Text to Numeric 

Use

When you convert from text to numeric, MDM opens a dialog that includes the ratings and options controls of the Attribute Detail tab and a two-column grid. The first column lists the entire set of text values for the attribute; the second column lists the corresponding numeric values and units of measure.

MDM then assists you in converting the values, as follows:

·        Sets the rating for the converted attribute to Nominal, the Dimension and Default Unit to None, Decimal Places to 0, and Show Fractions off.

·        Populates the first column with text strings of all of the distinct text values for the text attribute across the entire repository.

·        Populates the second column with as many converted numeric values as it can discern in the corresponding text strings.

·        When you specify a Dimension, updates the second column with as many converted unit of measure values as it can discern in the corresponding text strings.

·        When you specify a Default Unit, updates the second column with units of measure for all remaining values that do not yet have a unit of measure.

·        Allows you to specify a setting for the Decimal Places option.

·        When you set the Show Fractions option, updates the second column to display the numeric values as fractions, where possible.

·        Allows you to manually enter numeric values and/or units of measure that it cannot discern, or override values that it has populated automatically.

Finally, MDM converts the attribute from text to numeric based on the values you specify.

You must enter a numeric value (and unit of measure, if you have specified a dimension) for every text value in the list before MDM permits you to press OK. Otherwise, MDM would not have enough information to convert the attribute.

Procedure

To change an attribute’s type from text to numeric:

       1.      In the Attributes pane, select the text attribute whose type you want to convert to numeric.

       2.      Right-click on the attribute and choose Convert Type from the context menu, or choose Attributes ® Convert Type from the main menu.

       3.      Choose To Numeric from the cascading menu of conversions to open the Convert Attribute Typefrom Text to Numeric dialog shown in the figure below.

MDM populates the first column of the grid with text strings of all of the distinct text values for the text attribute across the entire repository and the second column with the converted numeric values.

       4.      Choose the single Rating for the converted attribute.

       5.      Specify the Dimension for the converted attribute.

       6.      Specify the settings for the number of Decimal Places and the Show Fractions option of the converted attribute.

       7.      Enter or override the numeric value and/or unit of measure for each text value.

       8.      Click OK when you are done to close the dialog.

MDM converts the selected attribute.