Efficient Table Design

Dear Forum,

The company I work at uses the SQL Server option with NAV 4.0 SP3. Our database has 4 companies. Our customized Item table has about 15 fields that are used by only 1 company, and for that company, these same fields are used by only about 30% of the currently approx. 7,000 Items in that company. My assumption is that it is inefficient in ways (not enough records per data page, for example) to keep all these fields in the Item table and that I should probably create another table to join to when these fields need to be called upon in reports, etc. Is there an objective way to analyze the benefits in creating another table for the purpose of storing these additional fields? Thanks.

The “normal” way to do this in NAV is just how you have done it. Adding 15 fields to the Item table is not really a big thing. If you start working with another table instead, then you will have a lot more work involved in getting a nice user interface for your users. And also if you want reports to print out your data.

So if these 15 fields are important, then just go a head with them. But consider a way so that they are only displayed in the company who needs them.

Thanks Erik, that is, in fact, the answer I wanted to hear.

LJ