Splitting Attributes
Use
Just as you may need to merge two attributes, a single attribute may need to be broken into two or more attributes to meet the requirements of your master data, if for example, a single attribute is too generally defined across multiple links, or if a single attribute with multiple ratings would be better structured as different multiple attributes each with a single rating. In these cases, the solution is to split the attribute.
When you use the Split command to split an attribute into multiple attributes, MDM opens the Split Attribute dialog, and then splits the attribute based on the option settings you specify (table below), as follows:
· Creates one or more new attributes.
· Unlinks the original attribute from each category for which one or more new attributes was created.
· Links each new attribute to the corresponding single category that had the original attribute linked.
· Assigns the appropriate value(s) to the new attribute in each main table record that had data values set for the original attribute.
· Removes the original attribute from the pool of attributes if you split by all links.
Splitting attributes is deceptively simple, but with just a few different options that let you split by all links or just the link to the selected category, and for numeric attributes let you split by ratings, you are able to split a single attribute into many in a variety of different ways.
Checkbox |
Radio Button |
Description |
Split by Links |
By All Links |
· Unlinks the original attribute from all of the linked categories and removes it from the attribute pool. · Creates a new attribute for each category to which the original attribute was linked, appending the category name in square brackets ([]) to the original attribute name. · Links each new attribute to the corresponding category to which the original attribute was linked. |
By Link to Selected Category Only |
· Unlinks the original attribute from the selected category. · Creates a single new attribute, appending the category name in square brackets ([]) to the original attribute name. · Links the new attribute to the selected category. |
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Numeric attributes only |
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Split by Ratings |
Preserve Ratings |
· Unlinks the original attribute from all of the categories or just the selected category (depending upon Split by Links setting). · Breaks each new attribute created by the Split by Links into one attribute for each of the original attribute’s ratings with just the single corresponding rating set, appending the rating abbreviation in square brackets ([Nom], [Min], [Max], and so on) to the new attribute name after the category name. · Links the new attributes to all of the corresponding categories or just the selected category (depending upon Split by Links setting). |
All Nominal Ratings |
· Same as Preserve Ratings setting, except that the single rating set for each new attribute is Nominal rather than the corresponding rating for that new attribute. |
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Splitting an attribute By All Links removes the original attribute from the pool. Splitting an attribute By Link to the Selected Category Only does not remove the original attribute from the pool.
Procedure
To split an attribute into two or more attributes:
1. In the Attributes pane, select the attribute you want to split.
2. Right-click on the attribute and choose Split from the context menu, or choose Attributes ® Split from the main menu to open the Split Attribute dialog shown in the figure below.
3. Specify the desired dialog settings, as described in the table above.
4. Click OK when you are done to close the Split Attribute dialog.
MDM splits the selected attribute.
Operation |
Constraints |
Split Attribute |
· Must be in Taxonomy mode · Attributes pane must have focus · Exactly one attribute must be selected · The selected attribute cannot be in a matching set · The selected attribute cannot be in a family partition · The selected text or coupled attribute must have links, or the selected numeric attribute must have either links or multiple ratings |