Using the client to create profiles and page customizations

APPLIES TO: Business Central 2019 release wave 2 and later

You can create profiles, profile extensions, and page customizations in the client instead of writing AL code. Use the Business Central web client to customize pages and export or import profile packages. Working directly with the user interface is useful for consultants, application administrators, and users who don't develop AL extensions.

Create and reuse profiles

For instructions on creating profiles and customizing their pages, see:

• Create profiles
• Customize pages for profiles

Profiles and page customizations that you create in the client apply in the current environment. You can export them and import them into another environment, including an environment in another tenant. Profiles delivered in an extension are available where that extension is installed.

Profiles that you create in the client are marked as (User-created) in the Source field. Export and import let you:

• Back up profiles, profile extensions, and page customizations locally.
• Make further changes to profiles, profile extensions, and page customizations away from the production environment.
• Replicate profiles, profile extensions, and page customizations on other environments and tenants.
• Preview changes in sandbox environments before going into production.
• Move your profiles, profile extensions, and page customizations into AL extensions.

Exporting profiles

When you export profiles, the system exports user-created profiles and customizations in the current environment. This process includes changes that users made to profiles from extensions. It doesn't export the profile definitions and page customizations that extensions deliver.

Open the Profiles (Roles) page and select Export Profiles. The client downloads a ZIP file called a profile package.

Import the package as-is into another environment, or extract the files to make further changes. After editing, compress the files into a profile package again for import. You can also use the AL files in an extension.

Importing profiles

Import profiles to add or replace profiles and page customizations in an environment.

1. Get the profile package that contains the new or modified profiles.
2. Before you import a package, we recommend that you export the current profiles so you have a copy.
3. Open the Profiles (Roles) page, select the Import Profiles action, and follow the instructions to import the profile package.

You don't have to import every profile in the package. You can select specific profiles.

When you replace a profile, signed-in users who use that profile might be interrupted.

Working with the profile package and files

A profile package is a ZIP file with AL source files for profiles, profile extensions, and page customizations. The AL files are grouped in a folder per profile. The exported app.json and profiles.json files are at the root of the ZIP file.

The sections that follow explain a bit more about the file types and creating the profile package.

Profile files

You export each user-created profile to an AL file in a dedicated folder. The profile object defines the profile's ID, name, role center, and page customization references. For example, a profile with ID MyProfile uses page 9022, Business Manager Role Center. You customize that role center and the Customer List page. The exported package contains the folder MYPROFILE and the file MYPROFILE.Profile.al:

profile MyProfile
{
  CaptionML = ENU='My Profile';
  Enabled = true;
  ProfileDescriptionML = ENU='This is my sample profile';
  Promoted = true;
  RoleCenter = 9022;
  Customizations = Configuration1, Configuration2;
}

The Customizations property identifies the page customization objects used by the profile.

Profile extension files

Customizations made to extension-based profiles are exported to a profile extension file. This file includes a profileextension object that specifies two types of information, depending on the changes:

• Properties such as CaptionML, ProfileDescriptionML, and RoleCenter.
• References to objects that define page customizations.

For example, you change the description and customize the Customer List page for the Business Manager profile from the Base Application extension. The package includes the BUSINESS MANAGER folder and the BUSINESS MANAGER.ProfileExt.al file with code similar to:

profileextension BUSINESSMANAGER_1 extends "BUSINESS MANAGER"
{
  CaptionML = ENU='Business Manager';
  Enabled = true;
  ProfileDescriptionML = ENU='My changed functionality for managers in charge of keeping the business viable by determining product and company direction.';
  Promoted = false;
  RoleCenter = 9022;
  Customizations = Configuration3;
}

Configuration3 references the page customization for Customer List, which the next section shows.

Page customization files

Export page customizations for user-created and extension-based profiles as AL pagecustomization objects. For the preceding examples, the ZIP file includes three files in two folders:

• MYPROFILE\Business Manager Role Center.PageCust.al
• MYPROFILE\Customer List.PageCust.al
• BUSINESS MANAGER\Customer List.PageCust.al

The files would include code similar to the following code:

Role center customization for MYPROFILE

File: MYPROFILE\Business Manager Role Center.PageCust.al.

pagecustomization Configuration1 customizes "Business Manager Role Center"
{
  layout
  {
    modify(Control16)
    {
      Visible = false;
    }
  }
}

Customer List customization for MYPROFILE

File: MYPROFILE\Customer List.PageCust.al.

pagecustomization Configuration2 customizes "Customer List"
{
  layout
  {
    modify("Balance (LCY)")
    {
      Visible = false;
    }
  }
}

Customer List customization for BUSINESS MANAGER

File: BUSINESS MANAGER\Customer List.PageCust.al.

pagecustomization Configuration3 customizes "Customer List"
{
  layout
  {
    modify("Balance Due (LCY)")
    {
      Visible = true;
    }
  }
}

Creating a profile package for import

After you edit the exported AL files, create a profile package to import the changes.

Include app.json, profiles.json, and the AL files required by the profiles that you want to import. You don't have to include every profile from the original export. Compress the files into a ZIP file.

Related information

Developing extensions
AL development environment
Page object
Page extension object
Page extension properties