Differences and Limitations When Developing Pages for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App

Developing for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Tablet client and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Phone client is not much different from developing for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client. There are, however, some natural limitations on tablets and phones, such as not having a physical keyboard and mouse, as well as a smaller screen. In addition to this, there are some differences and limitations in developing pages for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Tablet client and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Phone client. The differences and limitations listed are additional to the differences and limitations that exist on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.

Differences and Limitations Overview

The following table describes some of the most common differences and limitations that you might experience when developing for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Tablet client and Microsoft Dynamics NAV Phone client.

Concept	On Tablet	On Phone	Example	Recommendation
Activity buttons	Only the Home activity button is shown.	Only the Home activity button is shown.	Home, Departments, and Posted Documents on the Sales Order Processor Role Center.	Design pages to expose the workflows needed by the user. For example, configure the profile to show the important list pages under the Home activity button. Alternatively, consider designing a new Role Center if the activities for the activity button greatly vary from activities in other activity buttons.
Selecting multiple records in lists	Not available.	Not available.	Ctrl+A or Ctrl+Click on rows in a list using Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client.	Avoid scenarios requiring selecting multiple rows on a list. Also, try to minimize actions on lists.
Ribbon actions	Only Promoted actions are shown.	Only Promoted actions are shown.	On the Small Business Role Center.	Use the development environment to promote actions. Alternatively, configure the profile and add actions to the Home ribbon tab.
FactBoxes	Not shown on List pages or Worksheet pages.	Not shown on List pages or Worksheet pages.	Customer list on the Small Business Role Center.	Make sure the same information is visible on the corresponding card page of the given record.
Advanced filters	No column-specific filtering is available.	No column-specific filtering is available.	On the Customer list page.	Send data to Excel and do the complex filtering there.
Page search	Not available.	Not available.	On Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.	Design pages to expose the workflows needed by the user. For example via list places, tiles or actions.
Cue and action tiles	The number of tiles that are shown is based on the size of the screen, no possibility to scroll.	The number of tiles on the phone is in theory unlimited because you can scroll.	On most Role Center pages.	Design Role Center pages to avoid having important tiles at the area end. Assume you have no control over how many tiles are displayed and consider that only the first few tiles will be made visible on the tablet.
Fields in fast tabs	Fields in fast tabs on list pages are not shown. Only the repeater control is shown in the content area of the page.	Not available.		Design List pages to avoid having important columns on the far right of the column list. Assume you have no control over how many columns are displayed and consider that only the first few columns will be made visible.
Links and Notes	Not available.	Not available.	On Sales Orders.	Similar to Factboxes, make sure the same information in the field group is visible on the corresponding card page of the given record.
Select from full list	Not available on lookups. Users are not able to run actions on a lookup page, and they cannot access the full set of records.	Not available on lookups. Users are not able to run actions on a lookup page, and they cannot access the full set of records.	On the Item Card when selecting the Base Units of Measure.	Make sure the appropriate columns are visible on the lookup. The user is still able to filter, scroll, and search through the lookup.
Search across list columns	Partly supported. Search will not include FlowFields.	Partly supported. Search will not include FlowFields.	On the Customer list page.
Report Viewer and CurrReport.PREVIEW	There is no Preview functionality available on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Tablet client. CurrReport.PREVIEW cannot be reliably used to identify whether a report was run as a draft or as a final printed document.	There is no Preview functionality available on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Phone client. CurrReport.PREVIEW cannot be reliably used to identify whether a report was run as a draft or as a final printed document.	See example in report 280.
Lookups	Available.	Available, with the difference that advanced and simple lookups behave similarly on the phone. The lookup will not bring up the card, show factboxes, or any field groups.	See examples on the Customer Card page.
Matrix controls	Not available.	Not available.	See example in G/L Budget.
File download	Available. Cannot download multiple files at the same time.	Available. Cannot download multiple files at the same time.	Trial Balance report in the Print to Excel check box.
Worksheet pages	Available.	Not available; an error message is displayed.	Sales Price Worksheet or Cash Flow Worksheet.	Run this type of page from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client, Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Tablet client.
Lists	Available.	Available, with the difference that these are displayed in a brick layout with a number of differences and limitations. For an overview, see How to: Display Data as Bricks on Phone.	Customers or Sales Orders pages.
Indentation in repeater controls	Available.	Not available. The repeater control will be rendered as a regular flat brick layout.	Chart of Accounts and Contacts List pages.
Scope of actions	Available.	Available, but there are some behavioral differences regarding the Scope Property. Also, see Defining Action Scope for Microsoft Dynamics NAV Pages.
Use of camera and location	Available in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App on devices with a camera and GPS capabilities. Note Not available on Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.	Available in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App on devices with a camera and GPS capabilities. Note Not available on Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client or Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web client.	On the Accounting Manager profile, under Incoming Documents.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Display Data as Bricks on Phone
How to: Implement the Camera in C/AL
How to: Implement Location in C/AL

Concepts

Developing for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App
Developing for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Client
Role Center Behaviors