Code File Management
From Informer 4 Wiki
Code Files, sometimes referred to as validation tables, are code/description pairs associated with one or more properties. These code/description pairs are known to be the only valid values for a specified property. Some database models support code file definitions internally, such as the U2 family of databases. Informer supports both database code files and custom code files defined by Informer administrators. Both code file types behave the same for end users. Administrators manage code files through the Code Files tab in the administration module.
Creating a New Datasource Code File
To create a new datasource code file, click the New Datasource Code File action in the Code Files action bar. This pops the New Datasource Code File which prompts for:
- Name : name of the code file
- Description : description of the code file as displayed within Informer
- Datasource : datasource containing the table from which code file values are retrieved
Click Save and Edit to enter the edit screen for the datasource code file you just created. The following values are prompted in addition to those supplied in the New Datasource Code File dialog:
- Code File Table : the table in the selected datasource containing the records from which the code file will be built
- Table Format : the Informer driver associated with the code file Table Format. Available drivers will vary among implementations. If you are uncertain which Table Format Type to choose, please speak with your administrator. In general, the Custom Code File provides the most open format.
You must provide the attribute value for both the Code and Description in the Code Location and Description Location textboxes, respectively. If the dictionaries selected are multivalued, select the Multivalued checkbox.
If you need to filter the code file selections based on a custom select statement, select the Use Custom Select Statement checkbox to enable the Custom Select Statement textbox. This is useful if you need the code file to only return specific rows from the selected Code File Table. For example, if you maintain a COURSE table with a field ACTIVE containing 1 for active and 0 for inactive, you can create a custom code file to only include active courses by specifying a custom select of SELECT COURSE WITH ACTIVE EQ 1. Be sure the keys returned from the custom select statement are valid for the table defined as the Code File Table.
Creating a New Custom Code File
To create a new custom code file, click the New Code File action in the Code File action bar. This pops the New Code File which prompts for:
- Name : name of the code file
- Description : description of the code file as displayed within Informer
Click Save and Edit to enter the edit screen for the custom code file you just created.
A custom code file requires you to provide the code/description pairs manually. Custom Code Files are especially useful for associating particular users with known internal values. For example, let’s say individuals within your internal sales team are assigned particular regions by State. In this case, it may be useful to create a custom code file named State and assign code/description pairs as, for example, NY/New York, etc.
To add code values, enter text in to the Custom Codes Code and Description textboxes and click the + sign to the right of the entry. To remove a particular code/description pair, click the – sign to the right of the entry. Once you’ve completed entering all possible code/description pairs, click Save and Close to save your custom code file.
