The “hidden level” of RIM?

Maybe it's my shortsightedness?

I've been using the Data Migration tool of RIM for a long time and saw it getting better over the years.
Then there's also the Setup Master Templates tool in RIM, which is great to prepare templates for master data. But for me, the biggest advantage of the Setup Master Templates was that, by predefining values such as Posting Groups, you could help (new) users creating customers, vendors, items and/or contacts.

But for me, there was always something missing. I was looking for a relation between these two RIM tools. The power of the Data Migration tool, combined with the effectiveness of the Setup Master Templates.
This would allow me to ask my customers to prepare an Excel Migration file with simple data (they are able to provide) such as name, address, VAT number, etc., and then combine it with a predefined Setup Master Template with the more "complex" stuff such a posting groups.

So maybe it was my shortsightedness, because it has always been there…

By going to the Data Migration Page and using the Choose Columns function, you can add the column Data Template where you can choose an existing Data Template record.

In the example below a customer Data Template is linked to a migration record of the Customer table (Table 18).

Figure 1 - Migration Overview window

This will allow us to only include basic fields in the Excel migration file, easy to provide by a user. So we don't need to include here for example the Customer Posting Group because it will be assigned by the attached Data Template.

Figure 2 - Migration Fields Page

Now even someone shortsighted as me can fill in such a simple Excel file.

Figure 3 - Excel Migration file

Next we will import the Excel Migration file back into NAV.
This will create a Migration record with all the basic information we received from our customer. Because we combined the Migration Overview record with a Data Template, the values assigned to the Data Template (such as the Posting Groups) will be applied to the new customer record when we run the Apply Migration Data function.

The result will be a customer with all the required information, coming from both the Excel Migration file and the Data Template.

Figure 4 - Customer Card Page

So the benefits of working like that are the ease of use for the customer to provide their basic data, combined with the fact that the application consultant will be sure that important and critical NAV information is assigned completely and correctly to the different master data.