If you run a B2B webshop on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, you can control which parts of your catalogue each customer sees. This is done by filtering the top menu items on the customer card.
By default, a customer who has no top menu filter set sees the entire website. As soon as you add just one top menu item to a customer, that customer only sees that one item. Everything else disappears from their menu.
To allow more than one top menu value per customer, you first enable the “Allow Multiple Information Values” setting on the information code of the type Top Menu. The default setup only permits one information code value per line on the customer or item card.
The filter takes effect the next time the customer logs on. Before logging in, the customer still sees everything.
How customer-specific menu filtering works
The idea is simple. You decide which areas of your website a given customer is allowed to access, and you control it directly from the customer card in Business Central.
If you leave the top menu filter empty on a customer, that customer can see all top menu items on the website. If you add one or more top menu items, the customer is restricted to exactly those items. Everything outside the list is hidden.
Setting up information codes to allow multiple values
The first thing you need to do is set up your information codes. By default, you can only have one information code value per line on the customer or the item card. That is not enough when you want a customer to see several top menu items, for example both bikes and accessories.
To fix this, go to the information code of the type Top Menu and turn on the “Allow Multiple Information Values” setting. With that enabled, you can assign as many top menu values as you need to a single customer.
Filtering top menus on the customer card
Once the information code allows multiple values, go to the customer you want to restrict. Take an example where the customer “Bike Master Chicago” should not be able to buy any clothes, but should still be able to buy bikes and accessories.
On the customer, open the related Master Data Information Specifications. Choose the type Top Menu, then add the values the customer should be able to see. In this case you add Bikes and Accessories.
That is all it takes. The customer is now limited to those two top menu items.
What the customer sees on the website
The next time the customer logs on, they only see the top menu items you assigned. For Bike Master Chicago, the Clothes menu item is gone once the customer is logged in.
It is worth remembering that the filter only applies after login. Before the customer logs on, the full menu is still visible.
Q&A
What happens if I leave the top menu filter empty on a customer?
The customer sees all top menu items on the website. The filter only restricts visibility when you add at least one top menu item to the customer.
How do I let a customer see more than one top menu item?
Enable the “Allow Multiple Information Values” setting on the information code of the type Top Menu. By default, you can only assign one information code value per line, so this setting is required to add several top menu items to a single customer.
Where do I set the top menu filter for a customer?
Open the customer in Business Central, go to the related Master Data Information Specifications, choose the type Top Menu, and add the values the customer should be able to see.
When does the menu filter take effect?
The filter applies the next time the customer logs on. Before logging in, the customer still sees the full menu.