In Microsoft
Dynamics 365 Business Central, the OnAfterSubstituteReport event is commonly
used to substitute one report for another at runtime. While this event handler
is powerful, it can become cumbersome when you frequently update report
substitutions. For each report change, you must modify the code, which can be
time-consuming, and you must wait to move the changes to the production
environment.
It can grow
big like the example below:
[EventSubscriber(ObjectType::Codeunit, Codeunit::ReportManagement, 'OnAfterSubstituteReport',
'', false, false)]
local procedure OnAfterSubstituteReport(ReportId: Integer; RunMode: Option;
RequestPageXml: Text; RecordRef: RecordRef; var NewReportId: Integer);
begin
case ReportId of
1305:
NewReportId := 10075;
299:
NewReportId := 50107;
393:
NewReportId := 50108;
120:
NewReportId := 50140;
10040:
NewReportId := 50140;
108:
NewReportId := 50154;
10048:
NewReportId := 50141;
5802:
NewReportId := 50147;
10049:
NewReportId := 50142;
end;
end;
An
alternative approach to managing report substitutions dynamically involves
creating a custom table that stores the mappings between old report IDs and new
report IDs. By leveraging this table in conjunction with the OnAfterSubstituteReport
event, you can simplify the process of updating report substitutions without
modifying the underlying code each time.
Step 1:
Create a Custom Table and Page for Report Mappings
First,
create a custom table to store the mappings between old and new report IDs.
This table should have at least two fields: one for the old report ID and
another for the new report ID. Here’s an example:
table 88100 "MPA
Dynamic Rep. Subs. Mapping"
{
Caption = 'Dynamic Report Substitution Mapping';
DataClassification = CustomerContent;
fields
{
field(1; ReportId; Integer)
{
DataClassification = CustomerContent;
TableRelation = AllObjWithCaption."Object
ID" WHERE("Object Type" = CONST(Report));
trigger OnValidate()
begin
Calcfields("Report
Caption");
end;
}
field(2; NewReportId; Integer)
{
DataClassification = CustomerContent;
TableRelation = AllObjWithCaption."Object
ID" WHERE("Object Type" = CONST(Report));
trigger OnValidate()
begin
Calcfields("New Report
Caption");
end;
}
field(4; "Report Caption"; Text[250])
{
CalcFormula = lookup("Report
Metadata".Caption where(ID = field(ReportId)));
Caption = 'Report Name';
Editable = false;
FieldClass = Flowfield;
}
field(5; "New Report Caption"; Text[250])
{
CalcFormula = lookup("Report
Metadata".Caption where(ID = field(NewReportId)));
Caption = 'New Report Name';
Editable = false;
FieldClass = Flowfield;
}
}
keys
{
key(Key1; ReportId)
{
Clustered = true;
}
}
}
This page
will allow you to maintain a list of report substitutions that can be easily
updated through the UI, without needing to touch any code.
page 88100 "MPA
Dynamic Rep. Subs. Mapping"
{
Caption = 'Dynamic Report Substitution Mappings';
PageType = List;
UsageCategory = Lists;
ApplicationArea = All;
SourceTable = "MPA Dynamic Rep. Subs. Mapping";
layout
{
area(Content)
{
repeater(Group)
{
field(ReportId; Rec.ReportId)
{
ApplicationArea =
All;
}
field("Report
Caption"; Rec."Report Caption")
{
ApplicationArea =
All;
}
field(NewReportId; Rec.NewReportId)
{
ApplicationArea =
All;
}
field("New Report
Caption"; Rec."New Report Caption")
{
ApplicationArea =
All;
}
}
}
}
}
Step 2:
Populate the Table with Mappings
Once the
table is created, you can populate it with your report mappings. For example,
if you want to replace Report 100 with Report 200, simply add an entry with Old
Report ID = 100 and New Report ID = 200.
Step 3:
Modify the OnAfterSubstituteReport Event
Now, modify
the OnAfterSubstituteReport event to reference the custom table you created.
This will enable the event to dynamically substitute reports based on the
mappings stored in the table:
codeunit 88100
"MPA Report Management Subs"
{
[EventSubscriber(ObjectType::Codeunit, Codeunit::ReportManagement, 'OnAfterSubstituteReport',
'', false, false)]
local procedure OnAfterSubstituteReport(ReportId: Integer; RunMode: Option;
RequestPageXml: Text; RecordRef: RecordRef; var NewReportId: Integer);
var
SubstituteReports: Record "MPA Dynamic Rep. Subs.
Mapping";
begin
if SubstituteReports.Get(ReportId) then
NewReportId := SubstituteReports.NewReportId;
end;
}
This code
checks the custom table for a matching Old Report ID and, if found, assigns the
corresponding New Report ID to the NewReportID parameter. This substitution
happens without the need to hard-code any report IDs, making your solution much
more flexible and easier to maintain.
Step 4:
Manage Substitutions Dynamically
With this
setup, managing report substitutions becomes straightforward. Whenever you need
to substitute a report, simply update the mapping in the custom table—no code
changes are required. This approach allows for quick adjustments in a
production environment without the need for a new deployment.
Conclusion
Using a
custom table to manage report substitutions in Business Central is a powerful
alternative to hard-coding substitutions in the OnAfterSubstituteReport event.
By separating the logic from the code and storing it in a table, you gain
flexibility, reduce maintenance overhead, and simplify the process of updating
report mappings.
You can find
the code here
pmohanakrishna/DynamicReportSubstitutions
(github.com)
