This is a troubleshooting guide, not a configuration guide.

Use this guide when a production operation is missing from Shop Floor Insight search results, particularly when searching for text stored in Description 2.  Adjust as needed when troubleshooting for other fields, such as production order, description, or a custom field.  Description 2 on the Production Order Routing Line is often used in customizations to represent document references, or project references, or an intended target production lot, or some other kind of grouping operations or grouping orders.  Because this field is often used in customizations for manufacturing processes, it is likewise often then used in Shop Floor Insight to search by that reference number, and is the basis for this example.

If you are not familiar with production filter configuration please refer to these topics first, then revisit this article:

• Filtering Production Orders
• Dispatch List Filtering
• Production Dispatch Lists
• How Production Dispatch List Searching works

Follow the steps in order.

Record the results before changing settings.

Use the same scanning station, employee, company, and dispatch view throughout testing.

Changing any of these can change the filters being applied.

1. Record one specific example

Choose one missing operation and record:

Information	Value
Business Central environment and company
Scanning station or browser URL
Shop Floor employee number
Dispatch view being used
Production order number
Production order line number
Operation number
Complete Description 2 value
Exact text entered in the search
Expected operation missing, or entire result list empty?

Do not troubleshoot several production orders simultaneously. Establish what happens to this one operation first.

2. Confirm the production order and Description 2

In Business Central:

1. Press Alt+Q to open Tell Me.
2. Search for Released Production Orders and open the page.
3. Find and open the production order.
4. If it is not there, check the production order list appropriate to its status.
5. Record the production order’s Status.
6. In the order’s Lines, select the specific production order line.
7. Find Description 2 on that line. If necessary, use Settings > Personalize to display the field.
8. Copy the value exactly, including capitalization and spaces.
9. With the production order line selected, open its Routing.
10. Find the missing Operation No. and record:
    • Routing No.
    • Starting Date.
    • Ending Date.
    • Type.
    • No. — the operation’s work center or machine center number.
    • Work Center No.
    • Routing Status.
    • Routing line Description.

Check: The value must exist in Description 2 on the associated production order line. A value on the item, production order header, or another production order line does not establish a match.

Standard production dispatch defaults to Released production orders unless another production order status is requested. Production order Status and operation Routing Status are different fields.

3. Run two baseline searches

At the affected Shop Floor Insight scanning station:

1. Open the production dispatch view where the problem occurs.
2. Clear the search text.
3. Record whether any operations appear.
4. Search for the complete production order number, including any prefix.
5. Record whether the target operation appears.

Result	Next action
Target operation appears when searching its complete production order number	Continue through the filter checks, then test Description 2 in Step 8.
Other operations appear, but the target does not	Check the filters in Steps 4–7.
No operations appear even with the search cleared	Start with the filters in Steps 4–7.
An error appears	Record the exact message separately from a successful search returning no rows.

A missing operation with a blank search does not prove it is excluded: the dispatch row limit can also prevent it from being displayed.

4. Check Shop Floor Setup

In Business Central:

1. Press Alt+Q.
2. Search for Shop Floor Setup and open it.
3. Expand Global Dispatch.
4. Record every setting below. If a field is hidden by the collapsed layout, expand the section or select Show more where available.

Field shown on the page	What to record and check
Filter Start Date	Record whether it is Filter or Do Not Filter.
Dispatch Starting Date Filter	Record the complete date formula, for example -3M.
Filter End Date	Record whether it is Filter or Do Not Filter.
Dispatch Ending Date Filter	Record the complete date formula, for example 2M.
Prod. Routing Custom Filter	Copy the complete value and inspect its conditions in Step 5.
Dispatch Employee Filtering	Record the selected option.
Dispatch Row Limit	Record the number.

Check the date restrictions

When Filter Start Date is Filter, the routing operation must have:

Starting Date ≥ today adjusted by Dispatch Starting Date Filter.

For example, -3M excludes operations starting before the calculated date three months ago.

When Filter End Date is Filter, the routing operation must have:

Ending Date ≤ today adjusted by Dispatch Ending Date Filter.

For example, 2M excludes operations ending after the calculated date two months ahead.

These comparisons use the routing operation’s dates. They are calculated from today, not the Business Central Work Date.

1. Calculate each enabled boundary.
2. Compare it with the operation’s dates recorded in Step 2.
3. Record any failed comparison.

Check: If either enabled date restriction excludes the operation, search cannot bring it back into the dispatch list.

5. Inspect the global production routing filter

Remain on Shop Floor Setup > Global Dispatch.

1. Find Prod. Routing Custom Filter.
2. Copy its complete value before opening it.
3. Select its assist-edit button (…) to open the filter builder.
4. Record every field and condition.
5. Compare each condition with the target routing operation.
6. Cancel the dialog when finished reviewing.

Pay particular attention to:

• Status.
• Routing Status.
• Type and No.
• Work Center No.
• Operation No.
• Date restrictions.
• Production order number restrictions.
• Any additional quantity, assignment, or custom-field conditions.

Check: Every applicable global condition must permit the operation. A client configuration cannot undo a restriction imposed by this global filter.

6. Identify the client configuration actually being used

Important, while troubleshooting do not choose a client configuration merely because its description resembles the workstation name, make sure you are using the exact client configuration that you know is demonstrating the issue.  This is important because filters for a production order routing line can be configured on the Shop Floor Client Configuration card.

1. Keep the affected employee using the affected scanning station.
2. In Business Central, press Alt+Q.
3. Search for Shop Floor Time Cards.
4. Find the employee’s current time card and open it.
5. Expand General, selecting Show more if necessary.
6. Record Shop Floor Client Config. No. identified on the time card.

This field identifies the configuration associated with that time card and can change when the employee changes scanning station, it can also become blank when the log off the screen.  This is the easiest way to make sure you’re using the exact client configuration, however it is not the only way.

If the value is blank or the employee uses multiple stations, have the administrator confirm the configuration sent by the affected dispatch request before proceeding. Do not guess before following the next steps.

Then:

1. Press Alt+Q.
2. Search for Shop Floor Client Configurations.
3. Find the configuration with the recorded No.
4. Open its card, using Config Card if required.
5. Confirm its No. and Description.
6. Record Filter Active, Filter Type, and Filter.

Important: The card’s general Filter helps select which configuration applies to a station or employee. It is different from Prod. Routing Custom Filter, which restricts the production operations displayed.

If the wrong configuration is being selected, review the configuration selection rules, employee configuration assignment, and Config No. Behavior in Shop Floor Setup before continuing.

7. Inspect the client configuration’s production filter and employee restrictions

On the Shop Floor Client Configuration Card:

1. Find Prod. Routing Custom Filter.
2. Copy its complete value.
3. Select its assist-edit button (…).
4. Record every condition.
5. Compare every condition with the target operation.
6. Cancel the dialog after reviewing it.

Both the global filter and this client filter apply. A less restrictive client filter does not cancel a global filter.

Next, return to Shop Floor Setup > Global Dispatch and check Dispatch Employee Filtering:

Setting	Assignment required for the operation
Do Not Filter	No assignment restriction from this setting.
Current User	Assigned to the current Shop Floor employee.
Unassigned	No employee assignment.
Unassigned or Current User	Unassigned or assigned to the current Shop Floor employee.

If assignment filtering is enabled, compare the operation’s associated production order line assignment with the employee performing the test.

For scheduler-based or customized screens, also have the administrator check any additional screen/data-source filters and date range supplied by that view.

8. Test Description 2 (or the filed you are troubleshooting) using literal text

At the affected station:

1. Clear the search.
2. Enter a distinctive substring copied from the production order line’s Description 2.
3. Preserve capitalization and spaces.
4. Do not add * or @.
5. Record the results.
6. Repeat with the complete Description 2 value.

For example, if Description 2 is REF12345, test 12345, then REF12345.

Description 2 matching is case-sensitive. Wildcard symbols are treated as literal characters during this fallback search.

A successful complete-value search and unsuccessful partial-value search does not establish that Description 2 requires an exact match. The two inputs may take different search paths.

Note, if you are searching for partial document references, for example let’s say that Description 2 has “REF12345”, but you also have “RPO12345”, and you are only searching for “12345” then you are likely going to be filtering to the production order number since that has a higher search precedence than ‘description 2’.

9. Check whether another field prevents Description 2 from being searched

Use the original partial search text.

Check whether it matches any eligible operation’s:

• Production Order No., exactly or partially.
• Operation No., exactly or partially.
• Routing line Description, partially.

If any earlier search stage finds a match, Description 2 is not searched. The matching operation can belong to another production order.

Record the production order, operation, and field containing the competing match.

If the competing match cannot be found manually, include this check in the developer investigation in Step 12.

10. Repeat the test with a narrowly filtered dataset

Use a test environment where possible. Global setup changes affect other stations, and client configuration changes affect stations using that configuration.

1. Preserve the original filter values.
2. On the confirmed client configuration, use Prod. Routing Custom Filter to restrict the test to the target Prod. Order No. and Operation No.
3. Keep the existing conditions unless deliberately testing one identified restriction.
4. Close the card to save the change.
5. At the affected web client, press Ctrl+F5 to reload cached configuration.
6. Return to the same dispatch view with the same employee.
7. Repeat the complete production order number search.
8. Repeat the literal Description 2 substring search.
9. Record both results.

If a global or client condition was identified as excluding the operation, test correcting that condition separately. Reload the web client and repeat the same searches after each change.

Result	Interpretation
Target remains absent when searching its complete production order number	Continue investigating eligibility, active configuration, barcode handling, or custom behavior.
Description 2 search works only after narrowing the dataset	Investigate competing fast-field matches and fallback search limits.
Search works after correcting one filter condition	That condition was excluding the operation.
Complete production order number works, but the literal Description 2 search still fails in the narrow test	Recheck the associated line’s Description 2, then investigate barcode rules and customizations.

Do not change production order dates, status, or descriptions merely to make a diagnostic search succeed.

11. Check the search limits

Record Dispatch Row Limit from Shop Floor Setup > Global Dispatch.

The Description 2 fallback:

• Examines at most 3,000 eligible routing lines in standard production dispatch.  It is important that you follow best practices and ensure you have appropriate filters configured on your Shop Floor Setup and Shop Floor Client Configuration pages.
• Stops when the matching-line limit is reached.
• Uses Dispatch Row Limit as that matching-line limit, defaulting to 200 if no positive limit is supplied.

Matches in the other fallback fields also count toward the matching-line limit.

Increasing Dispatch Row Limit does not increase the 3,000-line scan limit. Narrowing the eligible dataset is the better diagnostic test.  The goal of the dispatch list is to have a relevant list of actionable production order routing lines for that scanning station.  The dispatch list should not be left with no filters, as that would leave the dispatch list unactionable and not necessarily relevant to the work on the production scanning station.

If the standard fallback collects no matches, it does not apply a matching-record restriction. Therefore, a completely empty list is not automatically explained by “Description 2 was not found.”

12. Investigate barcode handling and customizations

If the preceding checks do not explain the result, give the administrator or developer the recorded test information and request these specific checks:

1. Confirm the dispatch request’s company, employee, client configuration, search text, and incoming filters.
2. Check whether an enabled barcode rule handles the entered text before normal searching.
3. Confirm the routing line’s calculated SFI Prod. Order Desc 2 value.
4. Identify which search stage finds a match.
5. If the fallback runs, determine whether it reaches the target routing line before either limit.
6. Inspect subscribers to:
   • OnBeforeProdDispatchSearch and OnAfterProdDispatchSearch.
   • The grouped-dispatch equivalents, if applicable.
   • OnBeforeSearchDataProdOrderRouting and OnAfterSearchDataProdOrderRouting.
7. Compare the records returned by Business Central with those displayed by the client.

Provide the screenshots, original filter values, and results from both the original and narrowly filtered tests. This makes the issue reproducible without repeating the investigation.

13. Restore settings and verify the outcome

1. Restore every temporary global and client configuration change.
2. Apply only the permanent correction agreed from the test results.
3. Reload the affected web client with Ctrl+F5.
4. Repeat the original search with the original employee and dispatch view.
5. Confirm the intended operation appears and the station still shows the appropriate work.
6. Record the cause and final correction.