Assign/Edit Attribute Dialog Box

The Assign Attribute dialog box enables you to add a single field attribute to an object type. You can assign an existing attribute, or define a new attribute and assign it.

NOTE Do not use the name of an existing system-defined attribute when you define a new attribute. For a list of the reserved attribute names, see Reserved Attribute Names.

The dialog box consists of two or three areas:

Global properties - These are properties of the attribute that are independent of the assigned object type.
Date range validation - These are options for additional validation that will occur when the user enters a value for this date attribute. This only appears if you have selected Date for the Data type in the Global Properties area.
Local properties - These are properties of the attribute relating to the specific object type.

The fields in the Global Properties area are:

Field	Description	Rules and Guidelines
Name	The name that identifies this attribute.	Enter a name in the text field or Choose a name from the list. Display only if Edit Attribute has been selected.
Attribute number	Each attribute has a unique number. Unless Display Order (see below) has been specified, these numbers also determine the order in which lists of attributes will be presented to users.	Display Only.
Max Length	The maximum length allowed (for a character field).	Enter a positive integer between 1 and 1978 Only applies to a data type of Char.
Data type	The format of values entered for the attribute: Char means the value must be a string of characters of length up to the value of Maximum Length (see below) Date means the value must be an 11-character date in the format DD–MMM–YYYY such as: 01–JAN–2000 Number means the value must be a real number (or integer) such as –1.23 or 42.	Choose a data type from the list.

The fields in the Date range validation area are:

Field	Description	Rules and Guidelines
No date range validation	Select this option if you do not want additional validation for the range of the date.
Before	Select this option if you want to require the date to be before another date attribute. Select an attribute from the list.	The list contains all the other date attributes for this object type.
After	Select this option if you want to require the date to be after another date attribute. Select an attribute from the list.	The list contains all the other date attributes for this object type.
Fixed range	Select this option if you want to require the date to be between two specified dates.	Select a date from the from list. Select a date from the to list.
Relative range	Select this option if you want to require the date to be between two dates relative to the current date (the current date at the time the date is entered).	Select "+" or "-" and enter a number of days from the from list. Select "+" or "-" and enter a number of days from the to list.

The fields in the Local Properties area are:

Note: Not all these fields may actually appear, depending on the object type.

Field	Description	Rules and Guidelines
User prompt	This is the attribute's field label which will be used in interactive dialogs. Note: The user prompt does not function for the attribute TITLE. Entering a value will have no effect for this attribute.	Enter a description in the text field. Up to 50 characters. Mandatory.
Attribute type	The type of attribute, whether it is single value or multi value.	Choose an option.
Display width (in chars.)	This is the width in characters for the display of this attribute. Note: If this field includes a drop down list (i.e. there is a valid set) this value includes the width of the arrow control, therefor you will need to allow extra characters for this.	Enter an integer. Must be between 1 and 240.
Display height (in no.of lines)	This is the number of lines that will be visible simultaneously, whenever the attribute is to be entered or edited. (It does not determine how many lines the attribute may occupy in total.) It will be more convenient for users if the entry in this field is set to at least 2, so that at least two lines of the data can be seen at the same time.	Enter an integer between 1 and 24. Default 1.
Display order	The entry in this field determines the order in which this attribute will appear in lists of attributes presented to users. If this field is left blank, it is processed as if it contained the same value as in Attribute No. in the global properties. If this attribute will be declared as the first column of a multi-row multi-column block, this field determines the display order for that whole block. If it will be declared as any other column of such a block, this field is ignored.	Enter a positive integer between 1 and 220.
Default value	This is the value which this attribute will have whenever an object, of the product and type selected, is created, until/unless a different value is assigned specifically. If this field is all blank, each object will have no value set for this attribute, until/unless a specific value is assigned for that object.	Up to 240 characters. $TODAYS_DATE: will be interpreted as the current system date (and time) in the format: 25-MAR–2003 00:00:00 (where 00:00:00 is the time in hours: minutes: seconds). $USER_NAME will be interpreted as the operating system login ID of the user when it is used to set this attribute.
Help message	This is the message-line help text for this attribute's field. Note: The help message does not function for the attribute TITLE. Entering a value will have no effect for this attribute.	Up to 80 characters.
Keep history	A check box to specify that update history information to be recorded for this attribute.	Default: Unchecked.
Is sensitive	A check box to specify that the attribute is sensitive. If this is checked, it means that the user is required to provide an electronic signature by re-entering their password when they attempt to update it.	Default: Unchecked.
Revision values (Only applicable to items)	The option that determines how attributes are set between different revisions of the same item. If you choose Stored per revision, default as specified, then when a new revision of an item is created, Dimensions does not copy the attribute values from the previous revision but initially sets them to the specified default value according to Default Value above. You can subsequently override them for a specific revision. If you choose Stored per revision, default to previous revision, then when a new revision of an item is created, Dimensions initially sets the attribute values to those from the previous revision, but you can subsequently override them for a specific revision. If you choose Same for all revisions, Dimensions sets the attribute values for all revisions of the same item to the same value. When you update the value of an attribute for any revision, Dimensions will also update that attribute for all other revisions.
Display In:
Edit attributes	A check box to allow the attribute to be displayed in the Edit Attributes dialog boxes in the desktop client and the web client. If it is not set, this denotes a programmer attribute, in other words one which is not accessible via standard Dimensions functions; and apart from this entry here, they will all operate as if this attribute did not exist.	Check to select this option.
Custom pending & catalogue views	This option determines whether the attribute can be selected for display in the Customize Views dialog in the desktop client. If this radio button is set, users can include that attribute in their Dimensions Change or Dimensions Version object windows in the desktop client.	Check to select this option.
Associated valid set	The valid set (if any) associated with this attribute.	Display only for an existing attribute. Select a value from the list.
Valid Set Multi-Column Properties (Only appears if you have selected a multi-column associated valid set)
Column number	The column of the valid set to be associated with the attribute	Choose a number from the list.
Validation group name	A name used to distinguish different occurrences of a valid set when the same valid set name and column number appear more than once in the list of declared attributes.	Required Enter a name of up to 25 characters.
Is auto-populate	Indicates whether other attributes in the same validation group are to be automatically populated if a uniquely matching value is entered in this attribute. For example, if the option is set and a valid set like this exists: Then the attribute for Jim would be auto-populated, since only one matching address is defined in the valid set. Entering Jim in the Name field will cause the Address field to be auto-populated with 10 North Road.	Check to auto-populate.