Create an Entity

Entities are created in a project, before using them in rules. Entities are part of the data model that make up a project.

Entities can be created while data mapping using the Input Mapping and Output Mapping views on the Data tab. For more information, see:

• Input Map Related Application Tables to New Entities
• Output Map Application Tables From New Entities

Entities can also be created manually using the Entity Structure view on the Data tab. To do this:

1. Click on the Global entity (or other parent entity) and then click the New Entity button. A new entity will be created under the selected parent entity called "the new entity".
   
   
2. In the entity list (left hand pane), type a new name for the entity. Entities should be named using the definite article 'the', for example, 'the family', 'the child', 'the friend', 'the school' and so on.
3. Press Enter. The entity list is updated to show the new entity text.
   
   

When an entity is created:

1. an identifying attribute is automatically created for the new entity, based on the entity text. This is shown in the attribute list (top right hand pane).
2. a containment relationship is automatically created for the new entity, to ensure that the containment structure in the policy model is well-defined. This is shown in the relationship list (bottom right hand pane).