What's new in reporting: Layout Management and Report Inbox API's (2026 release wave 2)
Business Central 2026 release wave 2 reporting: administrators can set layout status (draft, pending approval, approved, retired) on report layouts, including app-supplied and Microsoft layouts, and new report inbox APIs let agents and automation work with scheduled reports and report packs.
- Introduction to layout management and report inbox APIs
- Layout status feature for controlling layout lifecycle
- Layout status menu and lifecycle states
- Administrator control and user visibility of layouts
- Developer comments and administrator overrides for layouts
- Report inbox API capabilities for agents and automation
- Discovering report inbox APIs via API overview page
- Additional resources and conclusion
Overview
The video covers two reporting changes. The first extends layout management. In wave 1 of 2026 an administrator could control the status of user-defined layouts. Now the same control applies to layouts shipped by apps, including ISV apps from AppSource and Microsoft layouts. A Layout Status menu on the report layout page moves a layout between draft, pending approval, approved and retired. Users only see approved layouts in the report layout control on the request page, while administrators can still run any layout from the report layout page. Administrators can also replace a developer’s description of a layout with their own comment.
The second change is a set of report inbox APIs. The report inbox holds scheduled reports and report packs. The APIs let agents and automation tools reach it, for example through Power Platform, MCP servers or Microsoft Copilot Studio. A new API overview page in version 29 lists the API names and URLs so they are easier to find.
Key points
- Layout status values are draft, pending approval, approved and retired, set from the Layout Status menu on the report layout page.
- Layout status now covers app-supplied layouts (AppSource ISV apps, Microsoft layouts), not only user-defined layouts. Status for user-defined layouts was added in 2026 release wave 1.
- Users only see approved layouts in the report layout control on the request page. Administrators can still run any layout, including retired ones, from the report layout page.
- Administrators can override a developer-supplied layout summary or description with their own comment, shown on the report layout page and to users.
- Report inbox APIs let agents and automation work with scheduled reports and report packs, via Power Platform, MCP servers, Copilot Studio or any tool that calls APIs.
- The new API overview page shipping in version 29 lists the report inbox API names and URLs (search for report inbox).
Features
| Feature | Status | At | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layout status control | generally available (roadmap Control the lifecycle of all report layouts), demoed | 0:31 | |
| Layout lifecycle states | generally available (roadmap Control the lifecycle of all report layouts), demoed | 1:07 | |
| Layout administrator control of user visibility | generally available (roadmap Control the lifecycle of all report layouts), demoed | 1:40 | |
| Developer comment override for layouts | status not stated | 2:28 | |
| Report inbox APIs | generally available (roadmap Automate report outputs) | 3:03 | |
| API overview page for report inbox | generally available | 3:39 | “go to the new API overview page that we are also shipping here in version 29” (3:39) |
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.
Quotes
- 0:31 “back in the fall in the spring release in wave one of 2026, we added the ability for an layout administrator on the report”
- 1:07 “on the report layout page, you now have a new menu called layout status where you can set a layout um kind of a”
- 1:40 “As an administrator, I can still run everything from that page, but whenever a user touches the report layouts control in the request page,”
- 2:28 “for any layout that is shipped from an app, whether it’s a patent and extension and ISV app from AppSource or Microsoft, we have”
- 3:03 “The second feature we are giving you as administrators is an ability to to interact or have agents or automation interact with the report”
- 3:16 “report inbox is used for anything where things are scheduled, reports that are scheduled, reports in finance or reporting that are scheduled or report”
- 3:39 “The new APIs are easiest to find them is to go to the new API overview page that we are also shipping here in”
Presenters (as heard): Unknown speaker.