DynaChange Designer & Portals¶

DynaChange is P21's built-in screen customization and portal framework. It allows non-code customization of the P21 interface and the creation of web-based portals that interact with P21 data.

Reference Documents¶

The following PDF guides are included in this repository:

Document	Location	Description
DynaChange Designer Guide	`Dynachange Designer/`	How to modify P21 screen layouts, add fields, change tabs
DynaChange Portals Guide	`Dynachange Portals/`	How to build web portals using DynaChange

DynaChange Designer¶

DynaChange Designer lets you modify P21's existing screens without code:

Add/remove fields from existing P21 windows
Rename labels on fields and tabs
Reorder tabs and fields within a window
Hide fields that aren't relevant to your workflow
Add user-defined fields (UDFs) to standard screens
Set field defaults and validation rules via configuration (no code)
Create custom tabs with fields grouped by your business needs

When to Use Designer vs Business Rules¶

Need	Use
Rename a label	DynaChange Designer
Hide a field	DynaChange Designer
Reorder tabs	DynaChange Designer
Add a UDF field to a screen	DynaChange Designer
Set a calculated default	Business Rule
Cross-field validation logic	Business Rule
Call external systems	Business Rule
Custom dialogs/prompts	Business Rule (ResponseAttributes)

DynaChange Portals¶

DynaChange Portals enables building web-based interfaces that connect to P21:

Customer portals — order tracking, invoice history, account info
Vendor portals — purchase order acknowledgment, delivery updates
Internal dashboards — operational views of P21 data
Mobile-friendly interfaces — simplified views for warehouse or field staff

Portal Architecture¶

Portals interact with P21 via the same APIs documented in this reference:

Browser / Portal UI
       ↓
DynaChange Portal Engine
       ↓
  P21 Interactive API  ←→  P21 Application Server
       ↓
   P21 Database

Key Capabilities¶

Drag-and-drop portal builder — no web development required
Connect to any P21 window via the Interactive API under the hood
Role-based access control tied to P21 security
Responsive layout for mobile/tablet
Custom branding support

Business Rules Still Fire in Portals

Because DynaChange Portals use the Interactive API internally, all your business rules execute exactly as they would in the native P21 client. This is a major advantage over direct database integrations.

Disabling DynaChange in Testing¶

When building API integrations or business rules, you may want to disable DynaChange to isolate behavior. Use the DisableDynachange testing option when creating your session:

{
  "SessionType": "Auto",
  "TestingOptions": {
    "DisableDynachange": true,
    "DisableCustomSoftware": true
  }
}

See: Authentication → TestingOptions