There are occasions when it will be necessary to add a metadata (description) attribute to an attribute. For instance, you might need an attribute to describe what an attribute is used for, or to provide information about an attribute in the help text that appears in the Web UI. Creating and maintaining metadata attributes on attributes is similar to any other metadata attribute in every way except in defining the validity of the attribute. Follow these steps to make an attribute valid for another attribute.
Create a Metadata Attribute on an Attribute
- Create the metadata (description) attribute following the same procedure as you would to create any description attribute. Refer to Creating Attributes in the System Setup documentation
- After creating the metadata attribute, the attribute must be made valid for the attribute object type. Navigate to the attribute object type under System Setup > Object Types & Structures > Basic Object Types > Attribute Group. Select the attribute object type, then click Add Attribute to display a dialog.
- In the dialog, browse to or search for the description attribute that was just created, then click Select.
Note: The dialog shows both description and specification attributes. A message is displayed when a specification attribute is selected. Select option will be disabled for the specification attribute.
- The metadata attribute is now ready for use. Open the attribute editor for the attribute that requires help text, and add the text there.
For more information on implementing global help text for attributes, refer to the Attribute Help Text for Web UI topic here.