Annotations

Nodes, streams, and models can be annotated in a number of ways. You can add descriptive annotations and specify a custom name. These options are useful especially when generating reports for streams added to the project pane. For nodes and model nuggets, you can also add ToolTip text to help distinguish between similar nodes on the stream canvas.

Adding annotations

Editing a node or model nugget opens a tabbed dialog box containing an Annotations tab used to set a variety of annotation options. You can also open the Annotations tab directly.

  1. To annotate a node or nugget, right-click the node or nugget on the stream canvas and click Rename and Annotate. The editing dialog box opens with the Annotations tab visible.
  2. To annotate a stream, click Stream Properties on the Tools menu. (Alternatively, you can right-click a stream in the managers pane and click Stream Properties.) Click the Annotations tab.

Name. Select Custom to adjust the autogenerated name or to create a unique name for the node as displayed on the stream canvas.

Tooltip text. (For nodes and model nuggets only) Enter text used as a tooltip on the stream canvas. This is particularly useful when working with a large number of similar nodes.

Keywords. Specify keywords to be used in project reports and when searching for nodes in a stream, or tracking objects stored in the repository (see About the). Multiple keywords can be separated by semicolons--for example, income; crop type; claim value. White spaces at the beginning and end of each keyword are trimmed--for example, income ; crop type will produce the same results as income;crop type. (White spaces within keywords are not trimmed, however. For example, crop type with one space and crop type with two spaces are not the same.)

The main text area can be used to enter lengthy annotations regarding the operations of the node or decisions made in the node. For example, when you are sharing and reusing streams, it is helpful to take notes on decisions such as discarding a field with numerous blanks using a Filter node. Annotating the node stores this information with the node. You can also choose to include these annotations in a project report created from the project pane. See the topic Introduction to Projects for more information.

Show annotation as comment. (For stream and SuperNode annotations only) Check this box to convert the annotation to a freestanding comment that will be visible on the stream canvas. See the topic Adding Comments and Annotations to Nodes and Streams for more information.

ID. Displays a unique ID that can be used to reference the node for the purpose of scripting or automation. This value is automatically generated when the node is created and will not change. Also note that to avoid confusion with the letter "O," zeros are not used in node IDs. Use the copy button at the right to copy and paste the ID into scripts or elsewhere as needed.