Design Overview of Dimension handling in Navision 2016

Hold on,

Way of handling Dimension have changed from Navision 2009 not a new concept. Till now everyone is aware of this technical change, but still to keep handy reference today I decided to share the same with community, which can help for new comers in this industry.

Detailed technical insight into the concepts and principles that are used to redesign the dimension entry storing and posting feature in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016. Helpful when upgrading from earlier version to 2009.

Dimension Sets

A dimension set is a unique combination of dimension values. It is stored as dimension set entries in the database. Each dimension set entry represents a single dimension value.

The dimension set is identified by a common dimension set ID that is assigned to each dimension set entry that belongs to the dimension set.

Dimension Set Entries

Dimension sets are stored in the Dimension Set Entry table as dimension set entries with the same dimension set ID.

When you add, edit and close the Edit Dimension Set Entries window, a check is performed to see whether the combination of dimension values exists as a dimension set in the table.

If the combination occurs in the table, then the corresponding dimension set ID is assigned to the journal line, document header, or document line.

Otherwise, a new dimension set is added to the table, and the new dimension set ID is assigned to the journal line, document header, or document line.
Performance Improvement
By storing dimension sets once in the database, database space is preserved, and overall performance is improved.

Searching for Dimension Combinations

Building Search Tree
Table 481 Dimension Set Tree Node is used when Microsoft Dynamics NAV evaluates whether a set of dimensions already exists in table 480 Dimension Set Entry table.

The evaluation is performed by recursively traversing the search tree starting at the top level numbered 0.

The top level 0 represents a dimension set with no dimension set entries. The children of this dimension set represent dimension sets with only one dimension set entry.

The children of these dimension sets represent dimension sets with two children, and so on.

Finding Dimension Set ID

At a conceptual level, Parent ID, Dimension, and Dimension Value, in the search tree, are combined and used as the primary key because Microsoft Dynamics NAV traverses the tree in the same order as the dimension entries.

The GET function (record) is used to search for dimension set ID.

DimSet."Parent ID" := 0;  // 'root'

IF UserDim.FINDSET THEN

REPEAT

DimSet.GET(DimSet."Parent ID",UserDim.DimCode,UserDim.DimValueCode);

UNTIL UserDim.NEXT = 0;

EXIT(DimSet.ID);

However, to preserve the ability of Microsoft Dynamics NAV to rename a dimension and dimension value, table 348 Dimension Value is extended with an integer field of Dimension Value ID.

This table converts the field pair Dimension and Dimension Value to an integer value.

When you rename the dimension and dimension value, the integer value is not changed.

DimSet."Parent ID" := 0;  // 'root'IF UserDim.FINDSET THEN  REPEAT      DimSet.GET(DimSet.ParentID,UserDim."Dimension Value ID");  UNTIL UserDim.NEXT = 0;EXIT(DimSet.ID);

Table Structure

New Tables

Three new tables have been designed to manage dimension set entries.

Table 480 Dimension Set Entry
Table 480 Dimension Set Entry is a new table. You cannot change this table. After data has been written to the table, you cannot delete or edit it.

Deleting data requires that you check against all occurrences of the dimension set ID in the entire database, including partner solutions.

Field No.	Field Name	Data Type	Comment
1	ID	Integer	>0.0 is reserved for the empty dimension set. References field 3 in table 481.
2	Dimension Code	Code 20	Table relation to table 348.
3	Dimension Value Code	Code 20	Table relation to table 349.
4	Dimension Value ID	Integer	References field 12 in table 349. It is the secondary key that is used when traversing table 481.
5	Dimension Name	Text 30	CalcField. Lookup to table 348.
6	Dimension Value Name	Text 30	CalcField. Lookup to table 349.

Table 481 Dimension Set Tree Node

Table 481 Dimension Set Tree Node is a new table. You cannot change this table.

It is used to search for a dimension set. If the dimension set is not found, a new set is created.

Field No.	Field Name	Data Type	Comment
1	Parent Dimension Set ID	Integer	0 for top level node.
2	Dimension Value ID	Integer	Table relation to field 12 in table 349.
3	Dimension Set ID	Integer	AutoIncrement. Used in field 1 in table 480.
4	In Use	Boolean	False if not in use.

Table 482 Reclas. Dimension Set Buffer
Table 482 Reclas. Dimension Set Buffer is a new table.

The table is used to edit a dimension set ID.

It is required when you edit a dimension value code and a new dimension value code, for example, in the Item Reclas. Journal table.

Field No.	Field Name	Data Type	Comment
1	Dimension Code	Code 20	Table relation to table 348.
2	Dimension Value Code	Code 20	Table relation to table 349.
3	Dimension Value ID	Integer	References field 12 in table 349.
4	New Dimension Value Code	Code 20	Table relation to table 349.
5	New Dimension Value ID	Integer	References field 12 in table 349.
6	Dimension Name	Text 30	CalcField. Lookup to table 348.
7	Dimension Value Name	Text 30	CalcField. Lookup to table 349.
8	New Dimension Value Name	Text 30	CalcField. Lookup to table 349.

Modified Tables
All transaction and budget tables have been modified to manage dimension set entries.

Changes to Transaction and Budget Tables
A new field has been added to all transaction and budget tables.

Field No.	Field Name	Data Type	Comment
480	Dimension Set ID	Integer	References field 1 in table 480.

Changes to Table 83 Item Journal Line
Two new fields have been added to table 83 Item Journal Line.

Field No.	Field Name	Data Type	Comment
480	Dimension Set ID	Integer	References field 1 in table 480.
481	New Dimension Set ID	Integer	References field 1 in table 480.

Changes to Table 349 Dimension Value
A new field has been added to table 349 Dimension Value.

Field No.	Field Name	Data Type	Comment
12	Dimension Value ID	Integer	AutoIncrement. Used for references in table 480 and table 481.

Tables That Get New Field 480 Dimension Set ID
A new field, 480 Dimension Set ID, has been added to the following tables.

For the tables that store posted data, the field only provides a non-editable display of dimensions, which is marked as Drill-down.

For the tables that store working documents, the field is editable. The buffer tables that are used internally do not need editable or non-editable capabilities.

The 480 field is non-editable in the following tables

Table No.	Table Name
17	G/L Entry
21	Cust. Ledger Entry
25	Vendor Ledger Entry
32	Item Ledger Entry
110	Sales Shipment Header
111	Sales Shipment Line
112	Sales Invoice Header
113	Sales Invoice Line
114	Sales Cr.Memo Header
115	Sales Cr.Memo Line
120	Purch. Rcpt. Header
121	Purch. Rcpt. Line
122	Purch. Inv. Header
123	Purch. Inv. Line
124	Purch. Cr. Memo Hdr.
125	Purch. Cr. Memo Line
169	Job Ledger Entry
203	Res. Ledger Entry
271	Bank Account Ledger Entry
281	Phys. Inventory Ledger Entry
297	Issued Reminder Header
304	Issued Fin. Charge Memo Header
5107	Sales Header Archive
5108	Sales Line Archive
5109	Purchase Header Archive
5110	Purchase Line Archive
5601	FA Ledger Entry
5625	Maintenance Ledger Entry
5629	Ins. Coverage Ledger Entry
5744	Transfer Shipment Header
5745	Transfer Shipment Line
5746	Transfer Receipt Header
5747	Transfer Receipt Line
5802	Value Entry
5832	Capacity Ledger Entry
5907	Service Ledger Entry
5908	Service Header
5933	Service Order Posting Buffer
5970	Filed Service Contract Header
5990	Service Shipment Header
5991	Service Shipment Line
5992	Service Invoice Header
5993	Service Invoice Line
5994	Service Cr. Memo Header
5995	Service Cr. Memo Line
6650	Return Shipment Header
6651	Return Shipment Line
6660	Return Receipt Header
6661	Return Receipt Line

The 480 field is editable in the following tables

Table No.	Table Name
36	Sales Header
37	Sales Line
38	Purchase Header
39	Purchase Line
81	Gen. Journal Line
83	Item Journal Line
89	BOM Journal Line
96	G/L Budget Entry
207	Res. Journal Line
210	Job Journal Line
221	Gen. Jnl. Allocation
246	Requisition Line
295	Reminder Header
302	Finance Charge Memo Header
5405	Production Order
5406	Prod. Order Line
5407	Prod. Order Component
5615	FA Allocation
5621	FA Journal Line
5635	Insurance Journal Line
5740	Transfer Header
5741	Transfer Line
5900	Service Header
5901	Service Item Line
5902	Service Line
5965	Service Contract Header
5997	Standard Service Line
7134	Item Budget Entry
99000829	Planning Component

The 480 field has been added to the following buffer tables.

Table No.	Table Name
49	Invoice Post. Buffer
212	Job Posting Buffer
372	Payment Buffer
382	CV Ledger Entry Buffer
461	Prepayment Inv. Line Buffer
5637	FA G/L Posting Buffer
7136	Item Budget Buffer

Codeunit 408 Dimension Management
Codeunit 408 Dimension Management is a function library that handles common tasks that are related to dimensions, such as copying from one table to another or from one document to another.

Many functions are deleted because there is no need for copying between dimension tables at the other hand many functions are modified.

Modified Functions

Function Name	Modification Description
CheckDimSetIDComb	New function that substitutes the other check functions and takes a Dimension Set ID as an argument instead of a dimension table.
CheckDimSetIDComb CheckDocDimComb CheckServContractDimComb CheckDimBuffer CheckDimComb CheckDimValueComb	Delete. All usage should be changed to CheckDimSetIDComb.
GetDefaultDim	Modify to return an integer Dimension Set ID instead of a set of records.
CopyJnlLineDimToICJnlDim CopyICJnlDimToJnlLineDim CopyDocDimtoICDocDim CopyICDocDimtoICDocDim	Modify to work with DimSetID -> ICJnlLineDim

Deleted Functions

Functions that are deleted from codeunit 408 in connection with the Dimension Set Entries feature are listed below.

During the upgrade of application code from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 or earlier versions to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016, the following functions are not available in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.

If you have customizations that use one or more of the functions, you must upgrade that code accordingly.

InsertJnlLineDim

UpdateJnlLineDefaultDim

GetJnlLineDefaultDim

GetPreviousDocDefaultDim

GetPreviousProdDocDefaultDim

InsertDocDim

UpdateDocDefaultDim

ExtractDocDefaultDim

InsertProdDocDim

UpdateProdDocDefaultDim

InsertServContractDim

UpdateServcontractDim

UpdateDefaultDimNewDimValue

GetDocDim

GetProdDocDim

TypeToTableID1

TypeToTableID2

TypeToTableID3

TypeToTableID4

TypeToTableID5

DeleteJnlLineDim

DeleteDocDim

DeletePostedDocDim

DeleteProdDocDim

DeleteServContractDim

ShowJnlLineDim

SaveJnlLineDim

ShowJnlLineNewDim

SaveJnlLineNewDim

ShowDocDim

SaveDocDim

ShowProdDocDim

SaveProdDocDim

ShowTempDim

SaveTempDim

ShowTempNewDim

SaveTempNewDim

SaveServContractDim

MoveJnlLineDimToLedgEntryDim

MoveDocDimToPostedDocDim

MoveOneDocDimToPostedDocDim

MoveLedgEntryDimToJnlLineDim

MoveDimBufToJnlLineDim

MoveDimBufToLedgEntryDim

MoveDimBufToPostedDocDim

MoveDimBufToGLBudgetDim

CopyJnlLineDimToJnlLineDim

CopyLedgEntryDimToJnlLineDim

CopyDocDimToDocDim

CopyPostedDocDimToPostedDocDim

CopyDocDimToJnlLineDim

CopyDimBufToJnlLineDim

CopyDimBufToDocDim

CopySCDimToDocDim

MoveDocDimToLedgEntryDim

MoveDocDimToDocDim

MoveDocDimArchvToDocDim

MoveLedgEntryDimToDocDim

MoveProdDocDimToProdDocDim

MoveJnlLineDimToProdDocDim

MoveJnlLineDimToDocDim

MoveJnlLineDimToJnlLineDim

CopyLedgEntryDimToLedgEntryDim

MoveTempFromDimToTempToDim

TransferTempToDimToDocDim

MoveJnlLineDimToBuf

CopyICJnlDimToICJnlDim

TestDimValue

TestNewDimValue

MoveDimBufToItemBudgetDim. (Delete because the ItemBudgetDim Table is deleted.

GetServContractDim

MoveTempDimToBuf

UpdateSCInvLineDim

CopyJnlLineDimToBuffer

UpdateDocDefaultDim2

Code Examples of Changed Patterns in Modifications

Posting a Journal Line

Key changes are listed as follows:

• Journal line dimension tables are removed.


• A dimension set ID is created in the Dimension Set ID field.

Old Code

ResJnlLine."Qty. per Unit of Measure" :=  SalesLine."Qty. per Unit of Measure";

TempJnlLineDim.DELETEALL;

TempDocDim.RESET;

TempDocDim.SETRANGE( "Table ID",DATABASE::"Sales Line");

TempDocDim.SETRANGE( "Line No.",SalesLine."Line No.");

DimMgt.CopyDocDimToJnlLineDim( TempDocDim,TempJnlLineDim);

ResJnlPostLine.RunWithCheck( ResJnlLine,TempJnlLineDim);

New Code

ResJnlLine."Qty. per Unit of Measure" := SalesLine."Qty. per Unit of Measure";

ResJnlLine."Dimension Set ID" := SalesLine." Dimension Set ID ";

ResJnlPostLine.Run(ResJnlLine);
Posting a Document
When you post a document in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016, you no longer have to copy the document dimensions.

Old Code

DimMgt.MoveOneDocDimToPostedDocDim(

TempDocDim,DATABASE::"Sales Line",

"Document Type",

"No.",

SalesShptLine."Line No.",

DATABASE::"Sales Shipment Line",

SalesShptHeader."No.");

New Code

SalesShptLine."Dimension Set ID”  := SalesLine."Dimension Set ID”
Editing Dimensions from a Document
You can edit dimensions from a document. For example, you can edit a sales order line.

Old Code

Table 37, function ShowDimensions:

TESTFIELD("Document No.");

TESTFIELD("Line No.");

DocDim.SETRANGE("Table ID",DATABASE::"Sales Line");

DocDim.SETRANGE("Document Type","Document Type");

DocDim.SETRANGE("Document No.","Document No.");

DocDim.SETRANGE("Line No.","Line No.");

DocDimensions.SETTABLEVIEW(DocDim);

DocDimensions.RUNMODAL;

New Code

Table 37, function ShowDimensions:

"Dimension ID" := DimSetEntry.EditDimensionSet( "Dimension ID");
Showing Dimensions from Posted Entries
You can show dimensions from posted entries, such as sales shipment lines.

Old Code

Table 111, function ShowDimensions:

TESTFIELD("No.");

TESTFIELD("Line No.");

PostedDocDim.SETRANGE("Table ID",DATABASE::"Sales Shipment Line");

PostedDocDim.SETRANGE("Document No.","Document No.");

PostedDocDim.SETRANGE("Line No.","Line No.");

PostedDocDimensions.SETTABLEVIEW(PostedDocDim);

PostedDocDimensions.RUNMODAL;

New Code

Table 111, function ShowDimensions:

DimSetEntry.ShowDimensionSet("Dimension ID");
Getting Default Dimensions for a Document
You can get default dimensions for a document, such as a sales order line.

Old Code

Table 37, function CreateDim()

SourceCodeSetup.GET;

TableID[1] := Type1;

No[1] := No1;

TableID[2] := Type2;

No[2] := No2;

TableID[3] := Type3;

No[3] := No3;

"Shortcut Dimension 1 Code" := '';

"Shortcut Dimension 2 Code" := '';

DimMgt.GetPreviousDocDefaultDim( DATABASE::"Sales Header","Document Type",

"Document No.",0, DATABASE::Customer, "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code",

"Shortcut Dimension 2 Code");

DimMgt.GetDefaultDim(TableID,No,SourceCodeSetup.Sales,

"Shortcut Dimension 1 Code", "Shortcut Dimension 2 Code");

IF "Line No." <> 0 THEN

DimMgt.UpdateDocDefaultDim( DATABASE::"Sales Line","Document Type",

"Document No.","Line No.", "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code", "Shortcut Dimension 2 Code");

New Code

Table 37, function CreateDim()

SourceCodeSetup.GET;

TableID[1] := Type1;

No[1] := No1;

TableID[2] := Type2;

No[2] := No2;

TableID[3] := Type3;

No[3] := No3;

"Shortcut Dimension 1 Code" := '';

"Shortcut Dimension 2 Code" := '';

GetSalesHeader;

"Dimension ID" :=  DimMgt.GetDefaultDimID(

TableID,No,SourceCodeSetup.Sales, "Shortcut Dimension 1 Code",

"Shortcut Dimension 2 Code", SalesHeader."Dimension ID", DATABASE::"Sales Header");

Upgrading the Data in Navision 2016

Continuing from my earlier post Upgrading the Application Code in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

At end of previous post we have imported the objects and compiled also resolved any conflicts and compilation error. In the same process we have got the list of objects which were having destructive table schema, means the objects which will be having the changes due to which we could lose some data. Scan the objects and if we wish to save those data then we will be requiring Data Upgrade codeunits to handle any such situation.

How to create you can refer to my earlier post Data Upgrade – in Navision 2015 this it still valid for 2016.

Now we have all the upgraded application objects and Data Upgrade codeunits if any required for the upgrade. So we are good to go with Upgrading Data for Old database.

We will follow below steps to continue, make sure you have followed the process for preparation/ converting of database as discussed in my earlier post Upgrade in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

Import the application objects to the converted database

In the development environment, import all the application objects that you extracted in previous step as in my earlier post discussed above in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 database. This includes the FOB file that contains all the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 objects from the application code upgrade and upgrade toolkit objects if any.

When you import the FOB file, if you experience metadata conflicts, use the Import Worksheet to handle these conflicts.

Finally, on the dialog box for selecting the schema synchronization, set the Synchronize Schema option to Later.


If the upgrade toolkit objects are stored in a separate FOB file, then import the upgrade toolkit FOB file after the application objects are imported.

 

Run the schema synchronization to synchronize the new tables

To publish the data schema changes of the newly imported tables to the SQL tables, run the Sync. Schema For All Tables – With Validation option from the development environment.


If you are confident that any loss of data you are ok with same you can choose Force option which will drop the data for deleted fields, else use Upgrade Codeunit prepared for same as discussed above.

Or alternatively run the Sync-NavTenant cmdlet from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Administration Shell.

Sync-NAVTenant –ServerInstance UpgradedDBfrom2013R2 (My Server Instance Name)

Note this command runs in Administration Shell not in Development Shell as we used in our previous post.

Run the data upgrade process

A data upgrade runs the upgrade toolkit objects, such as upgrade codeunits and upgrade tables, to migrate business data from the old table structure to the new table structure. You can start the data upgrade from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment.








Ooops………….

Or Alternatively Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Administration Shell.

In the last phase of data upgrade, all companies will be initialized by running codeunit 2 Company Initialization. This is done automatically.

If you want to skip company initialization, then use the Start- NavDataUpgrade cmdlet and set the SkipCompanyIntitialization parameter.

Syntax:

Start-NAVDataUpgrade [-ServerInstance] <String> [[-Tenant] <TenantId> ] [[-FunctionExecutionMode] <FunctionExecutionModeValue> ] [[-ContinueOnError]] [-Force] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [ <CommonParameters>]

Parameters
-ContinueOnError

Specifies whether the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance continues to execute other upgrade functions when an error occurs while executing an upgrade function.

If you do not set this parameter, then when an error occurs, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance will suspend the data upgrade process. It will cancel the execution of upgrade functions currently in progress and roll back any changes that were applied. Completed functions will not be rolled back.

The process remains in suspended state until you take one of the following actions:

- Fix the problems in the upgrade functions that failed, and then resume the process by using the Resume-NAVDataUpgrade cmdlet. You should not add new upgrade functions at this time because they will be ignored when you resume the process.

- Stop the data upgrade process by using the Stop-NAVDataUpgrade cmdlet. Stopping the process will not roll back changes made by upgrade functions that have already been executed.

If you set this parameter, then when an error occurs, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance will continue executing other upgrade functions. At the end of the process, you can use the Get-NAVDataUpgrade cmdlet to see the list of failed upgrade functions. Changes that were applied by completed functions will not be rolled back.

When upgrading a large database, you should increase the SQL Command Timeout setting for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that connects to the database to avoid timeouts during schema synchronization. The default setting is 30 minutes

-ServerInstance<String>

Specifies the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that the application database and the tenant database are mounted against, such as DynamicsNAV90.

You must include the name within single quotation marks.

-Tenant<TenantId>

Specifies the ID of the tenant that you want to synchronize with the application, such as Tenant1.

This parameter is required unless the specified service instance is not configured to run multiple tenants.

-Force

Forces the command to run without asking for user confirmation.
-FunctionExecutionMode<FunctionExecutionModeValue>
Specifies whether the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance executes upgrade functions in series or parallel.
-Confirm
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

Few Examples of Usage:

[1] PS C:\> Start-NAVDataUpgrade -ServerInstance DynamicsNAV90 –Force

[2] PS C:\> Start-NAVDataUpgrade -ServerInstance DynamicsNAV90 -ContinueOnError –Force

[3] PS C:\> Start-NAVDataUpgrade -ServerInstance DynamicsNAV90 -FunctionExecutionMode Serial –Force

Start-NAVDataUpgrade -ServerInstance UpgradedDBfrom2013R2 –Force

Ooops………….

Now what to do?

To learn how to Create Data Upgrade Codeunits you can see my earlier posts:

Data Upgrade Codeunit in Navision 2015 – Part -1

Data Upgrade Codeunit in Navision 2015 – Part -2

These posts are still valid for 2016, you can follow to get you task done at this step resolution to above error.

To resolve above issue I have followed the instruction as suggested in error message, but in real scenario you will definitely will be having such codeunits. Since I have taken the 2013-R2 Std. Database I am having this issue. I have created on Upgrade codeunit with an empty upgrade function as below:


Let us run the above process again.


This time I was able to complete the process successfully.

Delete the upgrade objects

At this point, you have upgraded the database to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016. Now, you can delete the upgrade codeunits and upgrade table objects that you imported in above step.

When you delete tables, on the Delete dialog box, set the Synchronize Schema option to Force.

Import upgraded permission sets and permissions by using the Roles and Permissions XMLports

You import the permission sets and permissions XML files according to the following procedure.

To import the permission sets and permissions

• Delete all permission sets in the database except the SUPER permission set.

In Object Designer, run page 9802 Permission Sets, and then delete the permission sets.

• Run XMLport 9171 Import/Export Permission Sets to import the permission sets XML file,

In the request page for the XMLport, in the Direction field, choose Import, choose the OK button, and then specify the permission sets XML file.

• Run XMLport 9172 Import/Export Permissions to import the permission XML file.

In the request page for the XMLport, in the Direction field, choose Import, choose the OK button, and then specify the permissions XML file.

Set the language of the customer database

In the development environment, choose Tools, choose Language, and then select the language of the original customer database.

Add new control add-ins

The database is now fully upgraded and is ready for use. However, you may want to add the new client control add-ins that are included in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016. These are not added by the upgrade process. The following client control add-ins are available from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV product media:

• Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.BusinessChart


• Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.PageReady


• Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.PingPong


• Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.VideoPlayer


• Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.SocialListening

You can add control add-ins in the Control Add-ins window in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.

I will come up with more details on this topic in my upcoming posts.

Upgrading the Application Code in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

Continuing from my earlier post Upgrade in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

No doubt typically, customers want all the customizations that have been implemented in their existing Microsoft Dynamics NAV databases to be migrated to their new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 databases.

Depending on the version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV that a database is being upgraded from, the amount of code changes between the two versions is large or small.

To upgrade the application code, you must merge code from different versions of the application. This merge process is known as a code upgrade or application upgrade.

You must upgrade the application before you upgrade the data.

Application Upgrade Overview

You must analyze and process code changes by comparing and evaluating three separate versions of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database:

Version	Description
Original version	This is the baseline version of the solution that you want to upgrade, such as the original release of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013.
Modified version	This is the version that you want to upgrade, such as a customer's database with customizations and add-on solutions.
Target version	This is the target of the merge process that you want to upgrade your application to, such as the standard version of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 database.

When you merge the application objects from these three versions, you can import the result into a new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 database that then contains the upgraded application.

At the end of the process, you export the merged Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 objects from this database to a .fob file that you will use during the data upgrade.

The following list describes the main steps of upgrading the application code:

• Prepare the application object text files.


• Merge versions.


• Resolve conflicts


• Import and compile the merged application objects.


• Export all objects.

To begin, create five folders on the computer and name them as follows:

In my example, the UpgradeDemo folder on the C drive contains five folders: ORIGINAL, MODIFIED, TARGET, DELTA, and RESULT. The DELTA and RESULT folders are empty. The ORIGINAL, MODIFIED, and TARGET folders contains one or more text files that contain application objects.

Preparing the Text Files

The Microsoft Dynamics NAV cmdlets take text files as input. You must prepare three sets of text files that contain application objects as describes in the list above. You can export application objects to text files from the development environment, or by running the ExportObjects command. The following list describes the main steps of preparing the text files that you must provide as input for the application merge process.

• First, export all application objects from the original version, such as the original Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 database. Do not export system tables. Name the file OldBaseVersion.txt, and then save the file in the ORIGINAL folder that you created earlier. For example, the Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Model.Tools.psd1 module includes a function, Export-NAVApplicationObject, that runs the ExportObjects command. This means that you can run a command such as the following:

Export-NAVApplicationObject –DatabaseServer MyServer –DatabaseName "Demo Database NAV (7-1)" –Path C:\Upgrade\ORIGINAL\OldBaseVersion.txt

• Next, export all relevant application objects from the modified version, such as the customized Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 database. Do not export system tables. Name the file OldCustomVersion.txt, and then save the file in the MODIFIED folder that you created earlier.


• Finally, export all application objects from the new base version, such as the original Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 database. Do not export system tables. Name the file NewBaseVersion.txt, and then save the file in the TARGET folder that you created earlier.

Optionally, you can use the Split-NAVApplicationObjectFile cmdlet to split each text file into separate text files for each application object. This can make it easier to keep track of the process. The end result at this stage is three folders with one or more text files that contain the three sets of application objects that you want to merge.

To compare two sets of application objects

• Open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Development Shell in administrator mode.


• Navigate to the location of your folders by typing a command such as the following:

cd c:\UserData\UpgradeDemo  (in my case)

• To run the cmdlet to compare all application objects in the ORIGINAL folder to the application objects in the MODIFIED folder, type the following command:

Compare-NAVApplicationObject -OriginalPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Original' -ModifiedPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Modified' -DeltaPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Delta'

This generates a number of DELTA files that describe the difference between ORIGINAL and MODIFIED. You can open the DELTA files in text editors such as Notepad. The following example illustrates how a DELTA file identifies the difference between ORIGINAL and MODIFIED.

Let us understand how the changes are reported when we compare the objects.




You can apply those differences to TARGET by using the Update-NAVApplicationObject cmdlet.

To apply DELTA files to application objects

• Open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Development Shell in administrator mode.


• Navigate to the location of your folders by typing a command such as the following:

cd c:\UserData\UpgradeDemo  (in my case)

In this example, the folder structure is the same as described above procedure. You can now run the cmdlet.

• To run the cmdlet to apply the differences that are stored in the DELTA folder to the application objects in the TARGET folder, type the following command:

Update-NAVApplicationObject –DeltaPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Delta' -TargetPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Target' -ResultPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Result'

This merges the difference between ORIGINAL and MODIFIED with the target solution and puts the resulting solution in the RESULT folder.

You can now import the merged objects into a Microsoft Dynamics NAV database.

Merging Versions

Alternatively to above process you can merge the three sets of application objects to create the application for the new database.

You can use the Merge-NAVApplicationObject cmdlet to merge the three sets of application objects.

The following example illustrates the type of command that you can run.

Merge-NAVApplicationObject -OriginalPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Original' -TargetPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Target' -ModifiedPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Modified' -ResultPath 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Result'

Depending on the number of objects that you are merging and the number of differences found, this can take a few seconds, a few minutes, or longer.

The RESULT folder will contain a text file for each application object. The result of the merge is shown when the cmdlet completes, including a description of any application objects with conflicting code.


These conflicts are stored in .CONFLICT files in the RESULT folder. You can import all objects in the RESULT folder into the new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 database, or you can analyze the conflicts before you import the objects.

Handling Conflicts

Depending on the application that you are upgrading, you can choose to analyze the conflicting code before you import the merged objects into the development environment.

The conflicts are shown in the merged text files but are also identified in .CONFLICT files in the RESULT folder. Subfolders then contain copies of the source files from the versions that have conflicting code.


You can analyze the conflicts in any tool, make the relevant changes, and then run the merge operation again. Alternatively, you can import the merged files into the development environment, and resolve the conflicts there.

Importing and Compiling Merged Objects

After you have completed the merge, import the new custom version into the new Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 database, and then compile all objects. You must resolve any compilation errors before you can continue.

The text files with the merged application objects include successfully merged code, and code that is partially merged. You can import the partially merged objects into the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 development environment and resolve the conflicts there.

You can use Import-NAVApplicationObject, that runs the ImportObjects command.

This means that you can run a command such as the following:

Join-NAVApplicationObjectFile -Source 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\Result\*.txt' -Destination 'C:\UserData\Upgrade Demo\FinalMergedObjects\all-merged.txt'

First we will join the many text files into a single file using above command and as a result we get all-merged.txt file which we will import in database using below command.

Import-NAVApplicationObject –DatabaseServer MyServer –DatabaseName "My Upgraded App" –Path C:\Upgrade\all-merged.txt

Now we import objects obtained from previous step into an existing, empty database.

When you compile the objects, an error is thrown for each code conflict, and you can use the tools that are available in the development environment to resolve the conflicts.

You now have a new database with a fully upgraded application.

Exporting All Objects

Now, you must export all objects to an objects.fob file so that you can import them when performing the data upgrade. The export must include customized objects, upgraded reports, and all other Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 objects.

This completes the upgrade of the application code. Next, you must upgrade the data in the database.

However you are free to do object merge and upgrade as you do earlier, here I concentrated using Dynamics Navision 2016 Development Shell. As this is the new way also much faster than what we used to do earlier.

We can use this in identifying the Objects under different categories like Modified, having conflicts and New Objects which can help in estimating also and planning the action in advance.

I will come up with further step and more details in my upcoming posts.

Upgrade in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

Upgrade Considerations Preparing for Upgrade in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

If your solution includes variables where the name is now used by a standard C/AL function or statement such as REGISTERTABLECONNECTION or FOREACH, you must change the variables before you upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016. Alternatively, you can enclose the variable names in quotation marks.

If you are upgrading a solution that depends on functionality that is deprecated or changed in the default version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016, you must verify that the upgrade codeunits migrate data correctly. From 2013-R2 not yet reported any under this category.

When you introduce changes to the database schema in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016, Microsoft Dynamics NAV will check if these changes are destructive or not. If the database check indicates that the change may lead to data deletion, such as if you are dropping a table column so that the contents of that column will be deleted, this is considered a destructive change. You will be prompted to handle the situation using upgrade codeunits. You can check out my earlier post on this topic here. Data Upgrade – in Navision 2015 it still valid for 2016, I will come up with any specific differences in my upcoming post later.

If a company name includes a special character, an error may display during the upgrade. In this context, special characters include the: [ ~ @ # $ % & * ( ) . ! % - + / = ? ]. If you are going to upgrade a database where one or more company name includes a special character, it is recommend that you rename the company before you start the upgrade process. After the upgrade is successfully finished, you can rename the company again.

Versions later than Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 require that all columns in all system tables are in English. As a result, if you try to open a database with non-English system tables in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 or later, an error displays, saying that one or more columns do not exist. Make sure that all objects where compiled in a development environment with the right .ETX and .STX files. You can verify that you are running in the correct environment with English (US) as the base language by opening the ndo$dbproperty table in SQL Server Management Studio. In the Identifiers column, the word Object must be written exactly as shown here.

Converting a Database in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016

Before you start, make sure that you have applied the changes that are described in KB 2804640

Code corrections for some Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 reports to prevent compilation errors with Report Viewer 2012 when upgrading to later versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Your will require to use partner login to access the hotfix. Click here for the Link.

You can choose to convert the old database and not upgrade your application. However, it is recommend that you upgrade the application objects as well so that your solution includes important application fixes and new functionality that is introduced in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.

Upgrading the application will also reduce the amount of merging required to upgrade to the next major version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, bringing you to the latest version of the product faster.

Preparing the Old Database for Conversion

• Make a copy of the old database or create full database backup.

I have copied the database (Navision 2013/R2) and attached to the SQL for this operation:

• Clear all Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance records from the dbo.Server Instance table in the database on SQL Server.

You can do this by using SQL Server Management Studio to open and clear the table.

• Open the development environment that matches the Microsoft Dynamics NAV version of the old database, and then connect to the old database.


• In Object Designer, make sure that no objects are locked.

If any objects are locked, the conversion process will not update the database version number. As a result, the conversion will not complete.

• On the Tools menu, choose Build Server Application Objects, and then choose the Yes button.

• If any errors occur, they are shown in the Error List window. Make sure that you address all compilation errors before you continue.


• Upload the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Partner license to the database

The license that you upload must be a developer license. During the conversion, the development environment will convert the report objects that are stored in the old database to the RDL 2012 format.

• If you are converting a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 database, then run the Sync-NavTenant cmdlet from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Administration Shell to synchronize the database schema changes.

Converting the Old Database

Next, we will convert the old database so that it can be used in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.

Before you start the following procedure, you can choose to uninstall Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. When you uninstall Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015, the database is still attached to the instance of SQL Server, which you can verify using SQL Server Management Studio.

To convert the database

• Install Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.


• Open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 development environment, and then connect to the database that you prepared in the previous task.


• In the dialog box that appears, read the instructions carefully because this action cannot be reversed. When you are ready, choose the OK button, and then choose the OK button to confirm that you want to convert the database.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV will now convert the database. This includes an upgrade of system tables, and an upgrade of all reports to support Report Viewer 2012.

• When you are notified that the conversion was successful, choose the OK button.

• Connect a Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Server instance to the converted database.

You use the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Administration tool to connect a Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance to the converted database.


In addition, you must add the service account that is used by the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance as a member of the db_owner role in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV database on SQL Server.

It is also possible to script these steps in SQL Server Management Studio:

USE [master]

GO

CREATE LOGIN [domain\accountname] FROM WINDOWS

CREATE USER [domain\accountname] FOR LOGIN [domain\accountname]

GRANT SELECT ON [master].[dbo].[$ndo$srvproperty] TO [domain\accountname]

GO

USE [Microsoft Dynamics NAV Database]

GO

CREATE USER [domain\accountname] FOR LOGIN [domain\accountname]

ALTER ROLE [db_owner] ADD MEMBER [domain\accountname]

GRANT VIEW DATABASE STATE TO [domain\accountname]

You can check more details from my earlier post Provisioning the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Account.

• Run the development environment as an administrator, and then set the development environment to use the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that connects to the database.

• Run the schema synchronization to complete the database conversion.

You can run the schema synchronization from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Administration Shell.


From the development environment:

Open development environment as an administrator. On the Tools menu, choose Sync. Schema For All Tables, and then choose With Validation and follow the schema synchronization instructions.




From the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Administration Shell:

Open the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Administration Shell as an administrator, and then run Sync-NavTenant cmdlet as follows:

Sync-NavTenant –ServerInstance <ServerInstanceName>

Replace <ServerInstanceName> with the name of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that is connected to the database

• If the database references any assemblies (such as client control add-ins) that are not included on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 installation media (DVD), then add the assemblies to the Add-ins folder on Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client computers.

For the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, the default path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Dynamics NAV\90\RoleTailored Client\Add-ins folder.

For Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server, the default path is the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Dynamics NAV\90\Service\Add-ins folder

In the development environment, on the Tools menu, choose Build Server Application Objects, and then, in the dialog box, choose the Yes button.

• Fix compilation errors.

You can find all objects which did not compile in the Object Designer window, by setting a field filter on the Compiled field.

• Upload the customer license to the converted database.

You have now completed the conversion of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 database to be accessed from Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016. To test the converted database, you can connect it to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 Server instance that by Microsoft Dynamics NAV clients, and then open a client.

You may encounter some login issues to resolve it here are the few tips:

Delete the user login details as we do in earlier versions when RTC was introduced to access any database using SQL Query as below :

USE [Demo Database NAV (7-1)]  (use your database name)
GO

delete from [dbo].[User]

delete from [dbo].[Access Control]

delete from [dbo].[User Property]

delete from [dbo].[Page Data Personalization]

delete from [dbo].[User Default Style Sheet]

delete from [dbo].[User Metadata]

delete from [dbo].[User Personalization]

After this if you get error stating you don't have permission to codeunit ApplicationManagement give permission in SQL to the Login running the service as below:





Next, upgrade the application code to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.

I will come up with more details in my upcoming posts.