Converging multiple properties

You can promote properties from several nodes in a message flow to define a single promoted property, which applies to all those nodes.

1. Switch to the Integration Development perspective.
2. Open the message flow in the Message Flow editor.
3. Right-click the node for which you want to promote the properties, then click Promote Property.

   The Promote Property dialog box is displayed.

   
4. Select the property that you want to converge.
   The list in the Available node properties pane initially shows the expanded list of all available properties for the selected node. If you have already promoted properties from this node, they do not appear in this pane, but they appear in the Promoted properties pane.

   The Available node properties pane also includes the other nodes in the open message flow. You can expand the properties that are listed under each node and work with all these properties at the same time. You do not have to close the dialog box and select another node from the Message Flow editor to continue promoting properties.

   You can select multiple properties to promote by selecting a property, holding down Ctrl, and selecting one or more other properties.

   If you have you selected multiple properties to converge, all the properties that you have selected must be available for promotion. If one or more of the selected properties is not available for promotion, the entire selection becomes unavailable for promotion, and the Promote button is disabled.

5. Click Promote to promote the property or properties

   The Target Selection dialog box opens:

   The Target Selection dialog box displays only the valid targets for the promotion of the previously selected property or properties and allows you to create a new target for the promotion, such as to a new group or to a new property.

6. To converge properties from the same or different nodes in the message flow, expand the tree and click a property that already exists.
   You can rename the properties by selecting them and clicking Rename, or by double-clicking the group or property.
7. Click OK to confirm your selections.
   Note: If you create a new group or property by using the Target Selection dialog box, the changes persist even if you click Cancel. When the dialog box closes, groups or properties that you have created by using the Target Selection dialog box appear in the Promote Property dialog box.
8. Expand the property trees for all the nodes for which you want to promote properties.
9. Drag the first instance of the property that you want to converge from the Available node properties pane, and drop it onto the appropriate group in the Promoted properties pane.
   • If the group already contains one or more promoted properties, the new property is added at the end of the group. You can rename the new property by double-clicking the property, or by selecting the property and clicking Rename.
   • If you want the promoted property to appear in a new group, drag the property into an empty space below the existing groups to create a new group. Alternatively:
     1. Select the property that you want to promote, and click Promote. The Target Selection dialog box opens.
     2. Click New Group, and enter the name of the new group.
     3. Click OK to confirm your changes.
   • If you drag the property onto an existing promoted property of a different type, a no-entry icon is displayed and you cannot drop the property. You must create this property as a new promoted property, or drop it onto a compatible existing promoted property. Properties must be associated with the same property editor to be compatible. For example, if you are using built-in nodes, you can converge only properties of the same type (string with string, Boolean with Boolean).

   If you are using user-defined nodes, you must check the compatibility of the property editors for the properties that you want to converge. If you have written compiler classes for a node, you must also ensure that converged properties have the same compiler class.

10. Drag all remaining instances of the property from each of the nodes in the Available node properties pane onto the existing promoted property. The new property is added under the existing promoted property, and is not created as a new promoted property.
11. Click Apply to commit this change without closing the Promote Property dialog box. Click OK to complete your updates and close the dialog box.
    You can also converge properties from the Promote Property dialog box by dragging the selected property or properties from the Available node properties pane to the Promoted properties pane:

    1. Select the property that you want to promote. You can select multiple properties to promote by selecting a property, holding down Ctrl, and selecting one or more other properties.
    2. Drop the selected property or properties onto a property in the Promoted properties pane to converge related properties from the same or different nodes in the message flow.

       For example, you might want to create a single promoted property that overrides the property on each node that defines a data source.