Using Keys
This section discusses how to add and delete keys.
Keys are created automatically when you create a component interface.
The following table shows the three types of component interface keys and describes the characteristics of each:
|
Key Type |
Key Characteristics |
|---|---|
|
Get keys |
These keys automatically map to search key fields in the search record for the underlying component. You must change Get keys only if you modify the keys of the component after you create a component interface. |
|
Find keys |
These map to both search key fields and alternate search key fields in the search record for the underlying component. You can remove any Find keys based on alternate search key fields that you don’t want to make available for searching. |
|
Create keys |
If the underlying component allows the Add action, then Create keys are generated for the component interface automatically. They map to fields marked as Srch (search) in the search record for the component (or the add search record, if one is specified). |
Typically, you must manually add keys only if new search key fields are added to the underlying component after the creation of the component interface. However, you might want to modify the Find keys—either to restrict a user from searching on a particular key or to add an alternate search key that didn’t exist when the component was created.
Valid Conditions for Modifying Keys
The following conditions are valid for modifying keys.
You can add or delete a Find key if it is based on an alternate search key field.
You can add any type of key based on a qualifying search key field in the component, if it isn’t already the basis of an existing key of the same type.
This is necessary only if a new search key field is added to the component after you create the component interface.
You can delete any type of key if its underlying search key field meets one of these criteria:
It is no longer defined as a search key field.
It is no longer designated as a list box item.
It has been deleted from the component.
Note: An X icon precedes a name in the component interface view if the field underlying a component interface key no longer qualifies as a key. Remove keys (or any other properties) that are marked with this symbol to ensure proper operation of the component interface.
To add a key:
Expand the search key collection (the first collection) in the component view.
Drag the key to the component interface view.
To delete a key:
Select the key in the component interface view.
Press the Del key.