Creating Properties

To create a property definition:

1. On the Home page, select Administer.
2. From New, select Property Definition.
3. Enter a name for the property.

   Note:

   The property is assigned to the Custom namespace. The Fully Qualified Name and Label fields are filled in automatically after entering the name. The Fully Qualified Name for the property must be unique. The property label is a user-friendly descriptor that is displayed for property definitions for all features aside of application administration. Multiple properties can have the same Label as long as they are not in the same namespace. The property Description is an optional, long descriptor that is displayed at the bottom of the Property Editor.

4. Define parameters for the property:

   Note:

   Not all parameters below are displayed. The parameters displayed depend on the selected data type.

   • Data Type––See Table 9-2

     You can restrict the list of nodes displayed to a user by selecting a data type: Associated Group, Associated Node, Associated Nodes, Global Node, Leaf Node, Limb Node, Multiple Node, or Node. After you select a data type, the Constraints tab is displayed.

   • Property Level––Level of property definition:

     • Local node––Property values are managed for nodes in a specific hierarchy and accessible only at this level.

     • Global node––Property values are managed for nodes in a version but also accessible at a local node level.

     • Hierarchy––Property values are managed for hierarchies but also accessible at a local node level.

     • Version––Property values are managed for versions but also accessible at a global or local node level.

     Note:

     If defining a global node inherited property, you must define a controlling hierarchy for the global property. You do with on the Home page on the Hierarchies tab by assigning controlled properties to a hierarchy.

   • Property Type

     • Defined––Values are defined by the user and stored.

     • Lookup––Lookup based on another property and a lookup table.

     • Derived––Calculated by using a Deriver class.

       Note:

       Derived properties using the Script deriver class may be used for version, hierarchy, and node properties. The Formula deriver class may only be used for global or local node properties.

     • External Lookup––Lookup using an external data source.

       Note:

       Values are retrieved from an external data source in real-time. If multiple values are returned, a specific value must be selected for the property.

   • Default Value––Default value for the property

   • Domain––For any property where the data type is Node, Limb Node, LeafNode, MultiNode, Associated Node, Associated Nodes, or Associated Group (all of which represent a node or nodes stored as the value), a Domain drop-down is available. The drop-down contains all the domains defined in the system and you can optionally select one of the existing domains.

   • Column Width––Width for fixed-width columns if the property type is Defined.

   • Minimum Value/Length––Value or length for the property based on data type.

   • Maximum Value/Length––Value or length for the property based on data type.

5. Select from these options:

   • Inherited––Defines the property as Inheriting

     Note:

     This option has no effect on the Derived property type except in the special case where property derivers, such as AncestorProp or DualAncestorProp, are used and the property is global. In such cases, although the property is not literally inheriting values, enable the Inherited option to allow the specification of a controlling hierarchy.

   • Overrideable––Allows property to be overridden in the property grid.

     Note:

     This option is enabled only for the Derived property type.

   • List––Allows property values to be selected only from a predefined list of values.

     Note:

     Property values stored for a list property can be limited to only values in the list using the EnforceListProps system preference.

     Note:

     A list of values can be used for a defined property or a derived, overrideable property.

   • Hidden––Hides the property in the property grid.

   • Indexed––Creates an index for the property to improve performance of searches, property queries, and validations. This option is available only for defined, string data type properties.

     Note:

     Indexed properties can increase memory usage on the application server and should only be used for properties most likely to be used in searches, queries, and validations that check uniqueness.

6. Do any of the following:

   • To assign a property to categories, select categories from the Available list and move them to the Selected list.

   • If you selected the Defined property type along with the List option, on the List Values tab do the following:

     1. Click Add and enter a value to the list.

     2. Click Save in the Action column for the row.

        Note:

        Use Move or Delete for each row to reorder or delete list values. Use Edit or double-click a row to edit it and Cancel to cancel edits.

   • If you selected the Lookup property type, select the Lookup Table tab and do the following:

     1. Click Add to enter a new key-value pair to the list.

     2. Click Save in the Action column for the row.

        Note:

        Use Move or Delete for each row to reorder or delete list values. Use Edit or double-click a row to edit it and Cancel to cancel edits.

   • If you selected a data type that allows hierarchy constraints, select the Constraints tab and do the following:

     1. Select a property from Hierarchy Group Property and then select a hierarchy group.

        In the node selector, users will see nodes only from hierarchies that belong to the selected hierarchy group.

        Note:

        Only the default Core property type is supported by Oracle Data Relationship Management Analytics.

     2. Optional: Select Enforce Constraint on Server Property Update to validate this constraint when the property is updated via the Web client, imports, action scripts, or the Web Service API.

   • If you selected the Derived property type, select the Parameters tab and define a formula or script for the derived property.

     For more information on formulas, see Creating Formulas. For more information on scripts, see Creating Dynamic Scripts.

   • If you selected the External Lookup property type, select the External Lookup tab and enter the following information:

     • External connection––Select a database or Web service connection

     • Operation––Select the external operation to perform

     • For each parameter configure:

       • Parameter source type––Select Literal or Property.

       • Source––If Literal was selected for source type, then enter a literal value in the Param Source column. When the external operation is called for this External Lookup property, the literal value is passed in for the current parameters. If Property was selected for source type, then select a property to provide the parameter value for the external operation. When the External Lookup is executed, the parameter value comes from the selected property on the current node or request item.

     • In Column/Property Mappings, select which result column in the selected lookup result will supply the value for the external lookup property. Click Add to add additional columns which can be mapped to different properties, so that when the external lookup value is selected, other property values get updated automatically.

       The first Column/Property mapping is automatically defined and cannot be deleted. This mapping is for the current property. A column must be selected, and defaults to the first column stored on the operation. You can modify the column value for the first row but not the property value. For additional mappings, you can select and edit the Column Name and the Result Column.

7. Click .