Connector
Dynamics NAV Connector
Connect the NAV you run today, however old it is, and keep the same integration when you move to Business Central.
Rapidi connects to Dynamics NAV from Navision Financials 1.30 through NAV 2018, plus the text-based Navision 3.56. Older versions connect through C/Front, NAV 2009 and later through SQL and Web Services, and NAV 2016 to 2018 through the same OData connection as Business Central. Data can move both ways.
- What it connects to
- Microsoft Dynamics NAV and the older Navision releases, on your own server or hosted by Microsoft or a partner.
- Which way the data moves
- Both ways. Rapidi reads records, and writes them through NAV's own code and validation when you need it to.
- What you need
- RapidiConnector on a machine that can see NAV, and the NAV licence module your chosen connection uses.
What does this connector actually do?
The short version: Rapidi reads and writes NAV tables and pages through whichever connection your version supports. There is one for every release, and they can be combined.
| Records it moves | Any NAV table, or any page published as a web service. Customers, contacts, invoices, invoice lines and ledger entries are the usual set. The Customer Card, page 21, and the Sales Order, page 42, are the standard first pages. |
|---|---|
| Direction | Both ways. Reading is supported on every connection, and writing runs through NAV's own code and validation over Web Services. |
| Changed records only | The SQL connection can use the NAV timestamp to move only records that are new or changed since the last run. |
| How often it runs | On a schedule you set. The shortest interval depends on your plan, from one hour on Entry down to one minute on Unlimited. |
| Versions supported | Navision Financials 1.30 to 2.60d, Navision Attain, MBS-Navision 3.70 and 4.0, Dynamics NAV 5.0, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, and the text-based Navision 3.56. |
| Where it can run | On your own server, or hosted online by Microsoft or a partner. A hosted NAV whose web services are open to the internet is reached directly, with nothing installed on your side. |
| How it signs in | Windows authentication or a NAV user ID and password on C/Front and SQL, NTLM on Web Services, and OAuth2 through Azure Active Directory on OData. |
| What it uses in NAV | One NAV session while transfers run. Microsoft may require extra Web Access or External access licences, so check your licence conditions. |
Which connection fits your NAV version?
NAV has been reached in different ways over the years, so the connection follows the version. Most versions have more than one option, and many customers use two together.
| Connection | NAV versions | What it is best at | What goes on your side |
|---|---|---|---|
| C/Front | Navision Financials 1.30 to NAV 2009 R2 | Database level access, including FlowFields. A codeunit with extra permissions lets it write to protected tables such as sales invoice lines | RapidiConnector, a NAV client, and the C/Front module in your licence |
| SQL | NAV 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 | Reading large volumes fast, and moving only changed records. Reading FlowFields is limited | RapidiConnector and an SQL client, which comes with the NAV client |
| Web Services | NAV 2009 R2, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 | Writing through NAV's own code and validation, on any page published as a web service | Web Services Server access in your licence, and RapidiConnector unless NAV is hosted and open to the internet |
| NAS Connector | NAV 3.70, 4.0, 5.0 and 2009 | Transfers that must run C/AL code, usually alongside the C/Front connection | A small component on the NAS server and a few Rapidi codeunits imported into NAV |
| Navision 3.56 | The text-based Navision, last released in 1995 | Keeping a system this old in step with the rest of the business | RapidiConnector and a Navision 3.56 client with C-Toolkit access |
| OData | NAV 2017 and 2018, and NAV 2016 read-only | The same connection Business Central uses, so the upgrade path is already in place | Nothing for a Microsoft-hosted deployment, RapidiConnector for one on your own server |
The pairing we recommend on NAV 2013 and later is SQL for reading and Web Services for writing. You get speed on the way out and NAV's own validation on the way in, and both are included in the Rapidi subscriptions. The OData connection has its own page: the Dynamics 365 Business Central connector.
Which integrations use this connector?
Every Rapidi integration with NAV on one side runs through one of these connections. These are the ones with their own page today.
Standard integration
Salesforce and Dynamics NAV
Accounts, contacts and orders lined up across the CRM and NAV, from a pre-configured template.
CRM and ERP
Use case
Data Replication
Several NAV databases kept in step, built for retail chains and teams spread across locations.
NAV to NAV
Use case
Data Migration
Records moved from one system to another without losing any on the way.
CRM and ERP
What happens to the integration when you move to Business Central?
It depends on what the integration is bound to, not on how old your NAV is. If it is bound to a version, an SQL schema or a specific endpoint, parts of it are a rebuild. If the mappings and business rules are held outside the ERP, it is a reconfigure: repoint the connection, set up authentication, and remap any fields that changed.
In Rapidi, the transfers and field mappings are set up in MyRapidi rather than inside NAV, which is what makes the reconfigure path possible. Cloud changes how you connect, not what you connect. NAV 2017 and 2018 can already run on the Business Central OData connection, so for those versions the connection itself can carry across.
Read the six-step guide to switching from Dynamics NAV to Business Central.
In their own words
Has anyone done this before?
“The Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV made it possible to take advantage of the integration possibilities in our retail solution. It provides data exchange between 199 stores and the headquarters in an easy, efficient and secure way.”
“We have worked with Rapidi for more than 10 years. They connected our Salesforce to NAV 2018, and when we migrated to 365 Business Central, I did not have to worry about the integration. Rapidi handled it.”
Those are the two jobs this connector does: keeping a large NAV estate in step today, and carrying the integration across when the ERP underneath it changes.
Where do you go next?
Connectors
Every system Rapidi connects to
The full connector list, from Dynamics and Salesforce to SQL Server, Oracle and plain REST.
All connectors
Connector
Dynamics 365 Business Central
Where NAV goes next, and the connection NAV 2016 to 2018 can already use.
ERP
Guide
Switching from NAV to Business Central
What happens to your integration in the move, and a six-step plan for doing it safely.
Blog
Contact
Ask about your own setup
Tell us which NAV version you run and where it runs, and we will say which connection fits.
Talk to a consultant
Frequently asked questions
Still on NAV, or about to leave it?
Tell us the version and where it runs, and we will tell you which connection fits today and what the move to Business Central involves.