Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access the setup page?

To access the Data Gatekeeper page, open tell me and type "data gatekeeper setup" into the search box. See our User Guide to learn more.

How do I determine the table to set up for a page?

1. Open the page you wish to determine the table for.
2. Use Ctrl+Alt+F1 or open Help and go to Help & Support > Troubleshooting and click on the Inspect pages and data link.
3. Once the Page Inspection side panel opens, look for the section titled Table.
4. The table name and (number) will appear there.

How do I add the Data Gatekeeper FactBox to my page?

1. Determine the table for the page.
2. Note the table name or number.
3. Open the Data Gatekeeper Setup page and add the table.
4. Ensure "Enabled" is checked for this table, otherwise the FactBox will not appear and no logging will take effect for the table.

How do I enable event specific restrictions?

To enable event specific restrictions, you must uncheck the Auto Restrict checkbox. Otherwise, changes to any monitored field will result in an automatic restriction.

1. Open the Data Gatekeeper Table Setup.
2. Find the field in the Table Fields section where the specific event may occur.
3. Click the on the value under the Events column for that field. This value represents the number of events defined for the field.
4. Add a new line in the Table Field Events.
5. Chooose the event type Add Restriction.
6. Optionally enter a restriction message value for this event.
7. Optionally choose conditions for the event.

How do I define and edit a workflow?

Use the Data Gatekeeper - Workflow Wizard to define a new workflow, but use the standard Workflow setup page to edit existing ones.

1. Determine the table you wish to setup the workflow for. This is usually on the page where you can view the record.
2. Open the Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the table.
3. Click the menu item New Workflow Wizard.
4. Follow through with the setup prompts to create the workflow.
5. Upon completion, the workflow will be opened with the standard Workflow setup page.
6. For advance settings or to edit, use the standard Workflow setup page.

How do I require approval for records that are new or modified?

While Data Gatekeeper can require any new or modified record change, it's important to note that the requirement alone doesn't necessarily prevents an operation unless there are events to check if the record is restricted. The Vendor or Customer record, for example, have built-in checks for restriction when performing critical operations such as posting related documents. For these records, setting up approval requirement is easy because all we need to do is turn on Auto Restrict for the table.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Enable Auto Restrict under Settings.
3. Optionally fill out the Restrict Message.

For tables that do not have built-in checks for record restrictions, there are 2 approaches to consider:

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Find the Link to Parent section and set up the link between this record and the parent record.
3. Check the box "Auto restrict parent on child record change or restrictions." under the Approval Options section.
4. Changes in the child table will now trigger a record restriction on the parent record. Restriction checks will be handled through the parent record.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Go to the Subscription Events section.
3. Select the proper Subscription for your table, and the system will select the associated Parent table when applicable.
4. Set up the fields necessary to link this record to the parent record that's exposed by the subscription event.
5. Now the system will check this table for restriction when the selected event occurs.

I don't see a Request Approval option.

For records that have standard support for approvals, it often has a Request Approval menu. For other records, users must rely on the Request Approval that's in the Data Gatekeeper FactBox. For sake of consistency and less confusion, we recommend hiding the standard menu (where applicable) and train users to always rely on the Data Gatekeeper FactBox's menu.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Check the box "Enable parent approval request for this record." under the Approval Options section.

How do I make entries in the Data Gatekeeper FactBox go away?

There are multiple ways to make the entries go away. The most common method is to request and get approval for the change. The alternative is to use Table Field Events.

1. Enable approval request on the table for the record.
2. Use the Data Gatekeeper - Work Flow Wizard to create a "Data Gatekeeper requesting data changed approval for [Table Name]."
3. User initiates approval request.
4. Approver approves the request.
5. Changes are now committed and can be accessible under Data Gatekeeper's FactBox menu item Data Trail.

Sometimes we may want a snapshot of the record without any intervention. For example, we want to keep records of a sales line after the Quantity field is filled out, in case someone mistakenly changes the record before the order can be submitted for approval. When this event is triggered, all pending field changes will be committed. For fields where Log Insert, Modify, or Snapshot is checked, the change will be recorded as a modification if there was a modification. Otherwise, it will be recorded as a Snapshot.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Drill into the Events for the field we want to trigger an event when its value is changed.
3. Add a new event "Take a Snapshot".
4. Optionally fill out the On Condition setting.
5. After this event is triggered, committed data can be found under Data Gatekeeper's FactBox menu item Data Trail.

When data is entered into a field for the first time, it’s considered initial data. Even if the field is later changed, if the old value was blank, zero, or the default value when the record was inserted, it will still be treated as initial data and ignored when changes are committed. When this event is triggered, Data Gatekeeper will immediately flush these changes so that subsequent updates are considered modifications.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Drill into the Events for the field we want to trigger an event when its value is changed.
3. Add a new event "Flush Ignore Initial".
4. Optionally fill out the On Condition setting.
5. After this event is triggered, data that's marked as initial will be ignored and removed, but others will remain.

How can I include comments in the notification emails?

Data Gatekeeper makes it very easy to including comments in the notification email. But there's an important step to follow, otherwise it will not work. The comment must be entered before, not after the approval request has been sent. The Data Gatekeeper Workflow Wizard makes it easy for you to do this. If you missed this step, then you must edit the workflow and add the step yourself. To make it simple, use the wizard to create the workflow, then drill into the first event's responses to see how it's done.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Choose menu option New Workflow Wizard.
3. Fill out the necessary setup.
4. When you get to the Message and Comments step, you have the option to display a message box such as, "Please provide a reason for the request.", which will be displayed prior to the comments dialog. If you don't fill it out, then BC will just skip to the comments page.
5. Check the box "Show Approval Comments Page", and then create the workflow.

The approver is unable to approve their own changes.

Making and approving your own change is usually frowned upon by auditors. This is why Data Gatekeeper blocks it by default. To allow, simply follow the steps below.

1. Open Data Gatekeeper Table Setup for the record's table.
2. Check the box "Allow to approve own changes." under Approval Options.

Approval entry shows sender approved their own change.

Business Central will always create an approval request for every approver who is eligible to approve the change. If the sender is the approver, and they're the only person who can approve the request, then—even if “Allow to approve own changes” is not enabled—Data Gatekeeper cannot block this action; otherwise, the request would be left in limbo with no valid approver.

Data Gatekeeper can only prevent further workflow execution when more than one approver exists. The request will still be marked as approved, and that's why it appears as though the sender approved their own request. From Data Gatekeeper’s perspective, the final person who approves the request is considered the ultimate approver for the change, and the Data Trail report reflects this behavior.