Modifying Master Field Properties

Every field in the object structure has a set of properties that must be configured before deploying the master index application. When a field is created, a set of default properties are defined for that field. You can modify the property configuration for each field to suit your data processing, storage, and display requirements. Field properties include general field attributes, such as the name, length, and data type, and MIDM field properties, such as the display name for the field and display formatting.

On the Configuration Editor, the fields in the MIDM section cannot be configured if the field is not defined to appear on the MIDM (that is, it does not appear in midm.xml).

To Modify Field Properties (Configuration Editor)

1. In the Projects window, right-click the Configuration node in the project you want to modify, and then click Edit.

   The Configuration Editor appears.

2. Expand the object structure until the field you want to configure is visible.

3. In the object structure, select the field to configure.

   The General Properties page appears.

4. On the Properties page in the right side of the window, modify the value of any of the properties listed in Master Index Configuration Editor Field Properties.

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   Note –

   After you modify a property value, press Enter to apply the change.

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5. To view or modify matching properties, click the Matching tab and configure the properties as described in To Configure the Comparison Functions (Configuration Editor).

   This tab is only visible for fields that have a value in the Match Type field.

6. On the Configuration Editor toolbar, click Save.

To Modify Field Properties (XML Editor)

1. In the Projects window, expand the Configuration node in the project you want to modify, and then double-click object.xml.

   The file opens in the NetBeans XML editor.

2. Scroll to the tag element defining the object to modify, and then to the fields element containing the field to modify.

3. Modify the value of any of the elements described in Master Index Field Property Elements.

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   Note –

   If you modify the name of a field, make the corresponding changes to the remaining configuration files. Some property elements might not exist for a field; add any necessary elements to the field definition to configure the field.

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4. Save and close the file.

Example 1 Field Properties in object.xml

The following example defines an address type field that is required in order to enter a record, and that uniquely identifies each address object in a record. It also defines a list, named ADDRTYPE, from which MIDM users can select a value to enter into the field.

<field-name>AddressType</field-name>
<field-type>string</field-type>
<size>8</size>
<updateable>true</updateable>
<required>true</required>
<pattern></pattern>
<code-module>ADDRTYPE</code-module>
<key-type>true</key-type>

The following example defines an employee ID field where the must be equal to or greater than 100001 and less than or equal to 199999. Only the characters 0–9 are allowed.

<field-name>EmployeeID</field-name>
<field-type>string</field-type>
<size>6</size>
<updateable>true</updateable>
<required>true</required>
<minimum-value>100001</minimum-value>
<maximum-value>199999</maximum-value>
<pattern>[0-9]{6}</pattern>
<key-type>false</key-type>