System Preferences - Extended Attributes

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System Preferences - Extended Attributes

IndySoft supports three different ways of adding equipment-level extended attributes. These extended attributes can be viewed/edited from the Equipment View's Attributes tab/dialog:

·Attribute Type - These extended attributes are set up within the Add/Edit...Attributes...Attribute Types wizard. These attributes are only created for assets with an attribute type currently set to the attribute type in the wizard (company + attribute type).

·Company - These extended attributes are set up within the Add/Edit...Companies...Companies wizard. These attributes are only created for the company's assets in the wizard.

·System-Wide - These extended attributes are set up for all assets in the database across all companies and all attribute types. These attributes are set up within the System Preferences - Extended Attributes dialog/step.

When the System-Wide Preferences dialog is closed, all extended attributes are synced across related equipment (in this case, all equipment). Any attributes removed from the Preferences dialog are removed from the equipment level, and any new attributes are added. Note: System-wide attributes will be automatically shown as available fields in all equipment-related filter boxes. The system-level attributes will be displayed in the 'System -- [Attribute Name]' format.

Adding/Editing System-Wide Attributes
Press the 'Add Attributes' to create a new system-wide attribute. Press the 'Edit Attribute' button to modify the currently selected attribute in the grid. Use 'Delete Attribute' to permanently remove the selected attribute(s).

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Add/Edit System-wide Attribute

Attribute Name - the name of the extended attribute

Field Type - there are many different options available. Many options are 'stock' drop-down lists common in IndySoft, populated through other Add/Edit wizards. Use 'Custom SQL' to input your SQL to populate the drop-down list (typically provided by IndySoft Support in consulting). If 'Company Custom List' or 'System-Wide Custom List' is selected, you will see a new 'List #' appear below 'Field Type' - use this field to select the list number that should be used to populate the drop-down.

Res. (If Numeric) - if the Field Type is numeric, then this field will be enabled. Input the resolution (number of decimal places) for the field.

Group Name (Opt.) - if you have many extended attributes fields, you can group them into sub-tabs using this option. All distinct 'Group Name' values will be created as tabs, and related attributes will be placed on this tab. If some extended attributes do not have 'Group Name' values and other extended attributes, do, then the attributes missing 'Group Name' values will appear on a tab named '(None)'. Drag/drop the tabs from Step 3 in the Attribute Types wizard to re-arrange the tabs' left-right order.

Example - Group Name Sub-Tabs for Extended Attributes

If you want sub-tabs to display on multiple lines (if you have more groups that can fit on one line), select 'Multi-Line.' All the extended attributes are shown in the grid in wizard step 3 by default. But if you would like to test the grouping of the sub-tabs, you can turn on 'Group Now' - then you must select the appropriate sub-tab before viewing its attributes in Step 3. When the attributes are shown with the equipment, the sub-tabs will always be used.

Sort# (Opt.) - the order of the attribute relative to other attributes (top to bottom)

Requires to Sign Off (User Logged In) - turn on this option if you would like to require that a user re-input their user password each time the equipment attribute is modified. If the attribute is sensitive data, this might prevent a random user from walking up to an IndySoft workstation that is temporarily unattended and adjusting the data. Only the password for the user currently logged into IndySoft can be used.

Show/Hide By Profile - sometimes, you might want to limit the display/modification of an attribute to a particular profile. Or, you might want to hide an attribute from a specific profile. If desired, select 'Show' or 'Hide,' then select the Profile from the option below.

Profile - see description of 'Show/Hide By Profile' above.

Custom SQL - is only relevant if the Field Type is set to 'Custom SQL.' Input the custom SQL in this memo box. Typically this SQL is provided by IndySoft through custom consulting.

Hide This Attribute If - use these checkboxes to quickly filter the display of equipment attributes based on the status of specific equipment status fields. There are ten equipment status fields and 10 lab status fields. If custom captions are set up for these fields (using Company Preferences or System-Wide Preferences), these captions will be shown. For each field, three states are possible:

| | Checked - field will only be displayed if this attribute is checked.
| | Unchecked - field will only be displayed if this attribute is unchecked. | N/A - this field will not be relevant for the display of the attribute. |

Export Attributes Tab Items

Use this option to quickly export all extended attributes in the current grid to a text file. This file can be used with the 'Import Attributes Tab Items' option to import these attributes into a different database.

Import Attributes Tab Items

Use this option to quickly import extended attributes that were previously saved to a text file using the 'Export Attributes Tab Items.'

Re-sync Extended Attributes For Related Equipment

Use this option to manually re-create all system-wide extended attributes on the equipment level as needed. If data has been imported into your database that does not have a full complement of attributes, then this option can be used to re-create any missing attributes. Existing attribute values will be retained. |