Derived Columns

A derived column pulls a value from a related entity through a chain of domain attributes, without duplicating the data. It appears in the data grid as a read-only column, resolved from the path you define.

Example

Your Costcenter entity has a domain attribute pointing at Area, and Area has one pointing at Zone. A derived column on Costcenter can follow Costcenter → Area → Zone and show the Zone name on every Costcenter row.

Derived columns in the data grid, marked read-only(click to enlarge)

Create a derived column

1. Go to Settings → Models, open the entity and click Edit.
2. Scroll to Derived Columns, below the attribute table.
3. Click Add.
4. Pick a domain attribute to follow. The picker offers only the domain attributes on this entity.
5. At the next entity, either pick a leaf attribute under Use as display value, or pick another domain attribute under Or drill deeper via to go one level further.
6. A column name is proposed from the path, such as Zone / Name. Edit it if you want.
7. Click Save.

A breadcrumb above the picker shows the path so far — entity, attribute, entity — so you always know where you are. Click Cancel to start again.

In the data grid

• Derived columns appear after all regular attributes.
• They are read-only, marked with a lock icon. The value is resolved from the domain chain.
• When a domain value changes — a Costcenter is moved to another Area — the derived column follows automatically.

Requirements

• The entity must be saved first. The Derived Columns section only appears on a saved entity.
• The entity must have at least one domain attribute. Without one the picker says so and offers nothing.
• The path must be at least two steps: one domain hop plus the leaf attribute.

Delete a derived column

Click the trash icon beside it in the Derived Columns list. Only the column definition is removed. No data is affected, because a derived column stores no values of its own.

Related

• Domain Attributes & Hierarchies — the chains a derived column walks
• Attributes & Data Types — the attributes it reads
• Entity Management — how derived columns affect a delete
• Integration Views — derived columns in the SQL view