	100% Stacked Bar.
xlBubble	15	Bubble.
xlBubble3DEffect	87	Bubble with 3D effects.
xlColumnClustered	51	Clustered Column.
xlColumnStacked	52	Stacked Column.
xlColumnStacked100	53	100% Stacked Column.
xlConeBarClustered	102	Clustered Cone Bar.
xlConeBarStacked	103	Stacked Cone Bar.
xlConeBarStacked100	104	100% Stacked Cone Bar.
xlConeCol	105	3D Cone Column.
xlConeColClustered	99	Clustered Cone Column.
xlConeColStacked	100	Stacked Cone Column.
xlConeColStacked100	101	100% Stacked Cone Column.
xlCylinderBarClustered	95	Clustered Cylinder Bar.
xlCylinderBarStacked	96	Stacked Cylinder Bar.
xlCylinderBarStacked100	97	100% Stacked Cylinder Bar.
xlCylinderCol	98	3D Cylinder Column.
xlCylinderColClustered	92	Clustered Cone Column.
xlCylinderColStacked	93	Stacked Cone Column.
xlCylinderColStacked100	94	100% Stacked Cylinder Column.
xlDoughnut	-4120	Doughnut.
xlDoughnutExploded	80	Exploded Doughnut.
xlLine	4	Line.
xlLineMarkers	65	Line with Markers.
xlLineMarkersStacked	66	Stacked Line with Markers.
xlLineMarkersStacked100	67	100% Stacked Line with Markers.
xlLineStacked	63	Stacked Line.
xlLineStacked100	64	100% Stacked Line.
xlPie	5	Pie.
xlPieExploded	69	Exploded Pie.
xlPieOfPie	68	Pie of Pie.
xlPyramidBarClustered	109	Clustered Pyramid Bar.
xlPyramidBarStacked	110	Stacked Pyramid Bar.
xlPyramidBarStacked100	111	100% Stacked Pyramid Bar.
xlPyramidCol	112	3D Pyramid Column.
xlPyramidColClustered	106	Clustered Pyramid Column.
xlPyramidColStacked	107	Stacked Pyramid Column.
xlPyramidColStacked100	108	100% Stacked Pyramid Column.
xlRadar	-4151	Radar.
xlRadarFilled	82	Filled Radar.
xlRadarMarkers	81	Radar with Data Markers.
xlStockHLC	88	High-Low-Close.
xlStockOHLC	89	Open-High-Low-Close.
xlStockVHLC	90	Volume-High-Low-Close.
xlStockVOHLC	91	Volume-Open-High-Low-Close.
xlSurface	83	3D Surface.
xlSurfaceTopView	85	Surface (Top View).
xlSurfaceTopViewWireframe	86	Surface (Top View wireframe).
xlSurfaceWireframe	84	3D Surface (wireframe).
xlXYScatter	-4169	Scatter.
xlXYScatterLines	74	Scatter with Lines.
xlXYScatterLinesNoMarkers	75	Scatter with Lines and No Data Markers.
xlXYScatterSmooth	72	Scatter with Smoothed Lines.
xlXYScatterSmoothNoMarkers	73	Scatter with Smoothed Lines and No Data Markers.

expression .ChartWizard(Source, Gallery, Format, PlotBy, CategoryLabels, SeriesLabels, HasLegend, Title, CategoryTitle, ValueTitle, ExtraTitle)

expression A variable that represents a Chart object.

Parameters

Name	Required/Optional	Data Type	Description
Source	Optional	Variant	The range that contains the source data for the new chart. If this argument is omitted, Microsoft Excel edits the active chart sheet or the selected chart on the active worksheet.
Gallery	Optional	Variant	One of the constants of XlChartType specifying the chart type.
Format	Optional	Variant	The option number for the built-in autoformats. Can be a number from 1 through 10, depending on the gallery type. If this argument is omitted, Microsoft Excel chooses a default value based on the gallery type and data source.
PlotBy	Optional	Variant	Specifies whether the data for each series is in rows or columns. Can be one of the following XlRowCol constants: xlRows or xlColumns. Values can be [1 or 2]
CategoryLabels	Optional	Variant	An integer specifying the number of rows or columns within the source range that contain category labels. Legal values are from 0 (zero) through one less than the maximum number of the corresponding categories or series.
SeriesLabels	Optional	Variant	An integer specifying the number of rows or columns within the source range that contain series labels. Legal values are from 0 (zero) through one less than the maximum number of the corresponding categories or series.
HasLegend	Optional	Variant	True to include a legend.
Title	Optional	Variant	The chart title text.
CategoryTitle	Optional	Variant	The category axis title text.
ValueTitle	Optional	Variant	The value axis title text.
ExtraTitle	Optional	Variant	The series axis title for 3-D charts or the second value axis title for 2-D charts.

Remarks

If Source is omitted and either the selection isn't an embedded chart on the active worksheet or the active sheet isn't an existing chart, this method fails and an error occurs.

You can use other values from above table to create graph of your choice.

Using Automation to Write a Letter in Microsoft Office Word

Automation lets you use the capabilities and features of Microsoft Office products, such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, in your Microsoft Dynamics NAV application.

Today we will implement Word Automation from a customer card in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.

Note: The Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client does not support automation.

Most information that we need to transfer to Word for this example is in the Customer table. The Customer table contains a FlowField called Sales (LCY) that contains the aggregated sales for the customer.

In this example we are learning about Automation, so we will use the existing value. In a real customer installation, we would need to set up an appropriate date filter to get the sales for the past year only.

We also need to retrieve the information about our own company that we will use in the letterhead and in the greeting of the letter. This information is contained in the Company Information and User tables.

• The Automation server must be installed on the computer that compiles an object that uses Automation. If you must recompile and modify an object on a computer that does not have the Automation server installed, then you must modify the code to compile it again. We recommend that you isolate code that uses Automation in separate codeunits.


• Performance can be an issue if extra work is needed to create an Automation server with the CREATE system call. If the Automation server is to be used repeatedly, then you will gain better performance by designing your code so that the server is created only once instead of making multiple CREATE and CLEAR calls).

Performance can be improved by putting the code on the customer card because you do not have to open and close Word for each letter that is created in the session.

You can work around this problem. If Word is already open when it is called from the code, then the running instance is reused. You can manually open Word or do not close Word after creating the first letter.

We will extract and transfer data one customer at a time. We will also initiate this processing and the subsequent processing in Word from the customer card.

We will insert fields into the Word template and give these fields convenient mnemonic names that correspond to the names of the record fields that we are using.

To make this work, C/AL code must make two extra calls to Microsoft Office Word. You must call the ActiveDocument.Fields.Update method before using the fields. After you have transferred all the information, you must call the ActiveDocument.Fields.Unlink method. This ensures that you can successfully use the Word fields as placeholders.

In addition, while you can name the Customer or Address fields, you must reference them by indexing into the Fields collection of the document. This can make the C/AL code harder to understand.

Creating the Word Template for Use by Automation

First, task is to create a Word template that we will use to create letters to customers that qualify for a discount. To create the template, we will add mail merge fields for displaying data that is extracted from Microsoft Dynamics NAV that you want included in the customer letter, such as the customer's name, contact, and total sales.

You will create and save the template on the computer running the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, because you will configure the automation object to run on the client.

• On the computer running Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, open Word and create a new document.

• Choose where you want to insert the fields. Then, on the Insert tab, in the Text group, choose Quick Parts, and then choose Field.

• In the Categories list, select Mail Merge.


• In the Field names list, select MergeField.


• In the Field Name box under Field Properties, type Contact. This field will display the name of your contact person at the customer site as taken from the Customer table.


• Choose OK to add the field.

• Repeat steps as above to add the remaining fields as follows:

Field name	Description	Underlying table
Name	The name of the customer.	Customer
Address	The address of the customer.	Customer
Sales (LCY)	The total amount that the customer has purchased from you.	Customer
Company Name	The name of your company.	Company Information

• Save the Word document as a template with the name Discount.dotx in folder of your choice.

Creating the Codeunit and Declaring the Variables

The next step is to create the codeunit that calls Word and creates the letter.

To create the codeunit

• In Object Designer, choose Codeunit, and then choose the New button to create a new codeunit.


• On the View menu, choose Properties to open the Properties window of the codeunit.


• In the TableNo field, choose the AssistEdit button to open the Table List window.


• In the Table List window, select the Customer table, and then choose OK.

• Close the Properties window.

To declare the variables

• Choose the OnRun Trigger and on the View menu, choose C/AL Locals, and then choose the Variables tab.


• On a blank line, type wdApp in the Name field and set the Data Type field to Automation.

Note

When you create an Automation variable, some hidden events are also created for it. If you want to delete the variable, be aware that the events are also not deleted. This can cause issues if you then create a variable with the same name.

• In the Subtype field, choose the AssistEdit button. The Automation Object List window is displayed.


• In the Automation Server field, choose the AssistEdit button.


• In the Automation Server List, select Microsoft Word 15.0 Object Library if you are running Word 2013, or select Microsoft Word 14.0 Object Library if you are running Word 2010, and then choose OK.


• From the list of classes in the Automation Object List, select the Application class, and then choose OK.

• Repeat steps above to add the following two Automation variables:

Name	Data type	Subtype	Class
wdDoc	Automation	Microsoft Word 14.0/15.0 Object Library	Document
wdRange	Automation	Microsoft Word 14.0/15.0 Object Library	Range

• Add the following variables.

Name	Data type	Subtype	Length
CompanyInfo	Record	Company Information
TemplateName	Text		250

• Close the C/AL Locals window.

Writing the C/AL Code

Before you start writing the C/AL code that uses Automation, you must do some initial processing. You start by calculating the Sales (LCY) FlowField. Then, you check whether the customer qualifies for a discount. Finally, you retrieve the information from the Company Information and User tables that you use to fill in some of the fields in the letter.

To write the C/AL code

• In the C/AL Editor, add the following lines of code to the OnRun section.

CALCFIELDS("Sales (LCY)");CompanyInfo.GET;

• To create an instance of Word before using it, enter the following line of code.

CREATE(wdApp, FALSE, TRUE);

• This statement creates the Automation object with the wdApp variable.

1. The first Boolean parameter in the statement (FALSE) tells the CREATE function to try to reuse an already running instance of the Automation server that is referenced by Automation before creating a new instance. If you change this to TRUE, then the CREATE function always creates a new instance of the Automation server.


2. The second Boolean parameter in the statement creates the Automation object on the client. This is necessary to use this codeunit on a page in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.

• Enter the following lines of code to add a new document to Word that uses the template that you designed earlier. If required, replace C:\Users\atripathi5283\Desktop\Nav-2015\Word Letter with the correct folder path to the template that you defined in the procedure.

TemplateName := C:\Users\atripathi5283\Desktop\Nav-2015\Word Letter\Discount.dotx';wdDoc := wdApp.Documents.Add(TemplateName);wdApp.ActiveDocument.Fields.Update;

• Because the Add method of the Documents collection requires that you pass the path to the template by reference, you must set up the TemplateName variable to hold this information. You will get a compilation error if you put the path into the call as a literal string.


• The Documents property returns a Documents collection that represents all open documents. You can also see that the Documents collection object has an Add method, and that the Add method has the following syntax.


• expression.Add(Template, NewTemplate, Document Type, Visible)


• expression is a required argument, and it must be an expression that returns a Documents object. All the arguments are optional. You will use Template to open a new document that is based on your template.


• For the syntax in the C/AL Symbol Menu, note that the Documents property returns an object of type DOCUMENTS, which is a user-defined type. The property returns a Documents class or IDispatch interface. This information helps the compiler perform a better type check during compilation. The following statement can also pass both the compile-time and the run-time type checks.


• wdDoc := wdApp.Documents.Add(TemplateName);


• Finally, the Add method returns a Document class. While you did not need to declare a C/AL variable for the interim Documents class, you have declared a variable for the wdDoc return value,.


• The third line contains a call that must be made to ensure that the template works as intended.


• wdApp.ActiveDocument.Fields.Update;

Transferring Data to Word

Now you can transfer the actual data from the Customer record to the placeholder fields in the Word document.

You have set up the first three fields in the template so that they can contain the contact, name, and address of the customer and you can transfer the data.

To transfer data to Word

• Transfer the data by adding the following lines of code.

wdRange := wdAPP.ActiveDocument.Fields.Item(1).Result; wdRange.Text := Contact; wdRange.Bold := 1; wdRange := wdAPP.ActiveDocument.Fields.Item(2).Result; wdRange.Text := Name; wdRange.Bold := 1; wdRange := wdAPP.ActiveDocument.Fields.Item(3).Result; wdRange.Text := Address; wdRange.Bold := 1;

• You cannot use the fields directly as variables and make an assignment such as Fields.Item(3) := Address. Instead, you use the Result property of the field. This property returns the result of the field as a range. You place this range in the wdRange Automation variable that you declared.


• You then set the Text property of the range to the desired values, which is the name of your contact person and the name and address of the customer. Finally, you add bold formatting.


• The data you are transferring must be in text format. If it is not in text format, then you get a compilation error. wdRange.Text expects arguments to be of type BSTR, which maps to either Text or Code. This means that any data that is not Text or Code must be converted before it is passed to Word. To convert a field to Text, you use the FORMAT function. All the fields that are transferred in this step are in text format, so no conversion is needed and the FORMAT function is not used. However, in this example, you also need to transfer the Sales (LCY) field, which is a Decimal field. To see how to convert the Sales (LCY) field, go to the next step.


• To transfer and format the data from the Sales (LCY) field, add the following code.

wdRange := wdAPP.ActiveDocument.Fields.Item(4).Result;wdRange.Text := FORMAT("Sales (LCY)");wdRange.Bold := 0;

• To transfer the information from the Company Information table, add the following code.

wdRange := wdApp.ActiveDocument.Fields.Item(5).Result;wdRange.Text := CompanyInfo.Name;

• To complete the processing in Word, add the following code.

wdApp.Visible := TRUE;wdApp.ActiveDocument.Fields.Unlink;

• The first statement opens Word and shows you the letter that was created. The second statement makes the fields work as placeholders.

• Save and compile the codeunit

To-Do List

Although this code will work, you must add a few things to make it complete:

• We recommend that you do not use a hardcoded template name. You should keep the template name in a table, and the user should select it from a page. You can then have different templates for different types of letters that you want to send to your customers.


• You should add some error-handling code. For example, the CREATE call fails if the user does not have Word installed or if the installation has been corrupted. You should check the return value of CREATE and give an appropriate message if it fails.


• The user should get a message if the customer does not qualify for the discount. In the example, the codeunit closes without any message.

Calling the Codeunit from the Customer Card

The final task is to ensure that you can call the codeunit from the Customer Card page in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.

To call the codeunit from the Customer card page in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client

• Open Object Designer, and then choose Page.


• Select the Customer Card page and then choose Design.


• On the View menu, choose Page Actions.


• To add a new action, locate the action container with the subtype set to ActionItems.


• Right-click the next line after the ActionItems container, and then choose New.


• In the Caption field of the new line, type Word Letter.


• Set the Type field to Action.


• With the new action selected, on the View menu, choose Properties.


• In the RunObject field, type codeunit Discount Letter.

Note

If you saved the codeunit that you created in the previous procedure under a different name, then substitute Discount Letter with the name that you used.

• Use the arrow buttons to make sure that the new action is indented only once from the ActionItems container above it

• Save and compile the Customer Card page.

To run the Customer Card and view the Word letter

1. In Object Designer, choose the Page


2. Select the Customer Card page, and then choose Run.


3. In the ribbon, on the Actions tab, choose the Word Letter

The letter document opens in Word.

Next Steps

The letter that you have just created only contains five fields and sample body text. Before you can use this letter in an actual situation, you will need to add some more fields, such as the name and address of your own company, the date, and the currency code, and the main text of the letter. It will also need some formatting to make it look more attractive. If you alter the order in which the fields appear in the template, you must change the numbering of the fields in the codeunit to ensure that the correct data is inserted into the appropriate fields.