The Master Data Information app works together with the BOM Configurator, and combining the two gives you a flexible way to filter items in Business Central. One of the key tools here is the marking functionality, which lets you tag a selection of items and then filter on that selection wherever you need it.
You can use item marking to filter on all components in a production order hierarchy. Mark the items from the top level order, then reuse that marking as a filter in the planning worksheet by filtering on the Marked by User field with your own user ID. This lets a planner work only on the items in a specific hierarchy instead of the entire item list.
Item marking is non-destructive. When you mark items in a hierarchy, you choose whether to remove existing marks or keep them, so you can build up a selection across several searches.
Filtering items with Master Data Information and the BOM Configurator
The Master Data Information app ships with the BOM Configurator, and the two work well together when you need to filter items. In Master Data Information you can add a search criteria, for example searching for items related to a mountain bike, and find the matches. The marking functionality is explained in more detail in the videos on Master Data Information, but the principle is straightforward: you search for items that meet a criteria, add a mark on them, and then filter on all the items that fulfill that criteria.
Marking items in a production order hierarchy
On the production order, there’s a function to mark items in hierarchies. If you select a production order that is part of a hierarchy, you can mark all the items in that hierarchy at once.
To do this, you need to be on the top level order in the hierarchy. From there you mark the items in the hierarchy. The system asks whether you want to remove existing marks or keep them. If you say no to removing the marks, it adds the hierarchy items to whatever you had marked before.
When you show the complete hierarchy, the marking covers everything in it: all the components that are part of the hierarchy. In a scenario where you had already marked two mountain bike items from an earlier search, those stay marked as well. Back in the item list, you then see the mark on those items only. That’s not your full item list, just the hierarchy items plus the two mountain bike items you searched for in the beginning.
Using marked items as a filter in the planning worksheet
The marking becomes useful when you carry it into other parts of the system, such as the planning worksheet. As a planner, you might want to plan on all the items already in a hierarchy, just to make sure they are all okay.
Go into your plan and filter on the field Marked by User. Add your own user ID as the filter value. Now you only plan on the items in the hierarchy. This makes it easy to catch any items that are in a bad state and need to be handled, without wading through everything else.
Q&A
How do I mark all items in a production order hierarchy?
Select the top level order in the hierarchy and use the function to mark items in the hierarchy. The system marks all components in the hierarchy and asks whether you want to remove existing marks or keep them.
Can I keep my existing item marks when marking a hierarchy?
Yes. When you mark a hierarchy, the system asks whether to remove existing marks. If you say no, it keeps the marks you already had and adds the hierarchy items to them.
How do I filter the planning worksheet on marked items?
In the plan, filter on the field Marked by User and enter your own user ID. You then plan only on the items you have marked, such as the components in a specific hierarchy.
What is the relationship between Master Data Information and the BOM Configurator?
The Master Data Information app ships with the BOM Configurator. The two work together when you filter items, and the marking functionality from Master Data Information lets you tag and filter item selections.