Create an enumeration set

You can create an enumeration set to establish predefined values for an attribute template. When you configure element attributes based on the template, users can only assign one of these values to the attribute from a pre-populated list.

To use PI Builder to create enumeration sets, you create the enumeration set, assign enumeration values to it, and then publish the worksheet to PI AF. With the auto-fill features in Excel, you can easily create multiple enumeration sets with similar specifications.

1. Specify a database.

2. On the PI Builder Ribbon, click Headers in the Resources group.

   The Select Object Types and Column Headers window opens.

3. From the Object Type list, select EnumerationSet.

   The Object Types list updates to show the available columns for an enumeration set object.

4. Select the desired column headers for the worksheet, then click OK. At a minimum, select the Description and Value column headers.

5. In row 2, create the enumeration set:

   1. In the Selected(x) field, ensure an X appears.

   2. In the Name field, enter a name for the enumeration set .

   3. In the ObjectType field, ensure EnumerationSet appears.

   4. In the Description field, enter a description for the enumeration set.

6. In row 3, add predefined values to the enumeration set:

   1. Enter an X in the Selected(x) field.

   2. In the Parent field, enter the name of the enumeration set you entered in step 5b.

   3. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the predefined value.

   4. In the ObjectType field, enter EnumerationValue.

   5. In the Description field, enter a description for the enumeration value.

   6. In the EnumerationValue field, enter a value.

7. Repeat step 6 to assign more predefined values to the enumeration set.

   Note: If you do not specify values for other column headers, PI AF will set those attributes to their default values.

8. Publish to PI AF:

   1. Click Publish to open the Publish Options window.

   2. From the Edit Mode list, select Create Only.

      With this choice, PI Builder will only create a new enumeration set. If a selected object with the same name already exists, PI Builder generates an error. You can also select Create and Edit; then, PI Builder will modify existing objects and create any objects that do not already exist. PI Builder uses the Name column to find existing objects with the same name.

   3. If you specified an attribute that references a category that does not yet exist, select the Automatically create missing categories check box to request that PI Builder automatically create the needed categories.

      If you do not select this check box and one or more categories do not exist, PI Builder will generate an error during publication.

   4. Click OK to publish the objects to PI AF.

      PI Builder automatically checks in the changes. The Publish Selected Objects window shows the operations completed.

   5. Click Close.