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Send Notification

Use the Send Notification step to show a message to the user while they work – either as a page notification or as a dialog message they have to acknowledge. The flow continues with the next step either way; the step never stops the document operation.

The step is available in every flow. The message reaches the user when the flow runs in their own session – for example in the interactive document and page triggers. When the flow runs in the background – for example after you start it with Start Flow, from the flow card or the Flow Workspace – the message is kept and shown to you on the page you started from, as soon as the flow has finished and the wait dialog closes. Several messages appear in the order the steps ran. If nobody waits for the flow (a scheduled flow, or one started by another flow or through the API), the message is not shown. The execution log notes either way what happened to the message.

Typical use cases:

  • Confirming what a flow changed on a document ("Delivery date set to the next working day").
  • Reminding the user of a follow-up step after they release or post.
  • Surfacing a soft warning that should not stop the operation (use an Error step when you do want to stop it).

Configure the step​

Open the flow editor, add Send Notification, and fill in the configuration page.

Description​

A short label for the step, shown on the flow canvas.

Message​

The text shown to the user. SmartField placeholders are resolved before the message is shown, so you can include values from the trigger – for example the document number or a field the flow just changed. Use the assist-edit (...) or the Insert SmartField action (Alt+S) to pick a placeholder; it is copied to the clipboard so you can paste it into the message.

A message is required.

Show as​

Choose how the message reaches the user.

Notification (the default) puts it in the notification bar at the top of the page, where Business Central shows its own notifications. It appears immediately, while the flow is still running, and the user can ignore it and keep working.

Dialog message shows it as a dialog the user has to acknowledge with OK. Use it when the message must not be missed. One thing to know about the timing: Business Central collects dialog messages and shows them once the flow has finished and control returns to the page – so a dialog message always appears after the flow is done, not at the moment the step runs.

Actions​

A notification can offer the user up to three buttons. Add them in the Actions table; it is only shown while Show as is Notification – a dialog message has no buttons. To add an action, choose what it does in the empty last row; then fill in the rest of that row. Each action has:

  • Action – what a click does: Start flow, Open card or Open list.
  • Label – the button text. SmartFields are allowed, for example Open {{trigger_No}}.
  • Flow / page – the manual flow to start, or the page to open. For Open card you can choose card and document pages, for Open list list and worksheet pages.
  • Record – for Open card, the record the card opens on, and for Start flow, the record the flow runs on when it is a flow on a record. It has to be a record of the page's (or the flow's) table.
  • Filters – for Open list only, and optional. Click the cell to open the filters: one row per field of the page's table, just like the field filters of the Find Records step. A filter can contain SmartFields – pick them with the SmartField picker. Without filters the list opens unfiltered.

Start flow starts a published manual flow and shows the wait dialog while it runs – just like the Start Flow action on a page. The flow's Open execution card setting applies. See the Manual trigger.

Open card opens the page on the chosen record, in the page's usual mode.

Open list opens the page filtered by your filters. A filter value may contain a SmartField, for example {{trigger_Customer_No}} in the Customer No. filter; it is resolved when the notification is sent. The resolved value then counts as a normal filter, as if you had typed it: a value like 10000|20000 means "10000 or 20000", and *, .. and & keep their filter meaning too. To match a value exactly as it is, put it in single quotes: '{{trigger_Name}}'.

Good to know:

  • The record, the filters and the label are worked out when the step runs. The click itself comes later, after the flow has finished – if the record was deleted in the meantime, the user gets a message instead.
  • An action that cannot be worked out when the step runs (for example a record SmartField that is empty) is left out of the notification; the execution log says why. The message is still shown.
  • When you publish the flow, you get a warning for an action that is not set up completely – for example a list page chosen for Open card, or a record of another table.

Notes​

  • The message is shown only in an interactive session. If the same flow is started without a user interface (for example, a release or posting triggered through the API), the step is skipped and the flow carries on – with either setting.
  • Flows saved before this option existed keep showing a page notification; nothing changes for them until you pick Dialog message yourself.
  • To stop a document operation instead of just informing the user, end the flow with an Error step.
  • To write a message to the execution log for later diagnostics, use the Log step. Log writes to the log only; it does not show a notification.