Dimension Description Record (DDR)

About DDRs

The Dimension Description Record has the same name as the associated standard attribute. It is used to enable the creation of hierarchical standard attribute values and managed attribute values, to provide a list of predefined allowed values, and also as a placeholder for metadata on the attribute values.

Required schema attributes of a DDR

A Dimension Description Record has the following required schema attributes. (The word "required" means that if you do not specify them for the DDR, their default values are used).

Schema attributes	Type	Description
`mdex-dimension_Key`	`string`	The primary key (spec) of the managed attribute. It cannot be modified. This attribute is mandatory and must be user-specified.
`mdex-dimension_EnableRefinements`	`boolean`	If set to `true`, then refinements are displayed. If set to `false`, refinements are not displayed. In other words, the managed attribute is hidden. The default is `true`. You can modify whether to enable the display of refinements on managed attributes. No restrictions on this change exist.
`mdex-dimension-value_Spec`	`string`	The primary key (spec) of the managed attribute value. It cannot be modified. If, when adding a managed attribute, you do not specify this attribute for the DDR, the default value is used, in this format: `mdex-dimension_<key>_Spec`, where `<key>` is the key of the attribute you are adding.
`mdex-dimension-value_Parent`	`string`	The key of the parent managed attribute value. It cannot be modified. If, when adding a dimension, you do not specify this attribute for the DDR, the default value is used, in this format: `mdex-dimension_<key>_Parent`, where `<key>` is the key of the attribute you are adding.
`mdex-dimension_IsDimensionSearchHierarchical`	`boolean`	If set to `true`, then during value searches, the search matches both the assigned values and the ancestors of those values. If set to `false`, then the search matches only the assigned values. The default is `false`. The hierarchy setting for attribute search can be modified only before loading records.
`mdex-dimension_IsRecordSearchHierarchical`	`boolean`	If set to `true`, then during record searches, the search matches records with both the assigned values and the ancestors of those values. If set to `false`, then the search only matches records with the assigned values. The default is `false`. The hierarchy setting for record search can be modified only before loading records.

User-defined schema attributes of a DDR

You can add assignments on other, user-defined attributes to DDRs to display various aspects of how your data records are organized. Note that the names of these attributes must not begin with mdex, or system.