Significant changes in NAV 2015

NAV 2015 contains added capabilities in a variety of areas including business functionality, enhanced development tools, a tablet client, more Internet compatibility, and increased integration to other Microsoft products. For information on what was new in NAV 2013 R2, review the MSDN notes at:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh173994(v=nav.71).aspx
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh174007(v=nav.71).aspx

Some of the mentioned items include Manual Payment Processing, bank reconciliation enhancement, SEPA Debit and Credit handling, Web Client Enhancements, new Windows PowerShell capabilities, a new Help Server, and features to better implement and manage NAV on Windows Azure.

Information on the minimum hardware and software requirements to install and run Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 are found in the embedded Developer and IT Pro Help topic System Requirements for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. Following are some of the specific areas where NAV 2015 contains significant changes (this list is representative, not comprehensive).

Application changes

Significant changes to applications include:

• Mandatory indicator fields (required data elements)
• Auto-fill and hidden fields
• Document emailing
• Manage and create report layouts using Microsoft Word 2013, SQL Server Report Builder (RDLC), or Visual Studio Community Edition
• Simplified payment reconciliation
• Encryption functions
• Report scheduling
• Data exchange framework for easier implementation

Client enhancements

Significant client enhancements include:

• Tablet client for multiple tablet types (iPad, Android, Windows)
• Enhanced web client
• Office 365 integration
• UI elements removal capability
• Simplified user interface option
• Enhanced Role Center Cues including color and image options

Development tools

Significant new development tools include:

• Enhanced commenting capability
• Non-default property values display bold font
• New Client Application Language (C/AL) commands and functions
• New Development Environment commands
• New Report functions and status default to local status
• New Page field, action, and control properties
• New Table schema data synchronization options
• Windows PowerShell cmdlets and scripts include comparing and merging objects, caption management, and upgrading SQL server data when NAV table schema is changed

Other areas

Other new areas include:

• Major changes in Upgrade concepts and processes
• Deployment enhancements for Add-ins and .NET Framework
• PowerShell cmdlets for Exporting and Importing data selectively
• Licenses are now version specific
• RapidStart Services for implementation