Dimensions and Dimension Values Overview and Setup in D365 BC:
(1) In this blog we will get to know about the Dimensions & Dimension Value setup and its use in Microsoft Business Central D365.
(2) Basically, Dimensions are used for differentiating entries so that you can track and analyze documents and their entries. It is mainly used for reporting and analysis purposes.
(3) Dimension is just like a group, which means instead of setting up separate general ledger accounts for each department and project, you can use dimensions as a basis for analysis and avoid having to create a complicated chart of accounts.
(4) A dimension value is one of the possible values for a dimension that you can add to your entry. For example, the cost controller can set up a dimension value for each department called Sales, Administration, and so on. Each dimension can have an unlimited series of dimension values that are subunits of that dimension.
(5) In D365 BC, dimensions are categorized into Global Dimensions & Shortcut Dimensions. These fields are available in “General Ledger Setup”.
- Global Dimensions → In BC D365, you can create only two global dimensions and it is available in all tables.
- Shortcut Dimensions → are available as fields on journals, document lines, and ledger entries. You can create up to eight of these.
(6) Dimensions and dimension values are user-defined and unlimited, and dimensions are customized for each company. For this go to the search bar and enter Dimensions, as shown.
(7) After that, the Dimensions page opens and creates or edits dimensions, as shown.
| Field Name | Nature & Importance | Field Description |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Mandatory | Specifies the code for the dimension. |
| Name | Mandatory | Specifies the name of the dimension code. |
| Code Caption | Mandatory | Specifies the caption of the dimension code. This is displayed as the name of the dimension code fields. |
| Filter Caption | Mandatory | Specifies the caption of the dimension code when used as a filter. This is displayed as the name of the dimension filter fields. |
| Description | Optional | Specifies a description of the dimension code. |
| Block | As per Business Requirement | Specifies that the related record is blocked from being posted in transactions, for example, a customer that is declared insolvent or an item that is placed in quarantine. |
(8) After creating Dimensions, now creates its Dimension Values. For this, select the dimension and go to the option Dimension → Dimension Values, as shown.
(9) After that, Dimension Value pages opens and enter the values against the Dimensions, as shown.
(9) After that, Dimension Value pages opens and enter the values against the Dimensions, as shown.
| Field Name | Nature & Importance | Field Description |
|---|---|---|
| Code | Mandatory | Specifies the code for the dimension value. |
| Name | Mandatory | Specifies a descriptive name for the dimension value.. |
| Dimension Value Type | Mandatory | Specifies the purpose of the dimension value. Standard – Standard posting of dimension values. Heading – Heading for a group of dimension values. Total – Total of a series of balances on dimension values that don’t immediately come before the total dimension value.Begin-Total – Marker for the beginning of a series of dimension values to be totaled. This option is used with the End-Total dimension value type. End-Total – Total of a series of dimension values. This option is used with the Begin-Total dimension value type. For seeing this type of setup, select the Area dimension and open its dimension value, as shown below. |
| Totaling | Mandatory | Specifies the caption of the dimension code when used as a filter. This is displayed as the name of dimension filter fields. |
| Block | As per Business Requirement | Specifies that the related record is blocked from being posted in transactions, for example, a customer that is declared insolvent or an item that is placed in quarantine. |
