Cloud Replicator Documentation
Index

Field Actions Overview

Field Actions provide granular control over how individual fields are replicated to your cloud destinations. This guide explains the concept and available options.

Understanding Field Actions

Default Behavior

By default, Cloud Replicator includes all fields from a table in the replication. Field Actions are used to configure exceptions to this default behavior.

Exception-Based Model

Scenario Action Needed
Include field as-is No action required (default)
Exclude a field Add Field Action with "Exclude"
Transform a field Add Field Action with appropriate type
Expand related data Add Field Action with "Unfold"

This exception-based approach means:

  • Simple replications require no field configuration
  • You only configure fields that need special handling
  • Adding new fields to a table automatically includes them

Accessing Field Actions

From Table Mapping

  1. Open the Table Mapping page
  2. Find your table mapping
  3. Click the Field Actions count value
  4. Or select the mapping and use the action bar
  1. Search for "Field Actions" in Business Central
  2. Note: Page opens without context, you'll need to filter

Field Actions Page

The Field Actions page shows:

Column Description
Table No. The Business Central table
Field No. Field number in the table
Field Name Auto-populated field caption
Field Action The action type
Related Table Reference table (for some actions)
Global Filter Record filter (for some actions)

Available Actions

Default

Include the field with its standard value. This is the default behavior - you typically don't need to explicitly set this.

Exclude

Skip the field entirely. The field will not appear in replicated data.

Use for:

  • Large fields you don't need
  • Sensitive data
  • System fields not relevant to your use case
  • Blob fields you want to omit

Unfold

Expand data from a related table inline. Instead of a foreign key value, the replicated data includes fields from the related record.

Use for:

  • Denormalizing data for analytics
  • Including customer name with invoice lines
  • Flattening hierarchical data

Partition Key Format

Use the field value as part of the partition key. Adds the field value to the PartitionKey in Azure Table Storage or Cosmos DB Table.

Use for:

  • Additional data partitioning
  • Query optimization by commonly filtered field

Unfold DimensionSet

Special handling for Dimension Set ID fields. Expands dimension set entries into individual dimension value fields.

Use for:

  • Including dimension values directly in replicated data
  • Avoiding the need to join dimension tables

Ending Period

For date fields, calculates the ending period date. Useful for period-based reporting.

Unfold Totalling

Unfolds totalling information from a related table. Specialized for certain Business Central structures.

Use Option Caption

Replaces the numeric option value with its caption text.

Use for:

  • Human-readable option values
  • When end users will view the data directly

Unfold Item Attributes

Expands item attributes into individual fields.

Use for:

  • Including item attribute values directly
  • Building searchable item catalogs

Adds the SystemId GUID for a related record reference.

Use for:

  • Maintaining relationships in the destination
  • Joining tables by stable identifiers

Blob Field as Text

Converts blob field content to text.

Use for:

  • Text-based blob data (notes, descriptions)
  • When blob content should be searchable

Blob as Base64

Converts blob field content to Base64 encoded string.

Use for:

  • Binary blob data
  • Images or documents that need to be preserved

Pad RowKey With Zeros (Integer based primary key)

Pads integer primary key values with leading zeros.

Use for:

  • Consistent key lengths
  • Proper sorting of numeric keys

How Field Actions Are Applied

Processing Order

  1. Cloud Replicator opens the source record
  2. For each field in the table:
    • Check if a Field Action exists
    • If no action: include field value as-is
    • If action exists: apply the specified transformation
  3. Build the output record
  4. Send to destination

Field Name Sanitization

All field names are automatically sanitized:

  • Spaces become underscores
  • Special characters are removed or replaced
  • Reserved words are prefixed

Example: "Phone No." becomes "Phone_No_"

Quick Actions

The Field Actions page provides bulk actions:

Add All

Creates Field Action records for all fields with "Default" action. Useful as a starting point for comprehensive configuration.

Exclude All

Creates Field Action records for all fields with "Exclude" action. Useful when you want to include only specific fields.

Common Patterns

Include Only Specific Fields

  1. Click "Exclude All" to exclude everything
  2. Change specific fields to "Default" to include them

Exclude Sensitive Fields

  1. Add Field Actions only for sensitive fields
  2. Set action to "Exclude"
  3. All other fields remain included
  1. Identify foreign key field
  2. Add Field Action with "Unfold"
  3. Select the related table
  4. Related record fields are expanded inline

Best Practices

Minimize Configuration

Only add Field Actions when needed. The exception-based model means less configuration for simple cases.

Document Complex Actions

Keep notes on why complex Field Actions are configured, especially Unfold configurations.

Test Transformations

After configuring Field Actions, run a manual replication and verify the output in your cloud destination.

Consider Destination Limits

Some destinations have field or document size limits. Exclude large fields if needed.