The Description Setup Table comes with a default setup

If you build long item descriptions in Business Central by merging master data information, you control exactly how the result looks. The default setup uses information codes, values, and signs such as commas, slashes, and periods to assemble the description automatically.

The setup names like IC, ICV, and IV ICV are just short labels Abakion uses. IC means the line only includes the information code. ICV means it includes information code and value. The labels are not fixed, so you can create your own lines and call them whatever you want.

For each setup line you decide whether to include the information code description, the information value description, and the value itself. You choose which sign goes after each element, and you set the order in which the elements appear. The order is an option string where you select the sequence you want.

You also decide whether the item description itself is added in front of the long description. This is controlled in the master data information setup.

How the merging setup builds long item descriptions

The long description is assembled from several elements joined together by signs. When you look at a long description, you see commas, spaces, slashes, periods, and other signs between the parts. All of those signs come from the setup.

In the information code list you find the lines that define each variation. The label tells you what the line includes:

• IC includes only the information code.
• ICV includes information code and value.
• IV ICV includes information value, information code, and value.

These are just names Abakion added to make the lines easy to recognise. You can create a new line and give it any name you want.

Choosing which elements to include and which signs to use

For each setup line you determine what goes after the master name. If you include the item name, you might want a comma after the master name, for example.

Using check marks, you decide whether to include:

• The information code description, and which sign should follow it.
• The information value description, and which sign should follow it.
• The value itself.
• An additional description.

You can set a different sign for each element. If you prefer slashes instead of commas, you just change the sign in the setup. You can also choose to include the value without including the information value, or to leave out a description you don’t need.

Controlling the order of the elements

The order field defines the sequence in which the elements appear. A line labelled IV ICV is set up so the order is information value, then information code, then value. Because the order is an option string, you select the sequence you want directly.

This means you can build several different setups for different needs. Some items might need the description put together in one way, while others need a different layout. You set up as many variations as you need.

Including or excluding the item description

In the master data information setup you also decide whether the item description is added at the front of the long description. For example, a long description might start with “City bike” because the bike type is a city bike, even though that wording is part of the item name. For a street touring bike, the description may not be included, because the setup determines that the item description is not added in front.

So when you create long item descriptions, you control both how the master data elements are merged and whether the item description appears in front of the result.

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