How to: Implement Location in C/AL

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This example illustrates how you can retrieve location information. The example implements a GetLocation action on the Customer Card (page 21) that returns the GPS coordinates of the current customers address. It does not save this information to the database. Scenarios in which this functionality could be useful would be displaying a map that shows where your customer is located based on the GPS coordinates. Or, functionality to plan the next round of customer visits based on the addresses of your customers.

Important

The location information is only available on devices that run the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App and have GPS capabilities. This means that location information is not available from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Windows client or from a browser.

To implement location in C/AL

  1. In the development environment, on the Tools menu, choose Object Designer to open the Object Designer window.

  2. In Object Designer, choose Pages, select the Customer Card (page 21) and then choose the Design button.

  3. From the Page Designer window, on the View menu, choose C/AL Globals.

  4. Create the following variable:

    Variable name DataType SubType
    Location DotNet Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.Capabilities.LocationProvider Important: Choose the Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.ClientExtensions dll on the Server tab, and then choose Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.Capabilities.LocationProvider Make sure to set the properties RunOnClient and WithEvents to Yes.
    LocationAvailable Boolean -

  5. On the View menu, select C/AL Code and in the C/AL Editor locate the OnOpenPage trigger.

  6. Instantiate the Location variable by adding the following code to the OnOpenPage trigger.

    
IF Location.IsAvailable THEN  
BEGIN  
  Location := Location.Create;  
  LocationAvailable := TRUE;  
END;

  7. Next, create the page action. Choose the View menu, and then select Page Actions.

  8. Locate the ActionGroup named Customer and create a new action; GetLocation with the following properties.

    Property Value
    Name GetLocation
    Visible LocationAvailable
    Promoted Yes
    PromotedCategory Process
    PromotedIsBig Yes

  9. Now, in the C/AL Editor, on the GetLocation – OnAction trigger, insert the following line of code.

    Location.RequestLocationAsync;

  10. While still in the C/AL Editor, on the LocationChanged trigger add the following code to handle the GPS coordinates. LocationChanged is called when the device has obtained a status.

    
Location::LocationChanged(Location : DotNet "Microsoft.Dynamics.Nav.Client.Capabilities.Location")  
IF(Location.Status = 0) THEN  
MESSAGE('Your position: %1 %2', Location.Coordinate.Latitude, Location.Coordinate.Longitude)  
ELSE  
MESSAGE('Position not available');

    Important

    Location.Status can be 0 = Available, 1 = NoData (no data could be obtained), 2 = TimedOut (location information not obtained in due time), or 3 = NotAvailable (for example user denied app access to location).

  11. Close the C/AL Editor, and then save and compile the page.

  12. You can now test the modified Customer Card page in the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App from either a tablet or a phone with GPS capabilities.

See Also

LocationOptions Overview
How to: Implement the Camera in C/AL
Developing for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App
Differences and Limitations When Developing Pages for the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Universal App