Developing for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Client

Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client is a web-based application that lets users interact with Microsoft Dynamics NAV data over the network from a web browser. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client user interface resembles the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client. Use the following guidelines to develop Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client applications.

• Understand the Business Scenario

• Design the Data Model

• Install the Development Tools

• Create Microsoft Dynamics NAV Objects

• Add Pages and Reports to the Microsoft SharePoint Client on SharePoint Sites

• Create Users and Grant Permissions to Objects

• Create Profiles and Assign Users

Understand the Business Scenario

You must understand and define the business problem or scenario that you want your application to solve. It is helpful to know who will be using the application and what they will be trying to accomplish. Compared to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client is designed for occasional users who typically need an overview of their daily work status and perform relatively simple or light data entry. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client does not support all the features that the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client does.

Design the Data Model

After you understand the problem that you want your application to solve, you must design the structure of the database for your application. For more information about how to design the data model, see the following topics:

• Designing Databases (SQL Server)

• Database Basics (SQL Server)

Install the Development Tools

• Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment

  You use development environment to create objects, such as tables, pages and reports, and implement the business logic for your application.

  For more information, see How to: Install C/SIDE Development Environment for Administrative Tasks.

• Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client (optional)

  There are many administration and operational tasks, such as creating profiles, setting users, and publishing web services, which cannot be done by using the development environment. Although you can use the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client for performing these tasks, it is generally easier and more efficient to use the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.

  For more information, see Client Option.

• Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Administration tool (optional)

  The Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Administration tool is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that you can use to manage the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server instance that is used by the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.

  For more information, see Microsoft Dynamics NAV Server Administration Tool.

Create Microsoft Dynamics NAV Objects

The development experience for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client application is like Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client. You use the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Development Environment to create Microsoft Dynamics NAV objects to support the logic for the business scenario. Some of the major tasks include the following:

• Creating table objects in Microsoft Dynamics NAV to implement the design of your database.

• Creating pages for entering and retrieving data.

• Creating reports for viewing and presenting data.

• Writing C/AL code on object triggers to perform runtime operations.

As you develop Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client applications, you should consider the following factors.

• The same objects can be used in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client and the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.

• The Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client supports most of the features that the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client supports, but there are some exceptions and limitations, which you must consider in your design. For more information, see Feature Limitations of the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Client.

For more information about how to develop Microsoft Dynamics NAV objects for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client applications, see Development.

Follow the Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 User Experience Guidelines

The Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 User Experience guidelines can help you develop high quality and consistent applications. The guidelines provide answers to specific user experience issues, such as determining which page type to use or which components to include on a page. You can use the guidelines to design new application or improve existing ones.

For more information, see Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 User Experience Guidelines.

Create Users and Grant Permissions to Objects

Like the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, you restrict access to Microsoft Dynamics NAV data by creating users in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and applying permission sets that grant access to Microsoft Dynamics NAV objects, such as pages and reports. You do not have to create separate user accounts for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client. The same permission sets are applied to the user in both clients.

For more information, see About Users and About Permission Sets.

Create Profiles and Assign Users

Profiles are collections of Microsoft Dynamics NAV users who share the same Role Center. You create a profile and then assign users to the profile. The profile is applied to the user in all clients.

For more information, see Profiles and Role Centers.

See Also

Concepts

Deploying the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Client
Application Design Overview
Accessibility Features of Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows Client