Metadata properties reference

This section contains the metadata properties reference.

Out-of-the-box properties

The table below shows the properties that are provided with Pentaho Metadata Editor. Localized properties are indicated with an asterisk ( * ) character.

ID	Description	Category	Values
Name*	This property describes the display name for the business object.	General	Alphanumeric
Description*	A descriptive text entry describing the business object.	General	Alphanumeric
Comments*	Additional comments regarding the business object.	General	Alphanumeric
Security Information	Security rules for granting/restricting access to the business object.	General	Determined by security widget; see Metadata security.
Font	The font properties to apply to this business object.	Formatting	Determined by selections in the font dialog box.
Color of Text	The foreground or text color for the business object.	Formatting	Determined by selections in the color dialog box.
Text Alignment	The text alignment for the business object.	Formatting	Left, Right, Centered, Justified
Color of Background	The background color for the business object.	Formatting	Determined by selections in the color dialog box
Relative Size	This property is normally associated with business tables and is used to calculate join paths. The sum of all table relative sizes in a path are calculated when deciding on a multi-table join and the multi-table join with the smallest summed value is used for the join path.	Formatting	Numeric
Aggregation Rule	Determines the method of aggregating the data from this business object.	Model Descriptors	None, Sum, Count, Distinct Count, Minimum, Maximum
Data Type	Data type for this business object.	Model Descriptors	Unknown, String, Date, Boolean, Numeric, Binary, Image, URL, and Length and Precision (Integers)
Field Type	The type or relationship purpose this field serves.	Model Descriptors	Other, Dimension ,Fact, Key, Attribute
Table Type	Table type is used to automatically determine relationship types with other tables. For instance, if a Fact table is joined with a Dimension table, this is normally an N to 1 relationship.	Model Descriptors	Other, Dimension, Fact
Formula	This property allows you to create a calculation defining the business object. See Pentaho metadata formulas for more information.	Calculation	Alphanumeric
Is the Formula Exact?	Determines whether the formula entered in the Value field in the Formula section is parsed by the Metadata Editor or if it is sent exactly as entered to the database: When this check box is selected, then the formula is sent to the database exactly as entered for processing. When this check box is cleared, then the formula is parsed as a metadata formula.	Calculation	Boolean
Column Width	The width of the column as represented for display.	Miscellaneous	Pixels, Percent of Page Width, Inches, Centimeters, Points, and Integer
Hidden For the User?	Hides the object from being displayed in the Business View of the model.	Miscellaneous	Boolean
Mask for Number or Date	The format mask to use when the data for this object is displayed. For dates, the format follows the date/time patterns for a Java SimpleDateFormat format mask. For numbers, the pattern should follow the Java DecimalFormat format mask.	Miscellaneous	Alphanumeric
Target Schema	Defines the database schema to use when querying the business object.	Miscellaneous	Alphanumeric
Target Table	Defines the physical database table from which the business object is defined.	Miscellaneous	Alphanumeric

Custom properties

You can define any number of custom properties. You must give your property an ID to set its type.

• String

• Date

• Numeric Value

• Color

• Font

• Type of Field

• Type of Aggregation

• Boolean

• Field Data Type

• Localized String

• Type of Table

• URL

• Metadata Security

• Text Alignment

• Column Width

• Data Constraints

• Optional Aggregations

Custom table joins

You can also use a custom property to create table joins in Metadata Editor. To do this, you must define the custom property as path_build_method with a valid value. The following table defines the valid values for custom table joins:

Value	Description
ALL	Use all tables and joins.
ANY_RELEVANT	Use all joins that lead to any used table even if there is more than one path.
CLASSIC	Use the old generation method.
FIRST_SHORT	Returns the first path that only contains no duplicate joins between tables.
LOWEST_SCORE	Returns a path that chooses all joins that will create the smallest score based on the estimated size of a table.
SHORTEST	(Default) Returns a path connecting every required table with the smallest number of joins.

The generator defaults to SHORTEST if the property is not found in the model.

If this is determined to be too risky, then a Boolean value can be toggled in SqlGenerator or SQLGenerator to preferClassicShortestPath when set to true. Both classes will use CLASSIC if no setting is found in the model.

Required properties per business object

The table below contains the required properties for given business objects. Required properties cannot be deleted.

ID	Physical Table	Physical Column	Business Category	Business Model
Name	Required	Required	Required	Required
Description	Required	Required	Required	Required
Security Information	Not required	Not required	Required	Required
Table Type	Required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Relative Size	Required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Formula	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required
Field Type	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required
Data Type	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required
Aggregation Rule	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required
Is the Formula Exact?	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required
Hidden for the User?	Not required	Required	Not required	Not required
Font	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Mask for Number or Date	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Color of Text	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required
Color of Background	Not required	Not required	Not required	Not required