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Data clean up with RapidStart : Adding new Records

This is the second of a three-part series to demonstrate how RapidStart can be utilized. You can find part 1 here.

RapidStart.  These words are a mystery for the average NAV user.  Something they’ve heard about but are afraid of.  Is it a myth or fact that this RapidStart can help a company correct data, populate newly setup dimensions and add records?  It is no myth and I hope that by the time you finish this series you will realize that RapidStart can be a very powerful tool to help with data population.

Important Note: I highly recommend that you practice any RapidStart data changes in your Test Database before making changes to your Live/Production Database.

Let’s proceed with our second example. 

Scenario 2:  Populate a new table or Add records to an existing table

You have a list of leads that you would like to add to your contacts and assign them to a specific salesperson.  You would also like the system to add them starting with the next number in your no. series for Contacts.  The Salesperson can enter each lead one at a time or, by utilizing RapidStart, you can set up all the basic information for the salesperson in the Contact Table.  This will save your Salesperson a lot of time and help get him or her started tracking information in NAV on these Contacts.

  • Please note for any of the details on how to add a Package or worksheet, see the first of this three-part series for the detailed steps.
  1. You will want to add a Package, if needed.
  2. Next you will want to Add the Table to the Configuration Worksheet, if needed, and Assign a Package. For Contacts it would be table 5050.Rapid Start Data Clean up Part 2 image 1
  3. Go into No. of Fields Available in the Fact Box- Package Table and select the fields needed, based off the Contact Lead List information you have or you can leave all the fields to populate as much information that you have.
  4. Next Export the Template to Excel. You can add a filter of No <>’’ to get a Blank Template.  If you do not add a filter, after it is exported, you can delete all rows except the Header Rows (Lines 1 through 3).
    1. This will give you the file layout that is required for import into Dynamics NAV.

       

      Rapid Start Data Clean up Part 2 image 2

      We are importing all new records but if it turns out that some of them create duplicates in your Contact Table, remember that NAV has a Duplicate Contacts area in Periodic Activities in the Marketing Module.  This table gets populated based off settings in the Marketing Setup table.

  5. Populate your Excel Table with the New Contact Data. Leave your Contact No.’s blank.  Fill Contact type with Personal or Company depending on the type of Contact you are populating.Rapid Start Data Clean up Part 2 image 3
  6. Import your Template into NAV Worksheet.
  7. Apply the Data.
  8. As you can see by having the blank number, NAV will add Contact numbers automatically for you.Rapid Start Data Clean up Part 2 image 4Tip: If you would like to populate the Contact numbers from your Worksheet instead of allowing NAV to automatically populate - make sure that the Manual flag is selected in your No. Series in Contacts under the column Manual Nos.Rapid Start Data Clean up Part 2 image 5
  9. At this time, the Salesperson can go through and tie the Contact to a Company Contact if this is a Person Contact or if the Company Contact number is known, it could have been added to the Excel Table before it was imported.

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Congratulations!  You have successfully added new Contacts to your Contact Table.

Error Handling:

After Applying the Data if there are any errors they will display on the Package Table Fact Box.

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You can Drill down to see what record an error is occurring on and select Show Error.

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You can fix the errors and Apply Data.  If there are a lot of errors, you can fix them in the worksheet, re-import and apply.

Note:  NAV validates the data to make sure the changes you are making are allowed.  See below – it did not allow me to make a change to the ‘Base Unit of Measure’ because there have been entries posted to this item. 

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                          Error Message:  ‘Config. Package Table does not exist…’

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This error could happen when you import a Table. 

It is telling you that the Package name on the imported table does not match the Package on the worksheet line. This error is easy to fix.  Correct the Spreadsheet and re-import.  If this doesn’t work, I have re-exported to a new name, copy and pasted my data to the new worksheet and then re-import.

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Error Message:  ‘You may not enter numbers manually…’

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This error could happen if when Populating new records, like the example in this RapidStart Series of adding new Contacts, if you are trying to add the Contact number instead of having Dynamics NAV populate the Contact number and your No. Series is set up for Default only. 

If you are wanting to have Dynamics NAV use a number you are defining, go to the No. Series and make sure Manual is checked.  If you were wanting Dyanmics NAV to number the Record, you will want to remove the number from your worksheet in that field and re-import. 

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Now it will allow you to apply the record(s) in RapidStart.  

I hope that this article has eliminated the mystery behind RapidStart.   Through these exercises and examples, I hope that you have found some great uses for RapidStart that will help you.

View the webinar below to find out more on Data clean up with RapidStart : Adding new Records.

View Webinar

Check out our blog page here for more information and other topics of interest, or drop us a line at info@innovia.com.. 

Marlene Mankin

Marlene Mankin

Marlene is an Application Consultant at Innovia Consulting, where she helps companies improve their Microsoft Dynamics NAV/Business Central ERP Systems. Whether it is implementing, upgrading, or training, she works hard to create the best experience for the customer.

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