Does some of you already try to extend the length of the Item ID. What can be the impact and what is the danger. Today I already receive both advice: - never do this, it will render system unstable. Why ??? - Yes do, but don’t forget any form, table or … I would like opinion of someone who already do this length extention
I did it in an early version. It is easy to physically change the length of the Item No. field. But you must change a great many other fields to match. It is very tedious to change the length of all the places that are affected. You must change all working variables to which Item No. is assigned in ALL objects. And in turn, you must adjust any fields to which these fields are assigned. Unless you have a way of automating the identification process (of what to change), it’s a very big job. Navision does not take kindly to assignin a 30 character data element into a 20 character field. Also, if you care about the visible display of the maximum new length of the data, you will need to adjust quite a number of report layouts. This will be very time consuming. You may be able to ignore display instances of Item No. on forms, as the field scolling function compensates adequately in most instances. My advice, don’t do it. Dave Studebaker das@libertyforever.com Liberty Grove Software A Navision Services Partner
A company where 20 characters as Item ID isn’t enough needs the advice to reconsider their item identification method. John
Good point John. Perhaps the current long ID could be entered into a new field, a key added using it, and a few place where it has to be available could be modified to access it. Then a simple, short, easy to use number could be assigned as the actual Item No. Dave Studebaker das@libertyforever.com Liberty Grove Software A Navision Services Partner
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**Jim wrote:**A company where 20 characters as Item ID isn’t enough needs the advice to reconsider their item identification method.
Well…not always is their item identification method fault… as sometimes the item ID it’s the one other different company gives them (if you buy an item to another company wich reference is X25 you’ll probably use the same id on your item for showing it as X25 in all forms/reports and use the real name as description). The best way as David sugested is creating another field for the long item id and then using a serie for the primary item id number. Regards Alfonso Pertierra (Spain)apertierra@teleline.es
Hi Vincent, You can change to any length, But only you must do the changes to all the trails and relations for Item No. field in the entire database. You may need to change in all tables. I agree with John, a company with a item no. more than 20 charachters definitely needs to re look at the structure. One of the suggestion is to use a new running number and then have the longer number in the search description field. Or create a new field in the Item table which can contain a 30 char field. Thanks, Best regards, Prashanth pbg@navilogic.com
It it possible to use item number plus variant for your application instead of making a longer item number?
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Originally posted by Vinche_deney: Does some of you already try to extend the length of the Item ID. What can be the impact and what is the danger. Today I already receive both advice: - never do this, it will render system unstable. Why ??? - Yes do, but don’t forget any form, table or … I would like opinion of someone who already do this length extention
You don’t state whether it is Attain, Financials, XAL or Axapta. If it was Axapta it would be a very very easy 2 minute change to one object that would update all tables, forms and reports. Regards Paul Christie
I’m not an Axapta developer but I find it difficult to envision software smart enough to usefully revise all, even a majority of, the possible form and report situations that might occur when changing a field from 20 characters to say 30 characters in length. Dave Studebaker das@libertyforever.com Liberty Grove Software A Navision Services Partner
Paul must be in sales. You might be able to change the size of the field where the data is stored in a few minutes. Assume in Axapta there is no code that makes any assumptions about the size of the field, which would be the proper way to design it. Rare to find this proper method actually followed! Perhaps the report would only show the first 20 characters or something. If it automatically reformatted the report that would be amazing. The software could decide to reduce the font so everything would fit? Maybe it could automatically decide that another field was less important and remove it from the line.
Paul, No offense intended by either Jim or I (I don’t think I’m out of line speaking for Jim here). We just think that, based on past experience, that automatic updates are limited to handling basic situations. And software developers, like many of the folks posting on Navision.Net, are quite creative in designing screen and report formats that would be challenging for an intelligent human to properly upgrade, let alone a program which can only handle expected situations. Dave Studebaker das@libertyforever.com Liberty Grove Software A Navision Services Partner
Paul, You are partly right for this example, most of the forms will be updated by changing the length of one object (the extended data type of ItedIDBase). The reports however are a different matter, a fair few of the reports would need to be amended manually, I agree some of the reports will be updated auromatically if the width of the itemID on the report is set to auto, however there are probably a few more that need to be amended (Sales Invoice, PO etc). I can see why you wanted to respond the way you did, however maybe you were being a bit to keen to show off Axapta (must be the fact you are a Kiwi ;-)) Edited by - daws on 2001 Nov 09 06:36:21
Moved from “Open Subject” to “Attain Developer” forum.
OK Regards Phil Dawson Edited by - daws on 2001 Dec 02 22:58:33
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Originally posted by Axapta Fan: You don’t state whether it is Attain, Financials, XAL or Axapta. If it was Axapta it would be a very very easy 2 minute change to one object that would update all tables, forms and reports. Regards Paul Christie
Hmmmm! how about declared variables? In Attain we have fixed length variables passed to functions etc: One of the problems with resizing the Item Description is that it is passed back as a variable to some forms. Would Axapta find the variables called ItemNo in the functions and resize them and how? Attain Fan: David Cox email: david@mindsource.co.uk Edited by - David Cox on 2001 Nov 30 18:34:43