Infor LN3 min readNetray Engineering TeamPublished February 13, 2026

Infor LN Session Programming Guide

Short answer

Sessions are the fundamental building blocks of Infor LN's user interface and business logic layer. Each session represents a functional unit, a maintenance form, an inquiry screen, a processing program, or a report. Session programming in LN involves designing the data model, building the form layout, implementing business logic through BShell scripts, and connecting sessions through the menu and navigation framework. This guide provides the foundational knowledge LN developers need.

Session Architecture and Types

Infor LN sessions are classified by type: Type 1 (single-record maintenance), Type 2 (multi-record display/overview), Type 3 (print/report), Type 4 (processing), and Type 5 (special display). Each type has a predefined framework that handles standard operations, navigation, CRUD, printing, and processing, so developers focus on business-specific logic. Understanding which session type fits your requirement is the first design decision.

Use Type 1 sessions for single-record data entry and maintenance with full CRUD operations
Use Type 2 sessions for list views, overviews, and multi-record browsing with filtering capabilities
Use Type 3 sessions for report generation with parameter forms and print device selection
Use Type 4 sessions for background processing, batch operations, and data transformation jobs

Data Handling and Table Access

LN sessions interact with the database through table definitions that map to physical database tables. Session data handling follows a buffer model: data is read into session buffers, modified by the user or script logic, and written back to the database on save. Understanding the buffer lifecycle, when data is fetched, when it is validated, and when it is committed, prevents common programming errors like stale data reads and lost updates.

Access data through LN table objects rather than raw SQL to maintain referential integrity and triggers
Understand the buffer lifecycle: read populates buffers, validation checks buffer data, save commits to database
Use table references for foreign key lookups rather than separate queries for related data
Implement optimistic locking through the standard LN concurrency model to prevent lost updates in multi-user scenarios

Session Integration and Navigation

Sessions in LN connect through zoom, drill-down, and process-linking mechanisms. Zoom allows a session to open another session for data lookup and selection. Drill-down provides navigation from overview records to detail sessions.

Process linking chains sessions together in a defined workflow. Designing clean session navigation improves user productivity and reduces training time by making the application flow intuitive.

Implement zoom references on key fields to allow users to look up and select valid values efficiently
Configure drill-down paths from overview sessions to detail sessions for natural data exploration
Use process linking to guide users through multi-step workflows with automatic data passing between steps
Register custom sessions in the LN menu structure with appropriate security permissions and help references

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Infor LN Item Master Tables Reference (tcibd001, tdisa001, tdipu001)

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Find which LN 10.x table and session holds each item attribute: general, sales, purchase, item by business partner, ordering, warehousing and production.

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Table	Description	Session that maintains it	Key fields	Important columns	Typical join	Notes
tcibd001	Items - general	tcibd0501m000 Items	item	dsca description, kitm item type, citg item group, cuni inventory unit, ctyp product type, cpcl product class, cmnf manufacturer, ltct lot controlled, seri serialized, wght weight, cwun weight unit	Parent of every other item table on item	Item code includes the project segment, so standard items carry leading spaces.
tcibd003	Conversion factors	tcibd0103m000 Conversion Factors	item, citg, unit, basu	unit unit, basu base unit, conv conversion factor, rpow raise 10 to the power, appr approved	tcibd003.item = tcibd001.item	Holds item-specific and item-group-level unit conversions; blank item means the factor applies more widely.
tcibd004	Item codes by item code system	Item code system sessions in tcibd	citt, bpid, aitc	citt item code system, bpid business partner, aitc external item code, aitd description, item	tcibd004.item = tcibd001.item	Customer and supplier item numbers; tdsls401.citt and citm reference this.
tcibd200	Item - ordering	tcibd2100m000 Item - Ordering	item	omth order method, cwar warehouse, mioq minimum order quantity, ecoq economic order quantity, reop reorder point, sfst safety stock, sftm safety time, cplb planner	tcibd200.item = tcibd001.item	Defaults come from tcibd2101m000 Item - Ordering Defaults.
tdisa001	Items - sales	tdisa0501m000 Items - Sales	item	cuqs sales unit, cups sales price unit, pris sales price, ccur sales currency, cpgs sales price group, csgs sales statistics group, cwar warehouse, sfsi site, qimo minimum order quantity, cvat tax code	tdisa001.item = tcibd001.item	Defaults from tdisa0502m000 Items - Sales Defaults.
tdisa010	Items - sales business partner	tdisa0510m000 Items - Sales Business Partner	item, ofbp, stbp, efdt	citg item group, ofbp sold-to BP, stbp ship-to BP, efdt effective date, exdt expiry date, cuqs sales unit, qimo minimum order quantity, blck blocked, cwar warehouse	tdisa010.item = tcibd001.item; tdisa010.ofbp = tccom110.ofbp	Customer-specific item settings; can also be defined for an item group.
tdipu001	Items - purchase	tdipu0101m000 Items - Purchase	item	otbp default buy-from BP, buyr buyer, cuqp purchase unit, cupp purchase price unit, prip purchase price, ccur purchase currency, cpgp purchase price group, csgp purchase statistics group, cwar warehouse, suti supply time	tdipu001.item = tcibd001.item	Defaults from tdipu0102m000 Items - Purchase Defaults.
tdipu010	Item - purchase business partner	tdipu0110m000 Item - Purchase Business Partner	item, otbp, sfbp, efdt	otbp buy-from BP, sfbp ship-from BP, efdt effective date, exdt expiry date, ibps status, pref preferred, qimi minimum, qiec economic order quantity, suti supply time, qual inspection	tdipu010.item = tcibd001.item; tdipu010.otbp = tccom120.otbp	Approved-supplier style data per item and supplier.
whwmd400	Items - warehousing	whwmd4500m000 Items - Warehousing	item	locc location controlled, niwo allow negative inventory, obpr outbound method, linv lots in inventory, lttr lot tracking, sinv serials in inventory, pkdf package definition, hama hazardous material	whwmd400.item = tcibd001.item	Item-level warehousing settings that apply in every warehouse.
whwmd210	Item data by warehouse	whwmd2510m000 Item Data by Warehouse	cwar, item	iwhs status, valm inventory valuation method, omth order method, sups supply system, reop reorder point, sfwh supply from warehouse, supw supply warehouse, niwo allow negative inventory	whwmd210.item = tcibd001.item; whwmd210.cwar = tcmcs003.cwar	uidt Use Item Ordering Data decides whether tcibd200 values apply.
whwmd215	Warehouse - item inventory	whwmd2515m000 Warehouse - Item Inventory	cwar, item	qhnd on hand, qall allocated, qord on order, qblk blocked, qbpl blocked for planning	whwmd215.item = tcibd001.item	Totals per warehouse; location and lot detail is in whinr140.
tiipd001	Item - production	tiipd0101m000 Item - Production	item	scpf scrap percentage, scpq scrap quantity, cpha phantom, runi routing unit, bfep backflush materials, bfhr backflush hours, rgrp routing group, sfpl shop floor planner	tiipd001.item = tcibd001.item	Only manufactured items need a row.
tcmcs023	Item groups	tcmcs0123m000 Item Groups	citg	citg item group, dsca description, ccur currency, spec costs to be specified	tcibd001.citg = tcmcs023.citg	Item groups also drive defaults and many tcibd003 and tdisa010 entries.
tcmcs001	Units	tcmcs0101m000 Units	cuni	cuni unit, icun ISO code, tccu physical quantity, crnd rounding factor	tcibd001.cuni = tcmcs001.cuni	Every unit field on item tables (cuni, cuqs, cuqp, cwun) references this.
tcmcs024	Price groups	tcmcs0124m000 Price Groups	cprg	cprg price group, dsca description	tdisa001.cpgs = tcmcs024.cprg; tdipu001.cpgp = tcmcs024.cprg	Shared by sales and purchase price groups.
tcmcs044	Statistical groups	tcmcs0144m000 Statistical Groups	csgp	csgp statistical group, dsca description	tdisa001.csgs = tcmcs044.csgp; tdipu001.csgp = tcmcs044.csgp	Used to roll up sales and purchase statistics.
tcmcs060	Manufacturers	tcmcs0160m000 Manufacturers	cmnf	cmnf manufacturer, otbp buy-from BP, ccty country, indt effective date, exdt expiry date	tcibd001.cmnf = tcmcs060.cmnf	Manufacturer part numbers per item are maintained in the purchase manufacturer item data.

Physical names add t and the company number (ttcibd001100). SQL columns carry t_ on SQL Server and t$ on Oracle. Codes and fields were checked against the LN 10.x online help for each session listed. Site-specific item data and Feature Pack fields differ by release: confirm in your data dictionary before you rely on a column.

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