Tips & Tricks Series: Displaying Dimensions When Using the Edit in Excel Function

Welcome to the Western Computer LinkedIn newsletter. This bimonthly series provides tips and tricks for helping you and your internal teams work more efficiently in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. With more than 37 years in business, Western Computer has deployed 1,250+ solutions, including more than 350 in the cloud. In this LinkedIn newsletter series, we share the expertise we have accumulated to empower Dynamics 365 Business Central users and enable them to work as proficiently as possible.

It’s a question we hear often from our customers: Is there a trick to get all the Dimensions to show up when you use the <Edit in Excel> feature in Dynamics 365 Business Central?

?

Take, for example, shortcut Dimensions, which are categories that facilitate analyses. They are not as easily viewable for reporting as is the case with global Dimensions. However, you can add shortcut Dimensions by using the <Design> function after you open the <Edit in Excel> workbook—as shown in the image below for shortcuts #3 through #8:

Pre-Configured Integrations in the Cloud

When using the Edit in Excel function, customers benefit from the pre-configured integrations between Excel and Dynamics 365 Business Central in the cloud. A recent enhancement involves publishing changes in Excel back to Dynamics 365 Business Central. When users select the <Edit in Excel> action from a list page, most filters set on the list page are applied to the list when it is exported to Excel. This enables publishing the changes back to Business Central from a filtered list of records in Excel.

?

Here’s a rundown of how to make changes to records in Excel and then publish the changes back to Dynamics 365 Business Central:

• To get the latest data from Business Central, choose <Refresh> in the Excel add-in pane.
• When Excel opens, note the Excel add-in pane on the right.
• With this action, Excel respects most filters on the page that limit the records shown.
• The Excel workbook will contain almost the same records and columns as Business Central.

?

The connection between Dynamics 365 Business Central and Excel demonstrates the immersive experience users simply can’t get with an on-prem version of Business Central. It takes a lot less time to set up and maintain integrations when you tap into the Microsoft tech stack in the Azure cloud. The net result from these streamlined integrations is that your employees can work more efficiently, and you free up the time of your IT team to focus on strategic IT initiatives.

?

To Learn More

To learn more about how to use the Edit in Excel feature in Dynamics 365 Business Central, check out the full blog on the Western Computer website. We also invite you to subscribe to the Western Computer Dynamics 365 Business Central LinkedIn newsletter. For more information on how to use universal search in Business Central, or for help in designing, deploying or supporting a Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution, contact Western Computer today.

?

About Western Computer

Western Computer is a Microsoft partner that many companies across North America trust to design, deploy, and support Microsoft solutions. We offer deep expertise across the Microsoft technology stack, particularly in Dynamics 365 Business Central. Our thought leaders can help you ensure your critical ERP application meets your business needs for today and beyond. This includes building a roadmap that enables your organization to take advantage of technology that helps you grow and compete in your industry. We provide dedicated teams of senior-level experts to deliver and align project teams with the culture of our customers to meet your requirements for technical and industry expertise.