Environment setup for Business Central

What is Business Central?

Business central (formerly NAV) is an ERP solution of Microsoft used for small and mid-sized businesses that helps to manage processes by automating and streamlining business operations.

How to setup Business Central?

Business central can be setup in two different ways

1. Cloud Hosted
2. On-Premises

In this blog, we are going to share how to set up business central in your local computer (on-premises).

Install and setup Business Central(on-premises):

Download and Install:

• To download the setup, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=104062
• When setup downloaded, unzip the folder and run setup.exe file

• Installation complete

Configuration

• Search ‘Business Central Administration’ in search bar of computer

• Click on BC200 and stop the service

• Click on BC200 and ‘Edit’

• In SOAP Services tab, check ‘Enable SOAP Services’ checkbox

• In NAS Services tab, check ‘Enable Debugging’ checkbox

• In Development tab, check ‘Enable Debugging and Enable Developer Service Endpoint’ checkbox

• Save these edited changes

• Start the services again

Browse this URL http://localhost:8080/BC200/. You have successfully set up business central on your local computer. (Verify the port of this URL in IIS)

Setup development environment for Business Central

Prerequisites:

First step is to install and setup on-premises business central as mentioned above and should have visual studio code and AL extension.

Install and setup VS Code:

• If you do not have visual studio code, download it from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
• Run the setup and install it in computer
• Install all extensions in VS code to program in AL language. Make sure to have all these extensions referred in below screenshot

First Project in AL

Press Ctrl+shift+P and write ‘AL: Go!’ A new project created in a specified folder.

Launch.json and app.json are two primary files responsible for all the configurations of the project. Edit launch.json file referring the below screenshot

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Your own server",
            "request": "launch",
            "type": "al",
            "environmentType": "OnPrem",
            "server": "http://localhost",
            "serverInstance": "BC200",
            "authentication": "Windows",
            "startupObjectId": 22,
            "startupObjectType": "Page",
            "breakOnError": "All",
            "launchBrowser": true,
            "enableLongRunningSqlStatements": true,
            "enableSqlInformationDebugger": true,
            "tenant": "default"
        }
    ]
}

Now, download the symbols to get all the system and extended code of Microsoft. Press Ctrl+Shift+P and write ‘AL: Download symbols’.

When symbols successfully downloaded publish the app using AL: Publish without debugging.

Congratulations!! You have created your first app in Business Central.