Semantic Properties Tab (Advanced Entity Properties Dialog Box)
Use this tab to define the entities in a model.
Options
Is a subentity of
Specify an entity from which this entity inherits relationships. Available only if a join exists from the key of this entity's table to the key of the entity table from which the relationships are inherited. For example, click this option to have a salesmanagers entity inherit all the relationships for the salesperson entity. This option ensures that relationships supporting questions such as "List the sales people and their sales last month" will work for "List the sales managers and their sales last month," without having to define the relationship explicitly between salesmanagers and sales.
Load words from
Specify a smaller table or a view from which to load data values into the dictionary for this entity. Available if you select the Add values of this entity to the model check box and if a table is available for selection.
For example, specify a CurrentCustomers view from which to load customer names to avoid loading the larger Customers table.
The Load words from list contains any table that has:
- A denormalized copy of each of the fields in the entity's field list.
Set these tables using the Denormalized option on the Advanced tab of the Table/New Table dialog box.
For example, the Load words from list for the customer_name entity, which refers to the fname and lname fields of the dbo.customer table, contains the dbo.currentCustomers table. This occurs because dbo.currentCustomers.fname is a denormalized copy of dbo.Customers.fname and dbo.currenCustomers.lname is a denormaized cop of dbo.Customers.lname.
- Fields with the same names as the fields in the entity's field list.
When the table is selected, the fields in the table are automatically marked as denormalized copies of the entity's fields. For example, the Load words from list for the customer_name entity, which refers to the fname and lname fields of the dbo.customer table, also contains the dbo.BestCustomers table because the table contains the fname and lname fields although they currently are not marked as denormalized. However, the fields will be marked as denormalized when the table is selected.
Unknown dates refer to
Specify a relationship that contains a date so that ambiguous questions can be answered correctly. Available only if this entity participates in more than one relationship that involves a date. For example, the question "List the 2000 customers" can be interpreted as "Show the customers who bought products in 2000" or "Show the customers that returned products in 2000." To clarify the interpretation, specify the appropriate relationship. Otherwise, English Query guesses the meaning of the question.
Numerical references are to
Specify a field that contains the intended numerical data in an entity that is represented by a table. For example, the sales entity, which is represented by a sales table, could be used for questions such as "Show the sales for last week." To allow numeric questions such as "List the sales greater than $50" or "Show the total sales for last week," specify which field in the sales table should be used for questions that involve numeric operations like this.
This is a standalone entity
Display data by itself, (without the accompanying data from a related table entity), when returning an answer.
Available only if this entity is represented by fields and does not participate in a name relationship. For example, to display employees' ages only, you'd specify this option for the age entity. Questions such as "What are employees' ages?" returns a list of ages, without employee names.
Sort by
Specify the sort order in which data from this entity is displayed.
Remote fields
Specify the fields from other tables to show whenever this entity is displayed. Available only when the entity is one requested by a table with joins to other tables.
The table associated with the entity must have a join to the table containing the remote field.
Add Field
Display the Select Remote Fields dialog box, where you select fields from other tables. Add a field by selecting the remote table and field you want displayed when the entity is displayed. To remove a field from the display list, select it in the Selected fields box and click DELETE.
Note The table associated with the entity must have a join to the table containing the remote field.
See Also
Add/Edit Entity Default Dialog Box
Advanced Entity Properties Dialog Box
Advanced Tab (Table/New Table Dialog Box)
Entity Defaults Tab (Advanced Entity Properties Dialog Box)
Name Synonyms Tab (Advanced Entity Properties Dialog Box)