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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Small and medium business | Business Central, N... / RapidStart - What is t...
Small and medium business | Business Central, N...
Answered

RapidStart - What is the default behavior when importing blank fields when the existing field is filled?

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Posted on by Jan-Willem van der ... 10

I exported and imported a large list of Items from one database to another using RapidStart. The packages were set up as follows:

Source DB: only certain fields exported.

Target DB: all fields selected.

The Excel file of course only had the selected fields as columns. Yet, all other fields have been made blank in the Target DB.

I had not expected RapidStart to do anything to the fields not present in the Excel sheet. I also did not expect RapidStart to make fields blank, I seem to remember that RapidStart makes no changes if a field is blank in the Excel file.

Is this default behavior? Does it change per NAV version? Could it be customization?

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  • Verified answer
    Brian Wick Profile Picture
    Brian Wick Microsoft Employee on at

    Hi Jan-Willem,

    If the same items exist in the Target db and more fields are selected in the configuration package you are using to import, the editable fields that are BLANK (not included in the spreadsheet) and listed in the configuration package data will modify the existing data and clear the populated values out.  The system thinks you are modifying those values.  

    As a general rule it is best to use the same config. package for the export & import so the same fields are used or create the new config package with the same fields.  I tested in BC 14 on-prem importing into table 27 and I received the same result.  I exported 6 fields and imported using a different config. package that contained all of Table 27's fields.  In the Configuration Package Data, there were editable fields that were blank, and those fields were updated from populated values to blank values after applying the data.  

    Thanks-

  • Jan-Willem van der Linden Profile Picture
    Jan-Willem van der ... 10 on at

    Thank you for confirming this.

    I really thought RapidStart would not clear values but my memory must have failed me.

  • Brian Wick Profile Picture
    Brian Wick Microsoft Employee on at

    To be honest I couldn't 100% remember how it behaved either until testing through a couple of versions.  The modification of data was always based off of what was included in the Config Package Records page.  If an editable field is included and it is blank, chances are it will update the underlying table record.

    Take care.

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