IBM Content Navigator, Version 2.0.3 Supports: CMIS for Content Manager

Content Manager EE internal item type

This type of choice list is based on Content Manager EE native choice list support through a foreign key that refers to an internal item type attribute.

Foreign keys are defined by using the system administration client of Content Manager EE.

Foreign keys are constraints or rules that connect two tables that have common columns. For example, you can create an item type that is called Customer that has an attribute that is called Customer name and a document item type with an attribute that is called Customer name.You can use a foreign key to establish a relationship between the Customer name attribute of the document item type and the Customer name attribute of the Customer item type. Then, if you enable a drop-down list, whenever the users create a document and select a Customer name, they can select from the names that are already defined in the Customer item type.

The foreign key points to an item type and the attributes of that item type that are defined in the Content Manager EE repository. You can use any custom item type and refer to any custom attribute of that item type. A foreign key establishes a relationship between two item types or defines a rule between two attributes of two different item types for validation. A foreign key also enables a client application to detect the list of valid values when users select a value from a drop-down list. An internal item type choice list includes all values for the item type attribute that the foreign key points to. The internal item type choice list validation is enforced by the Content Manager EE repository. However, the support of the foreign key drop-down lists varies by application. You enable the drop-down list by selecting the Show target data as dropdown in client check box in Content Manager EE system administration client.

Tip: Internal item type choice lists are based on real data for real items in Content Manager EE. Using internal item types to populate choice lists affects search results performance and scaling, so to populate choice list values with static values, use a Content Manager EE external table. For example, to select a state for an address, instead of creating an item type that is called State, create an external table of static values. Use choice lists that are based on external tables because they are hidden from document type listings and other queries.

The item type is displayed in document type listings by default unless identified as a hidden type in the hiddenTypes configuration parameter.

The user access to each value in the choice lists is controlled by the normal access control for any item type and item in the system. The item is a controlled entity like any other document. Therefore, the choice list can vary based on each users' level of access for each choice.

Important: If the foreign key points to a large list of values that are based on user access, it affects performance, scaling, usability, and might cause problems with application support. If you have a large list of values, you can disable the drop-down list for the foreign key definition. Even when the drop-down list is disabled, the foreign key is still validated, and only the valid values are accepted. You can also use the configuration settings in the cmpathservice.properties file to override server choice lists. By using choice lists based on a properties file you can provide a smaller list of choice list values for users to select.