Running and scheduling reports in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 has been enhanced and is now easier.
NAV 2015 now supports full integration with Microsoft Word. This means users can use MS Word to create and manage report layouts in the ERP. Other things made possible with the integration include capability to change font type, size, color, style, etc. in reports as well as schedule document reporting tasks.
Since most people are familiar with MS Word, this integration simplifies the task of creating reports.
Through NAV’s report scheduling option, users can run reports at custom intervals. When a report is run, the report scheduler executes the action in the NAV server and outputs the report in Excel, Word or PDF format.
Here is an overview of how you can use the report scheduler:
- Configure resource intensive reports to be run when the server is not busy
- Run reports on the NAV server instead of the client.
- Save your reports in the format you desire
The options available when printing a report from a client are also available when scheduling a report. You can also indicate when the scheduling should be done. If no option is selected, scheduling will start immediately.
The job queue in NAV 2015 is useful for scheduling lots of tasks that need to be executed automatically and regularly. When you want to schedule a job, the system will warn you if a job queue is not running on the middle tier.
How to Configure the Report Scheduler in NAV 2015
Follow the steps below on MS Dynamics NAV 2015’s main menu:
- Click Departments, choose Administration and from the ensuing menu, select Application Setup
- Next, click on Job Queue and open the Job Category List
- Click New to setup a new Job Queue Category
- Next, navigate to and click Departments, choose Administration and from the ensuing menu, select Application Setup
- Click on Job Queue and open Job Queues
- Click New to setup a new Job Queue
- On the Job Queue Card interface, enter a value for Description and Code
- Next, select the Job Queue Category that you created in the Job Queue Category Filter field
- Finally, select the NAV server that you want the report to be run on
Starting/Stopping Reports Schedules
To start or stop a report schedule, click the Start Job Queue or Stop Job Queue button on the Actions pane respectively. The buttons are available under the Process category on the main menu fold.
The above are the steps to take to schedule reports to run on Microsoft NAV 2015. You can schedule reports to run from the Web, Windows or Tablet Client.
Viewing and Editing Reports
The final reports can be accessed in new Report Inbox section introduced in the Role Center page.
To view the contents of a report that has already been processed, click the Report row and select the report you want to view. You will be prompted to open or save the document. You can hold, review any errors or even delete the report at this point.
If you want to edit a report that is still in a queue, click on it to open the Job Queue Entry Card. On the entry card, you can change the report and schedule it to automatically run at the time you want.
TIP: The best time to schedule reports to run is when the server is idle. This will ensure resources are not overstretched should you have resource intensive reports to run.
With scheduling, you are basically offloading the job of producing a report from whichever client you are using to the middle tier server. Thus, your client will be free for other tasks immediately while the long reports can wait.
Finally, the kicker with the reports feature in NAV 2015 is that the produced reports are stored in the My Reports box. The reports can be stored there indefinitely. You do not have to print or scatter your reports all over in cloud services like SharePoint or Onedrive.
Moreover, there is an option to show only Unread reports. With this feature, you will not have to skim through lots of old reports to find what you are looking for.