Adding and Modifying Attributes 

Use

You can add attributes to the pool of attributes and modify the properties of a single existing attribute at a time as described in this section. Since the different attribute types have different properties that define them, the steps for adding and modifying an attribute differ slightly depending on the type.

When you create a new attribute, you only define the type of information you intend you store in it, but you do not actually create the “bucket” in which to store the information until you link it to one or more categories. By contrast, when you create a new field, you define the type of information you intend to store in it and create the bucket at the same time.

Procedure

To add a new attribute to the pool of available attributes:

...

       1.      Right-click in the Attributes pane and choose Add from the context menu, or click the Add Attribute toolbar button, or press Ins, or choose Attributes ® Add Attribute from the main menu.

MDM adds an attribute named New Attribute as the last attribute in the grid, and places you into the Attribute Detail tab to specify the properties of the new attribute.

       2.      In the Name edit control, type the name you want for the new attribute.

       3.      In the Alias edit control, type one or more aliases for the attribute (used by the Find command).

       4.      In the Description edit control, type a long description for the attribute.

       5.      Select the applicable radio button to specify the attribute type:

¡        Text

¡        Numeric

¡        Coupled Numeric

       6.      Specify the additional properties for the particular attribute type.

       7.      Click the Multi-valued checkbox to define the attribute as multi-valued, if applicable.

       8.      To save the attribute, right-click on the Attribute Detail tab and choose Save Attribute from the context menu, or choose Attributes ® Save Attribute from the main menu, or press Shift + Enter.

There is no explicit command to modify an attribute. To modify an attribute, select it in the Attributes pane, move the focus into the Attribute Detail tab, and edit it directly.

To copy one or more attributes (but not their links), select them in the Attributes pane, right-click on one of them, choose Copy from the context menu, then right-click again and choose Paste.

You can press F5 to refresh the Attributes grid and move the new, modified, or copied attribute into its proper sort order.

To change the type of an attribute that already has data values assigned to it, use one of the Convert Type commands. (For more information, see Converting Attribute Types.)

Operation	Constraints
Add Attribute	·        Must be in Taxonomy mode ·        Attributes pane must have focus
Modify Attribute	·        Must be in Taxonomy mode ·        Attribute Detail tab must have focus

Two attributes cannot have the same name. If an attribute named New Attributealready exists, MDM automatically names the new attribute New Attribute (n)(where ‘n’ is the first available numeric value that will avoid a conflict).

To prevent data loss, MDM will not allow you to change the properties of an existing attribute if such a change would result in lost data. For example:

■       You cannot delete a text value for a text attribute if it is assigned to the attribute in one or more records.

■       You cannot uncheck one of the ratings for a numeric attribute if that rating has values assigned to it in one or more records.

■       You cannot uncheck the multi-valued checkbox if the attribute has multiple values assigned to it in one or more records.

If you attempt to make any such change that would result in lost data, MDM displays an error dialog when you attempt to save the attribute.

When you change the physical dimension for a numeric attribute that already has data values assigned to it, MDM either: (1) eliminates the unit of measure from existing values if you are changing the dimension to None (first figure below); or (2) uses the Default Unit to automatically repopulate the unit part of each existing value if you are changing the dimension from None or from another dimension (second figure below). (This is a special use of the Default Unit, which normally applies only to new data values, and is why you must specify a Default Unit when you change the dimension in this case).