DockPanel Code Search
Last updated 11 November 2020.
Introduction to V8 Source Code Search for V8 Search XE
V8 Source Code Search is an easy to use search module to quickly find text in Microsoft Dynamics Business Central / NAV objects. With this module it is possible to get a quick and effortless overview of C/AL code, modules and dependencies.
This page explains how to search for objects using Code Search, how to narrow the scope of a search, and what search syntax is supported.
IMPORTANT pre-requisites:
Only a system administrator/local host administrator is able to perform all checks or functions.
DISCLAIMER:
This code and information are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Furthermore, the author or Olav Treffurt IT Consulting shall not be liable for any damages you may sustain by using this information, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
This code and information are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Furthermore, the author or Olav Treffurt IT Consulting shall not be liable for any damages you may sustain by using this information, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Contains the following informational sections:
General
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| 1 |
Search Options
For an example of how TSQL code fragments can be used to find their origin in the Dynamics NA/BC objects, see Finding information in AL Code. |
2.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 |
Default: Enabled
Updatable: Yes Tab "Universal Search": Search for an exact word or phrase By default, the V8 code search returns objects that contain the search terms you entered at any point that are contained in a Dynamics AL object. To search for an exact word or phrase, select Search whole words only. If you search for whole words only, no parts of words or phrases will be found. For example, searching for "SETRANGE" will not return "SET" and searching for "Record 5050" will not return "Record". Put two words with an empty character in quotation marks. The search results appear when you have entered two or more characters and pressed the button "Search" in the upper left corner.
Note:
Navigate to the small arrow in the upper right corner (1).If you have selected a text in the TSQL Analysis Editor and pressed CTRL + F3, the text is copied into the input field and automatically placed in double quotes. You do not need to press the "Search" button. This is done automatically with the key combination. If you press the arrow, a drop-down menu (2) will appear. Here you will find a list of wildcards that you can use for your search. 
For each search, the first 100 results are displayed. If there are more than 100 results, the "Display Search Term" control (4) displays the exact number of hits. You can increase or decrease the default result display. Change the value under "Display Search Result Count" (1) as needed. Press the "Search" button again and execute the query again. |
2.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
Default: Not enabled
Updatable: Yes Tab "Extended Search": Combined search of words and and reserved code terms In general, the search (1) tries to match text in all fields. It does not distinguish between upper and lower case characters (that is, it is not case-sensitive). Text at any position in field (2) (at the beginning, end, or middle) is searched. 
In general, the search tries to match text in all fields. It does not distinguish between upper and lower case characters (that is, it is not case-sensitive). Text at any position in field (2) (at the beginning, end, or middle) is searched. For example the name of the table field "Customer No." from the NAV/BC table "Customer" (Record 17). 
In our example, the resultant quantity is of course very large. The Customer table is used very often in NAV/BC, especially with the primary key "Customer No.". However, you can make a more precise search, for example by adding a C/AL Reserved Words from the dropdown list like "SETRANGE". The search would now return all Dynamics NAV/BC objects and as a result a list of objects that contain a combination of "SETRANGE" and "Customer No." in the code. 
The result is much more accurate by adding the word "SETRANGE". Unfortunately, the result line is displayed twice in this combination. You have the possibility to add further search criteria to the search without restrictions. The more search criteria you add, the more precise the result will be. We will show you how we try to find this C/AL code from the object table "Customer" (18), for whatever reason. The Dynamics "Demo" database we use consists of over 6000 objects with over 3000000 lines of code. We are of the opinion that the result can be seen through at this speed. Now you may understand why this is called "SEARCH". 
It is important that you look at the lines that show both search criteria in the back. As hlife the column "Blob Line" can be used for orientation. Both lines are in the same object. To view the object, double-click on the desired line. The AL object is opened in a separate document window as before. Important! If you add more than two criteria to the search, you can use checkbox "Show" to control whether this criterion should be displayed in the result. You can delete any search criterion. select the line and press remove.
Note:
If you have selected a text in the TSQL analysis editor and pressed Shift + F4, the text is copied into the input field and search criterion is inserted into the first line. Any further selected text is added as a new line in the search window by pressing Shift+F4 again. Please decide if you want to show the kirerium in the result window. then click on the checkbox "Show". The search does not start automatically. Press the button "Search". 
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2.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. |
Default: Not enabled
Updatable: Yes Tab "Search Variable": Filter the search result
This function is no longer used in the current version and will not be visible in future versions of the V8 Search XE.
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2.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. |
Default: Not enabled
Updatable: Yes Tab "Result Tree": Displays the search result in a tree structure Each object contained in the search result is displayed only once, even if it matches the search criterion in several lines. 
Tab "Result Tree": Exported or imported as an XML file. 
Tab "Result Tree": double click to open the C/Side object. 
The tree structure will be used for future versions of "V8 Search XE". It serves as a basis for the visualization of Dynamics source code analysis.
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2.0 |