Data Management Tool

The Data Management Tool lets you work with Business Central data at a scale that standard Business Central pages don’t support. The most common reason to use it is to manually trigger synchronization for a group of records. Tinx Connector detects changes through the change log and automatically queues them for sync. However, some situations bypass this mechanism. For example, changes made with Edit in Excel don’t activate the change log. Similarly, if you publish records to the webshop and then add new fields to the mapping, the new fields are not automatically synchronized for these records. In these cases, you use the Data Management Tool to filter the affected records and send them to Record Queue in bulk.

The tool also includes data transformation actions that let you update field values, reset fields, or delete records across an entire table. These actions can affect large volumes of data in Business Central and are irreversible. Use them only if you are confident in the outcome.

Synchronizing filtered records in bulk

The most common scenario for end users to use the Data Management Tool is to filter specific records and send them to the record queue. This is useful when you want to trigger synchronization for specific records in bulk. The following list describes some examples of when you might want to use this procedure.

  • You made changes in Business Central, such as updating a price list, but the records were not sent to the webshop correctly. Use the Data Management Tool to re-trigger synchronization for all records.

  • You made changes with Edit in Excel functionality. Tinx Connector uses the change log to detect changes and trigger sync to the webshop. However, the change log does not activate synchronization when you use the Edit in Excel feature to add new records or make changes. Changes made with Edit in Excel are recorded in Business Central. However, they require a manual trigger to be published to your webshop.

  • You published some records (such as customer cards) to the webshop. Later on, you added extra fields to those records, and you updated the mapping. This way, when a new record is added or updated, the additional fields are sent automatically. However, all records published before these changes in Business Central don’t have the new fields synchronized. Use the Data Management Tool to update all previously published records in bulk.

To filter records and send them to the webshop

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Data Mgt. Tool, and then choose the related link.

    If you don’t find Data Mgt. Tool, change your role in Business Central to TINX E-Com Admin. Then on the Role Center page, select Setup, and then choose Data Mgt. Tool.

  2. On the Data Mgt. Tool page, in the Table No. field, select the table you want to work with.

    Tinx Connector updates the No. of Records found field to display the number of records found in the selected table. It presents all fields from that table on the Field Filters FastTab.

  3. Use the Search Field to find specific fields in the table. For example, to filter only records already published to the webshop, type publish in Search Field. This finds the Publish to Webshop field on the customer card.

  4. Set up filters in the Field Filter field to narrow down the number of records that are processed.

  5. To determine the number of records that meet filter criteria, on the action bar, in the Information group, choose the Count No. of Records action. This updates the value in the No. of Records found field.

    The following screenshot shows the result of filtering customers published to webshop (the Publish to Webshop field is set to true). In this example, two customers match these criteria.

    Filtered records count

    The Count No. of Records action is optional. Tinx Connector processes the records based to the filters you apply, even if you don’t choose this action.

  6. To review the records matching the applied filter, on the action bar, in the Information group, choose the Show Filtered Records action.

  7. To send the filtered records to the record queue, on the action bar, in the Functions group, choose Send Records to Record Queue.

  8. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Record Queue, and then choose the related link.

  9. On the Record Queue page, on the action bar, in the Home group, choose the Process all Records or Process Filtered Records action. This sends the records to the webshop. For more information, see Processing entries in the record queue.

Reviewing the records in the selected table

With the actions available on the Data Management Tool page, you can review the records in the selected table. See the Show Filtered Records and Run table actions in the Information group on the action bar. For more information about the particular actions, see Actions.

Data transformation: Advanced data operations

The delete, reset, and update actions described in the following sections can permanently alter or remove data in Business Central and your webshop. Standard Business Central does not allow you to delete records or clear field values at the scale possible with the Data Management Tool. If used incorrectly, it can cause data loss that is difficult or impossible to reverse. Use these actions only if you fully understand the consequences. They are designed for advanced users.

To update field values in bulk

You can apply filters and update the field values for a specific range of items. The following procedure shows how to change the Unit Price for a specific range of items in bulk.

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Data Mgt. Tool, and then choose the related link.

  2. On the Data Mgt. Tool page, on the General FastTab, select the table in the Table No. field.

  3. Set up filters in the Field Filter field to narrow down the number of records that are processed.

  4. On the Field Filters FastTab, find the field you want to update, and enter the new value in the Update Field Value field.

  5. On the action bar, in the Data Transformation group, choose the Update Field Value action.

    Choosing the Update Field Value action is irreversible and updates the field values immediately, without any additional confirmation message. The message that appears after the action notifies you that the update is complete.

    The following screenshot shows an example. You set the Unit Price to 500 for the 5 items whose Item No. field starts with FRN-CH.

    update-field-value

Don’t use the Update Field Value action to bypass an error or validation that blocks you in the Business Central user interface. These errors appear for a reason. Forcing a change through the Data Management Tool can lead to inconsistencies in related tables that reference the same data.

To reset field values in bulk

You can use the Data Management Tool to reset filtered records or reset specific field values.

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Data Mgt. Tool, and then choose the related link.

  2. On the Data Mgt. Tool page, on the General FastTab, select the table in the Table No. field.

  3. On the Field Filters FastTab, find the field you want to reset, and select the Reset Field Value checkbox for that field.

    The Reset Field Values action resets the specified field for all records in the table, regardless of any other filters applied. With the Update Field Value and the Delete Filtered Records actions, you can apply filters to affect only specific records in the table. The Reset Field Values action ignores any filters that you apply.

  4. On the action bar, in the Data Transformation group, choose the Reset Field Values action.

    If you apply this process to a Boolean field (true/false), the reset function sets the value to false for all records.

    The following screenshot shows an example. You clear the Failed to Import field for all orders on the Webshop Orders page (the TINX Sales Order table 11205270).

    reset-failed-to-import-webshop-orders

    You can reset only one field at a time. If you want to reset multiple fields, repeat the process for each field.

To delete records in bulk

  1. Select Search (Alt+Q) in the upper-right corner, enter Data Mgt. Tool, and then choose the related link.
  2. On the Data Mgt. Tool page, on the General FastTab, select the table in the Table No. field.
  3. Set up filters in the Field Filter field to narrow down the number of records that are processed.
  4. On the action bar, in the Data Transformation group, choose the Delete Filtered Records action, and then choose Yes to confirm the deletion.

The Data Management Tool page

Fields

The following table describes the most important fields on the Data Mgt. Tool page.

Field Description
Table No. Specifies the table in your Business Central that you want to work with.
Table Name Displays the name of the table you selected in the Table No. field.
No. of Records Found Displays the total number of records in the selected table. The value updates automatically when you select a table, or you apply filters and select the Count No. of Records action.
Search Field Filters the list of fields in the Field Filters FastTab. Enter a keyword to find a specific field by name.
Field Filter Specifies a filter value for the field. Only records matching this value are included when you run the following actions: Send Records to Record Queue, Count No. of Records, Update Field Value. The Field Filter is not applied when you run the Reset Field Values action.
Reset Field Value Select this checkbox to mark the field for reset. When you choose the Reset Field Values action, the value is cleared for all records in the table, regardless of any other filters applied.
Update Field Value Specifies the new value to assign to the field when you choose the Update Field Value action.

Actions

The following table describes the actions on the Data Mgt. Tool page.

Menu Action Description
Functions Send Records to Record Queue Sends all records matching the applied filters to the record queue.
Information Count No. of Records Updates the No. of Records Found field based on the filters applied in the Field Filters FastTab.
Show Filtered Records Opens a new page with the records that match the filters applied in the Field Filters FastTab.
Run table Opens all records in the selected table so you can review them with their details.
Data Transformation Delete Filtered Records Deletes all records matching the applied filters from Business Central.
Reset Field Values Clears the value of the field marked with the Reset Field Value checkbox for all records in the table, regardless of any other filters applied.
Update Field Value Writes the value you entered in the Update Field Value field to all records matching the applied filters.

Related information

Synchronize attributes
Synchronisation dashboards
Synchronize products
Inventory calculation
Key concepts in Tinx Connector
Troubleshooting checklist