Simple Object Designer Documentation
Index

Anchors and Placement

Understanding anchors is essential for placing fields in the correct position on pages. This page explains how anchors work and how to use them effectively.

What Are Anchors

An anchor is a reference point on a page that determines where your field appears. When you place a field, you specify:

  1. Placement Type - How to position relative to the anchor
  2. Anchor - The reference point itself

Together, these determine the exact location of your field.

Placement Types

AddBefore

Places your field immediately before the anchor.

Use when:

  • You want the field to appear above or to the left of an existing field
  • You're inserting into a sequence of fields

Example:

  • Anchor: "Phone No."
  • Result: Your field appears just before "Phone No."

AddAfter

Places your field immediately after the anchor.

Use when:

  • You want the field to appear below or to the right of an existing field
  • You're appending to a group of related fields

Example:

  • Anchor: "Phone No."
  • Result: Your field appears just after "Phone No."

AddFirst

Places your field at the beginning of a container.

Use when:

  • You want the field to be first in a group
  • The anchor is a group, repeater, or section

Valid anchors:

  • Groups (named sections on cards)
  • Repeaters (list views)
  • Cue Groups (on Role Centers)
  • Grid containers

Example:

  • Anchor: "General" group
  • Result: Your field is first in the General group

AddLast

Places your field at the end of a container.

Use when:

  • You want the field to be last in a group
  • Adding to an existing section without disrupting order

Valid anchors:

  • Same as AddFirst (groups, repeaters, etc.)

Example:

  • Anchor: "General" group
  • Result: Your field is last in the General group

Types of Anchors

Field Anchors

Individual fields on the page.

How to find:

  • Open the page in Business Central
  • Identify the field you want to place near
  • Note the field name for the anchor lookup

Example anchors:

  • "No."
  • "Name"
  • "Posting Date"
  • "Amount"

Group Anchors

Named groups or sections on the page.

How to find:

  • Look for section headers on card pages
  • Common groups: "General", "Invoicing", "Shipping"

Example anchors:

  • "General"
  • "Invoice Details"
  • "Communication"

Repeater Anchors

The list/grid area on list pages.

How to find:

  • List pages typically have one main repeater
  • Document pages have line repeaters

Part Anchors

FactBoxes and other page parts.

How to find:

  • Look at the right side of the page for FactBoxes
  • Parts have names like "Customer Statistics FactBox"

Sections cannot be placed in the FactBox area. The FactBox area appears as a selectable anchor when placing a new section, but the placement does not work — fields added to such a section never display. Do not anchor a new section to the FactBox area; it is a known non-functional option. See Page Groups.

Finding the Right Anchor

Method 1: Visual Inspection

  1. Open the target page in Business Central
  2. Look at the field you want to place near
  3. Note the field's caption
  4. Use that caption in the anchor lookup

Method 2: Anchor Lookup

  1. In SOD's placement configuration
  2. Click the Anchor Field dropdown
  3. Browse available anchors
  4. Select the appropriate one

Method 3: Page Inspection

  1. Go to Inspect > Pages
  2. Open the page customization
  3. Review the page structure
  4. Identify anchor candidates

Anchor Selection Guidelines

For Card Pages

Placement Goal Recommended Approach
Add to existing section AddAfter on last field in section
Insert in middle AddBefore or AddAfter on adjacent field
Start new section Create Page Group first
Add to General AddLast with "General" group anchor

For List Pages

Placement Goal Recommended Approach
Add column AddAfter on adjacent column
First column AddFirst on repeater
Last column AddLast on repeater

For Document Pages

Placement Goal Recommended Approach
Header field AddAfter on header field anchor
Line field AddAfter on line field anchor
Match header/line Ensure correct page part

Placement Index

When multiple fields use the same anchor and placement type, the Placement Index determines order.

Example:

  • Field A: AddAfter "Phone No.", Index 1
  • Field B: AddAfter "Phone No.", Index 2
  • Result: Phone No. → Field A → Field B

Managing Index

  • SOD typically assigns indices automatically
  • Adjust manually if you need specific ordering
  • Lower numbers appear first

Common Anchor Patterns

Adding to Customer Card

Goal: Add field after Phone No. in General section
Placement Type: AddAfter
Anchor: Phone No.

Adding to Sales Order Header

Goal: Add field in the General section
Placement Type: AddLast
Anchor: General (group)

Adding Column to Item List

Goal: Add column after Description
Placement Type: AddAfter
Anchor: Description

Adding to Document Lines

Goal: Add field to sales lines
Page: Sales Order Subform (or similar)
Placement Type: AddAfter
Anchor: Quantity (or relevant line field)

Troubleshooting Anchors

"Anchor Not Found" Error

Causes:

  • Anchor name is incorrect
  • Anchor doesn't exist on target page
  • Anchor was renamed or removed

Solutions:

  • Verify anchor name spelling
  • Check that anchor exists on the page
  • Try a different anchor

An invalid anchor surfaces as a compilation error at publish time, naming the anchor field. This applies to calculated fields as well as field placements. To find where the missing anchor is used, select the error and run Get Source Code from selected error.

Refreshing symbols and updating apps will not fix it. The cause is a configuration reference to an anchor that does not exist, not a stale symbol cache. Errors such as <Field> is not a valid anchor on page are covered in Publishing Failures.

Field Not Appearing

Causes:

  • Invalid anchor selection
  • Placement type incompatible with anchor
  • Page structure changed

Solutions:

  • Verify anchor is valid for placement type
  • Try a different anchor
  • Re-download symbols if page structure changed

Field in Wrong Position

Causes:

  • Wrong anchor selected
  • Wrong placement type
  • Conflicting placement index

Solutions:

  • Review anchor selection
  • Check AddBefore vs AddAfter
  • Adjust placement index

AddFirst/AddLast Not Working

Causes:

  • Anchor is not a container (group, repeater)
  • Anchor is a field instead of group

Solutions:

  • Use AddBefore/AddAfter for field anchors
  • Find the correct group/container anchor

Avoid "AddFirst" in the "Content" Area

Do not use AddFirst against the "Content" area. "Content" refers to the entire page, and Business Central can become confused by fields added to the top of it — the usual result is that the field does not appear at all after publishing.

Use instead:

  • AddLast in the General group, or
  • AddAfter relative to an existing field (for example AddAfter Posting Date)

If a field you added does not show up after publishing, an AddFirst/Content placement is a prime suspect. Change it to one of the alternatives above and republish.

Line Field Lands in the Totals Area

Symptom: a field added to a document page appears in the Totals part of the lines rather than as a column in each line.

Cause: the placement type or anchor positions it outside the line columns — no field anchor, or an anchor that resolves to the totals/summary area.

Fix: use AddAfter and select an existing field in the lines as the anchor. The field then appears as a column immediately after that anchor in every line.

The Value Is Not Visible in the List

If a value must be visible in the overview before a record is opened, the field has to be placed on the List page as a column — not on the Card or Document header page, where it only appears once the record is open.

Example: field 44 (Order No.) placed on page 142 (Posted Sales Shipments) appears as a list column.

Lookup Drop-Down Columns Cannot Be Extended

Placement types and anchors apply to fields and columns on pages, not to the columns shown inside a lookup drop-down. Extending a lookup's column list is not currently possible in SOD — see Place Fields on Pages.

Best Practices

Choose Stable Anchors

  • Use well-established fields unlikely to change
  • "No." and "Name" fields are typically stable
  • Avoid anchoring to frequently modified areas

Test After Publishing

  • Always verify placement after publishing
  • Check on the actual page, not just in SOD
  • Test different scenarios (new records, existing records)

Document Your Anchors

  • Record which anchors you're using
  • Note any special considerations
  • Update documentation if anchors change

Consider Page Variants

  • Some pages have variants (e.g., Posted Sales Invoice vs Sales Invoice)
  • May need separate placements for each
  • Verify correct page is targeted