The Data Dictionary is the central place where all field definitions are stored and maintained. The data dictionary is found within the Fields administrative menu.
Data Dictionary screen tabs
These are the fields within ExtraView that are used within all processes. There are two types of fields, inbuilt fields and users defined fields (UDF’s). Inbuilt fields are provided as part of all ExtraView installations. Although you may modify various attributes of inbuilt fields, such as their title and their default value, you should never delete an inbuilt field. You may create as many UDF’s as you require for your installation. There is no limit on the number of UDF’s that may be created. All fields have four basic properties, their scope, a fixed name, a title and a display type. It is the display type that gives a field most of its functionality. See later in this section for a complete explanation of all the field types. Once any UDF is defined in the data dictionary it will behave the same as if it were an inbuilt field. You will be able to attach permissions to the field, place it on any layout, report on the field, etc. End users will not be able to detect the difference between an inbuilt field and a UDF. When viewing a list of fields in the data dictionary, you will only see the fields in the Business Areas and Projects to which you have permission. This typically includes all the fields which are global in their scope.
As a technical point, there is no real limit to the number of UDF’s you create. In addition, creating a UDF does not result in any change to the underlying database schema. There is no system degradation in creating a large number of UDF’s.
Expression fields are used in reporting to derive or calculate the value of a reporting column. Each expression may have a default expression which is then automatically used on any report which contains the expression field. Expression fields also have a range of display types, although this range is more limited than a field display type. You may define any number of additional expression fields, or reuse the same expression fields for different purposes on different reports.
This section is where field screen elements that are not database fields can be defined or altered. Once again, it is unlikely that the administrator will remove fields from this section. Labels can also be added as User Defined Fields, so it is unlikely that the administrator will add new fields to this section of the data dictionary.
These keys are for the inbuilt screens within ExtraView. A few additional supporting fields in this area affect screen displays. Administrators should not need to add or remove entries from this section, but can rename the individual screens within their installation.
Keys found in this area pertain to options having to do with the user’s current, active ExtraView session.
These keys generally are those that manage functions involving calculations of some kind, such as the internal data/time stamping functionality.
This core component of ExtraView controls many of the attributes of each field, such as:
