Quick Answer
In Business Central you can resize, hide, freeze, reorder, and add columns to fit the way you work. The fastest way is to drag a column border to resize, or use Personalize (gear icon → Personalize) to hide, move, freeze, and add fields. Your changes are saved to your own user account and don’t affect anyone else. This guide covers every method in simple steps — including the new 2026 Resize button.
Have you ever opened a list in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and thought, “Why are these columns so narrow? Why is this field even here? And where is the one column I actually need?” You are not alone. The good news is that Business Central lets you arrange columns exactly the way you like.
In this guide, you will learn every way to control columns in Business Central — resize, hide, show, freeze, reorder, add new fields, and save your perfect layout. We will also cover the new Resize button added in the 2026 release. Best of all, every change is personal to you and does not affect your colleagues.
Table of Contents
Personalize vs Customize : What’s the Difference?
Before we start, it helps to know two words that sound similar but mean different things in Business Central:
| Term | Who It Affects | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Personalize | Only you | Changes how pages look for your own user account. Other users see no difference. This is what most people want. |
| Customize (Design) | Everyone in a role | An admin-level change that updates the page layout for all users on a specific profile (role). Needs special permission. |
💡 In short: This guide is about Personalize – your private layout that only you see. It is completely safe to experiment with, and you can reset it anytime.
How to Resize a Column in Business Central (3 Ways)
Resizing is the most common change people make. You do not even need to enter personalize mode for the first two methods. Here are all three ways:
Way 1 – Drag the Column Border
- Move your mouse to the right edge of any column header
- A vertical blue line appears when you hover on the edge
- Click and drag left or right to make the column narrower or wider
- Release the mouse – done!
Way 2 – Double-Click to AutoFit
Just like Microsoft Excel, you can double-click the column border to automatically size it so all the text fits neatly. This is the fastest way to clean up a messy list in one click.
Way 3 – Use the New Resize Button (2026)
Sometimes the thin column edge is hard to grab with the mouse. To solve this, Microsoft added a dedicated Resize button in the 2026 release. We cover it in detail in the next section.
The New 2026 Resize Button (BC28)
In the Business Central 2026 release wave 1 (version BC28), Microsoft made resizing even easier. Because the thin line between columns can be tricky to click, there is now a clear Resize action in the column menu.
How to Use the Resize Button
- Select any cell in the list, then click the small drop-down arrow on the column header (or simply right-click the column name)
- Choose the Resize action from the menu
- The space between the columns is now highlighted clearly
- Drag that edge to resize, or double-click it to AutoFit
💡 Good to know: The Resize button works on all list views across Business Central, not just one page. And with the current interface, you often don’t even need the button – a vertical blue line highlights automatically whenever you hover over a column edge.
How to Enter Personalize Mode
For everything beyond simple resizing – hiding, freezing, reordering, and adding fields – you use personalize mode. Here is how to turn it on:
- Open the list or card page you want to change
- Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner of Business Central
- Choose Personalize
- A banner appears at the top showing that personalize mode is active, and a Personalization panel opens on the right
While this banner is showing, Business Central records every change you make. When you finish, you click Done and everything is saved automatically for next time.
⚙️ Tip: When you point at any column or field in personalize mode, a small arrowhead (red triangle) appears. Click it to see all the available options for that element — Move, Hide, Show, Freeze, and more.
How to Hide and Show Columns
Got columns you never use? Hide them to clean up your view. Want a hidden one back? Show it. Here’s how:
To Hide a Column
- Enter personalize mode (gear → Personalize)
- Point at the column you want to remove
- Click the arrowhead and choose Hide
- Click Done when finished
To Show a Hidden Column
- In personalize mode, point at any nearby column
- Click the arrowhead and choose Show column, or use + Field to pick from the full list of available fields
- Click Done
💡 On card pages (like the Customer Card), you also get Show under “Show more” and Show always. Use these to keep a field available but tucked away until you click “Show more” – handy for fields you only need occasionally.
How to Reorder Columns
Want your most important column on the left instead of buried on the right? Just drag it.
- Enter personalize mode
- Click and hold the column header you want to move
- Drag it left or right to its new position
- Release it where you want it, then click Done
On card pages, you can drag fields to a completely different section or place them above or below another field – not just left and right.
How to Freeze a Column (Freeze Pane)
On wide lists, scrolling right means you lose sight of the first column – like the item number or customer name. The freeze pane fixes this by keeping key columns locked in place on the left while the rest scroll.
- Enter personalize mode
- Point at the column you want to freeze up to
- Click the arrowhead and choose Set Freeze Pane
- All columns to the left of (and including) that column stay fixed when you scroll
- Click Done
To remove it, point at the same column and choose Clear Freeze Pane (or Unfreeze Pane).
⚙️ Best use: Freeze the “No.” or “Name” column on long lists like Items, Customers, or G/L Entries. That way you always know which row you are looking at, no matter how far right you scroll.
How to Add a Hidden Field to a Page
Business Central hides many fields by default to keep pages clean. But you can add any of them whenever you need.
- Enter personalize mode
- Click + Field (you may need to click More first to see it)
- The “Add Field to Page” panel opens on the right, listing all available fields
- Drag the field you want and drop it into the position you like on the page
- Click Done
How to Save Your Layout as a View
Personalization changes one layout. But what if you want several different layouts of the same list – for example, one Items list showing stock columns and another showing pricing columns? That is what Views are for.
- Apply filters and column changes to a list the way you want
- Click the Save option (the disk icon) near the page title, or choose Save As
- Give your view a clear name, like “Items – Low Stock” or “Customers – Overdue”
- Your new view appears in the filter pane on the left, ready to click anytime
📌 Important: All views on a list page share the same column layout by default – which columns show, their order, width, and freeze pane. So personalizing columns in one view usually affects the other views that share that layout. Saving separate views mainly saves different filters, while the column layout is generally shared.
How to Reset Personalization (Start Fresh)
Made too many changes and want the original layout back? Resetting is easy and only affects your own view.
- Open the page you changed
- Enter personalize mode (gear → Personalize)
- Click Clear personalization on the personalize banner
- Confirm – the page returns to its original default layout
This removes only your personal changes on that page. Nothing happens to other users or other pages.
Pro Tips for Working with Columns
- ✅ Resize without personalizing : for a quick width change, just drag or double-click the column edge. No need to open personalize mode.
- ✅ Freeze your key column : on any wide list, freeze the No. or Name column so you never lose your place when scrolling.
- ✅ Hide noise, not data : hide columns you never use to scan faster, but remember you can always add them back with + Field.
- ✅ Use views for filters : save separate views like “Overdue Customers” so you don’t re-apply the same filters every day.
- ✅ It’s personal and safe : every change is tied to your user account only. Experiment freely; reset anytime.
FAQ : Resizing and Personalizing Columns in Business Central
No. Personalization is tied to your own user account. Other users keep their own layouts and see no difference. Only an admin using Customize (Design) at the profile level changes the layout for everyone in a role.
It is a dedicated Resize action added in the 2026 release (BC28). Because the thin line between columns can be hard to grab, you can now right-click a column or use its drop-down menu and choose Resize. The column edge is then highlighted so you can drag or double-click to AutoFit. It works across all list views in Business Central.
Double-click the right border of the column header. Just like in Excel, Business Central will AutoFit the column so the caption and values display neatly. You can also use the new Resize button and then double-click the highlighted edge.
Personalize changes pages for your own user account only and needs no special permission. Customize (also called Design) is an admin-level action that changes page layouts for all users on a specific profile or role. Most everyday users only need Personalize.
Enter personalize mode, point at the column you want to freeze up to, click the arrowhead, and choose Set Freeze Pane. All columns to the left of and including that column stay fixed while the rest scroll. Use Clear Freeze Pane to undo it.
Enter personalize mode and use + Field to open the list of available fields, then drag the column back onto the page. Or, if you want everything back to default, use Clear personalization to reset the whole page.
You can save different views on a list, which is great for saving different filters (like “Low Stock” or “Overdue”). However, the column layout – which columns show, their order, width, and freeze pane – is generally shared across views on the same page, so changing columns in one view usually affects the others.
No. Your personalization is saved to your user profile and carries over through normal updates. If a major change removes a field a developer deleted, that specific field may no longer appear, but your other settings stay intact.
Once you learn to control columns in Business Central, your daily work gets faster and far less frustrating. Resize with a quick drag, freeze your key column on wide lists, hide the clutter, and add the fields you actually need. With the new 2026 Resize button, even grabbing that thin column edge is easier than ever.
Start small — resize one column and freeze one key field today. Within a week, your lists will feel like they were built just for you. And because everything is personal and resettable, there is no risk in experimenting.
Stay tuned to Navision Planet for more simple, step-by-step Business Central guides.
📖 Related guides on Navision Planet:
→ Business Central Keyboard Shortcuts – Complete List
→ Dimensions in Business Central – Simple Guide
→ Business Central Modules Explained
→ How to Login to Business Central
