Fields

About Fields

Fields represent the individual pieces of information that will be stored for records belonging to a given family. For example, records stored in the Full Inspection family will contain information related to full inspections. Therefore, the Full Inspection family contains fields that help define the inspection.

Each field that is defined for a family corresponds to a column in that family table. Any field that you define for a family can be displayed in a datasheet so that values can be displayed and collected via the GE Digital APM application. Additionally, fields can be used in queries, graphs, reports, and other utilities to help you retrieve and display specific information about records in the database.

Field can store the following types of data:
  • Letters and numbers (e.g., Equipment or Equipment-123).
  • Numbers only.
  • A Boolean value (i.e., true or false).
  • Date and time values.

The Fields section allows you to create a new or edit an already existing field for a family. The main display area of the Fields section contains a list of all the fields currently defined for a family.

About the Field Sequence Number

All the fields within a family are assigned a field sequence number, which determines the order in which fields will be displayed, loaded, and processed during certain operations. The default field sequence number is assigned automatically by the GE Digital APM system when a field is created, but you can change the field sequence for a family as needed.

In some cases, field sequence number are inconsequential and do not impact how the system functions. In other cases, particularly in cases where rules are fired, field sequence numbers are important. To make sure that these operations do not result in errors, you should define field sequence numbers for field as appropriate for the rules that exist for that family.

For example, consider a family that contains fields A, B, and C, each of which is formatted to display a list of valid values. Now, suppose that rules have been written for the field to specify that the value selected in list A determines the available values in list B, and the value selected in list B determines the value selected in list C. On the datasheet, where you have control over the order in which fields are displayed, you can specify that list A should appear first, then list B, and finally list C. This would encourage users to select a value first from list A, then from list B, and finally list C, causing all the rules to be fired in the intended order.

In operations where you do not have control over the order in which fields are processed, however, you must rely upon field sequence numbers. In this example, you would want to set the field sequence numbers such that field A would be processed first, followed by B, and then by C.

Operations in which field sequence numbers are used include when:

  • Fields are processed during an import or export.
  • A record is moved from one family to another via a GE Digital APM plug-In for DataStage job.
Note: Only one field sequence number can be defined for each field. This means that you will need to define field sequence numbers that are appropriate for visual and functional purposes. If you modify field sequence numbers to adjust a certain display, keep in mind the impact of those changes on the loading and processing of data.

About Field Sequence Numbers in Imports and Exports

When you export a family using the Export tool, the sequence number for each field is included in the FIELD_SEQUENCE_NBR on the Fields tab of the .XML file.

The Families of the export file also includes the FAMILY_APPLY_FIELD_SEQUENCES, which contains a setting that determines how field sequence numbers will be handled for each family included in the file during an import. When the FAMILY_APPLY_FIELD_SEQUENCES is set to:

  • False (the default setting for all export files created by the GE Digital APM system): When the file is imported, if the family already exists in the target database, the existing field sequence numbers will not be overwritten with the field sequence numbers in the import file.
  • True: When the file is imported, if the family already exists in the target database, the existing field sequence numbers will be overwritten with the field sequence numbers in the import file.

If you import a file that contains information for a family that does not already exist in the target database, the field sequence numbers that are defined in the import file will be applied to the fields in the new family, regardless of the value in the FAMILY_APPLY_FIELD_SEQUENCES.

The GE Digital APM enforces no restrictions on duplicate field sequence numbers. If you import a file that contains a subset of fields that are defined for an existing family and any of the field sequence numbers are the same as those defined for existing fields, the import will be successful and will result in duplicate field sequence numbers within the family. Additionally, GE Digital APM allows duplicate field sequence numbers for different fields within the same import file. Duplicate field sequence numbers may cause rules to function improperly and should be corrected via the Family Fields Sequence Order feature, which will reset all sequence numbers to reflect the order of the fields as displayed on the Family Fields Sequence Order window.

The features described above will also exist in a Microsoft Excel export file.

About Data Spreading

Grouping families into hierarchies encourages the use of data spreading. Using data spreading, fields that are common to all families within a branch of the hierarchy can be defined on a family and then spread down to subfamilies. Fields that are specific only to one subfamily can be defined directly at the sublevel. Any fields that are defined for a family will be available for display at all the sublevel. You should not over-use the data-spreading feature. The deeper a family exists in the hierarchy, the more time it takes when querying data from the family because the query must look at many family tables to gather all the information for generating the query results.

Note: If field is baseline then it will not spread the field automatically to the subfamily. Therefore, the spread to subfamily check box will be disabled for all the baseline fields. In addition, the ID Field in the Information section will also be disabled.
There are three main aspects of field spreading:
  • Metadata: When a field is spread from one family to another, the metadata (i.e., Field Identification Properties) associated with the root family field is inherited by the subfamily field when the subfamily is created. In other words, the field properties at the target level match the field properties defined at the source level. Most of this information cannot be modified on the family to which the field has been spread. The Caption, Description, and Help Text can be modified. Additionally, the special properties may be editable at the subfamily level, depending on the selected option.
  • Physical Tablespace: Within the family hierarchy, a table will be created for each family, regardless of its position in the hierarchy.
  • Behavior: For field-level behavior, you have two options. Within the subfamily, you can choose to:
    • Inherit the behavior that are defined for the source family. This is the default condition for spread fields and is indicated by the Allow changing the properties of this field check box in the Configuration Manager. When you select this check box, any changes to field behavior in the source family will be not be applied to the subfamily. If you clear the check box, the subfamily will inherit the field behavior from the source family.
    • Define behavior directly within the subfamily by selecting the Allow Changing the properties of this field check box in the Configuration Manager. When you select this option, the field behavior for the subfamily field will be defined directly in the subfamily item. Any behavior that exists in the associated source family will not be applied to the subfamily.

Within the properties of any family field, select the Spread to Sub Families check box. When you do so, all subfamilies created under that family will automatically inherit that field when the subfamily is created.

Note: The changes made to parent family field would be cascaded to all the sub families. If a field is baseline then the field will not be spread to the subfamily in any circumstances. The Spread to subfamily check box will be disabled for all baseline fields.

After a field has been spread, clearing the Spread to Sub Families check box will prevent that field from being spread to additional families but will not remove the field from families to which it has already been spread. The metadata, physical tablespace, and behavior will continue to exist at the subfamily level until they are deleted manually. Clearing a field will, however, break the connection between the source field and the subfamily field, meaning that changes made to the source family field will not be applied at the subfamily level, even if the subfamily field originated through spreading.

Example A: No data spreading applied

FamilyFields
Failure

Failure ID

Failure Date

Failure Comments

Failure\Equipment Failure None
Failure\Equipment Failure\Shutdown None
Failure\Equipment Failure\Leak

Failure ID

Failure Date

Failure Comments

Leak Substance

Example B: Data spreading applied

FamilyFields
Failure

Failure ID

Failure Date

Failure Comments

Failure\Equipment Failure

Failure ID

Failure Date

Failure Comments

Failure\Equipment Failure\Shutdown

Failure ID

Failure Date

Failure Comments

Failure\Equipment Failure\Leak

Failure ID

Failure Date

Failure Comments

Leak Substance

Example A does not use data spreading. Therefore, you need to manually create all the fields in the subfamilies.

Example B uses data spreading. Example B, which uses data spreading, has only four fields as compared to the seven fields created for Example A. Example B, there are no duplicate fields, whereas Example A has three duplicate fields: Failure ID, Failure Date, and Failure Comments. In this example, data spreading multiplied over hundreds of families can help to save administrative time that is required to create and maintain the data fields, and it can help limit the size of the physical database.

About the Formula Field

A formula field is a numeric field that stores a value that has been calculated using rules. To create a formula field, you must:
  • Select the Formula Field check box.
  • Define rules for the field to specify how the field value should be calculated.
Formula fields differ from non-formula fields in two ways:
  • Rather than having a base class of EntityFieldCustomization or RelationshipFieldCustomization, they have a base class of CalculatedEntityFieldCustomization (for entity family fields) or CalculatedRelationshipFieldCustomization (for relationship family fields).
  • They contain Formula rules.
    Note: Formula rules must be defined manually in the Visual Studio.
When creating a formula field, you should select the Formula Field check box and save it before creating any rules. This will cause the field's code item to be set up as a formula field. If other rules already exist for a non-formula field and you want to change the field to a formula field, perform the following steps:
  • Select the Formula Field check box and save the field.
  • For entity fields, manually change the base class on the field's code item from EntityFieldCustomization to CalculatedEntityFieldCustomization.
  • For relationship fields, manually change the base class on the field's code item from RelationshipFieldCustomization to CalculatedRelationshipFieldCustomization.
    Note: If you modify the formula for an existing formula field or define a new calculation for a field that was previously not a formula field, the value for that field will not be updated automatically in existing records. The new calculated value will be displayed in formatted query results and in Record Manager. The value stored in the database, however, will not be updated until the records are re-saved. Unformatted queries will display the value that is stored in the database.

About the Multi-Value Field

Multi-value fields are fields that can contain more than one value. The number of values allowed in a multi-value field is determined by the No. of values per field property, which can be defined for a new or existing field in the Information section. Multi-value fields can be useful in cases where you want the fields to store multiple, distinct values.

Suppose that you use the Work Order family to store records containing information about work performed on equipment in your plant. Now, suppose that the Work Order family contains the Maintenance Type field, which is meant to identify the type of work represented by a given Work Order record. In this case, it may not be adequate to associate a single maintenance activity with each Work Order record. For instance, some work orders may require that a piece of equipment be repaired or cleaned. If more than one activity is performed against a single piece of equipment by the same person at any given time, you may want to allow multiple values to be selected in the Maintenance Type field. Therefore, you can associate more than one activity with each Work Order record rather than creating multiple Work Order records.

To implement this behavior:
  1. In the Information section of the field Maintenance Type, in the No. of values per field box, enter the number of values that you want to allow users to specify. For example, if you want to allow up to three maintenance types, enter 3.
  2. Create a Valid Values behavior to populate the field Maintenance Type with a list of valid maintenance activities.

    The behavior is implemented. Now, when a user accesses the Work Order family in GE Digital APM, the field Maintenance Type will display the list of allowed values.

When working with multi-value fields in the Configuration Manager, only a character or numeric field can be configured to contain more than one value by specifying the required value in the No. of values per field box. The character and numeric fields behave in a way similar to the example provided above. Binary, text, and logical fields cannot be configured as multi-value fields.

Access the Fields Section

Procedure

  1. Access the Family Management Page.
  2. In the left pane, select Entity or Relationship.
    The associated family list appears.
  3. Select the family to which you want to add a new field.
    The workspace for the selected family appears displaying the various tab. By default, the Information section appears.
  4. Select the Fields tab.
    The Fields section appears.

What to do next

About System Fields

In addition to the fields that you define manually for each family, each record that you create will also contain system fields.

System fields:
  • Are identified by a field ID (i.e., you cannot define a field caption for them).
  • Are managed automatically as you perform actions within the GE Digital APM system.
  • Cannot be modified or configured in the same way that family fields can be managed or configured (e.g., you cannot defined custom rules for them).
  • Do not appear in many of the places where family fields appear (e.g., on datasheets).
  • Can be included in queries.
  • Are referenced throughout the GE Digital APM product but in ways that most end users do not see (e.g., in rules and in URLs).
The following table provides a list and description of the system fields that exist for every record.
Field IDDescriptionBehavior or Usage
CONTENT_GUID A global unique identifier that uniquely identifies a record across all databases. This field is populated automatically with a system-generated value when a record is instantiated (i.e., when you initiate the record-creation process). Note that if you include this field in a query, when you run the query, values will not be displayed in the CONTENT_GUID column.
ENTY_CAPTION_TX A field that stores a copy of the Record ID. This field is updated when the ENTY_ID field is updated.
ENTY_ID A value that uniquely identifies a record within a given database. This field is populated automatically with a system-generated value the first time a record is saved. The ENTY_KEY field is widely using within URLs to provide a means for giving you direct access to the information associated with a specific entity.
FMLY_KEY A value that identifies the family to which a record belongs. This field is populated automatically when a record is first saved with the unique key value that identifies a family within a database.
LAST_UPBY_SEUS_KEY A value that identifies the user who last updated the record. This field is updated automatically whenever a record is modified.
LAST_UPDT_DT A value that identifies the date that a record was last updated. This field is updated automatically whenever a record is modified.
LOCK_SEQ_NBR A value is internally by the GE Digital APM system to indicate how many times a record has been modified. This field is updated every time a record is modified.

Create a New Family Field

Before you begin

Procedure

  1. Access the Fields section.
  2. In the Fields section, select .
    The workspace for the new field appears, displaying the Information section.
  3. As needed, enter values in the available fields in the Information and Behavior sections.
  4. Select .
    The new family field is saved and appears in the list of the fields for the family.

What to do next

About Information Section Fields

When you create or modify a field, the workspace for the field appears, displaying the Information and Behavior tabs. By default, the Information tab is selected and the Information section is displayed. The Information section allows you to define the basic details of the field, such as data type, field caption, and so on.

The following table lists the fields available on the Information section.
FieldsDescription Notes
Active Status Determines whether or not the field is active.This setting cannot be modified for fields that have been spread from higher-level families. Inactive fields will not appear in the following locations:
  • In the Datasheet Builder, in the Editing <Datasheet ID> section, in the list of available fields in the Values column. If a field is flagged as inactive after it already exists on a datasheet, it will not be removed from the Available Items section automatically. When a user views an inactive field on a datasheet, it will be disabled, and any value stored in that field will not be displayed.
  • In the query design, in the list of available fields:
    • Inactive fields will not appear in the query source lists, but you can, make them appear, as needed.
    • Inactive fields will not appear in the Fields list.

If a field is flagged as inactive after it is already being used in a query, it will continue to be included in the query unless you remove it manually.

Allow changing the properties of this field Specifies that the field can have its own rules and special properties that are different from the ones defined at the level from which the field was spread. This option appears only in the subfamily Edit Field window.

You can clear this check box if you want to inherit the changes from the parent family.

Data Type Identifies the type of data that will be stored in the field.The data type controls which other properties are enabled or disabled for that type of data. This field contains a list of the following values:
  • Binary: The field can contain binary data, which is a coding system that represents data using a series of numbers. Binary fields cannot be displayed on a datasheet.
  • Numeric: The field can contain numeric data. On a datasheet, numeric fields appear as text boxes, into which users can type values, or drop-down lists, from which users can select a valid value.
  • Date: The field can contain date and time data. On a datasheet, date fields display a text box into which users can type a date and time. The pop-up Calendar is also available on datasheets and allows users to select a date and enter the desired time.
  • Character: The field can contain any combination of characters up to the limit specified by the value in the Edit Length text box. On a datasheet, character fields appear as text boxes, into which users can type values, or drop-down lists, from which users can select a valid value.
  • Text: The field can contain any combination of characters with no limit. On a datasheet, text fields appear as text boxes into which users can type the desired value. From text fields, users can also access the text editor, which provides more space for typing data and offers a spell checking feature.
  • Logical: The field can contain a value that represents the equivalent of True or False. On a datasheet, logical fields appear as check boxes. Users can select the check box to specify a value of True or clear the check box to specify a value of False. If you create a new logical field for a family that already contains records, the field will be set to Null instead of False in all the existing records.
Description Specifies an optional, textual description of the field and its function. The field description is optional. You can enter text in the Description field.
Edit Length Specifies the maximum number of characters that will be accepted for the field value.This setting applies to character fields only. Text fields have no limit. All other fields have a limit of 50 characters. The default setting for character fields is 50, but you can type any value up to 2000 (the maximum number of characters allowed for a character field). It is recommended not to modify the field lengths of baseline GE Digital APM family fields.
Field Caption Specifies the label for the fieldTo define a field caption, type a name in the Field Caption text box. A field caption is required for all fields and can be translated. Each field caption must be unique within its family. Defining translations for field captions alone will not ensure that translated strings appear everywhere throughout the GE Digital APM application. If you want to use translated strings, you should define them both for field captions and for datasheet captions.
Field ID Specifies the unique ID that identifies the field.The Field ID is required for all fields and must be unique. After creating a field, we recommend that you do not modify the Field ID. If you need to change the field ID, you should delete the existing field and recreate it. The code item names in family rule projects are based upon family and field IDs, if the field ID matches the family ID, the GE Digital APM system will not be able to create a unique code item for both the family and the field. When the field-level code item is created, it will overwrite the family-level code item. In order for the code items to be unique, the IDs must be unique.
Formula Field Defines the field as a formula field.You can define the field as a formula field. This setting cannot be modified for fields that have been spread from higher-level families.
Hyper Link Field Defines the field as hyperlink field.You can define the field as a hyperlink field. In addition to selecting this check box, you need to define a rule to create a fully functional hyperlink field. This setting cannot be modified for fields that have been spread from higher-level families.
ID Field Designates the field as an ID field. All fields that are designated as ID field will be spread automatically to all subfamilies of the current family. When you select the ID Field check box, the Spread to Subfamilies check box will be selected automatically to indicate that the field will be spread to subfamilies automatically. This setting cannot be modified for fields that have been spread from higher-level families. We recommend that you select this check box for any field that you plan to use in the ID Template for this family. ID fields will appear on the Manage ID Templates window.
Keep History Specifies whether or not revision history will be saved for the field.If you have set the Authentication Required to Insert or Update Records check box for a family, then this option is selected by default.

When a change is made to the value in a field, a copy of it is created and saved to a history log. You can view the revision history in the Record Manager in the GE Digital APM. This setting cannot be modified for fields that have been spread from higher-level families.

No. of Values per field Specifies the number of values that can be entered into a field.The default value is 1 (one), but you can specify any number up to 2000.

You cannot modify this property for existing fields that belong to a family for which at least one record exists. If at least one record exists in a given family, this property is read-only. If you want to change this value for an existing field, you will need to delete the field and create a new one.

Physical Column Displays information about where the field is physically stored in the database. This field is populated automatically with the column name based on Field Caption. However, you can modify the Physical Column name.

The Physical Column text box contains a value that specifies the name of the physical table column in which the field is stored. The Physical Column setting is required for all fields and must be unique.

For fields that have been spread down to a subfamily from a higher-level family, the physical column name is determined by the value for the source family. For spread fields, you cannot modify this value at the subfamily level. If you change the value in the Physical Column text box at the subfamily level, your changes will not be saved.

Spread to Sub Families Specifies whether or not the field will be spread to subfamilies of the current family. You can select this check box, if you want a field to exist in all subfamilies of the current family. You cannot undo spreading for specific subfamilies.

This setting cannot be modified for fields that have been spread from higher-level families.

If you do not want to add a field on all the subfamilies, then instead of selecting the Spread to Sub Families check box, you can spread fields to individual subfamilies by using the Field Chooser feature.

For any field that is spread from the parent family, the Spread From Parent column in the Fields grid appears as Yes.

Spread From Parent Specifies whether or not the field is spread from the parent family. This option appears in the main display area of the Fields section.

The Spread to SubFamilies and Field Chooser lets you spread a field down to the subfamilies. In the Fields grid, the Spread From Parent column indicates whether or not a given field has been spread from a family. If it is spread from the parent family, it displays the value as Yes and if it is not, then it displays the value as No.

User help text Specifies the explanation of the field, which will be displayed to users when they are entering values in that field via the GE Digital APM application. In the application, when a user pauses on a field, the user help text will appear in a tooltip. The user help text is useful if the field purpose is complex. You may also want to use the user help text property to describe the behavior of the field because of the rules defined. It is recommended that you limit user help text to one sentence.

About Behavior Section Fields

Field-level behavior defines how a field behaves. The Behavior section of the New Field window or the window that appears when you select a field to edit allows you to define the behavior of a field.

When you define a field property in the Information section of the New Field window, the corresponding options appear in the Behavior section. If a behavior is not supported for a field, in the Behavior section, the option is disabled and displays the value Not Supported. For example, for a field with the Character data type, the Format Value option is disabled and displays the value Not Supported.

By default, the fields that are supported are set to the APM Default option, which indicates that the baseline GE Digital APM rules are applied (that is, the function for that rule type is not defined within the field-specific code item). For the fields of a baseline GE Digital APM family, the rules defined in the Rules Library are inherited at the field level. For a baseline family, the APM Default option indicates that the baseline rules are applied. Depending on the rules that are inherited from the Rules Library, the field may not have any behavior. For the fields of a custom family (a family that is added to the GE Digital APM baseline database), the APM Default option indicates that no rules exist.

In a parent family, when you set the behavior for a field that is spread to its subfamily, and if the field behavior contains a field that is not available in the subfamily, the inherited field behavior for the subfamily is set to APM Default. For example, in the parent family, if you modify Field 1 that is spread to its subfamily and you select Field 3 as the Literal Value for Field 1, and if Field 3 does not exist in the subfamily, the behavior of Field 1 in the subfamily is set to APM Default.

The following table describes the parameters in the Behavior section.
ParametersDescriptionParameter Options
Default Value Defines the default value for a field. When you create a new record in Record Manager, by default, the APM Default option is selected. The parameter has the following option:
  • Literal Value: The default value is either the value of the field that you select from the drop-down list box or the value that you enter in the drop-down list box.
Disable Value Determines whether the field should be disabled or locked from editing. The Disable Value parameter contains the following options:
  • Always Disabled: Disables the field and does not allow you to modify the value.
  • Never Disabled: Enables the field and allows you to modify the value.

    When you create a new field, by default, this option is selected.

  • Advance: Disables the field when the specified condition is met.

    The Advance option allows you to set a condition for a field on the datasheet. You can use this option to compare the values based on the expression that you select. When you select this option, drop-down list boxes appear that allow you to select fields of the family or enter a value that needs to be compared, and to select the expression for the comparison.

    Note: The drop-down list box will not display the current field for which you are setting the behavior.
Format Value

Determines the formatting rules that should be applied to the value of a field.

Only the Numeric and Date data types support the Format Value parameter.

The Format Value parameter contains the following options:
  • For a Numeric data type, the parameter displays the following options:
    • Currency: Formats the value as currency, based on the following settings:
      • The Windows Regional Options of the machine from which the GE Digital APM is accessed.
      • The number of digits after the decimal point that is specified in the Configuration Manager.

      When you select this option, a text box appears, displaying the currency symbol associated with the Regional Options settings of your machine.

      You must choose this option only if all the values in the database are of the same currency and all the machines in your organization have the same Regional Options settings.

    • Fixed Digits Before Decimal Point: Defines the number of digits before the decimal point.
    • Fixed Digits After Decimal Point: Defines the number of digits after the decimal point.
    • Scientific: Formats the field values as a scientific number.
    • General: Defines whether the value should display in fixed or scientific format, depending on which one is shorter.
    • Numeric: Displays the thousands separator. Additionally, you can specify the number of digits that should appear after the decimal.
    • Hexadecimal: Formats the field values as hexadecimal numbers. Additionally, you can specify the minimum number of digits for a value. If the number of digits of the value is lesser than the specified number of digits, leading zeros are added to the value.
    • Percent: Formats the value as a percentage, including a percent sign (%). Additionally, you can specify the number of digits that should appear after the decimal.
    • Custom Format: Formats the value according to the custom options that you define.

      You can define one or more characters to appear either to the right or left of the value. Additionally, you can define the number of digits that should appear after the decimal point by entering zeros such as .0000, where each zero that you enter indicates a decimal place that will be displayed. You can enter any number of zeros.

  • For a Date data type, the parameter displays the following options:
    • Short Date: For example, 3/31/2015.
    • Long Date: For example, Tuesday, March 31, 2015.
    • Short Time: For example, 4:30 P.M.
    • Long Time: For example, 4:30:00 P.M.
    • Date and Time Short: For example, Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 4:30 P.M.
    • Date and Time Long: For example, Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 4:30:00 P.M.
    • General Short Time: For example, 3/31/2015 4:30 P.M.
    • General Long Time: For example, 3/31/2015 4:30:00 P.M.
    • RFC 1123: For example, Tue, 31 March 2015 16:30:00 GMT.
    • ISO 8601: For example, 2015-03-31T16:30:00.
    • Month and Date: For example, March 31.
    • Month and Year: For example, March, 2015.
    • Year: For example, 2015.

 

Hide Field Determines whether a field should be shown or hidden.The Hide Field parameter contains the following options:
  • True: Hides the field.
  • False: Displays the field.
  • Advance: Hides the field when the specified condition is met. The Advance option allows you to set a condition for the field. You can use this option to compare the values based on the expression that you select. When you select this option, drop-down list boxes appear that allows you to select fields of a family or enter a value that needs to be compared, and to select the expression for the comparison.
    Note: The drop-down list box will not display the current field for which you are setting the behavior.
Masked Field Determines whether the characters entered in the field should be masked.The Masked Field parameter contains the following options:
  • True: Masks the characters that you enter in the field.

    You can specify this behavior for a field in which you will add sensitive information (For example, a Password field).

  • False: Displays the characters that you enter in the field.

    By default, the parameter is set to False.

Required Determines whether a value must be entered in a field before you save a record in the family.

If you do not enter a value in a required field, then an error message will be displayed when you attempt to save the record.

The Required parameter contains the following options:
  • Always Required: Defines that a value is required for the field.
    Note: If you set the Required value for a field to Always Required, the Spread to Subfamilies check box will be selected and disabled, and the field behavior will be spread automatically to all subfamilies of the current family.
  • Never Required: Defines that a value is not required for the field.
  • Advance: Defines that a value is required when the specified condition is met. The Advance option allows you to set a condition for the field on the datasheet. You can use this option to compare the values based on the expression that you select. When you select this option, drop-down list boxes appear that allow you to select fields of that family or enter a value that needs to be compared, and to select the expression for the comparison.
Validation

Defines the validation rules that will be used to validate values that are entered in a field.

By selecting Validation, you can force the values in a field to conform to specified limits or criteria that are considered valid. You can define Validation rules for any field.

Only the Numeric and Date data types support the Validation parameter.

The Validation parameter contains the following options:
  • Greater Than (>): Defines that the value entered in the field must be greater than the specified value.
  • Greater Than or Equal To (>=): Defines that the value entered in the field must be greater than or equal to the specified value.
  • Less Than (<): Defines that the value entered in the field must be less than the specified value.
  • Less Than or Equal To (<=): Defines that the value entered in the field must be less than or equal to the specified value.
  • Between Exclusive: Defines that the value entered in the field must be between the two specified values but cannot include the specified values.
  • Between Inclusive: Defines that the value entered in the field must be between the two specified values and can include the specified values.
  • Equals To (=): Defines that the value entered in the field must be equal to the specified value.

    For a Numeric data type, on selecting an option, a drop-down combo box appears that allows you to either enter a value in the text box, or select a value from the list, which will be used to perform the validation.

    Note: The drop-down combo box will not display the current field for which you are setting the behavior.

    For a Date data type, to specify a date, select .

Valid Value

Defines a list of values that will be available for selection.

Only the Character or Text data types support the Valid Value parameter.

The Valid Value parameter contains the following options:
  • System code and Table: Defines a list of values that should appear in the drop-down list box from a System Code Table.
  • Static List: Defines a list of values that should appear in a drop-down list box.

    When you select this option, a text box appears and you can enter a value that should be displayed in the drop-down list box, and then select Add.

  • APM Query: Defines a list of values that should appear in a drop-down list box by using a query. When you select this option, the Query box appears, where you can select the query from which you want to populate the values. The values in the first column of the query result is used for displaying values in the drop-down list box of a datasheet.
    Note: Only GE Digital APM queries are supported.

    APM Query with Parameters:

    Using APM Query with parameters, you can create references so that the value of one field is filtered based on the value of another field in a datasheet.

    For more information, refer the example.

Example for APM Query with Parameters

For example, consider a family ‘Equipment’ with three fields Equipment (EQPT), Functional Location (FL), and Manufacturer (MFGR).

The Manufacturer field contains the following values:

  • ACME
  • BURNS
  • SMITH

The Equipment field contains the following values:

  • Compressor
  • Heat Exchanger
  • Motor
  • Pump
  • Tank

The Functional Location contains the following values:

  • Roanoke
  • Bangalore
  • San Ramon

To populate the MFGR field based on the EQPT and FL, you must create the following three queries:

  • Functional Location
  • Equipment
  • Manufacturer

Functional Location

Create an APM Query for the FL field such that all functional locations are listed.

The following image shows the sample query for functional location.

Equipment

Create an APM Query for the EQPT field that lists the equipment for a given Functional Location. In the Behavior section of the field, in the Valid Value subsection, select the APM Query option and map the Functional Location parameter of the query with the FL field such that the values in the EQPT field in the datasheet are displayed based on the values in the FL field.

The following image shows the sample query for Equipments.

The following image shows the mapping of parameters.

Manufacturer

Create an APM Query, for MFGR field, that lists the manufacturers for an Equipment. In Field Behavior section, in the Valid Value subsection, select the APM Query option and map the Equipment parameter of the query with the EQPT field such that the values in the MFGR field in the datasheet are displayed based on the values in the EQPT field.

The following image shows the sample query for Manufacturer.

The following image shows the mapping of parameters.

After the queries are created, in the Family Fields Sequence Order window, you must arrange the queries in the following order:

1. Functional Location

2. Equipment

3. Manufacturer

The following image shows an example of query arrangement in the Family Fields Sequence Order window.

Assume that the Functional Location Roanoke has the equipments Pump and Motor and with these queries in place, in a datasheet of the Equipment family if a user selects Roanoke in the FL drop-down list box, the EQPT drop-down list box will contain only Pump and Motor. And, if you select Motor in the EQPT drop-down list box, the manufacturer associated with the equipment will be populated in the MFGR field.

Create a Valid Values List from a System Code Table

About this task

You can configure a field to contain a list of System Codes defined in a System Code Table. When you create a Valid Values list in this way, the drop-down list of valid values will display any System Codes that are defined in the specified System Code table. The list will be updated automatically to reflect changes made to the System Code table. The Valid Values list created by the using the Behaviors section is restricted (i.e., the users will only be allowed to select from the values that are displayed in the list). They will not be able to enter their own values in the list.
Note: Only active System Codes that are constructed via System Codes and Tables feature will appear in valid values lists.

Procedure

  1. Access the Fields section.
  2. In the Fields section, select .
    The workspace for the selected field appears, displaying the Information section.
  3. As needed, enter values in the available fields.
  4. Select the Behavior tab, and then in the Valid Value box, select System code and Table.
    The Select Valid Values System Code Table box appears.
  5. In the Select Valid Values System Code Table box, select the System Code Table from which you want to build the list of valid values.
    The list of the filter types appear.
  6. If you want the list of valid values to include all of the System Codes in the selected System Code table, select the No Filter check box.
    Note: If the System Code table that you selected in the previous step does not contain any references, only the No Filter option is available.

    -or-

    If you want the list of valid values to contain only the System Codes that are referenced from a System Code in another System Code table, then select the Static Filter check box.

    The Choose System Code Table and Choose System Code boxes appears.

    1. In the Choose System Code Table box, select the System Code table that will be used as the filter.
      The list of System Codes appears in the Choose System Code table.
    2. In the Choose System Code box, select the required System Code.
      Note: The list will contain only the System Codes from the source System Code table that are referenced by the System Code that you select here.
  7. Select .
    A list of valid values is created.

Example of Filtering System Code List to Display Referenced System Codes

By using the Static Filter option, you can create valid value list to display system codes that are referenced from another System Code. Consider, for example, two System Code Tables: Manufacturer (MFGR) and Equipment Type (EQPT).

  • The Equipment Type table contains the following values:
    • Compressor
    • Heat Exchanger
    • Motor
    • PumpTank
  • The Manufacturer table contains the following values:
    • ACME
    • BURNS
    • SMITH

If the manufacturers ACME and BURNS both produce motors, then, in the Equipment Type System Code Table, you can add references to the ACME and BURNS System Codes in the Motor System Code . The references would indicate that the two manufacturers are associated with that equipment type.

Now, assume that you have a family called Motor that will be used to store information about the motors in your company. Also, assume that the Motor family contains the Manufacturer (ASSET_MANUF_CHR) field, which is intended to identify the name of the company that manufactures a given motor. In this case, you could use a Valid Values rule to create a list for this field that contains all values from the Manufacturer (MFGR) System Code Table. But, since only some manufacturers produce motors, it would be better to filter the list to contain only the valid manufacturers: ACME and BURNS.

Assuming that the System Code references described above are already in place, you can use the field behavior to implement this functionality by generating a Valid Values behavior for the Manufacturer (ASSET_MANUF_CHR) field that is built from the Manufacturer System Code Table and contains a Static Filter to include only the values that are referenced by the Motor System Code in the Equipment Type (EQPT) System Code Table.

Sequence a Family Field

About this task

All the fields within a family are assigned a field sequence number, which determines the order in which fields will be displayed, loaded, and processed during certain operations. The default field sequence number is assigned automatically by the GE Digital APM system when a field is created, but if you want, you can change the field sequence for a family. The Family Fields Sequence Order window contains a list that displays all the fields in a given family. The list does not include the field sequence numbers, instead, the order in which the fields are listed corresponds to the sequence number defined for each field.

When you select the Save on the Family Fields Sequence Order window, the fields will be assigned a sequence number that corresponds to the order in which they are displayed in the list on the Family Fields Sequence Order window. The first field in the list will be assigned a 1, the second field will be assigned a 2, the third field will be assigned a 3, and so on. You can reorganize fields within the list to determine the sequence number that will be assigned to each field. Note that the actual field sequence number values are unimportant. It is the order of each sequence number relative to the sequence numbers defined for other fields in the same family.

Procedure

  1. Access the Fields section.
  2. Select .
    The Family Fields Sequence Order window appears.

    The order of the fields in the list is an exact representation of the field sequence. The list contains all fields that exist for the selected family, including any fields that have been spread from a family.

  3. In the list of fields, select the field(s) whose order you want to change.
  4. To move the field(s) up in the list, select .

    -or-

    To move the field(s) down in the list, select .

  5. When you are finished reordering the fields, select Save.
    Your changes are saved.

Add Existing Fields by Using the Field Chooser

About this task

The Field Chooser feature allows you to add fields to a subfamily. The Field Chooser displays only the fields that have been defined for one of the parent families of a subfamily and that have not been spread to that subfamily. After you add a field to a subfamily via the Field Chooser, you can view the field properties as you would for any field via the Edit Field window.

Procedure

  1. Access the Family Management Page.
  2. In the left pane, in the Entity section, select the subfamily to which you want to add a field.
    The workspace for the selected family appears.
  3. Select the Fields tab, and then select Field Chooser.
    The Field Chooser window appears, displaying the fields defined for the parent families of the current subfamily that have not yet been spread. This list contains the following information.
    • ID: The ID of the field.
    • Caption: The caption of the field.
    • Parent Family: The name of the parent family that contains this field.
  4. In the row for each field that you want to add to the subfamily, select the check box, and then select Add.
    The Field Chooser window closes and a confirmation message appears, indicating that the fields have been added to the selected subfamily. The fields appear in the list in the Fields section.

Modify the Family Field Properties

Before you begin

When modifying field properties, consider the following:
  • Depending on whether or not a given field has been spread down to the current family from a higher-level family, some field properties may not be editable.
  • Some attributes of baseline fields cannot be modified. If you attempt to make a modification that is not allowed, an error message will appear, and your change will not be saved.
  • Some baseline fields cannot be modified because they belong to a family that has been delivered with read-only properties. When you view the properties for a field that meets this criteria, some field properties will not be editable.

Procedure

  1. Access the Fields section.
  2. From the list, select the field that you want to modify.
    The workspace for the selected field appears, displaying the Information section.
  3. As needed, modify values in the available fields in the Information and Behavior sections.
  4. Select .
    Your changes are saved.

Delete the Family Field

Procedure

  1. Access the Fields section.
  2. On the Fields page, select the family field that you want to delete.
    The workspace for the selected field appears, displaying the Information section.
  3. Select .
    The Delete Family Field dialog box appears.
  4. Select OK.
    A confirmation message appears, indicating that the field is deleted. The field does not appear in the Fields section.