Custom Attributes
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>Prerequisites for Creating a Custom Attribute |
New to Sentinel EMS?
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What is a Custom Attribute?
Custom attributes let you create placeholders to store additional information for an entity. This information can be input by the user while creating or editing that entity.
For example, your users may need to save the company web site address for each contact they create. For this, you can create a custom attribute, Company Website, for the contact entity. Whenever a contact is created, the user can save the company web site address for that contact in this custom attribute.
Prerequisites for Creating a Custom Attribute
The user must have administrative rights in Sentinel EMS.
Custom Attribute Support for Entities
The following table lists the entities that support custom attributes along with their supported data types:
| Entity | Supported Data Types | |||||
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| String | Date | Numeric | Boolean | List | XML | |
| Feature |
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| Product |
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 Product Suite |
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| Customer |
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| Contact |
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| Entitlement |
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| Channel Partner |
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| Activation |
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| Product Key (Line item) |
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| Channel Partner Users |
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| Download |
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NOTE The updated values of List data-type custom attributes are maintained globally in a list, even when updated at an individual entity level.
Creating a Custom Attribute
You create a custom attribute from the Custom Attributes page.
To create a custom attribute:
1.From the navigation pane, select Configuration > Custom Attributes to view the Custom Attributes page.
2.Click the Add Custom Attribute button.
3.Fill in the custom attributes.
4.Click Save.
Defining Custom Attributes
The following table explains the attributes that are used to create a custom attribute:
| Attribute | Description | Required/Optional | Valid Values |
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| Name | Name of the custom attribute. | Required |
>Must be unique for a given entity. >Alphanumeric >Up to 100 characters >Must not start with LDK. or LDKMemory. (notice the dot in each string), as these strings are reserved for built-in Sentinel LDK attributes. |
| Entity |
The entity for which the custom attribute is being created. |
>Feature >Product > Product Suite* > Customer > Contact > Entitlement >Channel Partner > Activation >Product Key >Channel Partner Users >Download |
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| Data Type | Data type of the custom attribute. |
> String > Date >Numeric >Boolean > List •Only vendor administrators can delete the value of the List data-type custom attribute. •You cannot delete the value of the List data-type custom attribute if that value is either used as the Default Value or within any entity. >XML See Custom Attribute Support for Entities for more information on data-type support based on entities. |
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| Mandatory |
The optional or mandatory status of the custom attribute. NOTE User registration from the customer portal does not support mandatory custom attributes in the input. For cases where the contact (end user) intends to register using the customer portal, do not create mandatory custom attributes for the contact. |
"Yes" or "No" Default: "No" |
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| Unique |
Make the value of a custom attribute unique and mandatory. When the value of Allow Changes By attribute is set to "Vendor Admin Only", Unique is set to "No" and that cannot be changed. |
"Yes" or "No" Default: "No" For activation entitles, set to "No". |
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| Allow Changes By |
Specifies the type of user that can modify the custom attribute. Note: Only vendor administrators can change the value of custom attributes at the entity level; for all other users, it is displayed as read-only. |
Required |
> All Users > Vendor Admin Only Default: All Users |
| Default Value |
Default value of the custom attribute. Displayed only if Unique is set to "No". |
> Optional if the Allow Changes By attribute is set to "All Users". >Required if the Allow Changes By attribute is set to "Vendor Admin Only". |
Must meet the validity of the data type. The allowed value for each data type is listed below (applicable for all entities): >String: Maximum 510 characters Note: For the String data type, at the entity level, a user can enter a maximum of 2000 characters. >Date: Current date by default. >Numeric: Maximum value 2147483647 >Boolean: Yes or No >List: Maximum 250 characters >XML: Maximum 555 characters |
| Regular Expression |
Defines the restrictions for the input value of the custom attribute. Example: [-a-z0-9]+(\.[-a-z0-9]+)* |
Optional | Must be a valid regular expression. |
| Description | Additional information about the custom attribute. | Optional |
>Alphanumeric >0 to 500 characters |
Where are Custom Attributes Available for an Entity?
After you create a custom attribute, it is available on the create or edit page of its entity. Custom attributes that are optional appear in the Additional Attribute section and are sorted by their creation date and time. Mandatory custom attributes are listed under primary entity attributes.
Custom Attribute for Feature Flags
The features driven by feature flags are created using the pre-seeded isFeatureFlag custom attribute. You must not delete or rename this custom attribute, otherwise, you will not be able to create flag-based features in Sentinel EMS.
Actions for a Custom Attribute
The following table lists the actions available for custom attributes:
| Action | Description | |
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Edit |
Updates information for an existing custom attribute. Note: >When editing a custom attribute that contains duplicate values, you cannot set the Unique attribute to "Yes". >You cannot specify a Default Value if Unique is set to "Yes". |
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Delete |
Deletes a custom attribute. |