Updating the Data Dictionary

  1. From the Administration menu, under the ExtraView Configuration tab, click on Fields.


    2. ExtraView Administration screen

  2. Now click on the Data Dictionary menu entry
    A screen similar to the following appears:


Data Dictionary screen

Click the Edit button next to the item that you want to modify. Pressing Update within the edit screen will save the changes. Notice that fields with a display type of List have a button which allows you to access their values to add, edit and delete these.

You can include or alter many different features from this screen, as seen in the screen examples given below.

Note: Not all the fields in the screen shot will appear, unless you are signed on with the ADMIN user ID. This is because it is unusual to need to alter many of these fields, and they are therefore protected from casual changes. Also, note that only the ADMIN user may add an inbuilt field.


Edit Data Dictionary Item screen – ADMIN user view of an inbuilt field


Edit Data Dictionary Item screen – User Defined Field


Setting permissions for a field

Note that you are viewing the permissions for the object, at the highest level to which you have permissions. If you do not have permissions to view / update the global area / master project level, you will not see these. If you have permission to view / update the object’s permissions at the global area / master project level, this will be the top level display of permission radio buttons. You can view and alter the permissions for the level of the currently displayed Business Area and Project by using the Show Dependent Permission Keys, Hide Dependent Permission Keys buttons. You can also switch to a different Business Area and Project’s keys by using the select lists at the top of the window.

Field Name ADMIN view only Explanation
Business Area and Project Sets the scope for the field. If Global Area is selected, then the field will be available over all Business Areas. If a specific Business Area is selected, along with its Project Defaults, then the field will be available throughout that Business Area. If a specific Business Area and a specific data project is selected, then the field will only be available within that Business Area and Project.
Type of Field This shows whether the field is an Inbuilt Field or a User Defined Field (UDF). Inbuilt fields are part of the basic infrastructure of ExtraView. Although properties such as their title and default values may be altered, you must never delete any inbuilt field. User Defined fields can be created and deleted by the administrator. Note that if data has been entered against a UDF, it cannot be deleted
Field Belongs To This may have the values of either Issue Records or Repeating Records. This value determines whether the field belongs to the main issue record, or to the repeating record. Repeating records belong to Issue Records in a hierarchical structure with the Issue record being the parent of a repeating record field.

If you create a UDF of item type Issue Record, the field will belong to the main issue, and can be placed on layouts as part of the issue record for any area and any project. If the UDF is of item type Repeating Record, then the field should be used within layouts such as the release layout (RELEASE.LAYOUT). When a new release row is added to an issue, the RELEASE types will automatically be propagated with each row added.
Fixed Name The fixed name of the field by which it is known within the ExtraView database. Once created, a field’s database name cannot be altered. Database names can consist of the characters A to Z, 0 to 9, and ‘_’. The first character must be alphabetic and the name can be up to 30 characters in length. You cannot use two underscore characters together in a name.
Title to Display The screen title for any field in your ExtraView system. Type a title in the field and update. The field name is instantly updated throughout all ExtraView screens and reports. The screen title may be up to 40 characters in length.

The title may contain HTML for formatting purposes. However, if you access the field through the API or CLI then the HTML will be passed through to the output.
Data table name The name of the database table in which the Data Dictionary element resides. There should be no reason to alter this data for existing fields. Also note that this information is supplied automatically by ExtraView for User Defined Fields. The database table used to store ExtraView’s inbuilt fields is named ITEM.
Data column name The column name relating to where this Data Dictionary element is stored. This is contained within the above data table. There should be no reason to alter this data for existing fields. Typically this is the name of a column in the ITEM table.
Lookup table Information in ExtraView is typically stored in a data table as a fixed name. This is not necessarily meaningful information to the user. The Lookup table is the location from which information accessed by the end user. For example, the key value in the data table may be an ID, whereas the information in the lookup table provides other information like first name and last name.

Example: The lookup table for the field assigned_to is the data table named security_user.

Example: The lookup table for the field priority is the data table named priority.

It is possible to access data tables outside of ExtraView as sources of data to lookup for the list of values to populate list boxes within ExtraView for data validation purposes. This powerful feature allows the administrator to integrate ExtraView with other systems using the same database technology and to read their tables directly. However, be careful doing this, and be aware that Allowed Values will not work with external tables.
Lookup key This is the primary key of the lookup table. When creating allowed values, the lookup key and the first lookup column must be completed. For most ExtraView tables, these are usually NAME, TITLE pairs. This will populate the list for allowed values with meaningful information the user can understand as opposed to the fixed name.

Example: The lookup key for the security_user data table is named security_user_id.

Example: The lookup key for the priority data table is named name.
First lookup column The first item returned from the lookup table. Note that up to three lookup values can be returned as a result of a lookup.

Example: The first lookup column for the field assigned_to is first_name.

Example: The first lookup column for the field priority is title.
Second lookup column The second item (if any) returned from the lookup table.

Example: The second lookup column for the field assigned_to is last_name.
Third lookup column The third item (if any) returned from the lookup table.

Example: The third lookup column for the field assigned_to is email.
Parent table This is the parent table to this Data Dictionary Item. In ExtraView, the ITEM table is parent to most fields. This parent table field is only completed if the Data Table Name is not ITEM. If completed, this means that this particular Data Dictionary item is not contained within the ITEM table and is read from another table.
Parent key This is the key in the parent table. For many fields this is the ID field. Once again, this is only completed if the value is to be different from the default.
Child key This is a foreign key in the Data Table. This explictly defines the relationship between the Parent and Data Tables. This is used to set up dependent fields and to trigger screen refreshes in data entry and data update screens. This is an optional relationship.
Display type This is a required entry for all fields in the data dictionary. The display type defines how the field will appear and will be treated in all its aspects. For a list of all display types, click here.
Alias Of This field only appears when you are creating a new field, or when you are editing a field with a display type of List, Pop-up or Tab. The option is only valid when creating a field of the same types. When creating a new field, you may point it to another list field and the new field will be an alias of the field to which it point. It will be kept in synchronization with the first field.

If you are editing an existing entry which is an alias of another field, you can remove the alias entry, from which time the fields will work independently.
Allow selection on reports This will enable the particular field to be selected on reports. It’s important to note that not all fields should be allowed on reports. For example, you may not use all of ExtraView’s fields within your installation and therefore want to hide them from the view of users. There are also fields in the Data Dictionary, such as images, buttons and screens that should not be selectable for reporting.

It is highly recommended that you set all fields to No if they are not used in your installation. This avoids the lists of fields that your users can select from to be populated with unneeded entries.
Remember last value If you choose Yes for this value, then the last value individual users enter or select on both the Add Issue and the Search screens will be remembered. This serves the purpose of remembering values that may not change frequently (many users may work with the same Product for extended periods of time). Note that this does not work with repeating rows.
Enable interest list By choosing Yes, you can go into the Field List Maintenance for this particular field and create entries for an Interest List based on the particular value. For example, you may want to create an interest list based on issues that have a critical severity level. If you enable the interest list for severity, you can edit the critical list item in the severity level list and add user names to the interest list.

Note that not all display types can be enabled to allow interest Lists. Fields with a display type of Button, Custom, Label, Text, HTML Area, Number, Text Area, Log Area, Print Text and User cannot be used as interest lists. In addition, not all inbuilt fields may have an interest list. For example, user fields are not permitted to have interest lists.
Multiple Value This option only appears on fields that are of display type List, Pop-up and User. By choosing Yes, you are allowing the field to store multiple values from the complete list of allowable entries. You choose to use a multiple value list, when you have a range of options from which the user should select, and you want to allow them to select anywhere from zero to all the available items in the list.

This option is only available for UDF’s, of display type List, Pop-up and User. You can set the character used to signify that a value in a multi-valued field is selected with the behavior setting named MULTI_VALUE_HIGHLIGHT_CHAR. The default value is ▶. This displays as a ► against the selected value. If you want to use a character that is in the basic character set of most client computer browsers, it is suggested you use the + character.


Example of a multi-value list field

Note that if you place a multple value list UDF on an add or edit screen layout, and then add a layout cell attribute of REMOVE_NONE, and you then deselect the very last value in a list, the first value in the list will be selected when you submit the form. If this behavior is not desirable, then the recommendation is to also make the field required, which will force the user to select a value before the record is inserted or updated.
Auto-complete This option may be used with popup list fields and user fields when the behavior setting named USER_LIST_DISPLAY is set to a value of POPUP. Auto-complete, or type-ahead as it is sometimes known, works by having one or more characters typed into the list and then automatically presenting you with the most likely matches for the value you are composing. At any time you can select a value from those presented to you by clicking on the value, or you may continue typing in characters until you complete the value. As you type, the values presented in the list are refined to further match your entry.


Example of an Auto-complete field
Filter criteria This allows this element to be selected on a search screen as a criteria for a search. If this item is not checked, the field will not be allowed to be placed on a search screen layout.

Note that not all display types can be used as filter criteria. Fields with a display type of Label, Image, Text Area, Log Area and Print Text cannot be used as filter criteria.

Fields that are used as filter criteria do not need to be sortable.
Display as URL This option need not be completed for any UDF. You can use either the name or value associated with the field as part of the URL that you generate. This allows you to link any field value on a form with any remote application (or an inbuilt ExtraView function that can be accessed with a URL) and optionally to use values on the form to pass as a parameter to another application.

To activate a field with a link to a URL, click the Display as URL radio button to Yes.

  1. Type the appropriate URL in the field below the Display as URL radio button.
  2. You can use the optional entry Image for Display as URL in conjunction with the Display as URL setting. If provided, the entry is the file name of an image in the directory specified in the IMG_NAV_BAR_HOME behavior setting. When this image is provided and Display as URL is set to Yes, then your image is used rather than the inbuilt LinkButton.gif image. Care should be taken not to provide an image that is too large. The recommended size is 18 x 18 pixels.
  3. You can pass values from the data dictionary field you are defining or from other fields on the form. The form of the values that you can pass as parameters are as follows –
    4. Parameter Purpose
    $$VALUE Pass the current value of the field as a parameter in the request
    http://$$VALUE$$ This format is used to pass a URL, such as the path to a website or another web application. For example, if a user enters the value www.extraview.com into a text field with this attribute set, then pressing the Display as URL button will open the ExtraView web site
    https://$$VALUE$$ This is virtually identical to the previous option, except used to address secure web sites
    $$DDNAME.VALUE$$ Pass the current value of the field named DDNAME as parameter in the request
    $$DDNAME.NAME$$ Pass the name of the item for the field named DDNAME as it is stored in the database as the parameter. For example, if you have a field named STATUS, with a name of FIXED and a value of Fixed, then $$STATUS.NAME$$ will pass FIXED as the parameter.
    $$DDNAME.TITLE$$ Pass the title of the item for the field named DDNAME as it is stored in the database as the parameter. For example, if you have a field named STATUS, with a name of FIXED and a value of Fixed, then $$STATUS.TITLE$$ will pass Fixed as the parameter. This is equivalent to the $$DDNAME.VALUE$$ parameter.
  4. You can set either a relative path to a URL, or an absolute path. If your entry into the field begins with the characters http://, and is completed with a valid URL, then the absolute path expressed by the entry will be set. If you do not begin the entry with http://, then ExtraView assumes that the path you have entered is relative to its own path.
  5. Use the tag $$APP_HOME$$ to include the current path to the ExtraView instance that you are running.
  6. If the DDNAME is the name of a data dictionary Special Variable (e.g. SYSDATE) then the value passed is the value of the Special Variable.
  7. If the DDNAME is the name of a data dictionary Session Variable (e.g. USER) then the value passed is the value of the Special Variable.
    • You may call other functions within ExtraView and cause them to take the appropriate action. For example, you can set up a field with a link that utilizes the search function and display the results in a Quicklist report.

    Example 1 - Pass a value to a remote application as a parameter, using an absolute path –

    http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=$$VALUE$$

    This will pass the current value of the field to Yahoo, and perform a search of the value. The results will be displayed in a new window.

    Example 2 – Display a window with a user’s details, using a path defined by the $$APP_HOME$$ tag –

    $$APP_HOME$$ExtraViewp_action=showUserDetails&p_option=admin.UserAccountsDisplay&p_user_id=$$NAME$$

    This will access ExtraView’s pop-up display for a user’s details. Use this URL in conjunction with a User display type field.

    Example 3 – perform a search with a keyword, and display a Quicklist with the results, using a path relative to ExtraView’s current location –

    p_action=doRunQuicklist&p_option=search.SearchDisplay&searchword=$$VALUE&product_name=$$PRODUCT_NAME&assigned_to=$$ASSIGNED_TO

    This example is placed in the URL of the searchword field. This will access ExtraView’s search class and produce a Quicklist report, using the value in the display field named searchword, and the current values of the product_name and assigned_to fields.

    Example 4 – Edit an issue whose ID is in the field with the display as URL –

    ?p_action=doEditDisplay&p_option=Display&p_id=$$VALUE$$&p_from_action=search&p_from_option=searc&p_close_win=true&ev_menu=off

    This will open an edit screen window using the value of the field with the Display as URL as the ID to the issue. Note that the parameter p_close_win=true is used to close the edit screen window once the issue has been updated. Also note that the parameter ev_menu=off is used to suppress the ExtraView navigation bar in the new edit screen window.
Is sortable If this field is set to Yes, then the field will appear on the Sort Order lists on report composition screens. Typically fields with a display type of List, Tab, Pop-up, User should be sortable and fields of display type Label, Log Area, Number, Print Text, Text Area, Text Field and Image are not sortable.

Fields that are sortable must also be filter crieria.
Default value Mostly, this value will be used to populate an empty value in the Add Issue screen. You should use the name or ID of the field, not its value. Note that if you also have Remember Last Value set to On, the last value will be used in preference to the default value.

The default value is used to populate a field in a record, whether or not the field is visible on the form. This has a very important benefit, best explained by example. Say you want to create an Add Issue input form for your user role named customer, and have any issues submitted by your customers to automatically be given a status of unassigned, but not have customers be aware that there is a field named status in your installation. You can achieve this with the default value. The Add Issue screen used by customers may either not have the status field at all, or the security key for the status field may be set so that customers cannot read or write to the field.

There is one special rule to be aware of with the STATUS field in the Data Dictionary. If you have the behavior setting named ENFORCE_STATE_CHANGE_RULES set to Yes, then you must provide a default value for the STATUS field.

Note: You can only add a default value to a field by updating the data dictionary. You cannot add a default value when first creating the field.

If the field you are editing is an expression field, then the default value is used to store the default expression for the calculation of the results to be placed on a report.
Primary SQL Only the admin user may alter the contents of this field. This is the SQL used to populate this Data Dictionary element with data. For example if the item is a list then this SQL statement will be used to populate the list box. This can be used to provide another level of customization. Items that only meet certain requirements (e.g. date range, greater than) can be used to populate the list.
Dependent SQL Only the admin user may alter the contents of this field. This field should not be manipulated by the user
First Parent Field Name Only the admin user may alter the contents of this field. When creating allowed value lists, this field acts as a trigger that initiates a screen refresh when this parent Data Dictionary element is refreshed. Please see the section on Allowed Values for more information.
First Parent SQL Only the admin user may alter the contents of this field. This field should not be modified. It is generally only used for screen rendering elements.
Second Parent SQL Only the admin user may alter the contents of this field. This field should not be modified. It is generally only used for screen rendering elements.
Help Text When you mouse over the label adjacent to a field, this is the tool tip message that will appear. You can have up to 500 characters in a tool tip.
Help URL You can link this to a bookmark or page in your own online help system. If you are an ExtraView customer hosted by ExtraView Corporation, note that this URL need not be on our server. You can store and access these files anywhere over the Internet.
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