On purchase and sales order lines, we have some functionality to show or hide variant lines to make it, to provide a better overview for the sales person.
If you work with item variants on purchase and sales orders, the order lines can quickly become cluttered. Each variant gets its own line, which makes it hard to keep an overview when you are entering or reviewing a document. Business Central includes functionality to hide and show variant lines, so you can switch between a clean top-level view and the full detail whenever you need it.
You get two actions on the order lines. The Set Style Master Filter action shows only the style master lines and hides the individual variant lines. The Set Hide Style Variants action hides the variant lines but keeps the normal item lines visible. Both actions are reversible, so you can reopen all lines at any time.
The Total Quantity column shows the combined quantity across all variants of a style, so you keep the overview even when the detail lines are hidden.
Why variant lines clutter purchase and sales orders
When you build a purchase or sales order that includes items with variants, each variant ends up on its own line. A single order can mix several types of lines: a group of variant lines belonging to one style master, a couple of normal item lines without variants, and then another group of variant lines further down. For a sales or purchasing person scrolling through the document, this makes it difficult to see the structure of the order at a glance.
Showing only style master lines with the Style Master Filter
The first action is called Set Style Master Filter. When you apply it, the order filters down so you only see the style master lines. The individual variant lines underneath each style are hidden.
This gives you a compact view where each style is represented by a single line. The Total Quantity column shows the combined quantity across all the variants of that style, so you still see how much you are ordering in total even though the detail lines are out of sight. The Total Quantity column is for information purposes, since it is a shared column across the variants.
Hiding the variant lines does not remove your ability to work with them. For each style master, you can still open the variant matrix in the order and modify the quantities per variant. When you click Set Style Master again, all the lines reopen.
Keeping normal item lines visible with Hide Style Variants
The second action is Set Hide Style Variants. This one hides only the variant lines but leaves the normal item lines in place. You get an overview of your top level: your styles with their quantities, plus the separate lines for the normal items that do not have variants.
Both actions exist for the same reason. They create a better overview for the purchasing and sales person when you are working with variants on open documents, and you can toggle them on and off as you work.
Q&A
What do the Set Style Master Filter and Set Hide Style Variants actions do?
Set Style Master Filter shows only the style master lines and hides the individual variant lines. Set Hide Style Variants hides the variant lines but keeps the normal item lines visible. Both give you a cleaner overview of a purchase or sales order.
Can I still edit variant quantities when the variant lines are hidden?
Yes. For each style master you can open the variant matrix in the order and modify it, even while the detail lines are hidden. Clicking Set Style Master again reopens all the lines.
What does the Total Quantity column show when variant lines are hidden?
It shows the combined quantity across all variants of a style. It is a shared, information-only column, so you keep the overview of your total order quantity even when the individual variant lines are not displayed.