Data Class Control Setup (SME640)

System administrators can use Data Class Control Setup (SME640) to show all data classes and allow forcing to uppercase and/or use auto-complete for that data.

Individual users are able to turn off Auto-Complete in User Preferences F/M (SMF440).

Prerequisite Setup

These prerequisites must be completed before using Data Class Control Entry.

  1. For force uppercase to work, the Data Class must be setup in Data Class F/M (DOF950) and the Auto-Complete Prefix must be entered. All standard Data Classes are present, but if you have custom data that you want to force to uppercase, you should create a Data Class for it. It will be used to tie the Prompts to the correct Data Class, i.e. the SMPRMT record’s Auto-Complete Prefix field will be checked against the Data Class Auto-Complete Prefix when determining whether that prompt should force uppercase.
  2. All DO entries in File Layout Entry (DOE120) must have been assigned the proper Data Class. Again, all standard data will be assigned, but if you have custom data files defined that include fields for existing or custom Data Classes, you should be sure that the entries have the Class assigned.

    Some fields in DO are comprised of elements, like the key to a file, that contain a Data Class value but the entire field is not that element. In these cases, a special Data Class should be assigned (Complex), and an entry added to SMC999.EXT to define how to find the data class value within the complex field.

    Additionally, some fields in DO can be multiple elements based on the value of an alternate field (e.g. it is sometimes a Customer # and sometimes a Vendor number). In these cases, a special Data Class should be assigned (Multiple), and multiple entries added to SMC999.EXT to define when it is one data class vs. another.

    Note that the assignment of the special data classes Complex and Multiple are not required. They are there to help a person looking at the DO entry to know something about that field.
  3. Each SMPRMT record where the user will be entering one of the defined Data Classes (custom or standard) must have the Auto-Complete Prefix set to the same Auto-Complete Prefix defined in the corresponding Data Class in Prompt Entry (SMC002)-Prompt Characteristics tab.

    If you have custom SMPRMT records for any of the defined Data Classes, you must be sure that the Auto-Complete Prefix is properly set or the force uppercase will not be enforced in your SMPRMT records.

    The Auto-Complete field is ignored for all SMPRMT records whose Prefix is defined in a Data Class.
  4. Some fields serve multiple purposes (e.g. Beginning and Ending values for a report can change based on the order selected). In these cases, the Update AC Prefix option should be set on the SMPRMT record, and the AC Prefix should use a tbl() function to set it correctly.

Note that no individual prefix value should be longer than 20 characters.

Default Allowed Characters Information

The Default Allowed Characters feature is a white-list of characters typically allowed in controlled fields, in addition to the standard alpha/numeric characters.

In System Control F/M, the Default Allowed Characters prompt is available to specify the default list of allowed characters for controlled fields, other than space, 0-9, A-Z, and a-z. The list applies to all data classes that are set to Limit Characters and Use Defaults in Data Class Control Setup (SME640). (Non-controlled fields and data classes allow all characters.) You can override this list in Data Class Control Setup. If you are not using the default list from System Control F/M, the Allowed prompt in the program is enabled.

These prompts are used to define the feature.

Prompt Description
Limit Characters

If checked, all places in FACTS that allow entry of this data class will verify that only the indicated allowed characters are entered.
Allow All Alpha/Num Defaults to checked. This applies to the space, the digits from 0-9, and all upper-case and lower-case letters. When checked, all of those characters are allowed, and these values cannot be entered in the “Allowed” field because they are already known to be allowed. If Allow All Alpha/Num prompt is unchecked, you can enter any of these characters that are allowed in the “Allowed” field. For example, if you only want the digits 0-9 to be allowed, you can set Allow All Alpha/Num to unchecked (No), and enter ‘0123456789’ in the Allowed field.
Use Defaults

The default list of allowed characters from System Control F/M is displayed next to this field. If that default list is adequate, check the box. The allowed characters will be that list in addition to all alpha/numeric characters if that option is selected.
Allowed If you are not using the default list from System Control F/M, this prompt is enabled. Specify the allowed characters for this data class. If Allow All Alpha/Num is checked, you cannot enter the standard alpha/numeric characters in this field because they are all allowed. If you leave this prompt blank, no special characters will be allowed in this data class.

Processing details

When editing a record and the Limit Characters is selected, if you change any of the setting related to which characters are allowed, FACTS checks all of the existing data to ensure that no existing data violates the new settings.

If violations are not found in existing data, the changes are saved, and you can continue. If there are violations, they will be displayed. You must use the Generic Data Changer (SMU940) to change the offending data before you can make the requested change.

To resolve special characters issues

  1. Copy the contents of the Special Characters Issues list to a document editor of your choice, such as Notepad.
  2. Click SM>File Maintenaces> Generic Data Changer (SMU940)
  3. Follow the instructions for the Generic Data Changer to change all of the entries in the list to acceptable values.
  4. Return to Data Class Control Setup to make the changes to allowed characters.

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