Master Data Information in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central lets you build item descriptions automatically from structured attribute data instead of typing free text. You can generate four different description types from the same underlying data: the long description, item Description and Description 2 on the item card, the type description, and the report description.
You control all four descriptions in the Information Code list. The Create Description field defines how each attribute combines its value and information value, for example showing “28 inches” for a wheel diameter.
The four description types serve different purposes. The long description is the full text built from all attributes. The type description merges into the Description or Description 2 field on the item card. The report description controls what prints on documents like sales orders. You decide per attribute whether it is included in the report description using a checkbox.
Once you set this up correctly, the descriptions update automatically when you change an attribute value. You do not have to maintain the text manually afterwards.
Four description types in Master Data Information
Master Data Information can merge four different types of description, and they can be tricky to keep apart. Using item 1000 as an example, here is what each one does and where it comes from.
The first is the long item description, which you can see on the item list. It is built from many of the Master Data Information attributes on the item. On a bike item, for example, the long description is assembled automatically from the description fields, and it looks like the data you recognise from the attributes.
The second and third are the standard item card fields, Description and Description 2. You can have Master Data Information write into either of these. The fourth is the report description, which is the version that prints on documents.
How the Create Description field builds the text
Everything is configured in the Information Code list. When you open it, you see the relevant fields at the top, including the Create Description field. This field determines how the description is assembled for each information code.
As an example, the wheel diameter has a Create Description set to “VIB”, meaning Value Information Value. There is a separate setup behind this, but a default setup ships with the system that you can use straight away. “VIB” simply means: take the value first, then the information value.
The result is that when you change the value for a specific item, the text in the description column is regenerated based on it. If you change the wheel diameter to 28, it now shows the value 28 followed by the information value. The information value itself comes from a description you can drill into, so 28 combined with “inches” produces “28 inches”.
Controlling the long description per attribute
When you build the long description, you choose what each attribute contributes. For wheel diameter you might want it to read the name “Wheel diameter”, then the value 28, then the information value “inches”, giving “Wheel diameter 28 inches”.
For another attribute you can leave parts out. A city bike, for example, only ever sells as a city bike, so you do not want it to read “Bike type: City bike”. You just want it to say “City bike”. You control this by setting the bike type long description to show only the information value.
Merging into Description and Description 2 with the type description
The type description is what you use when you want to merge into the item card fields Description or Description 2. In the Master Data Information setup you can choose to write the merged text into either Description or Description 2 on the item card.
For an attribute set to information value followed by value, you get “inch” followed by 28. The type description column is the reason the item card shows that combined text. This is the field that puts the merged attribute text directly onto the item card.
The report description and the Include in Report Description option
The last description type is the report description. The “Include in Report Description” column controls what makes up the long description on the document when you print it.
You can decide per attribute whether it appears on documents. For example, wheel diameter can be included in the long description but excluded from the report description, so it shows up on the item card but not on the printed document. A gear attribute can be the opposite: included in the report description with its information code, so the document reads “Gear” followed by the gear value, while the long description shows only the value itself.
This split is useful in practice. On the item card you might want one version that the salesperson or purchaser uses internally. On the printed document you want something different. The Include in Report Description setting gives you that separation.
Set it up once, then it maintains itself
Once you configure the four description types in the Information Code list, the descriptions work out of the box. When you create a sales order line for item 1000, the long description pulls from the item card, but the document uses the report description you set up. Change an attribute value and the text updates automatically. You do not have to maintain anything further.
Q&A
What are the four description types in Master Data Information?
The four types are the long description, the type description that merges into Description or Description 2 on the item card, and the report description used on documents. They are all built from the same underlying attribute data and configured in the Information Code list.
What does the Create Description field do?
It determines how each attribute combines its value and information value into text. For example, setting it to “VIB” (Value Information Value) takes the value first, then the information value, producing text like “28 inches”.
Can I write Master Data Information into the item card description fields?
Yes. In the Master Data Information setup you can choose to merge the type description into either the Description or the Description 2 field on the item card.
How do I make an attribute show on the item card but not on printed documents?
Include the attribute in the long description but leave it out of the report description. The “Include in Report Description” column controls what prints on the document, independently of what shows on the item card.
Do I have to maintain the descriptions manually after setup?
No. Once you configure the descriptions in the Information Code list, they generate automatically. When you change an attribute value, the descriptions update on their own.