Add New Property Definition

To add a property definition, with the appropriate properties list (equipment, process or cable sizing data) open, click New to display the Property Definition window.

For equipment properties:

For process properties:

For cable sizing data:

Note:
These windows can also be accessed from the Datasheet Design window (refer to Map Database Fields to Datasheet Cells for details).
New properties can also be created using the Auto Create Properties facility available from this window (refer to Auto Create Properties for details).

1. Enter values in the Property Name and Caption fields. The Property Name is mandatory and a message is displayed if no value is entered into the field.

   

2. If no value is entered in the Caption field the value in the Property Name is used.

3. Select the data type of the property (text, numeric (decimal), numeric (integer) or True/False) from the Data Type list.

4. If the property type is process, if the new property has units, check the Has Units checkbox (not present for other property types).

5. If the property is to be available when constructing queries for custom reports (refer to the Common Functionality User Guide for further information), check the Available for Custom Reports checkbox.

   Note:
   A maximum of 1024 properties can be made available (not present for cable sizing property types).

6. If the property type is equipment, click the button in the Equip Type field (not present for process property types, set to Cable Sizing Data for cable sizing properties and cannot be changed). The Select Equipment Type window is then displayed:

   

7. Select the types of equipment (loads and supplies) to add the property to by checking the appropriate checkboxes. Click OK to exit the window. The selected types are then listed in the Equip Type field.

8. If data entered for the new property is to be restricted to the values in a pick list, click the button in the Pick List field. The Select Picklist window is then displayed:

   

   Select the required picklist by double-clicking on it or clicking on it and clicking Select. The window then exits and the selected picklist is displayed in the Pick List field.

9. For equipment properties, if the property is to be used in external cable sizing, check the Use in External Cable Sizing. For cable sizing data properties, the checkbox is ticked automatically and cannot be unticked (it is not present for process property types).

10. Below the Use in External Cable Sizing checkbox the following Dataflow options for the property are displayed:

    • Export

    • Result

    • Both

      Select the required option.

11. If a numeric data type was selected in the Data Type field, the minimum and maximum values that may be entered for the property may be specified in the Minimum Value and Maximum Value fields.

12. For any data type except True/False, entries for the property may also be validated against a regular expression entered in the Regular Expression field.

13. When all the required data for the property definition has been entered, click OK to return to the Property Definitions window, where the new definition will now be listed:

    • If the property type is process, and if the Has Units checkbox was checked, a property definition for the units of the new property is automatically created at the same time.

    • The name of a units property definition will be the name of the new property suffixed with the units suffix specified in the Please enter a new Units Suffix window (refer to Preferences - the default suffix is "Units"). The data type of units property definitions is text. Neither this or the name may be changed.