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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Connector

The official Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central connector synchronizes items and mapped properties between PDMPublisher for SOLIDWORKS and Business Central. Version 1.0.0.0 supports Business Central Online in the commercial Microsoft cloud through the standard API v2.0.

The connector uses PDMPublisher's reviewed Push and Pull workflows. Push can create items and update mapped item fields. Pull previews proposed SOLIDWORKS property changes before the user applies them.

Important

BOM synchronization is not available in this version. The standard Business Central API v2.0 and the inspected published OData services do not expose an API for assembly or production BOM definitions. The available assembly-order APIs represent transactional documents, not item BOM master data. BOM support requires a Business Central AL API extension and additional connector support. The connector does not advertise BomSync, and it rejects an explicit BOM request before making any writes.

Supported environment

  • Business Central Online in the commercial Microsoft cloud.
  • Standard Business Central API v2.0.
  • Microsoft Entra service-to-service authentication using client credentials.
  • One explicitly selected company by exact name or API GUID. A blank company is accepted only when exactly one company is accessible.
  • Item creation, mapped-property updates, reviewed Push, and reviewed property Pull.

On-premises installations, sovereign clouds, basic authentication, and interactive delegated sign-in are not supported.

Configure Microsoft Entra and Business Central

  1. Register an application in Microsoft Entra ID.
  2. Add the Business Central API.ReadWrite.All application permission and grant administrator consent.
  3. In Business Central, open Microsoft Entra Applications and add the application's client ID.
  4. Enable the application and assign only the company and item read/write permissions required by the integration. Do not assign SUPER.
  5. Create a client secret and securely copy its Value. PDMPublisher needs the secret value, not the secret ID.
  6. Note the tenant ID, Business Central environment name, and exact company name or company API GUID.

The tenant and environment are visible in a Business Central URL formatted like https://businesscentral.dynamics.com/{tenant}/{environment}.

Install the connector

  1. Open PDMPublisher > Settings > ERP Sync.
  2. Open ERP connector settings.
  3. Select Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central under Official Blue Byte Systems Inc.
  4. Select Download when the connector is not installed or a newer version is available.
  5. Select the installed connector to display its settings.
  6. Complete the settings below, select Test connection, and then select Save.

If you received a signed connector package directly, use Add new... to select PDMPublisher.ERPConnectors.BusinessCentral.dll. Keep its .connector.json file beside the DLL so the connector icon can be loaded. Restart SOLIDWORKS before replacing a connector that is already loaded.

Connection and item settings

Setting What to enter
Tenant ID Microsoft Entra tenant GUID from the Business Central URL.
Environment Business Central Online environment name, such as Production or Sandbox.
Client ID Application/client ID of the enabled Microsoft Entra application.
Client secret Secret value, not the secret ID. The saved value is encrypted for the current Windows user.
Company Exact Business Central company name or its API GUID. Required when more than one company is accessible.
Timeout (seconds) Per-request timeout. The default is 60.
Item code column ERP Sync column or SOLIDWORKS property matched to the Business Central item number. The default is PartNumber.
Skip empty values Skips empty values in both directions. Disable it only when an empty optional text field should clear the destination.
Property mappings Maps SOLIDWORKS properties or ERP Sync columns to supported Business Central item fields. The default is Description → displayName.

Test connection obtains an application token and verifies company and item read access. It is read-only and does not prove that the application has write permission; perform initial Push testing in a sandbox company.

Item numbers and property mappings

Item numbers are trimmed, converted to uppercase according to Business Central Code-field behavior, and limited to 20 characters. Existing item numbers are never renamed and the connector does not request automatic number assignment. From connector 1.0.2.0, repeated source numbers combine compatible mapped values. With Skip empty values enabled, blank values do not conflict with populated values. Different values for the same mapped field stop the preview with the field and conflicting values identified.

The connector can map these writable fields when they are present in the live item metadata:

  • displayName and displayName2
  • type
  • itemCategoryCode
  • blocked
  • gtin
  • unitPrice and unitCost
  • priceIncludesTax
  • taxGroupCode
  • baseUnitOfMeasureCode
  • generalProductPostingGroupCode
  • inventoryPostingGroupCode

Decimals use invariant notation such as 1.25. Boolean values accept true/false, yes/no, or 1/0. The type field accepts Inventory, Service, or Non-Inventory. Related category, unit, tax, and posting-group codes must already exist in the selected company.

New items default to Inventory unless type is mapped. When no description is supplied, the source row name becomes the new item description. Business Central business rules can still reject a value during commit.

Push items and properties

  1. Open PDMPublisher > ERP Sync and prepare the rows to synchronize.
  2. Select Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
  3. Open the arrow beside Push and select Properties or Create items + properties.
  4. Do not select BOM; this connector does not support it.
  5. Review current and proposed values in the Push preview.
  6. Commit the reviewed plan only after confirming the company, item numbers, and changes.

The connector revalidates every recorded Business Central read before the first write. Updates use the reviewed ETag with If-Match; a stale plan stops before writing. Preview plans are frozen, tied to the connected connector instance, and single-use. Writes are never retried automatically.

Pull mapped properties

Select the required rows and choose Pull. PDMPublisher reads matching Business Central items, reverses the configured property mappings, and displays the proposed local changes in Review ERP pull. Select Apply to SOLIDWORKS only after reviewing every proposed or skipped value.

Pull cannot overwrite the item-matching property, built-in columns, or calculated columns. Missing fields and missing items are skipped. When Skip empty values is enabled, empty Business Central values do not clear SOLIDWORKS properties. Save modified SOLIDWORKS documents after applying the changes.

Current limitations

  • No assembly or production BOM synchronization without a future AL API extension and connector implementation.
  • No attachment or thumbnail upload.
  • No automatic item-number generation or item deletion.
  • No inventory adjustments, dimensions, variants, or arbitrary custom fields.
  • A multi-item commit is not one Business Central transaction. If a later request fails, earlier confirmed changes can remain. Inspect the result and preview again; do not blindly retry an uncertain commit.
  • Live connection testing verifies reads only. Validate real writes and the SOLIDWORKS workflow in a sandbox before production use.

For the overall workflow, see ERP Sync.

Microsoft references

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