Simple Object Designer Documentation
Index

What Are Symbols

Symbols are the foundation of how Simple Object Designer understands your Business Central environment. This page explains what symbols are, why they're needed, and how they enable SOD's functionality.

Understanding Symbols

In Business Central development, "symbols" refer to the metadata that describes all objects in the system:

  • Tables - Names, IDs, and field definitions
  • Pages - Names, IDs, source tables, and control layouts
  • Reports - Names, IDs, data items, and columns
  • Codeunits - Names, IDs, and method signatures
  • Enums - Names, IDs, and values
  • Other objects - Queries, XMLports, PermissionSets, etc.

Every installed extension contributes its symbols to the system. The base application, platform, and all apps combine to form the complete symbol set.

Why SOD Needs Symbols

SOD needs symbols to:

1. Show Available Tables

Without symbols, SOD wouldn't know which tables exist in your environment. Symbols tell SOD:

  • Table names and IDs
  • Existing fields on each table
  • Relationships between tables

2. Enable Field Placement

When you place a field on a page, SOD needs to know:

  • Which pages exist and their types
  • Which fields and groups are on each page
  • Valid anchor points for placement

3. Support Report Customization

For report customization, SOD requires:

  • Available reports and their structure
  • Data items and their tables
  • Existing columns that can be extended

4. Provide Intellisense-Like Features

Symbols enable SOD's lookup features:

  • Table and field selection dropdowns
  • Page and control lookups
  • Enum and option value selections

5. Validate Customizations

Before generating code, SOD validates against symbols:

  • Ensuring referenced objects exist
  • Verifying field types are compatible
  • Checking that anchors are valid

Where Symbols Come From

Symbols are downloaded from Business Central's development endpoint. This endpoint provides access to symbol packages for all installed extensions.

Symbol Sources

Source Contents
System Application Base platform objects
Base Application Standard BC functionality
Installed Apps AppSource and per-tenant extensions
Microsoft Extensions First-party Microsoft apps

The Symbol Package

Each extension publishes a symbol package containing:

  • Object definitions in a structured format
  • Dependency information
  • Version metadata

SOD downloads and parses these packages to build its metadata cache.

The Symbol Cache

After downloading, SOD stores symbol data in internal cache tables:

Cache Table Contents
Extension Cache List of installed extensions and versions
Table MetaData Table definitions and properties
Field MetaData Field definitions for all tables
Page MetaData Page definitions and properties
Page Control MetaData Controls and groups on pages
Report MetaData Report definitions and properties
Codeunit Method Symbol Available codeunit methods

This cache enables fast lookups without repeatedly downloading symbols.

Keeping Symbols Current

Symbols can become outdated when:

  • Business Central is updated to a new version
  • New extensions are installed
  • Existing extensions are updated
  • Extensions are uninstalled

Signs of Outdated Symbols

  • New tables not appearing in lists
  • Missing fields that should exist
  • Page placements failing validation
  • References to objects that no longer exist

When to Re-Download

Re-download symbols when:

  • SOD prompts you that symbols may be outdated
  • You've installed new extensions
  • After Business Central platform updates
  • Objects you expect to see are missing

Symbol Download Process Overview

The download process:

  1. Authentication - OAuth2 login to Business Central
  2. Discovery - Identify all installed extensions
  3. Download - Retrieve symbol packages for each extension
  4. Parse - Extract metadata from packages
  5. Cache - Store in SOD's internal tables

See Download Process for step-by-step details.

Limitations

What Symbols Don't Include

  • Record data (actual customer names, amounts, etc.)
  • User preferences or personalizations
  • Security settings or permissions
  • Custom report layouts

Downloading symbols changes nothing

Symbol download is a read-only operation. SOD only reads metadata about objects that already exist. It does not change, break or modify any existing extension or third-party customization in the environment, so it is always safe to answer Yes when prompted to download or refresh symbols.

Scope Limitations

  • Symbols reflect the current environment only
  • Different environments may have different extensions
  • Sandbox and production may have different symbol sets, and they download symbols from different sources — production uses Microsoft's snapshot-debugger endpoint, a sandbox does not