The upcoming version of Dynamics NAV 2015 will make available a series of new features that mainly focus on enhancing Cue functionality. Since a “technical upgrade” isn’t necessary, the end users can easily install the new version, without facing any of the risks typically associated with system upgrades. Thanks to the new features, users will be able to perform a higher number of tasks via the same interface they’re already accustomed to.
Dynamics NAV 2015: Turning Cues into Business Intelligence Tools
Especially developed for Dynamics NAV, the Cues are about to become valuable Business Intelligence tools. Besides displaying important business data, such as performance indicators relating to role centers, the Cues will help organizations boost operational efficiency.
The new features included in Dynamics NAV 2015 allow users to customize Cues’ appearance and functionality according to their needs. The features not only include new colored indicators, additional icons, and integer, decimal, and percentage data types, but also give users the option to expand the amount of data that will be displayed in each Cue and to complement Cues with buttons or toolbars required in daily work.
Similar to previous versions of Dynamics NAV, the new upgrade will allow users to create Cue controls along with relevant Field controls, which can be adjusted to further modify the way Cues appear and operate. For instance, you can choose the icon that will be displayed on each Cue, how Cues will format and record number strings, and what color the indicators will have (e.g. you can set up the system to use blue for “favorable” and red for “unfavorable” indicators). Additionally, by changing AutoFormat/AutoFormatExpr settings, you can customize the format of values in Cues (e.g. you can place currency and/or percentage symbols after a value).
In NAV 2015, users will also be able to use both FlowFields and normal fields, which offer new data aggregation possibilities by complementing the basic operations with new sources of Cue data. Instead of only using the “count” feature to find out “max,” “min,” and “avg” values, for example, you’ll also be able to use query objects.
Making the Most of It
To take full advantage of the features included in Dynamics NAV 2015, it’s important to follow the best practices explained below.
- The name of a table specified in the SourceTable property must end with the word “Cue”. The reason for this is that the Cue Setup page only shows the tables that include this word. As an example, “Mini Activities Cue” (1313) is a perfect equivalent for the “Mini Activities” page (1310).
- Field controls must always be bound to the table field. That’s because future customizations will be stored in relation to that field. For instance, on the “Mini Activities” page, the “Ongoing Sales Invoices” Cue control must be set to “Ongoing Sales Invoices” in the “Mini Activities Cue” table.
- End users can customize indicators by accessing Cue Setup Administration (table 9701), especially designed to allow system administrators to set up defaults for indicators, or Cue Setup End User (table 9702), developed to enable end users to launch new pages from Cue controls.
- To perform a “technical upgrade” to the latest version of NAV, users must mount their current applications to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Server. Additionally, it’s essential to know that without adding the GetCueStyle function to the code unit 1 and assigning it ID 16, end users won’t be able to customize Cues.
- To give end users the permission to read, insert, modify, and delete data, the table Cue Setup Administration (9701) must be added to “Foundation,” under “Permissions.”
Dynamics NAV 2015 delivers a series of practical improvements, while offering end users a truly complex out-of-the-box ERP solution that is partially customized by default so that it can be used immediately after the installation. In business environments where customization has become the norm, the system can be easily setup to meet any needs and demands.