About This Release
Released - March 30, 2021
This version is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 2020 release wave 2, cumulative update 5, build 17.5.22499.22546.
Discontinuation of LS Nav
LS Retail policy for LS Central is that new features and fixes go into the next new release, not previous releases. When LS Central 15.0, the first AL version, was released, it was decided to make an exception to this by continuing to release fixes and new events in LS Nav 14.x for a limited time. Now the time has come to end this exception. The last version of LS Nav 14, version 14.04, was released in January 2021.
All open support tickets related to versions prior to LS Central 15.0, that is all tickets related to LS Nav, have been closed. Partners can submit new tickets for LS Central if the issue still applies there.
LS Central 17.4
LS Central 17.4 is delivered as an extension with dependency on the Business Central Base App. This means that LS Central does not make any changes to the Business Central Base Application. The release package includes both the runtime app and the source code.
LS Central AL code
The source code is delivered in AL files that can be modified by partners. It is, however, highly recommended to make all modifications in extensions, and if you need to alter the LS Central or Business Central behavior then do that by subscribing to events.
It is LS Retail's priority to make it easy for the partners to extend LS Central. Therefore, there is a special section in our Support Portal (login required) for partners to submit requests for new events. These requests are given priority.
LS Central extension
The release package includes LS Central as a runtime app that can be installed as an extension. To install the extension, you first need to publish it, see Publishing and Installing an Extension v2.0. Once the extension has been published, the LS Central extension can be installed using the Extension Management page in Business Central.
Important Notices for Upcoming Release
Versioning
The versioning of the LS Central app is normally as follows: <major>.<minor>.<hotfix>.<build> - for example v. 17.3.0.0.
Until now the build number section has always been 0. Due to a technical change in the Business Central platform, LS Central versions 17.4, 17.5, and 18.0 will be released with a build number (not equal to 0).
LS Central Object Prefixing
One of the requirements for apps on AppSource is to add an Affix to all objects in the app. To prepare LS Central for AppSource, all LS Central objects will be prefixed with the prefix LSC. The plan is to release the prefixed objects in LS Central version 17.5, which is scheduled to be released on the 15th of April 2021.
There is a 30-character limit on object names. Over 1000 LS Central objects will exceed that limit when the LSC prefix is added to the object name. These object names will be adjusted, for example by using abbreviations, shortened words, or other naming adjustments.
For all object types except PageExtensions and TableExtensions the prefix is on object level. On PageExtensions and TableExtensions the prefix is on control/field/action level. Captions are not changed. AL source file names are not changed.
All apps that have dependency on LS Central should be tested and adjusted to the prefixed names. This is a breaking change and upgrades must use ForceSync.
To help partners to prepare for this change a container with LS Central version 17.2 with prefixed objects is available for download. Get the container on the LS Retail Portal (login required), the Technical Support help desk, where you can also contact Support if you have any questions.
New or Enhanced Features
Retail
BackOffice
"Take Picture" Feature Added to Retail Image Page
It is now possible to use the computer camera directly from the Retail Image List and Retail Image Page from the Retail Image Preview Factbox.
Customer Order: Notification Setup for Collect and Ship
Processing Status messages in Customer Order can now be customized on one hand for orders that are shipped and on the other for orders that are to be collected in store.
Fashion: Item Variant Lookup/Dropdown
You can now view Code, Description, and Description 2 values in the Variant Code lookup/dropdown page from the Retail Purchase Order and Retail Transfer Order pages.
New GS1 Barcodes Added
GS1 barcodes with the following sections can now be scanned:
- 10 Batch or Lot No
- 17 Expiration Date
- 21 Serial No.
Statement Calculation and Posting Improvement
Performance of the statement calculation and posting functionality has been improved and optimized. The replication counter update procedure has been refactored, which resolves the deadlock issues during statement calculation and posting. Now it is also possible to automatically create and calculate statements for stores and perform statement batch posting in parallel.
Automatic statement creation and calculation
You can now set up the system to automatically create and calculate statements for stores. You can activate this option using the Auto. Calculate Statement setting in the Store Card, and by scheduling the codeunit Statement - Auto Calculate (99001479). The statements will be calculated incrementally with each calculation to include new transactions.
Parallel statement batch posting
The statements in the batch posting queue can now be posted in parallel with multiple sessions. You can activate this option using the Enable Parallel Posting setting in the Batch Posting Setup page, and by scheduling the codeunit Schedule Batch Posting (99001459).
For more information see Calculating and Posting Statements.
For customers on C/AL versions, LS Retail Partners can request the SCP (Statement Calculation & Posting) object package, based on LS Central 14, via the Technical Support help desk on the LS Retail Portal.
Unlock Order Lines
When Customer Order lines are in the picking process and are locked by a POS terminal or a Mobile Inventory device, a BackOffice user can now unlock the Customer Order lines.
LS Hardware Station
Logo Type "Download" Now Available
Logo type Download is now available in the Web POS via LS Hardware Station. Until now, this feature only worked in the .NET POS. To add a logo to a receipt, the user can now set the path of a bitmap or other supported logo types in the Printer Card in LS Central.
LS Pay in LS Hardware Station Updated to v. 2.21.1
LS Pay in LS Hardware Station has been updated to version 2.21.1. The following properties were added to EFT objects:
- PointAmount has been added to AmountBreakdown.
- New enum values were added to EFTVerificationMethod: CTL; MagneticStripe.
- New variable Installments were added to PurchaseRequest, of type Installments.
- New variable EnablePLB (Product Level Blocking) was added to PurchasRequest, of type bool. If True, specific items are being sold that are not included in a gift card scheme. Added for Linkly (EFTPos).
LS Web POS
Dual Display
Dual Display is now available in the Web POS when it is started from the LS Central AppShell, Windows version. It starts automatically when enabled in the Terminal card. When used in LS Central AppShell, Windows version, it will open by default on a secondary screen.
POS Key Functionality Implemented
Key commands are now supported in the LS Central POS, for triggering POS commands and button clicks via keyboard shortcuts.
Hospitality
LS Central for Restaurants
New Events in Hospitality POS Startup and Send to KDS
Events on idle timer tick and execute POS command are now in the following codeunits:
- Hospitality POS Startup
- Table List POS Startup
- Allocation Panel Controller
- Act. Din. Reserv. Controller.
Set Hierarchy Dates for Stores
New FastTab, Hierarchy Date, has been added on the Store Card. This makes it possible to specify which hierarchy and which schedule is in use for specific Sales Types. This is also used for eCommerce and to control which menu is used on the Self-Service kiosk as illustrated in Demo Data for Store S0017 - EasyBurger.
Setup Added to Control Allocation by Capacity
A new setup in the dining area controls whether dining tables should be filtered by capacity when a reservation is allocated.
LS KDS
New Item Comment Style in KDS
KDS style profiles now have a new Item Comment Style which makes it possible to show Time and Text modifiers with a specific color and/or background.
LS Activity
Actions on Reservations
The Confirm and Cancel actions now confirm or cancel the selected activity lines. New actions, Confirm All and Cancel All, have been added to confirm or cancel all activity lines for the reservation.
Activity Types and Additional Charges
A new setting to set a product template for Activity Types allows the user to set a default product, when a new product with the Activity Type is created (similar to adding an item category to an item in Business Central).
Now it is also possible to specify default Additional Charges for an activity type, so when a product with this kind of activity type is sold, the system will automatically add these charges to the activity.
Email Option Added to Tasks
Email templates can now be added to the task setup to send emails to a resource that is assigned to a task. You can send a single task or all tasks for the activity to the assigned resources from the Activity Task Entries page.
New Page
A new page, Activity Item Reservations, shows an item summary of all additional charges for given dates for reservations. You can open the page in the Activity Manager role center using the View action followed by the Item Summary action.
LS Central for Hotels
Activity Charges Automatically Linked
When items are charged to an Activity Reservation using the POS command CHARGE2RES, and this Activity Reservation is linked to a Hotel Reservation, the lines are automatically charged to the Hotel Reservation and marked in the Activity Reservation as Hotel Charge. These charges are then paid upon checkout of the hotel reservation.
Managing Group Members
It is now possible to manage Group Members in LS Hotels in the same way as in LS Activity: by sending Excel templates to customers and importing an Excel list with group members back into the reservation.
Non-posted Invoices Shown on POS
If there are non-posted invoices for a reservation, this is shown on the Manage Invoices panel in the POS.
Reservation Tile Shows Non-posted Invoice Amount
If there are non-posted invoices for a reservation, this is now shown in the reservation's FactBox pane.
Tape Chart Enhancement
The number of nights since a room was last in use is shown in the upper-right corner of the Tape Chart's Room cell.
POS Commands
The following POS commands are new in LS Central 17.4:
- REFRESHRES - Refreshes the POS Web Template for a hotel reservation to see if any new activities or charges have been added to the reservation while it is open.
- REFRESHGROUPRES - Same as above except for a group reservation.
See the LS Central Help and the corresponding Excel list with filters for a complete list of POS commands.
Other
Demo Data
Scheduler Job Name Changes
Omni Server has been renamed to Commerce Service. The scheduler jobs in the Demo Data company for Commerce (previously Omni) have been renamed accordingly:
- COMMERCE_INIT - replaces OMNI_INIT
- COMMERCE_UPDATE - replaces OMNI_UPDATE
- COMMERCE_INVENTORY - replaces OMNI_INVENTORY
LS Central Help
The online help for LS Hardware Station has been updated and reorganized.
Fixed Issues
Retail
BackOffice
Fixed Quantity Field Updated
In the Item Label Setup table the initial value for the Fixed Quantityfield is now 1. Previously, the initial value was 0 when a new record was made. All existing records that currently have Fixed Quantity as 0 in the Item Label Setup table will be upgraded to 1.
LS Forecast
LS Forecast Confidence Interval
When synchronizing items in LS Central with LS Forecast, an issue where the decimal sign in the Confidence Interval was not converted correctly for regions that are using comma (,) as decimal separator, has now been fixed.