Creating User-Defined Properties

User-defined properties are those properties on the underlying component that are exposed through the component interface. User-defined properties are derived from the component to which the component interface is associated and must be added manually. They are the specific record fields that you expose to an external system with the component interface. You create user-defined properties in addition to the standard properties to enable data manipulation of the component. When you create a new component interface, if you accept the default properties, user-defined properties are created automatically for each field displayed to the user on the underlying component.

User-defined properties are the points where the component and the underlying database are exposed to the external system. This is the means that component interfaces use to add or change fields and data in the database.

To create a user-defined property, drag a record, field, or scroll from the component view to the component interface view.

Where you insert the definition in the component interface view does not matter. When the component interface is opened, the system automatically converts the field or record into a component interface property and places it in the appropriate place in the list of properties. Also, when you drag a definition from the component view into the component interface view, all child definitions are brought into the component interface automatically. After these child properties are added to the component interface, you can remove each property individually, if desired.

Dragging a key from the search records, which precede the level-zero record in the page view, adds a key to all appropriate key collections (Get, Create, and Find) in the component interface. Because appropriate keys are added automatically when a component interface is first created, you typically must add keys only if the new keys are added to the underlying component after the creation of the component interface.