There is a helpful reporting feature in Business Central that is often overlooked.
As part of the analyzer function that is built into the data lists, users can easily link to other tables to pull additional fields on the lists. This is very helpful if you are looking for a field and do not see it on the list by default. If you are a previous Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains user, this feature will remind you of the Smartlist Designer tool.
As an example, if you are looking at a list of vendors and you would also like to see their remit to address information, you can easily link to that table and add the fields to the list.
I have a separate address stored for the Fabrikam vendor and I would like to see this information on the vendor list:
I just need to click the analyze button on my vendor list to switch to analysis mode.
This list doesn’t have any address fields on it by default, so I can add the main address information from the vendor card first. I can easily add any fields from the vendor card to this list.
I’ll select all the address related fields.
Now the general address information from the vendor card appears.
I can use the same method to link to another table. In the source table list there are many other tables available to pull data from; I will select the remit address table.
Now the remit to address fields are displaying for the Fabrikam vendor, as seen on the vendor card:
The modified list can be renamed and saved so it is ready for use next time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Adding Related Table Fields in Business Central
How do I add related table fields to a Business Central list? Open any list, click the analyze button to enter analysis mode, then use “Add columns from” to pull fields from the current table or “Other source” to link to a related table entirely like Remit Address, Currency, or Location.
Do I need a custom report to see fields that aren’t on a list by default? No. Analysis mode lets any user add related table fields directly to a list view, without a report writer, a development project, or a support ticket.
Is this the same as the Great Plains Smartlist Designer? It serves the same purpose. If you used Smartlist Designer in Dynamics GP to pull fields from linked tables into a view, Business Central’s analyze mode covers that same use case natively.
Can I save the list once I’ve added related table fields? Yes. Once you’ve built the view you want, rename and save it from the analysis menu so it’s ready to reuse next time, without rebuilding it from scratch.
