Setting Up Attributes: Time Series Database

By default, time series database already contains a minimum set of series system attributes and observation system attributes. They are highlighted with green and their deletion is forbidden.

The following is used to work with each group of attributes: the corresponding tab on the Attributes page of the time series database wizard.

Specify whether to save a history of time series changes. By default, the Keep Version History checkbox is selected and version history is saved, that is, the time series database is a version one.

To optimize work with time series database containing large amount of data, it is recommended to disable version control.

Changing checkbox state is available on creating a time series database only. On the next opening of the wizard the checkbox displays the status, which was specified on creating a database.

Specify whether mnemonics are used to identify series. By default, the Series Have Identifier checkbox is selected, and mnemonics are used to identify series.

A mnemonic is a unique value based on time series attribute values.

A detailed description is given in the How to Set Up Automatic Generation of Mnemonics? section.

Specify whether attribute names can be translated into other languages. If the Translations checkbox is selected, the Translations tab is available where translations for attribute names can be added.

NOTE. Names can be translated if default language is set for a repository. Default language for a repository can be selected once when creating a repository or later in repository settings.

Determine whether series should have the emptiness indicator. By default, the Empty Series Indicator checkbox is deselected, and series do not have the emptiness indicator. A series is considered empty if the revision containing the information about this series is missing in the time series database. If the Empty Series Indicator checkbox is selected, the series has the emptiness indicator. Thus, the series is considered empty if it contains no data.

Operations with Attributes

To add an attribute:

Click the Add button or select the Add item in the tab's context menu.
Double-click empty area of the tab.
Press the INSERT key.

The Attribute Properties dialog box opens.

To edit properties of the selected attribute:

Click the Edit button or select the Edit item in the attribute's context menu.
Double-click the attribute.

The Attribute Properties dialog box opens.

To delete the selected attribute:

Click the Delete button.
Select the similarly named item in the attribute's context menu.

A confirmation dialog box opens.

NOTE. Deleting is available only for attributes created by the user.

Attribute translation into other languages is one of the steps in creating a multilingual time series database.

To translate attributes into other languages, select the Translations checkbox. The Translations additional tab is displayed, on which set attribute translations.

NOTE. Before attribute translation make sure that default language is set for the repository.

For details about setting up multilingual options of repository contents and system in general, see the Setting Up Multilingual Options section.

Set the sequence of mandatory attributes in the breadcrumb. The determined attribute sequence will be displayed by default in series tree of workbook.

Setting up the sequence of attributes is available both on creating and on editing the time series database.

NOTE. When creating a default time series database the breadcrumb displays the Frequency attribute containing the calendar frequency value.

To form the sequence of attributes in the breadcrumb, use the following operations:

Adding attribute to the breadcrumb. Click the Add Attribute button in the breadcrumb and select the required attribute from the list.

NOTE. The list of attributes displays only attributes, to which the Reference Dictionary type is set and the Hidden Attribute checkbox is deselected. For details about attribute setup see the Attribute Properties section.

Delete attribute. Open the menu of the required attribute and select the Delete item.
Changing attribute order. Open the menu of the required attribute and select the Left/Right item.
Resetting attribute sequence. Click the Clear button in the breadcrumb or select the Clear Breadcrumb item in the any attribute's context menu.

To restore the default sequence of attributes, click the button in the breadcrumb and select the Default Order item. The sequence of attributes configured in the time series database will be set.

To set up attribute values the following operations are available:

Sorting attribute values. Sorting impacts the display order of attribute values in series tree of workbook. To execute sorting:

Click the name of the required attribute.
In the displayed menu select the Sorting item.
Select the sorting order: ascending or descending.
In the attribute list select the radio button of the attribute, which values should be used to perform sorting.

The icon that displays the sorting order will be displayed next to the attribute name.

Filtering attribute names. Filtering impacts the set of attribute values available in series tree of workbook. To execute filtering:

Click the name of the required attribute.
In the displayed menu select the Filtering item. The Filter button is displayed next to the attribute name.
Click the Filter button and set filtering condition.

Filtering condition is set in the same way as for series tree filtering by attribute values.

Attribute Properties

Enter attribute name.

Enter unique attribute identifier. Only Latin characters, numbers and underscores are allowed; spaces are not allowed.

In the drop-down list select the attribute type:

Simple Attribute. The attribute, which value belongs to the data type specified in the Data Type list.
Reference Dictionary. The attribute, which value is a reference to the element of an MDM repository specified in the Reference Dictionary list.

Data type selection is available only for attributes of the Simple Attribute type.

Select the required type in the Data Type drop-down list:

String. Text length is up to 4000 characters.
Integer. An integer with sign.
Real. A real number with sign.
Date. Date and time.
Logical. It can have only two values: TRUE or FALSE.
Long Text. Text length is more than 4000 characters. Constraints:

Attribute cannot be a mandatory series attribute.
Attribute cannot be included into unique index of time series database.
The time series database that uses Oracle DBMS and contains attribute of this type cannot be replicated to the time series database that uses Teradata DBMS if attributes of the Long Text type are used to compare series in the source and target time series databases.

If the Default Value checkbox is selected, specify the default attribute value:

For simple type attributes. An editor is available corresponding to the type of attribute data.
For reference type attributes. The list of all MDM dictionary elements, on which the attribute refers, is available.

If the Mandatory Attribute checkbox is selected, the value of this attribute must be set for each time series or time series observation.

Further, the attribute is used for unambiguous identification of series, and is added to the unique key of time series database. Mandatory attribute can exist if its type is Reference Dictionary.

The checkbox is deselected by default, and the attribute value is optional.

The Empty Values Allowed checkbox is available if the attribute is optional.

If the checkbox is deselected, for each time series or time series observation this attribute value should be specified. If the checkbox is selected, the attribute value is not obligatory to fill. The checkbox is selected by default.

The difference between this checkbox and the Mandatory Attribute checkbox is that the MDM dictionary linked with the attribute of reference type is not included into the time series database unique key and is not used for explicit identification of the series.