Defining fields and adding them to field groups

A field definition stores the data type and other properties of a field.

For each new field to add to an object type, you must create a field definition that defines the properties of that field. You can add a field definition to an existing field group or create a new field group.

Before you begin

Review the best practices for configuring fields. See Best practices for configuring IBM OpenPages.

Learn about data types and display types. For more information, see Data types.

If an object type already has many fields, find out whether you can add more fields by running the schema analysis report. For more information, see Running the Schema Analysis report.

If the field group is already associated to an object type and you use IBM® Db2®, do this task during off-peak hours (a time with limited or no activity on the system). It can cause significant system delays in OpenPages due to locking conflicts on the Db2 platform. For more information, see System delay when modifying object types and fields (Db2).

Procedure

  1. Enable System Admin Mode. For more information, see Enabling and disabling System Admin Mode.
  2. Click Open Administration menu Administration menu > Solution Configuration > Object Types.
  3. Click an object type.
  4. Expand the Fields section to work with fields and field groups.
  5. Click New Field.
  6. In Field Group, select the field group that the new field is assigned to.
    Or, click New to create a new field group. Enter a Name and Description and click Create.
  7. Enter a Name. The name must start with a letter, and can contain only letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens (-), and the underscore (_) character. After it is defined, you cannot change a field's name. However, you change the label.
  8. Enter a Label. Click Edit to add values in multiple languages.
    To avoid errors when you import and export objects with FastMap, do not use the following labels:
    • Delete
    • Parent Path
    • Parent Object Types
    • Parent Objects
    • Folder Path
    • Tags
  9. Enter a Description.
  10. Select a Data Type and complete the fields that are specific to that data type.
    Table 1. Data Types
    For this data type... See...
    Boolean Defining Boolean fields
    Business Entity Selector Defining business entity selector fields
    Classifier Defining a classifier field
    Currency Defining currency fields
    Date Defining a date field
    Decimal Defining decimal fields
    Enumerated String Defining enumerated string fields
    Integer Defining integer fields
    Long String Defining long string fields
    Reporting Fragment Configuring reporting fragment fields
    Simple String Defining simple string fields
    User/Group Defining user/group fields
  11. Set Required to True or False. For more information, see Making fields required or optional.
  12. Set Global Search to True or False.
    Note: Fields that are encrypted are not eligible for use in Global Search.

    Enabling Global Search for simple or long string fields that have field level security might result in users being able to derive data values they otherwise would not have access to. For more information, see Field level security.

  13. Optional: If Data Type is Currency, Decimal, or Integer, you can set value ranges and apply colors to them. For more information, see Defining currency fields, Defining decimal fields, or Defining integer fields depending on the data type of the field.
  14. Optional: If Data Type is Enumerated String, you can set values and apply colors to them. For more information, see Defining enumerated string fields.
  15. Optional: If Default Value is displayed, you can set a default value for the field. For more information, see Setting a default value for an object field.
  16. Expand Profiles. From the Object Profiles list, select the profiles that can use the field. By default, all profiles that the object type belongs to are selected.
  17. Click Create.
  18. Add more fields to the field group, as needed.
  19. To edit a field, click a field row.
    1. Edit the settings on the field. Click Edit next to Label to update label values. You can also edit the description. Not all fields can be changed, for example, the Name cannot be changed. The settings that are displayed depend on the field type.
    2. Expand Profiles. View and change the profile that the field is assigned to.
    3. Click Done.