From the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central blogs: Using the dictionary; 'Save as you type'; Intrastat reporting; Inventory tip

In this week's Dynamics 365 Business Central blog roundup:

• How to use a dictionary in Business Central
• Dynamics 365 Business Central and the 'save as you type' feature: impact on Azure logic app consumption
• Intrastat reporting redesigned in Business Central
• Inventory tips: how to disable 'posting negative inventory' in Business Central

How to use a dictionary in Business Central

Writing on his blog, Alberto Soben noted that dictionaries in Dynamics 365 Business Central are useful tools for developers. In his post, Soben wrote about what dictionaries are and how to use them as well as how to boost performance by replacing temporary tables.

Soben explained that a dictionary is an object type that represents a collection of keys and values and stated that they do not have to be in order. He then offered an introduction to dictionaries and explained how they work with lists. Soben also explained when to use a dictionary and stated that most of the time you can use a dictionary to replace temporary tables. He also offered two use case examples.

Dynamics 365 Business Central and the 'save as you type' feature: impact on Azure logic app consumption

On his blog, Stefano Demiliani discussed the new "save as you type" feature introduced in Business Central 2022 Wave 2. It turns out there is another side effect of that feature that partners and customers need to be aware of.

Demiliani stated that he is a fan of Azure Logic Apps for creating serverless low code integration workflows. Logic Apps have two main models and two types of pricing plans. He noted that Azure Logic Apps are cheaper than acquiring Power Automate Premium licenses for integration tasks.

Imagine [having] an Azure logic app workflow that uses the Dynamics 365 Business Central connector and that starts from the "when a record is changed" trigger.

Demiliani offered an example of such a workflow and explained that the main immediate impact of using "the save as you type" feature is that the cost of your Logic App workflow can increase significantly.

However, he noted that a hotfix that switches the "save as you type" feature off in existing environments and delivers an option to turn it on and off via feature management is available in all regions.

Intrastat reporting redesigned in Business Central

Writing on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog, Aleksandar Totovic and Predrag Maricic explained that Intrastat is the system the European Union (EU) uses to collect statistics on the trade in goods among EU member nations.