Storing Business Central attachments in SharePoint makes them easy to find, but it also raises a fair question: if everyone attaches invoices the same way, can everyone see every invoice? Some documents, such as certain invoices, HR records, or accounting files, should only be visible to the people who need them. DocXtender for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central handles this through SharePoint’s own permissions. This is a completely free app from Insight Works for Business Central.
Access is per user by default
By default, access to SharePoint is on a per-user basis. Everyone who drags and drops a document into Business Central with DocXtender is using their own user ID to access SharePoint. That gives you full control over who has access to what.
If a user does not have access to a folder, they cannot drag and drop documents into it, and they cannot go into SharePoint and look at it. For example, if you have an HR folder, your salespeople won’t see it unless you have given them access to it in SharePoint.
Separate documents by department
Because SharePoint permissions decide access, you can segregate documents however you want. HR documents, accounting documents, and sales documents can each live in folders with their own access rights, and users only see the folders they have been given.
A structure people can browse
DocXtender stores documents in SharePoint in a structure organized by record. For a sales order, for example, you can open a folder that holds all of the documents attached to that order. People who do not have Business Central licenses, such as engineering or shop staff, can still go into SharePoint and find the documents they are allowed to see.
Non-interactive use
There is also an option to use a global SharePoint user for non-interactive use, for cases where documents are stored without a person dragging and dropping them. Review how that option fits your security model when you set it up.
Storing in Business Central instead
Storing documents in SharePoint is optional. If you would rather keep everything in Business Central, you can set DocXtender to store documents in the Business Central database, like standard attachments.
Beyond attachments
DocXtender works on any Business Central page that has the documents fact box. For example, you can attach photos to an injury record in Safety Logbook. This is a completely free app from Insight Works for Business Central. Once documents are in SharePoint, you can also use SharePoint and Power Automate to add alerts and workflows.
Relevant Tools
DocXtender is the main tool for this question: drag-and-drop document management for Business Central that stores documents in SharePoint, respects each user’s SharePoint permissions, and builds a browsable folder structure.
Safety Logbook tracks health and safety events such as injuries, audits, and certifications in Business Central, and works with DocXtender to keep supporting photos and files with each event.