Add an Attribute to an Object
Add a data attribute to a loaded data object.
Attributes can either be numeric, alphanumeric or calculated. Alphanumeric attributes are constrained to a length limit (where length is measured in number of characters). This limit will depend on the mode of your system.
Note: In the context of object or table data, "column", "field" and "attribute" have the same meaning. "Attribute" is used throughout Studio documentation.
Activity Steps
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Display the Add Column dialog:
- In the Loaded Data control bar, right-click an object and select Add Column.
- Run add-attributes.
In a 3D or Plots window, use the quick keys "nat".
Activate the Edit ribbon and select Attributes >> Edit Attributes.
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Select an Object to append. If you right-clicked an object to display the Add Column dialog, that object will be listed automatically.
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Decide which Type of attribute is appropriate:
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Numeric attributes store number values or an absent indicator ("-").
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Alphanumeric attributes store any data value and will be considered text, not numbers. An absent indicator ("-") is also supported.
- Calculated attributes will store automatically generated values, such as an open string's Length, or a closed string's Area.
Calculated string attributes are stored with fixed, reserved names. They are prefixed with an underscore, e.g. "_AREA". All entries in this list other than Numeric and Alphanumeric are calculated attribute types.
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Enter an attribute Name, up to a maximum length limit.
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For Alphanumeric attributes, specify a Length. This is the maximum number of characters the attribute can store.
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Set a Default Value which will be used in place of empty records. This is commonly a hyphen ("-") representing absent data, but can be any value the attribute supports.
Important: Numeric data expressed as "-" is not the same as zero. Zero is a measured quantity and can influence the results of application calculations in a different way to absent data, where the record is considered to be missing.
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