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Add fields to a source template

  • 3 min.

"Sometimes I need to add different details from an invoice into Business Central, depending on the vendor. I waste so much time if I have to go back and fix this later in the process. So it would be great if I could control exactly what needs to be captured from each vendor's templates before registering incoming documents."

Ester, Accounts Payable at Cronus

Occasionally, the fields and values in the document journal don’t include a field that you need to capture from a received document. These fields are quick to add to the document templates – and you only need to add a field once. Then, Document Capture will include this field for all following documents from the same vendor.

Take a tour in the solution

In this scenario, you're working with accounts payable at the demonstration company, Cronus. Cronus has received an invoice with an included freight charge, but the source template isn’t set up yet to capture this information.
To set it up, you need to add a field to the source template. The steps to follow are:

  • Add the freight field to the source template from the master template.
  • Capture the caption and value from the document viewer.
  • Configure the new template field to resolve errors.
  • Use the Recognize Fields action to apply the updated template field configurations.

Use template actions

In most cases, any field that you need to add to a source template will be available to add from the master template.

  • From the document journal or document card, open the Template action menu and use the Add Template Field action.
  • Select the field from the list. Note that you can use the More Options on any line to start selecting multiple fields to add in one action.
Doc card Template action menu

The Template action menu in the document journal and document card includes two similar actions: Add Template Field and Create new Template Field. In almost all cases, the Add Template Field action is most suitable because it allows the source template field to be updated automatically in the future when you adjust the master template. Another learning unit covers the scenario when the field you need is not yet available in the master template.

Important

When you use the Create new Template Field action, the field is added only to the source template you are working with. But it is still possible to add the same field to other source templates, as well as the master template. This creates a risk of high maintenance, because when you adjust templates in the future, you will need to find and update each separate source template that uses this field. Instead, it is recommended that you add fields to the master template and then use the Add Template Field action.

The Remove Template Field action lets you easily remove fields from source templates in the document journal and document card. Note that:

  • Removing fields is a change to the source template that is saved for future documents from the same source, for example invoices from the same vendor.
  • This action does not remove the field from the master template. Therefore, it’s possible for you to use the Add Template Field action to bring back the field.
  • The Document Search function will show results for values that you captured, even if you later removed the field from the source template.

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