Business Documents is a powerful, standard tool in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (D365FO) designed to streamline the creation and visualization of documents and reports. It leverages the Electronic Reporting (ER) framework as its core engine for data extraction and formatting.

In my previous blog post, I provided a comprehensive overview of Configurable Business Documents (CBD), their capabilities, and how to customize them effectively. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can read it here: Business Documents Overview.

In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the process of running a configuration in Draft mode. This feature allows you to test modifications to your data model, model mapping, and format mapping before publishing. By running in draft mode, you can ensure that your formulas and mappings work as expected, enabling you to confidently publish your configuration once all required mappings and layouts are correct.

Why Run in Draft Mode?

Running an ER configuration in draft mode is essential for testing changes to:

• Data model
• Model mapping
• Format mapping

By setting the configuration to “Run draft” = Yes, you can safely test modifications without affecting the production version. This helps you verify behavior and functionality before finalizing your changes.

How to Activate “Run Draft”?

1. Ensure an Active Configuration Provider

To activate draft mode, first ensure you have an active configuration provider. Then:

• Navigate to Advanced Settings in the ER workspace.
• Enable the Run draft option.

2. Activate “Run Draft” for ER Destinations

To test a CBD with active distribution, follow these steps:

1. Enable the Run draft option in your ER user parameters.

2. Navigate to the ER destination settings.

3. Ensure that the ER configuration you want to test is populated. If not, click Resolve to enable draft mode for the specific configuration.

Testing Your Modifications in Draft Mode

Once you’ve activated the Run draft feature, you can test your changes live:

1. Activate Run draft on the desired format mapping for your CBD.
2. Modify elements, mappings, or attachments as needed.
3. Click Save to test the generation of the CBD in draft mode.

This approach allows you to fine-tune your configuration and layout, ensuring everything works correctly before publishing.

By utilizing the Run draft feature, you can enhance the efficiency of your CBD testing and development processes.

I hope this post provides valuable insights into leveraging draft mode for CBDs. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below—your input is always appreciated!