Although not important to your setup, it is worth knowing and understanding how the field mappings work both for Inbound and Outbound Purposes.
Data Exchange Definitions – Inbound
Mentioned earlier during setup Data Exchange Definitions are setup against the Inbound Document Types.
The Data Exchange definitions are used as a way of translating the file that comes into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central from your trading partners.
You can use the Search to get to the page or navigate from the Inbound Documents Types page.
Once on the screen click on one of the documents types to see how the fields are mapped and the documents translated.
Each Data Exchange definition has its own unique setup. The General FastTab, holds information relating to the actual Data Exchange, so its unique Code, the Name that best describes the data exchange and the File Type, this is the type of file we read through the data exchange once it has been converted by the EDI system.
Below the General FastTab we then have the Line Definitions. The line definitions are split into two sections the Lines of the file (these are your order lines) and the Header of the file (this is general information about the order like shipping details and external document numbers). The field Data Line Tag, indicates where in the file the Header section is and where the Lines are.
To view how the fields are mapped you click on the Manage button and click the action Field Mappings.
Based on whichever line you selected you will be presented with the field mappings.
The field mappings determine which fields from the file will be mapped to which Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business central field. The Column No. are the fields from the file, the Field ID are where those bits of information will be mapped into on the Inbound Document.
The final section is the Column Definitions these determine where in the file each column will be found, the Path field holds this information. The structure is generated using the Get File Structure function and is not changed unless the Document type needs to change.
NB: Any changes to this section need to be done by Technology Management.
Outbound Document Maps
The Outbound Documents Maps were mentioned against the setup of the Outbound document types.
Outbound document maps are used to transform the documents from within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central into Outbound Documents. These documents are then converted into XML document which are then sent out to your trading partners.
To get to the Outbound Document Maps, you can either use the Search to get to the page or navigate through the Outbound Document Types page.
Like Data Exchange definitions you will be presented with a list of all the Outbound field mappings that are available. By clicking into any one of thee it will open an Outbound Document Map Card for the record selected.
The General FastTab has a small amount of information simply stating the Code of the Outbound Document Map and the Description that better describes the code.
The next section below the General FastTab is the Tables section.
For each table relating to the Outbound Document Map we can see the Source Table. This is where the data will come from and the Destination Table, where that data will be mapped to. If the Relationship exists is set to Yes you can see how one table is related to another table specifically which fields.
To view the field mappings and how the fields from eth source table will be mapped to the destination table (Outbound Document), click on Manage option and select the Field Mappings function.
