Chapter 1: Introduction & Getting Started

1.1 Welcome to Advanced Notification App

What is the Advanced Notification App?

The Advanced Notification App is a powerful extension for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that enables you to create intelligent, interactive toast notifications that appear directly within the Business Central user interface. These notifications automatically inform users about important business events, changes, or conditions that require their attention—without the need for external email systems or manual monitoring.

Unlike traditional notification systems that simply display static messages, the Advanced Notification App provides rich, context-aware notifications that can include dynamic data from your business records and interactive action buttons that allow users to respond immediately. This creates a seamless, integrated experience where users stay informed and can take action without leaving their current work context.

The app is built on the powerful QUALIA Core Rule Engine, which means you can configure sophisticated business rules that determine exactly when notifications should appear, to whom they should be shown, and what information they should contain. This flexibility allows you to create notification workflows that perfectly match your unique business processes and organizational needs.

Key Benefits and Business Value

Immediate Awareness and Response

Traditional business processes often suffer from delays because users are unaware of important events until they manually check for updates or receive delayed email notifications. The Advanced Notification App eliminates these delays by delivering real-time notifications the moment significant events occur. When a sales order reaches a critical threshold, when inventory falls below the reorder point, or when a document requires approval, users are notified instantly within their Business Central interface.

This immediate awareness translates directly into faster business processes. Approval workflows that once took hours or days can now be completed in minutes. Inventory reorders that might have been delayed until the next stock check can now be initiated immediately when needed. Customer service issues that could have been missed are brought to attention as soon as they arise.

Reduced Email Overload

Many organizations struggle with email overload, where important business notifications get buried among hundreds of other messages. Users waste valuable time sorting through their inbox trying to identify urgent matters, and critical notifications are often missed entirely. The Advanced Notification App provides an alternative notification channel that cuts through this noise.

Notifications appear as toast messages at the bottom of the Business Central screen—visible but not intrusive. They don't compete with email, spam filters, or inbox management challenges. Users receive notifications exactly where they're already working, in the context of the system they're actively using. This context-aware delivery ensures that notifications are seen and addressed promptly.

Increased User Productivity

By embedding notifications directly into Business Central, the app eliminates the need for users to switch between applications or manually monitor different parts of the system. Users no longer need to repeatedly check multiple pages looking for updates, refresh lists to see if new records have appeared, or rely on colleagues to inform them of changes. The system proactively notifies them of relevant events, allowing them to focus their attention on value-adding activities rather than status monitoring.

The interactive action buttons take this productivity benefit even further. Instead of just being informed of an event and then having to navigate to the appropriate page, look up the relevant record, and take action, users can respond directly from the notification itself. A single click on an action button can open the related record, approve a document, update a status, or trigger any other business operation defined in your system.

Improved Business Process Compliance

Many business processes have time-sensitive requirements or mandatory steps that must be completed. Purchase orders above certain thresholds must be approved by management. Inventory below safety stock levels must be reordered. Customer credit limits must be monitored. Financial transactions must be reviewed. The Advanced Notification App helps ensure these critical process steps don't fall through the cracks.

By automatically notifying the right people at the right time, the app creates a systematic approach to process compliance. Rules can be configured to ensure specific users or roles are always notified when their action is required. Escalation workflows can ensure that if an initial notification isn't addressed, additional notifications are sent to supervisors or alternative approvers. All notification activity is logged, providing an audit trail that demonstrates process compliance.

Flexible Configuration Without Programming

One of the most significant advantages of the Advanced Notification App is that it can be configured entirely through the Business Central user interface—no programming or development work required. Business analysts, process owners, and administrators can create and modify notification configurations using familiar Business Central pages and concepts. This accessibility means that notifications can be quickly adapted to changing business requirements without waiting for development resources or incurring consulting costs.

The app leverages the QUALIA Core Rule Engine's powerful placeholder system, allowing you to include dynamic data from any Business Central table in your notifications. You can reference customer names, order numbers, inventory quantities, or any other field values, and these placeholders are automatically resolved when the notification is triggered. This flexibility enables rich, informative notifications that provide users with the context they need to understand and respond to the situation.

Who Should Use This Manual?

This user manual is designed for business users, administrators, and power users who will be configuring and managing notification workflows within Business Central. You don't need to be a developer or have programming experience to use this manual or the Advanced Notification App. The content assumes you have:

• Basic Business Central Knowledge: You should be comfortable navigating Business Central, opening pages, creating and editing records, and understanding fundamental Business Central concepts like tables, fields, and records.

• Understanding of Your Business Processes: You should understand the business processes in your organization that would benefit from automated notifications—approval workflows, inventory management procedures, customer service protocols, etc.

• Familiarity with Business Logic: You should be able to describe conditions using business terms—"when the amount exceeds $10,000" or "if the status equals Released"—even if you're not familiar with programming logic or database queries.

No Programming Experience Required: While the app can trigger custom actions that require development work, configuring the notifications themselves doesn't require any programming knowledge. This manual explains all technical concepts in business terms and provides step-by-step guidance for common scenarios.

Collaboration with Developers: If you want to add interactive action buttons to your notifications (buttons that users can click to perform specific operations), you may need to work with a Business Central developer who can create the action procedures. This manual explains how to configure the connection between notifications and these actions, and how to communicate requirements to developers.

How to Use This Manual

This manual is structured to support both learning and ongoing reference:

For New Users: Start with Chapter 1 to understand the system architecture and complete the Quick Start Tutorial. Then proceed through Chapters 2-4 in sequence to build your knowledge progressively from basic notification creation through advanced triggering rules.

For Experienced Users: Use the table of contents to jump directly to relevant topics. Chapter 6 provides comprehensive troubleshooting guidance for resolving common issues.

For Administrators: Pay special attention to Chapters 5 and 6, which cover user management, rule groups, template management, and system maintenance.

Throughout this manual, you'll find these visual indicators to highlight important information:

• 📋 NOTE: Additional contextual information that helps you understand concepts more deeply

• ⚠️ WARNING: Critical information to prevent errors or problems

• 💡 TIP: Best practices and efficiency suggestions from experienced users

• ✅ EXAMPLE: Real-world scenarios demonstrating how to apply concepts

1.2 System Overview

How the App Works with Business Central

The Advanced Notification App seamlessly integrates with Business Central by leveraging the platform's native notification capabilities. When you view Business Central in your web browser or desktop client, the system can display toast notifications at the bottom of your screen—these are lightweight, non-intrusive messages that appear temporarily to inform you of important information.

What makes the Advanced Notification App powerful is its ability to trigger these native Business Central notifications automatically based on business events. Rather than requiring developers to write custom code for each notification scenario, the app provides a configuration-based approach where you define notification templates and rules through standard Business Central pages. When the specified business conditions are met, the system automatically constructs and displays the notification with all the relevant data.

The notifications appear within the Business Central interface itself, which means:

• Users don't need to monitor external systems or email

• Notifications are visible immediately when the triggering event occurs

• Users can interact with notifications without leaving their current page

• The system maintains a consistent user experience across all notification types

Integration with QUALIA Core Rule Engine

The Advanced Notification App is built as an extension of the QUALIA Core Rule Engine, which is a sophisticated business rules management system that monitors database changes and executes configured actions when specific conditions are met. Understanding this relationship helps you appreciate how notifications work and what capabilities are available.

What is the Rule Engine?

The QUALIA Core Rule Engine operates at the database level within Business Central, monitoring table operations (inserts, modifications, and deletions) across all your business data. When a record is created, updated, or deleted, the Rule Engine automatically evaluates whether any configured rules apply to that event. If conditions are satisfied, the engine executes the associated actions—which in the case of the Advanced Notification App means displaying a notification.

This architecture provides several important advantages:

1. Automatic Trigger Monitoring: You don't need to manually modify Business Central pages or code to trigger notifications. The Rule Engine automatically intercepts relevant database operations.

2. Sophisticated Condition Logic: You can create complex conditions that check multiple fields, compare values, reference related tables, and combine multiple criteria—all without writing code.

3. Consistent Behavior: Because notifications are triggered by the Rule Engine, they behave consistently regardless of how the underlying data change occurred (manual entry, import, web service, etc.).

How the Advanced Notification App Extends the Rule Engine

The Advanced Notification App adds notification-specific functionality on top of the Rule Engine's foundation. When you create a notification configuration, the app automatically creates the necessary Rule Engine components behind the scenes:

• A Validation Set that groups all the rules for this notification

• A Validation (trigger) that specifies which table and fields to monitor

• A Validation Formula (scenario) that defines the conditions that must be met

• An Action that links the trigger to your notification configuration

You don't need to create these components manually—they're automatically generated when you save your notification. However, you will interact with them through dedicated sections on the notification configuration page, where you can specify when the notification should trigger and what conditions must be satisfied.

📋 NOTE: While this manual focuses on notifications, the QUALIA Core Rule Engine supports many other action types (emails, confirmations, error messages, custom actions). This means the skills you learn for configuring notification triggers apply to other rule-based automations as well.

Notification Workflow and Architecture

Understanding how a notification flows from configuration to display helps you troubleshoot issues and design effective notification workflows. Here's what happens when a notification is triggered:

Step 1: Business Event Occurs A user performs an operation in Business Central that modifies data—creating a sales order, updating an inventory quantity, changing a customer's credit limit, etc. This operation causes one or more database records to be inserted, modified, or deleted.

Step 2: Rule Engine Detects Change The QUALIA Core Rule Engine monitors these database operations. When a change occurs on a table that has notification triggers configured, the Rule Engine captures the event and begins evaluation.

Step 3: Trigger Conditions Checked The Rule Engine checks whether the specific trigger conditions are met. For example, if you've configured a notification to trigger only when the Status field changes, the engine verifies that this specific field was modified (not just any field on the record).

Step 4: Scenario Evaluation If the trigger conditions are satisfied, the Rule Engine evaluates any scenario conditions you've configured. Scenarios act as filters that determine whether the action should actually execute. For example, you might trigger on any status change, but only show the notification if the new status is "Released" and the amount exceeds $10,000.

Step 5: User Group Filtering The Rule Engine checks whether the current user belongs to any rule groups assigned to this notification. If you've assigned the notification to specific groups (like "Sales" or "Managers"), only users in those groups will receive it. If no groups are assigned, all users who trigger the condition will see the notification.

Step 6: Notification Construction Once all conditions are satisfied, the system constructs the notification:

• The notification text is retrieved from your configuration

• Any placeholders (like [36:3] for Document No.) are replaced with actual values from the triggering record

• Data fields are processed, with their placeholders also resolved

• Action buttons are added based on your configuration

Step 7: Notification Display The completed notification is sent to Business Central's notification system, which displays it as a toast message at the bottom of the user's screen. The notification includes:

• The resolved message text

• Any configured data fields (not visible to user, but available to action buttons)

• Interactive action buttons (if configured)

• A close button to dismiss the notification

Step 8: User Interaction The user sees the notification and can:

• Read the information provided

• Click an action button to perform a related operation

• Click the close (X) button to dismiss the notification

• Allow the notification to time out and disappear automatically (for LocalScope notifications)

Step 9: Logging and Audit The Rule Engine logs the notification execution in the validation log, recording:

• When the notification was triggered

• Which user triggered it

• What record triggered it

• Whether the notification was successfully displayed

• Any errors that occurred

This logging provides valuable audit trail information and helps with troubleshooting if notifications aren't appearing as expected.

Understanding Toast Notifications

Toast notifications are a user interface pattern found in many modern applications, including Business Central. Understanding how they behave helps you design notifications that provide the best user experience.

What is a Toast Notification?

A toast notification is a small, non-modal message that appears temporarily at the bottom of the screen (like toast popping up from a toaster). Unlike dialog boxes that block interaction with the rest of the application, toast notifications are non-intrusive—they appear in a designated area without preventing users from continuing their work.

In Business Central, toast notifications typically appear at the bottom center of the screen, just above the status bar. They slide into view with a subtle animation, remain visible for a period of time, and then either disappear automatically or remain until explicitly dismissed, depending on their scope setting.

Key Characteristics of Toast Notifications:

• Non-Blocking: Users can continue working while notifications are visible

• Temporary: Notifications don't permanently occupy screen space

• Stackable: Multiple notifications can appear sequentially

• Dismissible: Users can close notifications before they time out

• Interactive: Notifications can include clickable action buttons

When to Use Toast Notifications:

Toast notifications are ideal for:

• Status updates: Informing users that an operation completed successfully

• Event notifications: Alerting users to events that occurred elsewhere in the system

• Approval requests: Prompting users to review and approve items

• Threshold alerts: Warning users when values exceed defined limits

• Process reminders: Reminding users of required actions

Toast notifications are NOT ideal for:

• Critical errors: Use error dialogs for issues that prevent continued work

• Complex information: Notifications should be brief; use pages for detailed data

• Confirmations: Use confirmation dialogs for destructive or irreversible actions

• Long-term information: Use permanent UI elements for information that must remain visible

💡 TIP: Keep notification messages concise—ideally under 100 characters. If users need more detail, provide an action button that opens a page with complete information rather than cramming all details into the notification text.

1.3 Prerequisites and Setup

System Requirements

Before you begin using the Advanced Notification App, ensure your environment meets these requirements:

Business Central Platform Requirements:

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (version 15.0 or later)

• Business Central can be running on-premises or in the cloud (SaaS)

• Web client, desktop client, tablet, or mobile access all supported

• Modern web browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari) for web client users

Required QUALIA Components:

• QUALIA Core (version 1.1.0.4 or later) must be installed

• The QUALIA Core Rule Engine must be operational

• Base notification tables must be available in your database

📋 NOTE: The Advanced Notification App cannot function without QUALIA Core installed, as it relies on the Core's Rule Engine infrastructure, base tables, and execution logic.

License Requirements

The Advanced Notification App offers two licensing models:

Per-User Offer Plan (Licensed):

• Requires active QUALIA Advanced Notification subscription

• Entitlement ID: qualia.qtnotif.allusers

• Contact QUALIA Technik GmbH for licensing information

• Provides full access to all notification features

Unlicensed Access:

• Available for evaluation or specific deployments

• Provides identical functionality to licensed version

• Check with your Business Central administrator regarding licensing

User Permissions Required: To work with notifications, users need the appropriate permission sets assigned:

• QUA_Notif. Licensed (for licensed users)

• QUA_Notif.UnLicensed (for unlicensed access)

• Plus underlying QUALIA Core permissions for table data access

⚠️ WARNING: Without proper permission sets assigned, users won't be able to access notification configuration pages or receive notifications, even if the app is installed in your environment.

Initial Configuration Steps

Follow these steps to set up the Advanced Notification App in your Business Central environment:

Step 1: Verify QUALIA Core Installation

Before configuring notifications, confirm that QUALIA Core is properly installed and operational:

1. Open Business Central and use the search function (Alt+Q)

2. Search for "Business Rule Setup" and open the page

3. Verify that the page opens without errors

4. Check that the Enable Business Rule toggle exists

If you cannot find this page or encounter errors, QUALIA Core may not be installed correctly. Contact your Business Central administrator or QUALIA support.

Step 2: Configure Number Series

The notification system uses a number series to automatically generate unique codes for each notification configuration:

1. Search for and open "Advanced Notification Setup"

2. Verify that Enable Business Rule is set to Yes (toggle on)

3. In the Notification Series field, select an existing number series or create a new one

To create a new number series:

1. From the Notification Series field, click the lookup (three dots)

2. Click New to create a new number series

3. Enter a Code (e.g., "NOTIF")

4. Enter a Description (e.g., "Notification Numbers")

5. Set Starting No. (e.g., "NOTIF-00001")

6. Enable Manual Nos. if you want to allow users to enter codes manually

7. Set appropriate Ending No. if you want to limit the series

8. Click OK to save

💡 TIP: Use a descriptive prefix like "NOTIF-" in your number series to make notification codes easily identifiable when viewing validation logs or troubleshooting issues.

Step 3: Assign User Permissions

Ensure that users who will configure or receive notifications have the necessary permissions:

1. Search for and open "Permission Sets"

2. Locate QUA_Notif. Licensed (or QUA_Notif.UnLicensed)

3. Note the permission set name for assignment

To assign permissions to users:

1. Search for and open "Users"

2. Select the user who needs access

3. Click User Permission Sets in the ribbon

4. Click New to add a permission set

5. Select QUA_Notif. Licensed in the Permission Set field

6. Set Company if needed (leave blank for all companies)

7. Repeat for additional users

To assign permissions to user groups (more efficient for multiple users):

1. Search for and open "User Groups"

2. Select or create a user group

3. Click User Group Permission Sets

4. Add QUA_Notif. Licensed to the group

5. Assign users to the group via User Group Members

📋 NOTE: Users also need QUALIA Core permissions (like QUA Advanced Notif.) to access underlying notification data tables. Consult your QUALIA Core documentation or administrator for complete permission requirements.

Step 4: Import Default Templates (Optional)

QUALIA provides pre-configured notification templates that demonstrate common scenarios and best practices:

1. Search for and open "Advanced Notifications"

2. Click Actions in the ribbon

3. Click Create Default Data

4. Wait for the import to complete (typically a few seconds)

5. The page refreshes showing imported notification templates

These templates serve as:

• Learning Examples: Study how notifications are configured

• Starting Points: Copy and modify templates for your needs

• Best Practice Demonstrations: See recommended configuration patterns

⚠️ WARNING: The Create Default Data action will replace any existing notifications with the same codes. If you've customized default templates, either rename them first or export your customizations before re-importing defaults.

Step 5: Verify Installation

Confirm that the system is properly configured and operational:

1. Open "Advanced Notifications" from the search

2. Verify that the page opens without errors

3. If you imported default templates, verify they appear in the list

4. Click New and verify that a new notification card opens

5. Check that a notification code is automatically assigned

6. Close the card without saving (click X or press Esc)

If any of these steps fail, review the previous configuration steps or contact your administrator.

Network and Security Considerations

While the Advanced Notification App operates entirely within Business Central and doesn't require external network connections, be aware of these considerations:

Browser Requirements:

• Notifications use standard HTML5 notification APIs built into modern browsers

• Ensure browser notifications aren't blocked by corporate policies or browser settings

• Users running Business Central in browsers should allow notifications from your Business Central domain

Firewall and Network:

• No special firewall rules required (unlike email or external integrations)

• Notifications function normally in disconnected scenarios once Business Central is loaded

• No cloud services or external dependencies

Data Privacy:

• Notification data remains within your Business Central database

• No notification content is transmitted to external services

• All notification activity is logged in Business Central's validation logs

⚠️ WARNING: If users report not seeing notifications, check browser notification settings. Some browsers require explicit permission to show notifications, and corporate security policies may block them entirely.

1.4 User Interface Overview

Advanced Notifications List Page

The Advanced Notifications list page is your central hub for managing all notification configurations in your Business Central environment. You can access this page by searching for "Advanced Notifications" using the search function (Alt+Q).

Page Layout and Components:

The list page displays all configured notifications in a grid format with the following columns:

• Code: The unique identifier for each notification (e.g., "NOTIF-00001", "ORDER-STATUS")

• Description: A human-readable description explaining what the notification does

The page is read-only in list view, which means you cannot edit notification details directly in the grid. To modify a notification, you must open its card page by clicking on the notification row.

Available Actions:

The ribbon at the top of the list page provides these actions:

Create Default Data: Imports pre-configured notification templates from the embedded resource file. This action is useful when:

• You're setting up the system for the first time

• You want to see example configurations

• You need to restore default templates after modifications

New: Creates a new notification configuration and opens the card page. The system automatically assigns a code from your configured number series.

Edit: Opens the selected notification's card page for modification.

Delete: Removes the selected notification and all associated configuration (triggers, scenarios, actions, data fields). Use with caution as this action cannot be undone.

💡 TIP: Use descriptive codes and descriptions for your notifications. When troubleshooting issues or reviewing validation logs, clear naming helps you quickly identify which notification triggered. For example, "ORDER-POSTED" is more informative than "NOTIF-00001".

Notification Card Page Layout

The notification card page is where you configure all aspects of a notification. The page is organized into several logical sections that reflect the notification configuration workflow:

General Section (Top)

This section contains the core identification and message fields:

• Code: The unique identifier (auto-generated or manually entered with assist-edit)

• Description: Your description of what this notification does

• Notification Text: The message text that users will see (supports placeholders)

• Global Scope: Checkbox that determines notification persistence behavior

Notification Data Subpage

Located below the general section, this subpage allows you to define key-value pairs that will be attached to the notification. Each row contains:

• Data Caption: The key name (e.g., "OrderNo", "CustomerName")

• Data Value: The value, which typically contains placeholders (e.g., "[36:3]")

Notification Action Subpage

This subpage defines interactive buttons that appear on the notification. Each row contains:

• Action Caption: The button label users will see (e.g., "View Order")

• Action Codeunit Id: The numeric ID of the codeunit to execute

• Action Procedure: The procedure name within that codeunit

Triggers & Scenarios Section

This expandable section contains embedded pages from the QUALIA Core Rule Engine:

Triggers: Defines when the notification should be evaluated (which table, which fields, which events) Scenarios: Defines conditions that must be met for the notification to display Rule Group: Assigns the notification to specific user groups

Lookup Placeholder FactBox

The right side of the page includes a FactBox that helps you find placeholder values:

• Select a table to see its fields

• Click on a field to copy its placeholder format

• Useful when you're not sure of table or field numbers

Navigation and Menu Structure

Understanding how to navigate between different notification configuration areas helps you work efficiently:

From List to Card:

• Click any row in the list to open that notification's card

• Or click Edit in the ribbon

• Or press Enter when a row is selected

Within the Card Page:

• Use Tab to move between fields

• Click into subpages to add or edit rows

• Click section headers to expand/collapse groups

• Use the FactBox to look up placeholder values

Between Related Pages:

• From Triggers subpage, you can drill down to see trigger details

• From Scenarios subpage, you can view and edit condition formulas

• From Rule Group subpage, you can manage group assignments

📋 NOTE: Changes to notification configurations take effect immediately. There's no "activation" or "deployment" step—once you save a notification, it begins monitoring for trigger conditions. Test thoroughly in a sandbox environment before deploying to production.

Understanding the Workspace

The notification configuration workspace integrates several distinct components, each serving a specific purpose:

Configuration Layer (What to Show): The General section and Data/Action subpages define WHAT users will see and how they can interact with the notification. This is the presentation layer—the message text, the data fields, and the action buttons.

Trigger Layer (When to Show): The Triggers & Scenarios section defines WHEN the notification should appear. This is the business logic layer—monitoring specific tables and events, evaluating conditions, and deciding whether to fire the notification.

Targeting Layer (Who Will See): The Rule Group section defines WHO will receive the notification. This is the access control layer—filtering which users or roles should be notified based on group membership.

These three layers work together to create complete notification workflows:

1. Configure WHAT the notification looks like and what it can do

2. Define WHEN it should trigger based on business events

3. Specify WHO should receive it based on organizational structure

This separation of concerns makes it easy to:

• Reuse the same notification message with different triggers

• Apply the same trigger logic with different user groups

• Modify presentation without changing business logic

• Adjust targeting without affecting message content

Understanding Notification Scopes

One of the most important configuration decisions you'll make is choosing the notification scope. This setting determines how long the notification remains visible and when it disappears:

LocalScope (Global Scope = No):

• Notification appears on the current page only

• Disappears when user navigates to another page

• Automatically times out after approximately 10 seconds if not dismissed

• Best for confirmations, status updates, and non-urgent information

• Example: "Record saved successfully"

GlobalScope (Global Scope = Yes):

• Notification persists across page navigation

• Remains visible until user explicitly dismisses it

• Survives page refresh and navigation

• Limited to 10 concurrent global notifications per user (oldest auto-dismissed)

• Best for urgent alerts, approval requests, and action-required notifications

• Example: "Approval required for Order 1001"

💡 TIP: Use LocalScope as your default for most notifications. Reserve GlobalScope for truly important alerts that require user action. Too many GlobalScope notifications create clutter and diminish their impact.

1.5 Quick Start Tutorial

Creating Your First Notification

This tutorial walks you through creating a simple notification that appears when a sales order is posted. You'll learn the basic workflow and see how all the components work together.

Scenario: Create a notification that informs users when a sales order's status changes to "Released", showing the order number and customer name.

Step 1: Create the Notification Configuration

1. Open Business Central and search for "Advanced Notifications"

2. Click New in the ribbon

3. The system automatically assigns a Code (e.g., "NOTIF-00001")

   • Alternatively, click the assist-edit button (…) next to Code to select from the number series

4. In the Description field, enter: Sales Order Released Notification

5. In the Notification Text field, enter: Sales Order [36:3] released for customer [36:79]

   • [36:3] is a placeholder for the Document No. field from the Sales Header table

   • [36:79] is a placeholder for the Sell-to Customer Name field

6. Leave Global Scope unchecked (LocalScope is fine for this example)

📋 NOTE: The placeholder format is [TableNo:FieldNo]. Table 36 is Sales Header. Field 3 is No., and Field 79 is Sell-to Customer Name. You can use the FactBox on the right to look up these numbers if needed.

Step 2: Configure the Trigger

Now you need to tell the system WHEN to display this notification:

1. Scroll down to the Triggers & Scenarios section

2. In the Triggers subpage, click to add a new line

3. Set Source Table No. to 36 (Sales Header)

4. Check the Trigger Modify checkbox (we want to trigger when records are modified)

5. In the Trigger String field, enter: 5 (Field 5 is the Status field)

   • This means the notification only triggers when the Status field changes, not when any field changes

Why these settings?

• Source Table No. 36: We're monitoring the Sales Header table

• Trigger Modify: We want to catch changes to existing orders

• Trigger String 5: We only care when the Status field (field 5) changes

Step 3: Add a Scenario Condition

Triggers determine WHEN to evaluate the notification. Scenarios determine WHETHER to actually show it. Let's add a condition so the notification only appears when the status is "Released":

1. In the Scenarios subpage (below Triggers), click to add a new line

2. In the Description field, enter: Status is Released

3. In the Validate String field, enter: [36:5] = 3

   • [36:5] references the Status field

   • = 3 checks if the value is 3 (Released is enum value 3)

💡 TIP: Sales Header Status values are: 0=Open, 1=Released, 2=Pending Approval, 3=Released, 4=Pending Prepayment. The exact values may vary by Business Central version, so verify in your system if the notification doesn't trigger as expected.

Step 4: Save and Verify

1. Click OK or press Ctrl+S to save the notification

2. The system automatically creates all the necessary Rule Engine components behind the scenes

3. Review your configuration:

   • General section: Message text with placeholders

   • Triggers: Monitoring Sales Header table, Status field changes

   • Scenarios: Condition checking for Released status

Your notification is now active and ready to test!

Step 5: Test the Notification

To see your notification in action:

1. Search for and open "Sales Orders"

2. Create a new sales order or open an existing one in Open status

3. Fill in required fields (Customer, Items, etc.)

4. Click Release in the ribbon to change the status to Released

5. Watch the bottom of your screen for the notification to appear

Expected Result: You should see a toast notification at the bottom center of the screen with text like: "Sales Order SO-001 released for customer Adatum Corporation"

If the notification doesn't appear:

• Check that your user has proper permissions

• Verify that "Enable Business Rule" is enabled in Advanced Notification Setup

• Review the validation log (search for "QUA Validation Log") to see if the notification was triggered

• Ensure the scenario condition is correct (Status = 3 for Released)

✅ EXAMPLE - What You Should See:

When you release sales order SO-001 for Adatum Corporation, a notification appears at the bottom of the screen:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Sales Order SO-001 released for customer Adatum │
│ Corporation                                   [X]

The notification remains visible for about 10 seconds, then automatically fades away. You can also click the [X] button to dismiss it immediately.

Understanding the Results

Let's examine what happened when you released the sales order:

Database Event: When you clicked Release, Business Central modified the Sales Header record, changing the Status field from 0 (Open) to 1 (Released).

Trigger Evaluation: The QUALIA Rule Engine detected the modification to table 36 (Sales Header) and noticed that field 5 (Status) was in the trigger string, so it proceeded with evaluation.

Scenario Check: The engine evaluated the scenario condition [36:5] = 3. It retrieved the Status field value from the modified record and compared it to 3. Since the status is now Released (value 1), wait... this might not match our condition.

⚠️ WARNING: In the example above, we used Status = 3 for Released, but in many Business Central versions, Released is actually value 1, not 3. If your notification didn't trigger, try changing the scenario condition to [36:5] = 1 instead. Always verify enum values in your specific Business Central version.

Placeholder Resolution: Once the condition was satisfied, the engine replaced the placeholders in the notification text:

• [36:3] became "SO-001" (the Document No.)

• [36:79] became "Adatum Corporation" (the Customer Name)

Notification Display: The Business Central notification system displayed the toast message with the resolved text.

Logging: The Rule Engine logged this execution in the validation log, recording:

• Timestamp of when the notification triggered

• Which user triggered it

• Which record was involved (Sales Header SO-001)

• That the notification was successfully displayed

Experimenting with Your Notification

Now that you have a working notification, try these experiments to understand how different settings affect behavior:

Experiment 1: Change the Scope

1. Edit your notification

2. Check the Global Scope checkbox

3. Save and trigger the notification again

4. Notice that the notification now persists when you navigate to other pages

5. You must click [X] to dismiss it

Experiment 2: Add More Placeholders

1. Edit the Notification Text to: Order [36:3] for [36:79] - Amount: [36:110]

2. Field 110 is Amount Including VAT

3. Save and trigger again

4. The notification now includes the order amount

Experiment 3: Change the Trigger

1. Remove the Trigger String value (clear field 5)

2. Save and modify any field on a released sales order

3. The notification triggers on ANY field change, not just Status

4. This demonstrates why specific trigger strings are important

Experiment 4: View the Validation Log

1. Search for "QUA Validation Log"

2. Filter by Validation Set ID = your notification code

3. See all executions of your notification

4. This log is invaluable for troubleshooting

💡 TIP: Always test new notifications in a sandbox or test environment before deploying to production. This allows you to verify trigger conditions, test placeholder resolution, and ensure the notification provides appropriate information without disrupting user workflows.

Next Steps

Congratulations! You've created, configured, and tested your first notification. You've learned:

• How to create a notification configuration

• How to use placeholders to include dynamic data

• How to configure triggers and scenarios

• How notification scopes affect behavior

• How to test and verify your notification works

In the following chapters, you'll learn:

• Chapter 2: Advanced message composition, data fields, and configuration management

• Chapter 3: Adding interactive action buttons that users can click

• Chapter 4: Creating sophisticated trigger conditions and scenarios

• Chapter 5: Using rule groups to control who receives notifications

• Chapter 6: Template management, troubleshooting, and best practices