Using Relationship Manager

Relationship Manager allows you to view and perform operations on relationship run time data, including participants and their data. For background information about relationships, see the Map Development Guide.

You create relationship definitions with Relationship Designer. At run time, instances of the relationships are populated with the data that associates information from different applications. This relationship instance data is created when the maps that use the relationships execute. The data is stored in the relationship tables specified in the relationship definition. Relationship Manager provides a graphical interface to interact with the relationship tables regardless of the database vendor.

For each relationship instance, Relationship Manager opens a hierarchical listing of its participant definitions and participant instances, which are a set of key and non-key attributes. The relationship tree also provides detailed information about each of the participants in the relationship instance such as the type of entity, its value, and the date it was last modified. A relationship instance ID is automatically generated when the relationship instance is saved in the relationship table. Relationship Manager opens this instance ID at the top level of the relationship tree.

Figure 31 shows a sample of a relationship tree in Relationship Manager for an identity relationship.

Figure 31. Relationship Manager, relationship tree

The figure shows the relationship tree view of the relationship manager. It displays vital relationship information, for example, the relationship participant, the type of relationship, the value and when the relationship was last modified.

You can use Relationship Manager to work on entities at all levels: the relationship instance, participant instance, and attribute levels. For example, you can use Relationship Manager to:

This section covers the following topics:

Steps for starting Relationship Manager

Connecting to and disconnecting from a server

Connecting to and disconnecting from a server

Working with relationships in Relationship Manager

Working with relationship data

Steps for starting Relationship Manager

Perform one of the following steps to start Relationship Manager:

Relationship Manager starts. At this point it is disconnected from the server; you must connect to an InterChange Server instance as described in Steps for connecting to Relationship Manager from InterChange Server to proceed further.

Figure 32 shows Relationship Manager in a disconnected state.

Figure 32. Relationship Manager

The figure shows the relationship manager in a disconnected state, which is a blank screen with no relationship information.

Connecting to and disconnecting from a server

You must connect Relationship Manager to InterChange Server to work with relationship instances and data. Follow the instructions in the following sections to connect Relationship Manager to a server and disconnect Relationship Manager from it:

Steps for connecting to Relationship Manager from InterChange Server

Perform the following steps to connect Relationship Manager to InterChange Server:

  1. Select Server > Connect from the menu bar of Relationship Manager. The Connect to InterChange Server dialog box appears (see Figure 33).

    Figure 33. Connect to InterChange Server

    The figure shows the dialog box used to connect to the InterChange Server. It includes fields, from top to bottom for Server Name, User name, password, a check box to save the username and password combination and the relationship.

  2. Do one of the following to populate the name of the InterChange Server instance to which you want to connect in the Server Name field:
  3. Type the user name to interact with the InterChange Server instance in the User Name field.
  4. Type the password for the user name supplied in step 3 in the Password field.
  5. If you do not want to have to supply the user name and password each time you have to connect to the InterChange Server instance in System Manager then select the Save user name and password check box.
  6. If you want to open a relationship at this time type the name of the relationship definition in the Relationship field.

    If you do not want to open a relationship at this time you can open it after connecting to the server. For more information, see Steps for opening a relationship.

  7. Click Connect.

    If you connect to InterChange Server in Relationship Manager and specify a relationship to open as described in step 6, then Relationship Manager opens the Retrieve Relationship Instances window, described in Steps for retrieving relationship instances.

Steps for disconnecting from InterChange Server

Perform the following steps to disconnect Relationship Manager from InterChange Server:

  1. Select Server > Disconnect from the menu bar of Relationship Manager.

Working with relationships in Relationship Manager

Once you have started Relationship Manager and connected it to an InterChange Server, you can use Relationship Manager to work with relationship data as described in the following sections:

Steps for opening a relationship

Steps for retrieving relationship instances

Steps for creating relationship instances

Steps for deleting relationship instances

Deactivating and activating participants

Steps for copying participants

Steps for loading and unloading business object files

Steps for opening a relationship

Perform the following steps to open a relationship definition in Relationship Manager after it is already connected to the server:

  1. Select File > Open from the menu bar of Relationship Manager.
  2. At the "Open Relationship" window, select the name of the relationship you want to open.

    Figure 34 shows the "Open Relationship" window.

    Figure 34. Opening a relationship

    The figure shows the dialog box used to open a relationship. This dialog box displays a field where you can enter the name of the relationship, or enter a partial name to search for a relationship.

  3. Click OK.

    When you open a relationship, Relationship Manager opens the Retrieve Relationship Instances window, described in Steps for retrieving relationship instances.

Steps for retrieving relationship instances

Perform the following step to retrieve relationship instances:

  1. Select File > Retrieve from the menu bar of Relationship Manager to retrieve relationship instances or return a count of how many instances there are for a relationship. Figure 35 shows the Retrieve Relationship Instances window.

Figure 35. Retrieving relationship instances

The figure shows the retrieve relationship instances screen. The top portion of the screen has two radio buttons where you can select to retrieve all the instances or retrieve instances by individual ID. If you retrieve instances by ID, you would enter a range of ID directly below the radio buttons. The bottom of the screen has an area where you can retrieve the instances by value, including participants, attributes, type and value.

The Retrieve Relationship Instances window is also displayed when you specify a relationship to open when connecting to InterChange Server.

You can perform the following operations with the Retrieve Relationship Instances window:

Depending on the number of participants in the relationship definition and the number of participant instances in each relationship instance, these retrieval queries may take some time.

Steps for retrieving all instances

Perform the following steps to retrieve the first 500 instances for a relationship:

  1. At the Retrieve Relationship Instances window click Retrieve All.
  2. Click Get Instances.

    Relationship Manager displays the first 500 instances for the relationship.

Steps for retrieving by relationship ID

Perform the following steps to retrieve a range of up to 500 instances by relationship ID:

  1. At the Retrieve Relationship Instances window click Retrieve by ID.
  2. Type the ID of the first instance in the range you want to retrieve in the From field.
  3. Type the ID of the last instance in the range you want to retrieve in the To field.
  4. Click Get Instances.

    Relationship Manager displays up to 500 instances in a range of the ids you specify.

Steps for retrieving by participant data

Perform the following steps to retrieve a relationship instance based on values for key or non-key attributes of selected participants:

  1. At the Retrieve Relationship Instances window click Retrieve by Value.
  2. Select the participant whose value you want to search on from the Participants drop-down menu.

    For identity relationships, the drop-down menu lists the participant names followed by the business object definition with which the participant is associated.

    For lookup relationships, the drop-down menu lists the participant names followed by the word "Data".

  3. Type one of the types of values listed in Table 18 in the Value column in the "Attributes" pane.


    Table 18. Supported values for retrieving relationship instances by participant data

    Value Description
    Participant data The data of the selected participant.

    For example, if the relationship is an identity relationship you would specify the ID of the participant instance that you know to find the relationship instance in which it exists.

    If the relationship is a lookup relationship you would specify the non-key data value of the participant instance.

    %

    Any string of characters. This option is case-sensitive; numbers are included in the character set.

    For example, if %A were specified for a participant that stores abbreviated forms of the names of the United States, the values CA, GA, IA, LA, MA, PA, VA, and WA would be returned.

    _

    Any single character.

    As an example, _00 would retrieve 100, 200, a00, b00, and so forth.

  4. Click Get Instances.

    Relationship Manager displays the first 500 relationship instances that match the specified value.

Steps for returning a count of the relationship instances

Perform the following steps to return the number of relationship instances that satisfy a retrieval criteria:

  1. Select the options for the criteria as described in Steps for retrieving all instances, Steps for retrieving by relationship ID, or Steps for retrieving by participant data
  2. Select Get Count.

Relationship Manager displays the first 500 instances for the relationship.

Steps for creating relationship instances

Perform the following steps to create a new instance for a relationship:

  1. Create the new relationship instance by performing any of the following tasks:

    Relationship Manager displays the new relationship instance.

    Highlighted at the top of the hierarchal relationship tree, on the entry line with the relationship icon is the placeholder for the relationship instance ID, which displays three question marks (???). Once you save the relationship instance or any of its participants, InterChange Server automatically generates the new relationship instance ID and Relationship Manager replaces the question marks with this instance ID.

  2. Expand the new relationship instance by clicking on the plus (+) sign next to the ??? placeholder icon.

    The relationship tree displays participant definitions, participant instances, and participant key and non-key attributes beneath the relationship instance in descending order.

  3. Do the following to create a new participant instance in the relationship instance:
    1. In the relationship tree, select the participant definition for which you want to create an instance.
    2. Do one of the following to add an instance for the participant:
      • Right-click a participant definition in the listing and choose Add Participant from the context menu.
      • Click Add Participant in the standard toolbar.
    3. Expand the new participant instance by clicking on the plus (+) sign next to it.
    4. Select the new participant instance.
    5. Click the Value column for the participant instance once, then type the desired value into the cell.
      Note:
      If the Value field for the attribute displays three question marks (???), the participant is managed by InterChange Server. You cannot enter values for these participants because InterChange Server automatically generates them when you save the relationship instance. The value is the same value as the relationship instance ID.

At this point, you can perform any of the tasks in the following table.

Table 19. Tasks for Participant Data

Task Action
Save the participant instance. To save the new participant instance, right-click the participant instance and choose Save Participant from the context menu. Relationship Manager saves in the appropriate relationship table the data for this participant. The Modified column for the participant instances displays the date the participant was saved, which is the create date, in this case.
Note:
Once the participant data has been saved, it cannot be changed. To change its data, the participant must be deleted and another created.
Add more participant instances. Repeat repeat step 3 in the previous list.
Note:
If you are working with an identity relationship, you cannot create more than one participant instance for a participant definition.
Delete a participant. If necessary, you can delete a saved participant instance by right-clicking on the participant instance and choosing Delete Participant from the context menu. Relationship Manager removes the participant instance from the relationship table. If you do not want to remove the participant instance from the database, use the Deactivate Participant option (see "Deactivating and activating participants"). A deactivated participant retains its instance ID and its values.
Save the relationship instance. Save the relationship instance by performing one of the following tasks:
  • Select File > Save from the menu bar (activated when a relationship instance is selected).
  • Right-click the relationship instance and choose Save Relationship from the context menu.
InterChange Server generates the relationship instance ID and Relationship Manager replaces the ??? placeholder with this new ID. Relationship Manager updates the modified date on all saved participant instances to this date.
Note:
At least one participant instance and all key attribute data must be created before the relationship instance can be saved.
Save all relationship instances. Select File > Save All from the menu bar. InterChange Server generates the relationship instance IDs for any relationship instances that do not have one. Relationship Manager replaces any "???" placeholders with the new IDs. Relationship Manager updates the modified date on all saved participant instances to this date.

Steps for deleting relationship instances

Perform the following steps to delete a relationship instance from the relationship tables:

  1. Select the relationship instance you want to delete.
  2. Do one of the following in Relationship Manager:

The relationship instance and its data are deleted from the relationship tables for the current relationship.

Deactivating and activating participants

A participant instance can be deactivated, or made inactive. Deactivating a participant instance removes it from the relationship instance and prevents it from displaying in the Relationship Manager window, but its record remains in the relationship table so it can be re-activated in the future.

Steps for deactivating a participant

Perform the following steps to deactivate a participant instance:

  1. Right-click the participant instance you want to deactivate.
  2. Select Deactivate Participant from the context menu.

The participant is removed from the Relationship Manager display but not from the relationship tables.

Steps for activating a participant

Perform the following steps to activate a participant instance:

  1. Select View > Show Deactivated Participants from the menu bar.

    The Deactivated Participants window displays as shown in Figure 36.

    Figure 36. Deactivating participants

    The figure shows the window for deactivating participants. It lists participants in a table format by type, value, date modified, and action taken.

  2. Select the relationship instance that contains the deactivated participant you want to activate from the list.
  3. Expand this relationship instance until the deactivated participant instances display in the list.
  4. Right-click the participant instance to reactive and choose Activate from the context menu.
  5. Select Edit > Refresh from the menu bar.

    The activated participant instance displays in its relationship instance in the Relationship Manager window.

    Note:
    If a participant instance in an identity relationship is deactivated and another participant is added in its place (that is, assigned the same instance ID), the original participant is removed from the Deactivated Participants listing, but remains in the database.

Steps for copying participants

You can create a new participant instance by copying an existing participant instance. Perform the following steps to copy a participant instance:

  1. In the relationship instance, right-click the participant definition and choose Add Participant from the context menu.
  2. Right-click the participant instance you want to copy and choose Copy Participant from the context menu.
  3. Right-click the newly created participant instance and choose Paste Participant from the context menu.

Steps for loading and unloading business object files

You can load a business object file of the same type into a participant. Perform the following steps to load a business object data file into a participant:

  1. Right-click the participant instance where you want to load the business object file and choose Load Participant with Business Object.

    The Participant window displays the business object associated with that participant instance, as shown in Figure 37.

    Figure 37. Loading participants with business objects

    The figure shows the dialog box for loading participants into business objects. It displays a screen where you would enter the business object definition, as well as the attribute name, type and value. When you have completed entering information, you would select the Load, Save, Ok, or Cancel button.

  2. Click Load.
  3. Navigate to and open the business object file you want to load.
  4. Click OK.

Note:
Only the first instance of a relationship is loaded if more than one instance exists in the file.

Working with relationship data

An important feature of Relationship Manager is its ability to access and manipulate relationship run time data contained in the relationship tables. The following topics describe how to use Relationship Manager to manipulate and access run time data:

Steps for searching for participants

Steps for filtering the displayed participants

Steps for cleaning up participants

Steps for printing relationship data

Steps for searching for participants

You can search for participant instances based on different criteria. Depending on how specific your search criteria is, your searches can locate a unique participant instance or a group of participant instances. You can find participant instances either by business object or by data.

Steps for finding instances by business object

This option searches for instances whose data type is an attribute in a business object.

Perfom the following steps to search for instances by business object:

  1. Select a participant instance in Relationship Manager.
  2. Select Edit > Find Instances by Business Object from the menu bar.

    The Find Instances by Business Object window appears (see Figure 38).

    Figure 38. Find Instances by Business Object

    The figure shows the dialog box for finding instances using the business object as a criteria. This box includes a field for entering the business object definition, including attribute name, type and value.

  3. Type the participant value by which you want to search in the Value cell.
  4. Click OK.

    Relationship Manager displays any matching instances in a dialog box.

  5. Double-click any of the instances in the dialog box displayed by Relationship Manager to navigate to and highlight the instance.

Steps for finding instances by data

This option searches for instances whose type is Data.

Perfom the following steps to search for instances by data:

  1. Select a participant instance in Relationship Manager.
  2. Select Edit > Find Instances by Data from the menu bar.

    Relationship Manager displays the "Find Instances by Data" window, as shown in Figure 39.

    Figure 39. Finding instances by data

    The figure shows the dialog box for finding instances using data as a criteria. This box includes a field for entering the data.

  3. Type the participant value by which you want to search in the Enter the data cell.
  4. Click OK.

    Relationship Manager displays any matching instances in a dialog box.

  5. Double-click any of the instances in the dialog box displayed by Relationship Manager to navigate to and highlight the instance.

Steps for filtering the displayed participants

You can filter the participants to only display those created or modified between certain dates. Perform the following steps to filter the displayed participants:

  1. Select a participant in Relationship Manager.
  2. Select View > Filter from the menu bar.

    Relationship Manager displays the "Filter" dialog box, as shown in Figure 40.

    Figure 40. Filtering participant results

    The figure shows the dialog box for screening participants created or modified by enter information on two lines. The top line determines the from date, specifically month, day, year, and time. The bottom line determines the to date. there is also a check box to include inactive participants in the list.

  3. In the "Filter" dialog box, enter the earliest date of creation or modification for the participant in the from field and the latest date of creation or modification for the participant in the to field.

    Use the following techniques to enter the date value:

  4. Select the Include inactive participants as well check box if you want to include inactive participants in the resulting display.
  5. Click OK.

    Relationship Manager displays the history of activity for the filtered interval in the "Filter Results" dialog box. The filtered display includes inactive participants if the Include inactive participants as well option box is checked. Figure 41 shows the "Filter Results" dialog box.

    Figure 41. Viewing filtered participant data

    The figure shows the filtered participants results in table format, including the relation participant, the type, the value, the date modified and the action taken.

Steps for cleaning up participants

Perform the following steps to clean up participants due to inconsistent or corrupt data in the source application or generic object:

  1. Select a participant in Relationship Manager.
  2. Select Edit > Clean Up Participants from the menu bar.

    Relationship Manager displays the "Clean up Participants" dialog box, as shown in Figure 42.

    Figure 42. Cleaning up participants

    The figure shows the dialog box for cleaning up participants in a current relationship, with one line determines the from date, specifically month, day, year, and time.

  3. In the "Clean Up Participants" dialog box, enter the date to which you want to revert the participant values to in the Clean up from field.

    Use the following techniques to enter the date value:

  4. Click OK.

    All participant adds, deactivations, and activations since that point in time are erased from the database. A participant that has been deleted or whose value has been modified cannot be cleaned up.

Steps for printing relationship data

Relationship Manager allows you to print information about a relationship's run time data. It creates a tree representation of the run time data, much like the data appears in the tool's main window. The printing command of Relationship Manager sends the current contents of the relationship tree in the main window to the printer.

Perform the following steps to print relationship run time data:

  1. Expand the relationship tree of Relationship Manager so that the information you want to print is displayed.
  2. If you want to print only a portion of the relationship instances, select only those instances by highlighting them.
  3. Print relationship run time data in any of the following ways:
  4. The Print Relationship Instances dialog box appears. Select either "all instances" or "selected instances," then click OK.

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