Getting started

This tutorial takes you from installing Prism for AL to finding where a field of Base Application is used in your own Business Central solution. It takes about fifteen minutes. You need a Windows 11 PC, an email address and an AL project in Visual Studio Code.

Install Prism for AL

Open the Prism for AL download page and download Prism for AL.
Open the downloaded file and select Install. Windows installs Prism for AL and starts it.

Prism for AL opens on the Home page. On Windows 10 or Windows Server, follow Installation instead.

The Home page the first time Prism for AL starts.

#	Name	Description
1	Open workspace file…	Opens a Visual Studio Code workspace file (`*.code-workspace`).
2	Open from BC…	Opens a solution from a running Business Central service.
3	Open folder…	Opens a folder with AL files, `app.json` files or packages.
4	Open package…	Opens a single package file (`*.app`).
5	Activate…	Opens the Activate license window, where you paste a license key.
6	Start trial…	Opens the Trial license window, where you request a trial license key by email.

About half a minute after the first start, Prism asks: “Help improve Prism for AL by sending your feature usage data as well as critical exceptions to the Statical team.” Select Yes, send my usage data or No, do not send my usage data. Prism asks only once; you can change your answer later under Settings › Telemetry.

Request a trial license

Prism needs a license for all its features; without one it runs with limited features. A trial license gives you all features for a limited time. If you already have a license key, go to Activate the license key.

On the Home page, select Start trial…. The Trial license window opens.
Type your name, your work email address and your company.
Select Send request. The window closes, and Prism says Your trial license has been issued.
Open the email we send you and copy the whole license key. If it has not arrived after a few minutes, check your spam folder.

Activate the license key

On the Home page, select Activate…. The Activate license window opens.
Paste the key into New license key. Below it, the window shows the license the key installs.
Select Activate. The window closes, an Activation dialog says “Trial license activated.”, and the Home page shows your license.

A pasted trial key, ready to activate.

#	Name	Description
1	New license key	Where you paste the key (step 2).
2	Key preview	The license the key installs.
3	Activate	Installs the key (step 3).

For the details of each window, see Trial license window and Activate license window.

Open your first workspace

Prism for AL reads your AL project together with the packages it depends on, such as Base Application, so the project needs its symbols.

In Visual Studio Code, open your AL project and run AL: Download symbols if you have not already.
In Prism for AL, on the Home page, select Open workspace file… and choose the project's .code-workspace file. If the project has none, select Open folder… and choose the project folder.
The Loading window shows Opening and the workspace's name, with its progress. When it is done, the workspace opens in a Workspace window of its own.

The first time Prism opens a package it adds it to its Package cache page, so the first load takes longer than the next ones. To speed it up, exclude the package cache from virus scanning; see Package cache and anti-virus. The Home page now lists the workspace under Open recent, so you can open it again with one selection.

Find where a field is used

Every Business Central solution has table 18 Customer in Base Application. Use it to find where a field is used:

In the workspace window, press Ctrl+T. Universal Search opens.
Type t18 and press Enter. The object view shows table 18 Customer with its fields, keys and code, and its outline on the right.

Table 18 Customer on the Objects page.

#	Name	Description
1	Search	Opens Universal Search, as `Ctrl`+`T` does.
2	Objects panel	The objects of the workspace and its packages. Select one to open it. See Objects panel.
3	Tabs	Extended and Object show the object view, Dependencies the objects it uses and is used by, and Source its text.
4	Object view	The open object: its properties, declarations and code. See Object view.
5	Outline	The object's declarations as a tree. Select one to go to it in the object view. See Outline panel.

In the object view, right-click the field Name and select Find Usages. The Usages window lists every place the field is used, grouped by object.
Select one of the code lines in the list. The workspace window shows that line in its object.
Press Alt+Left. Prism goes back to table 18 Customer.

The usages of the field Name in table 18 Customer.

#	Name	Description
1	Search box	Narrows the list as you type.
2	Usages	The objects that use the field, each with its code lines. Select a line to go to it (step 4).

Next steps

Open from BC…: open the solution of a running Business Central environment, symbols and all.
Universal Search: find objects, fields, procedures and commands by name.
Using Prism for AL: keyboard shortcuts, filter syntax and copying code.
Prism for AL Connector: go from a line in Visual Studio Code straight to Prism.
Videos: watch Prism for AL at work.
Reference manual: every window, menu and setting.

For questions, select Help › Feedback… in Prism for AL, or email feedback@stati-cal.com.