Work instructions

Work instructions are essential resources for the Aptean Shop Floor Production (BC) extension and are primarily designed to be managed and stored within SharePoint. The system connects to SharePoint via an app registration in the Azure portal, which acts as a bridge using a client ID and client secret. These instructions can be associated specifically with items or work centers within the Business Central environment, allowing them to be displayed based on operational requirements.

Setting up work instructions requires two main steps:

1. Register an application in Azure — Create an app registration that allows Business Central to communicate with SharePoint.
2. Configure Business Central — Enter the connection credentials and link the SharePoint document library to the extension.

The specific steps for each depend on the permission type you choose.

Choose a permission type

Before you begin setup, determine whether to use delegated or application permissions. This choice affects how users access work instruction files and which setup steps you follow.

Criteria	Delegated permissions	Application permissions
How it works	The application acts on behalf of a signed-in user. Users can only access work instruction files they have permission to view in SharePoint.	The application acts independently using its own identity. Work instructions are accessible regardless of the user's SharePoint permissions.
Admin consent	Not required, but recommended for convenience.	Required. An administrator must grant consent for the app registration.
BC setup method	Manually enter the Client ID, Client Secret, Site URL, and Document Library Name on the Shop Floor Production Setup page.	Use the Work Instruction Connection Setup assisted setup wizard, which automatically populates the connection fields.
Best for	Environments where work instruction access should respect each user's SharePoint permissions.	Environments where all shop floor users should see all work instructions, regardless of their SharePoint access.

For more information about permission types in the Microsoft identity platform, see Permissions and consent in the Microsoft identity platform.

Next steps

Follow the setup path that matches your chosen permission type:

Delegated permissions (two steps):

1. Register the app with delegated permissions — Create the Azure app registration and configure delegated API permissions.
2. Configure the Shop Floor Production Setup page — Enter the connection credentials in Business Central.

Application permissions (two steps):

3. Register the app with application permissions — Create the Azure app registration and configure application API permissions.
4. Set up the SharePoint connection using assisted setup — Run the wizard to connect Business Central to SharePoint.

After completing either path, see Work instruction worksheet and migration to upload and manage your work instruction files.