Navigation Properties

The Entity Types includes one or more Navigation Properties. Navigation Properties describe the navigation path between the relationship of an entity. It is the property of an Entity that represents a link from the Entity to one or more related Entities. The Navigation Property is tied to an Association Type and allows the navigation from one end of the Entity Type that declares the Navigation Property, to the other related end. Navigation property is required to create a link from one entity to another via an association.

To create a Navigation Property for Entity Types proceed as follows:

1. Open the Service Builder.

2. Expand the Data Model folder in the tree view of your project.

3. Expand the Entity Types folder to view the entity types.

4. Expand the listed entity types to view the Navigation Properties folder.

5. Double click the Navigation Properties folder to open it in the mass edit view.

6. Choose Display->Change button to switch to edit mode.

7. Choose the Insert Row button to create a new association.

   A row will be added.

8. Do the following in the mass edit view under Navigation Properties :

   Fields	To Do
   Name	Enter a name for the navigation property
   Relationship Name	Enter the Association Name in the Relationship Name field, or use the input help to select the value (Mandatory field)
   Label	Enter a label for the new Navigation Property
   Label Text Reference Editor	To define the label, use the Label Text Reference Editor. The Label Text Reference Editor enables you to enter the reference type.

   Note

   In the mass edit view, you can display the details of the association at any time by selecting the relevant row and choosing Details. A popup is displayed, which lists the group descriptions and corresponding cell content. The information displayed in this popup is read-only.

9. Save the changes

See Associations for more information on additional functions.