Introducing: Composite Document Layouts (2026 release wave 2)
Composite document layouts in Business Central (2026 release wave 2) split a report layout into a body layout (structure), a theme (colors, fonts, branding) and a header-footer layout, and apply the theme and header-footer at runtime. Covers layered defaults (global, company, report, layout), custom themes from the UI or AL, the themes and header-footer layouts Microsoft plans to ship, and rollout through feature management and layout status.
- What are composite layouts
- How composite layouts work - body, theme, and header-footer
- Visual example - inventory order details
- Setting themes and headers - layered defaults
- Creating custom themes and layouts
- Shipped themes and layouts - what comes with 20.9
- Live demo - customer statement with multiple themes and headers
- Rollout strategy - feature management and layout status
- Summary and resources
Overview
The video explains composite layouts. The old report layout, which held everything in one file, is split into a body layout for structure, a theme for colors and fonts, and a header-footer layout for document headers and footers. Themes and header-footers are applied at runtime, so the same report can be run with different branding and be reused across reports.
It shows defaults set at global, company, report and specific layout level, and creating custom themes and header-footer layouts in the UI or from AL. It ends with a live customer statement demo using several themes and headers, and a rollout approach based on feature management and layout status.
Key points
- A composite layout has three parts: body layout (structure), theme (colors, fonts, branding) and header-footer layout (external and internal variants).
- Themes and header-footer layouts are applied at runtime, so one report can be run with different themes and headers.
- Defaults are layered: global for all reports, company overrides global, report overrides company, and a specific layout overrides report.
- Custom themes and header-footer layouts can be created on the managed theme and header and footer layouts page (blank or uploaded), or from AL with rendering type word and subtype theme or header footer. Body layouts use subtype body.
- The product group aims to ship about three themes, approximately eight header-footer layouts and around 50 body layouts. The demo shows calm, default, playful and standard themes.
- Rollout: the new document experience can be turned on or off in feature management. Default states of shipped layouts are not changed in version 2026.
- Changing a layout’s status (for example to retired, draft or pending approval) hides it from request pages, even for layouts shipped by Microsoft. Developer guidance is at AKA.ms/BCdeveloper.
Features
| Feature | Status | At |
|---|---|---|
| Composite layouts for documents | generally available (roadmap Reuse header/footer layouts across document reports, Brand document reports with report themes), demoed | 0:06 |
| Body layout | status not stated, demoed | 1:01 |
| Theme application | generally available (roadmap Brand document reports with report themes), demoed | 1:27 |
| Header-footer layout application | generally available (roadmap Reuse header/footer layouts across document reports), demoed | 1:27 |
| Layered layout defaults | generally available (roadmap Reuse header/footer layouts across document reports), demoed | 4:03 |
| Custom theme and header-footer layouts | generally available (roadmap Reuse header/footer layouts across document reports, Brand document reports with report themes) | 4:57 |
| Managed theme and header-footer layouts page | status not stated | 5:13 |
| Shipped themes | status not stated, demoed | 6:55 |
| Feature management for composite layouts | status not stated, demoed | 9:35 |
| Layout status control | generally available (roadmap Control the lifecycle of all report layouts), demoed | 10:47 |
A status with a roadmap link comes from the Microsoft 365 roadmap feature this part of the video covers (matched by Haiku; links Opus dropped are not used); other statuses need a status word in the video itself.
AL objects mentioned
As heard in the captions. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.
- page “managed theme and header and footer layouts page” at 5:26
Not found in BC28-30: page “managed theme and header and footer layouts page”.
Quotes
- 0:34 “we allow you now to reuse branding like report themes, colors, fonts and so on across your document reports”
- 1:01 “the idea with composite layouts is that that we split kind of the old layout would be everything all in once in one file.”
- 1:40 “applying here means it happens at runtime. So, you can actually have the same report um you can run it in different ways.”
- 6:31 “um three themes, approximately eight um header footer layouts, and give or take 50 different body layouts across different functional areas.”
- 9:35 “we are not changing any default states or states for for any of the layouts we ship in in in in here in version”
- 10:19 “can use feature management as the first link and on feature management there’s a way to enable or turn off this new what”
- 10:58 “we have the ability for you to set the state status of even the the layouts we ship to to either retired or draft.”
- 11:22 “no user will be able to use this layout when they run reports. This layout will not show up on the request page.”