Most books on Microsoft Dynamics NAV are about the tooling and the platform, but this book is different. It describes the building blocks, the code, and the metadata patterns that the application is made up of. The foundation for the patterns was created many years ago when we developed the first versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Since then, they have been reused over and over again by us and every developer in the partner channel through the copy-paste mechanism. However, it was not until Mark and his friends in PRS, Gary and Waldo, rediscovered the patterns and started to write books, blog, teach, and speak at conferences that they became well known. Over time, this has evolved into a larger effort in collaboration with the Microsoft Dynamics NAV developer community, which has improved the overall quality of customization projects and reduced the implementation time. This book is important because it describes the patterns that are most used and explores how to leverage them when you modify Microsoft Dynamics NAV to suit industry-specific needs. It also contains examples on how to create add-ons and other enhancements that are easily upgraded. Everything is based on Mark's extensive experience of designing Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementations over almost two decades and expresses Mark's dedication to the Microsoft Dynamics NAV product and the various passionate people in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV community.

Michael Nielsen

Director of Engineering for NAV at Microsoft

Mark Brummel is the person other Microsoft Dynamics NAV experts go to when they have a really hard problem to solve. In this book, Mark shares the knowledge he has gained over the past two decades. In my own work as a Microsoft Dynamics NAV consultant/developer and as an author (writing three texts on programming in different versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV), I've had the opportunity to draw on Mark's expertise many times. By reading this book, you now have a chance to do the same.

I've known Mark since we met at TechEd in Boston in 2006. Mark was already an accomplished analyst and developer—an expert in Microsoft Dynamics NAV and an MVP. Mark had been invited to that conference by Microsoft to help represent Microsoft Dynamics NAV to the other attendees who were technical experts. Since then, Mark has gained considerable experience and broadened his knowledge, particularly in the areas of business application problem solving using Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a very special business software product. Included in the product is a set of IDE tools designed for the development of business applications and tailored to Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This makes it easier to create enhancements to fit the needs of specific businesses. As an integrated, full-featured ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics NAV includes functionalities for accounting, order processing, inventory control, manufacturing, distribution, service management, materials planning, and asset management. This book provides you with examples on how to choose from and apply these in a variety of business situations.

Each new version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV has delivered both new application functionalities and new technical capabilities. Upcoming versions are becoming more compatible with the cloud, mobile users, and various user interface devices. Each of these new capabilities expands the types of business applications to which Microsoft Dynamics NAV can be appropriately applied. With a worldwide-installed base already of well over 1,000,000 users, we know the uses of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are only limited by how creatively we apply our knowledge. Read on, let Mark expand your knowledge, and then use your own creativity to apply Microsoft Dynamics NAV to the needs of your businesses.

David Studebaker

Co-author, Programming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013