Simple Object Designer Documentation
Index

Advanced Settings

This page covers the advanced configuration options in Simple Object Designer, including GitHub integration, Dual-App mode, API-only mode, and other specialized settings.

GitHub Integration Mode

GitHub integration allows SOD to push generated AL source code to a GitHub repository.

Enabling GitHub Integration

  1. Open Setup
  2. Set GitHub Integration Mode to Enabled
  3. Configure the GitHub settings that appear

GitHub Settings

Setting Description
GitHub Account Your GitHub username
Personal Access Token A GitHub PAT with repo permissions
Repository The repository name (not the full URL)
Branch The branch to push to (e.g., main)
Folder Optional subfolder path within the repo

Creating a Personal Access Token

  1. Go to GitHub.com and sign in
  2. Navigate to Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
  3. Click "Generate new token (classic)"
  4. Give it a descriptive name
  5. Select the repo scope (full control of private repositories)
  6. Generate and copy the token
  7. Paste into SOD's Personal Access Token field

When to Use GitHub Integration

  • Version controlling your customizations
  • Collaborating with developers
  • Setting up CI/CD with AL-Go
  • Preparing to graduate from SOD to VS Code development

See GitHub Overview for complete details.

Dual-App Mode

Dual-App mode generates two separate extensions instead of one.

Enabling Dual-App Mode

  1. Open Setup
  2. Set App Mode to Dual
  3. Configure Extension Name 2

Why Use Dual-App Mode

Use Dual-App mode when you encounter circular dependency errors. This happens when:

  • A page extension references fields on a table extension
  • The table extension depends on something the page extension provides
  • Single-app compilation fails due to this circular reference

What Goes Where

App 1 App 2
Table extensions Page extensions
New fields Field placements
New tables UI customizations
Table-level logic Page-level logic

Requirements

  • Two separate extension names
  • Careful deployment order (App 1 first, then App 2)

See Dual-App Overview for complete details.

API-Only Mode

API-only mode restricts SOD to only allow API creation.

Enabling API-Only Mode

  1. Open Setup
  2. Enable Only Allow API Creation
  3. The UI changes to show only API-related features

When to Use

  • Organizations that only need data exposure, not UI customizations
  • Environments with strict change control policies
  • Scenarios where you want to limit what SOD can modify

What's Available in API-Only Mode

  • Expose tables as API endpoints
  • Expose business logic as APIs
  • Create data queries
  • Basic setup and publishing

What's Hidden

  • Field creation
  • Page placements
  • Report placements
  • Mandatory fields
  • Calculated fields
  • Feature creation

Publish Update Mode

Controls how Business Central handles schema changes during extension deployment.

Options

Mode Behavior
Add app to manifest Registers the app without running schema sync
Synchronize Preserves existing data, may block certain changes
Force Sync Allows all schema changes, may cause data loss

When to Use Synchronize (Default)

  • Normal day-to-day publishing
  • When you're adding new fields or objects
  • When you want to protect existing data

When to Use Force Sync

  • Removing fields that contain data
  • Changing field types in incompatible ways
  • Major restructuring that requires table recreation
  • After backing up your data

Warning: Force Sync can permanently delete data. Always backup before using.

Workflow for Force Sync

  1. Backup any important data in affected tables
  2. Set Publish Update Mode to Force Sync
  3. Publish your changes
  4. Set Publish Update Mode back to Synchronize
  5. Verify data integrity

Alternative API URL

For non-standard Business Central environments.

When to Use

  • National/regional cloud instances
  • Custom hosting scenarios
  • When standard symbol download fails

Configuration

Enter the full API URL for your environment's development endpoint.

Example format: https://api.businesscentral.dynamics.com/v2.0/{tenant}/{environment}/

Leave blank for standard Business Central cloud environments.

Include Symbols in Source Code

Controls whether symbol references are included in generated AL code.

When Enabled

  • Generated code includes full symbol information
  • Source files can be compiled independently
  • Better for GitHub/VS Code handoff

When Disabled

  • Smaller generated code
  • Faster generation
  • Sufficient for SOD-only workflows

Recommendation

Enable when using GitHub integration or planning to continue development in VS Code.

Import/Export Configuration

SOD can export and import its configuration for backup or transfer.

Exporting Configuration

  1. Open Setup
  2. Click Export in the action bar
  3. Save the configuration file

Importing Configuration

  1. Open Setup
  2. Click Import in the action bar
  3. Select the configuration file
  4. Review and confirm the import

What's Included

  • Setup settings
  • Field definitions
  • Page placements
  • Feature definitions
  • API configurations
  • All customization data

Use Cases

  • Moving configuration between environments
  • Backing up before major changes
  • Sharing templates with colleagues
  • Recovering from accidental changes

Init New App

Resets SOD for creating a completely new extension.

When to Use

  • Starting a separate set of customizations
  • Creating a new extension in the same environment
  • Testing with a clean slate

What It Does

  • Clears existing customization data
  • Resets tracking numbers
  • Prepares for new extension identity

Warning

This is destructive to existing configuration. Export first if you need to preserve anything.