The Mapping Editor

The Mapping Editor provides a global view of all the mappings to objects in your model, allowing you to quickly identify mapped and unmapped objects.

To open the Mapping Editor, select Tools > Mapping Editor. If no data source is defined in your model, you will be prompted to create one with the Data Source Creation Wizard (see Creating a Data Source).

The Mapping Editor window is divided into three panes:

The Source pane – has a gray background and is, by default, on the left of the window. For more information, see Mapping Editor Source pane.
The Target pane – has a white background and is, by default, on the right of the window. The model from which you launch the Mapping Editor is displayed in the Target pane, and the mappings are saved in this model. For more information, see Mapping Editor Target pane.
The Mappings pane - can contain a mapping list or the same content as the content of the Mappings tab of an object's property sheet. If you define a mapping for an object using the Mapping Editor, the Mappings tab is automatically updated in the object's property sheet. For more information, see Mapping Editor Mappings pane.

Note: Click the Play Demo tool in the lower-left corner of the Mapping Editor window to launch a video that briefly illustrates its main features.

Mapping Links and Symbols

When a mapping is created, a non-editable link line is drawn between the mapped objects. The arrow specifies the direction of the data transfer. When an arrow is displayed on both extremities of the link, it means the data can be extracted from the source to target and vice versa.

A link extends from the source pane to the target pane and passes through an area between the two panes. If you click a link:

In the Source pane – you open the property sheet of the source object.
In the Target pane – you open the property sheet of the target object.
In the middle area - you display the mapping in the Mappings pane.

A small symbol is displayed in the bottom right-hand corner of the icons and also on their respective parent hierarchy icon to ease readability:

Pane	Mapped object icon	Parent hierarchy icon
Source (green)
Target (red)

When you define a mapping for an object (a table, for example) a mapping is automatically defined for its sub-objects (columns, for example) when their name matches the name of the source sub-objects.

Creating Mappings in the Mapping Editor
You can create a mapping in the Mapping Editor by drag and drop or using the Create Mapping tool or contextual command. To generate default mappings between source and target objects that have the same name, right-click a data source and select Generate Default Mappings.
Mapping Editor Source Pane
The Source pane displays all the data sources and their source models showing all the objects that can be mapped. You must create one or more data sources and declare models in the list of data source models to define where (in which database or model) data should be extracted to be transferred to the model in the Target pane.
Mapping Editor Target Pane
The Target pane displays the model where data is extracted.
Mapping Editor Mappings Pane
When you create a mapping, it is displayed in the Mapping list in the lower part of the Mapping Editor dialog box, called the Mappings pane.
Creating a Data Source
A data source provides a connection to one or more other models for mappings and (in the PDM) can also provide a connection to a database. You are prompted to create a data source with a wizard the first time you open the Mapping Editor or click the Create Mapping tool on an object property sheet Mappings tab.
Object Mappings Properties
Click the Properties button to the right of the Mapping field on the Mapping tab of an object property sheet or in the Mappings pane of the Mapping Editor to open the mapping property sheet. The tabs available for a particular mapping depend on the objects being mapped.

Parent topic: Object Mappings