Deprecated Features in the Platform - Clients, Server, and Database
This article describes the features that are up for removal or that have been removed or replaced in the platform that Business Central uses across languages and base app.
Deprecated features won't be available in future versions of Business Central, and they are deprecated for different kinds of reasons. For example, a feature may no longer be relevant, or something better may have become available. If you use a feature that is listed, either the feature itself or an extension of it, you should look for or develop an alternative.
The next sections give a brief description of the deprecated features, state what happened to the feature, and explain why. The following table gives a few examples of what we mean by moved, removed, or replaced.
| State | Examples |
|---|---|
| Moved | The capability has been moved from local functionality to W1 because it was no longer specific to one or more country versions. The capability was combined with other related functionality to eliminate redundancy. |
| Removed | The capability will be removed in a coming release. |
| Replaced | Something better has become available, and will be used instead. |
This information will change with future releases, and might not include each deprecated feature.
Changes in 2023 release wave 1 (version 22.0)
Business Central Telemetry: using an instrumentation key (Removal)
On 31 March 2025, technical support for instrumentation key–based global ingestion in the Application Insights feature of Azure Monitor will end. After that date, your Azure Applications Insights resources will continue to receive data, but we'll no longer provide updates or customer support for instrumentation key–based global ingestion.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | Support for using an instrumentation key to setup telemetry for Business Central environments or apps will be removed in the 2023 release wave 1 (version 22.0). Please use the Azure Applications Insights connection string instead. |
License files in the .flf format for Business Central on-premises (Removal)
The following feature will be Removed in Business Central 2023 release wave 1.
|Removed | Importing license files in the .flf format will be unsupported in Business Central 2023 release wave 1. The format reamins suppported in older versions. Please transition to using the newer .bclicense format instead. |
Changes in 2022 release wave 2 (version 21.0)
WS-Federation with Azure Active Directory authentication
The following feature will be Replaced with Business Central 2022 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | For Azure Active Directory (AD) authentication, Business Central supports the OpenID Connect protocol instead of WS-Federation. Support for OpenID Connect will be introduced as the default configuration in version 20.0. However, until version 21.0, you can choose to opt out of using OpenID Connect and still configure WS-Federation. For more information, see Moving from WS-Federation to OpenID Connect. |
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Authentication Library (ADAL) and Azure AD Graph API
The Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Authentication Library (ADAL) and Azure AD Graph API makes it easy for developers to add identity capabilities to their applications, including integrating to Business Central.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | To help developers take advantage of all the identity features available in Azure Active Directory, we’re now recommending that all developers use the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) and the Microsoft Graph API in their application development. Moving forward, all new identity capabilities will only be available in MSAL and Microsoft Graph. We’re also providing guidance on end of support timelines for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Authentication Library (ADAL) and Azure AD Graph API, so that you can plan to update any applications that are still using either one of them. Starting June 30th, 2022, Microsoft will end support for ADAL and Azure AD Graph and will no longer provide technical support or security updates. Apps using Azure AD Graph after this time will no longer receive responses from the Azure AD Graph endpoint. Apps using ADAL on existing OS versions will continue to work after this time but will not get any technical support or security updates. For more information, see Update your applications to use Microsoft Authentication Library and Microsoft Graph API |
Business Central Server Administration tool (Removal)
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2022 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | The Business Central Server Administration tool for configuring the Business Central Server in on-premises installations will be removed in the 2022 release wave 2 (version 21.0). Please use the Windows PowerShell cmdlets that we make available in the Business Central Administration Shell instead. |
.NET add-ins not using .NET Standard (Removal)
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2022 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | .NET Framework has been superseded by .NET Standard. .NET add-ins compiled with .NET Framework won't work in Business Central 2022 release wave 2. |
Changes in 2022 release wave 1 (version 20.0)
License files in the .flf format for Business Central on-premises (Warning)
The following feature will be Removed in Business Central 2023 release wave 1.
|Removed | Importing license files in the .flf format will be unsupported in Business Central 2023 release wave 1. It will remain supported in older versions. Please transition to using the newer .bclicense format instead. |
Web Service Access Keys (Basic Auth) for Business Central Online
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2022 release wave 1.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed (online only) | The capability to access web services in Business Central using Web Service Access Key (Basic Auth) is deprecated for SaaS. OAuth2 will be the authentication option for SaaS. OAuth samples are published in the BCTech repo. For more information, see Using OAuth to Authorize Business Central Web Services (OData and SOAP). For on-premises, Web Service Access Key (Basic Auth) will remain an option for the time being. This change has no impact on how Business Central connects to external services. |
Permissions defined as data
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2022 release wave 1.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | With releases of Business Central prior to 2021 release wave 1 (v.18.0), System and Extension permissions and entitlements were defined as data in the application database. This has changed with Business Central v.18.0. With Business Central 2022 release wave 1, the support for defining permissions and entitlements as data in the application database will be removed. For more information, see Entitlements and Permissions Overview. |
Deprecate legacy V1 endpoints for Power Automate, Power Apps and Logic Apps in favour of newer technology
The legacy V1 endpoints served by our Power Automate, Power Apps and Logic Apps connector are being replaced later in Business Central online in 2022 and as a consequence we encourage everyone to switch to the most up-to-date V3 endpoints.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | Introduced back in 2018 and replaced with new endpoints several releases ago the legacy V1 endpoints served by our Power Automate, Power Apps and Logic Apps connector are being finally discontinued. Since more than a year ago actions based on these endpoints are not exposed in the Power Automate or Power Apps UI in any form. Partners are also educated and encouraged to use actions based on current V3 endpoints, so in 2022 we will be completely removing access to V1 endpoints in our connector. Any partners and customers who had in the past created a flow or app based on these olde endpoints and have not moved to the new ones needs to update their Power Automate flows or Power Apps now and switch to V3 actions. |
Deprecating nativeInvoicing APIs
The following feature will be deprecated with Business Central 2022 release wave 1 and Removed with Business Central 2023 release wave 2.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | The nativeInvoicing API will be deprecated with Business Central 2022 release wave 1 and Removed with Business Central 2023 release wave 2. Use the Business Central standard APIs instead. For more information, see API(V2.0) for Dynamics 365 Business Central. |
Changes in 2021 release wave 2 (version 19.0)
Business Central app for Windows
The Business Central app that's available from the Microsoft Store is no longer supported with Business Central 2021 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | The legacy app for Windows was based on Universal Windows Platform (UWP). In it's place, we offer an app that's based on Progressive Web Application (PWA) technology, which is a more modern technology that provides a better user experience going forward. The legacy app will still be available on the Windows Store for users running Business Central 2021 release wave 1 or earlier. |
Removal of the Business Central Server Administration tool (Warning)
The following feature will be Removed in a later release.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | The Business Central Server Administration tool for configuring the Business Central Server in on-premises installations will be removed in a later release. Please transition to using the provided Powershell cmdlets in the Business Central Administration Shell instead. |
SOAP endpoints (Warning)
The capability of exposing SOAP endpoints will be removed in a later release.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | SOAP has been superseded by OData V4. It's recommended that integrations are migrated to OData V4 as soon as possible. |
StartSession calls in upgrade/install context will fail
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | A new session created with AL StartSession has no link to the session that created it. This implementation can cause problems, for example, in cases where the creating session is an upgrade codeunit. If an error occurs later in the process, which requires a rollback, the server can't roll back any transactions done in the session created by the AL StartSession. This condition can leave data in the system in a bad state. Starting with Business Central 2021 release wave 2, any StartSession call in upgrade/install context will fail immediately. |
Standard APIs, Beta version
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | Beta version of the standard APIs will be removed by 2021 release wave 2. At this point, Beta APIs won't be available in new releases of Business Central. There are many improvements to v1.0 and v2.0 of the standard APIs. Improvements include more APIs, better performance and improved OData capabilities. It's recommended that integrations move to v2.0 of the standard APIs. |
Automation APIs, Beta version
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | Beta version of the Automation APIs will be removed by 2021 release wave 2. At this point, Automation Beta APIs won't be available in new releases of Business Central. It's recommended that integrations move to v2.0 of the Automation APIs. |
Client secret authentication in integrations between Microsoft-hosted Business Central online and Microsoft Dataverse
The following feature will be Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | The ability to connect Business Central with Dataverse using the client secret Service-to-Service authentication will be removed for online tenants hosted by Microsoft in March, 2022. To further strengthen security, we introduced the ability to use certificate-based authentication in Business Central 2021 release wave 1 (version 18 and later). Existing users can easily switch to certificate-based authentication. For more information, see Upgrade Connections from Business Central Online to Use Certificate-Based Authentication. On-premises customers, and online tenants that are hosted by ISVs, can continue using client secret authentication for their connections to Dataverse. |
Legacy Outlook add-in for synchronizing data
The legacy Outlook add-in for synchronizing data, such as to-dos, contacts, and tasks, between Business Central and Outlook will be Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 2.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | This add-in used Business Central web services based on outdated technology. |
Note
The feature is separate from and has no affect on the Business Centraladd-in for Outlook, which is described at Using Business Central as your Business Inbox in Outlook.
Changes in 2021 release wave 1 (version 18.0)
.NET add-ins not using .NET Standard (Warning)
In Business Central 2021 release wave 1, a warning shows if you include .NET add-ins that are compiled with .NET Framework and not with .NET Standard. The capability of using .NET add-ins compiled with .NET Framework will be removed in a later release.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | .NET Framework has been superseded by .NET Standard. .NET add-ins compiled with .NET Framework is deprecated as of Business Central 2021 release wave 1, but the feature won't be removed in this release. It's recommended that .NET add-ins are migrated to .NET Standard as soon as possible. |
Expose UI pages as SOAP endpoints (Warning)
In Business Central 2021 release wave 1, a warning shows if you expose UI pages as SOAP endpoints. The capability of exposing UI pages as SOAP endpoints will be removed in a later release.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | SOAP has been superseded by OData V4. SOAP endpoints are deprecated as of Business Central 2021 release wave 1, but the feature won't be removed in this release. It's recommended that integrations are migrated to OData V4 as soon as possible. |
OData V3
The following feature is Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 1.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | OData V3 has been superseded by OData v4. OData V3 is deprecated, and is removed as of Business Central 2021 release wave 1. It's recommended that integrations are migrated to OData v4 as soon as possible. |
The Help Server component
The following component is Removed with Business Central 2021 release wave 1.
| Removed or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | In 2021 release wave 1, the Help Server component is removed from the product media for deployment on-premises. If a customer is on a version between Dynamics NAV 2016 and Business Central 2020 release wave 2 on-premises, and they rely on Help Server to provide access to Help, then nothing changes. When they upgrade to Business Central 2021 release wave 1, they must host their custom Help on another type of website. We recommend that new solutions do not rely on the Help Server component due to the deprecation. The custom help toolkit can help deploy content to any website, for example. |
What does this mean?
We have simplified the story for how to deploy Help for a customer-specific solution of Business Central, and for deploying Help for an AppSource app. No matter what your solution is, deploy your solution-specific or customized Help to any website that you prefer. Out of the box, Business Central uses the Docs.microsoft.com site for the Learn more-links and contextual Help. Each customer and each partner can override this with their own Help. It's now the same for Business Central online and on-premises, so any investment on-premises carries forward if you migrate to Business Central online.
Changes in 2020 release wave 1 (version 16.0)
The following sections describe the features that were deprecated in 2020 release wave 1.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Authentication Library (ADAL) and Azure AD Graph API
The Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Authentication Library (ADAL) and Azure AD Graph API makes it easy for developers to add identity capabilities to their applications, including integrating to Business Central.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | To help developers take advantage of all the identity features available in Azure Active Directory, we’re now recommending that all developers to use the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) and the Microsoft Graph API in their application development. Moving forward, all new identity capabilities will only be available in MSAL and Microsoft Graph. We’re also providing guidance on end of support timelines for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Authentication Library (ADAL) and Azure AD Graph API, so you can plan to update any applications that are still using either one of them. Starting, June 30th, 2020, Microsoft will no longer add any new features to ADAL and Azure AD Graph. We will continue to provide technical support and security updates but will no longer provide feature updates. For more information, see Update your applications to use Microsoft Authentication Library and Microsoft Graph API |
Changes in 2019 release wave 2 (version 15.0)
The following sections describe the features that were deprecated in 2019 release wave 2.
The Windows Client
You can use Business Central in the Windows client that is installed on your computer.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | Business Central continues to evolve the modern client experiences where users work with Business Central in the browser, Windows 10 desktop app, or mobile apps on Android and iOS. The legacy Dynamics NAV Windows client is no longer available for deployment. Instead, users can switch to the modern experience in the browser, the Android/iOS mobile apps, or the Windows 10 desktop app (available through the respective stores). |
User Personalizations and Profile Configurations
You can personalize pages and configure profiles by adding or removing fields, and Business Central will save your changes.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Replaced | The shift to AL caused the legacy personalization and profile configuration features to become outdated, so we have introduced new tooling. In this release, existing personalizations and configurations are discarded, and you must use the new tools to recreate them. Your new changes will be kept in future releases. |
Excel COM Add-In
You can export data to an Excel workbook.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | The Excel COM add-in was installed along with the Windows client. Now that the Windows Client is no longer available, neither is the add-in. To export data to Excel, use the Edit in Excel action. |
Printing Programmatically
You can print documents such as invoices automatically, without prompting the user or without the user choosing to do so.
| Moved, Removed, or Replaced? | Why? |
|---|---|
| Removed | This feature was tied to the Windows Client, which is no longer available. |
Breaking Changes
When we move, remove, or replace an object, breaking changes can result in other apps or extensions that use the object. To help our partners identify and resolve breaking changes, we have created a Breaking Changes document that lists known issues and suggestions for what to do about them.
Features that are available only in the online version
Some features are available only under very specific circumstances, or not at all intended for use in on-premises versions of Business Central. For a list and descriptions of those features, see Features not implemented in on-premises deployments.
See Also
Deprecated Features in the Base App
Deprecated Features in the Austrian Version
Deprecated Features in the Belgian Version
Deprecated Features in the Canadian Version
Deprecated Features in the Czech Version
Deprecated Features in the Dutch Version
Deprecated Features in the Finnish Version
Deprecated Features in the German Version
Deprecated Features in the Icelandic Version
Deprecated Features in the Italian Version
Deprecated Features in the Mexican Version
Deprecated Features in the Norwegian Version
Deprecated Features in the Russian Version
Deprecated Features in the Swedish Version
Deprecated Features in the Swiss Version
Deprecated Features in the UK Version
Deprecated Features in the United States Version
Deprecated Fields, and Fields Marked as Obsolete in Local Functionality
Deprecated Tables
AlAppExtensions repository
Microsoft Timeline for Deprecating Code in Business Central
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