Creating a New Attribute
To create a new attribute for a type, select
Edit from the
Actions menu for the type to enter edit mode, and click the new attribute icon
on the
Attributes tab.
The New Attribute window is composed of three steps:
1. Define Attributes
2. Choose Data Type
3. Set Properties
Enter the information on each step, and click Next. When finished, click OK to create the new attribute. You are returned to the Manage Types window, with the information page for the attribute displaying in the right pane. (Click Apply to create the new attribute, but remain in the New Attribute window to create additional attributes.)
Define Attributes
1. Specify an Internal Name for the attribute. The value specified for the internal name is case-sensitive, and must be unique on all subtypes and parent types of this type. This is a required field.
2. Select the attribute Type. Not every type of attribute can be created on every type. Only those attribute types that can be created on the type are displayed.
◦ Local—Local attributes can have only zero or one value for an attribute. Local attributes are stored in columns directly on the underlying object class. If there are no additional columns available on the class for new local attributes, an error message displays when you attempt to complete the creation of a new local attribute. Out-of-the-box, there are no additional columns on any object class for local attributes. For information on adding columns for local attributes, see
Adding Columns to Types.
◦ Alias— Alias attributes are used for adding reusable tables to a type. Once alias attributes for reusable tables are added to a type, they need to be added to an attribute layout. For more information, see
Adding a Reusable Table to an Attribute Layout.
◦ Calculated—Calculated attributes are used to represent attributes that have a constant value. Calculated attributes are non-persisted attributes, meaning that once a value has been set for the constant attribute in the
Type and Attribute Management utility, the value is valid for all object instances of the type on which the calculated attribute is defined. Setting the constant attribute value is achieved by placing the value in the Formula property of a calculated attribute. For information on the differences between calculated, derived string, and derived numeric attributes, see
Derived String, Derived Numeric, and Calculated Attribute Comparison.
Choose Data Type
For local, alias, and calculated attribute types, select the data type from the Data Type list.
| The data type of an attribute cannot be changed after the attribute has been created. |
The available data types depend on the attribute type selected in the previous step. These data types are available for local types, but are also available on other types if noted.
• Boolean
• Care/Wash Images
• Composite
• Date and Time
• Hyperlink
• Image
• Integer Number
• Multi Entry
• Object Reference (local and alias attributes)
• Real Number (local and calculated attributes)
• Sequence
• String
• Unit of Measure
• User List
• Version Reference
Set Properties
Enter the property values for the attribute. The available properties can differ depending on the combination of attribute type and data type. Certain properties are required and must be specified before the attribute can be created. Most properties on an attribute can be specified or edited after the attribute is created, on the attribute information page. For descriptions of each property, see
Attribute Properties Reference