ForNAV Report Pack (Universal Code) for OnPrem

Knowledge Base

The ForNAV Customizable Report Pack is available on Microsoft AppSource for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Cloud.

 

Please see further down this article for download link

Please follow this instruction for a new installation of ForNAV. For upgrading an existing ForNAV installation, please contact support@fornav.com first.
 

Until now there has been a clear separation between ForNAV running OnPrem and on Cloud:

  • OnPrem: Uses a DLL to render reports and piggybacks on RDLC layouts
  • Cloud: Uses a service to render reports and piggybacks on Word layouts

 

The problem with this has been that if you wanted to develop for Cloud – but wanted to use OnPrem or Docker instead of a Sandbox – the solution was to develop your ForNAV reports on the OnPrem solution and later reconvert them to Cloud

To make this easier, we are introducing the ForNAV Report Pack (Universal Code) for OnPrem that enables you to develop for Cloud without using a Sandbox, to create, run, and modify ForNAV running on OnPrem or any Business Central Docker installation + build ForNAV report solutions using Azure DevOps.

 

The benefits include:

  • Rendering reports without the need for the ForNAV service, which speeds up rendering, keeps your data internal on your own server, and does not require connection to the internet.
  • No requirement to install a DLL and no dependencies on Business Central .net.
  • Reports are upgraded simply by installing a new report pack, with no reconversion.
  • Requires same license as ForNAV OnPrem.
  • Reports and report layouts can be deployed to Business Central Cloud without reconversion.
  • Supports Azure DevOps.
  • 1:1 binary compatible with the ForNAV Cloud report pack (Customizable Report Pack) – the code is exactly the same.

     

There are a few limitations:

  • Limited AL-api, because there is no .net DLL to code against.
  • Report output size is limited by memory and not diskspace (like ForNAV OnPrem).
  • Converted classic reports (using CurrReport.PageNo and/or using side-effects in section logic to control Showoutput) might not produce the expected output and the AL-code has to be modified. These constructs can easily be reconstructed in JavaScript, which is run in the service, and the report will work as before.
  • ForNAV Server print is currently not supported on Universal Code OnPrem. Meanwhile, we recommend to use ForNAV Direct Print.

 

Download

To download the ForNAV Report Pack (Universal Code) for OnPrem please use this link: Customizable Report Pack Runtime for OnPrem

Please make sure you select the latest version for the Business Central version you need!

 

The zip-file contains four BC extension (.app) files and a PowerShell installation script, which can be modified to meet your needs:

  • The ForNAV Language, ForNAV Core, and the Customizable Report Pack extensions are required and you must install them in the listed order.
  • The ForNAV Service extension is optional and is only needed if you want to run reports. If you just want to build against the ForNAV extensions using a build pipeline, you don’t need it.
  • You can modify the PowerShell installation file to your specific environment.

 

This video takes you through the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FjipsFjwJw