View Properties

To view or edit a view's properties, double-click its diagram symbol or Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.

The General tab contains the following properties:

Property	Description
Name/Code/Comment	Identify the object. The name should clearly convey the object's purpose to non-technical users, while the code, which is used for generating code or scripts, may be abbreviated, and should not normally include spaces. You can optionally add a comment to provide more detailed information about the object. By default the code is generated from the name by applying the naming conventions specified in the model options. To decouple name-code synchronization, click to release the = button to the right of the Code field.
Stereotype	Extends the semantics of the object. You can enter a stereotype directly in this field, or add stereotypes to the list by specifying them in an extension file.
Type	Specifies the type of the view, where supported by your DBMS (see Materialized Views and Creating an XML Table or View).
Owner	Specifies the user who is the owner of the object. This is usually its creator. Use the tools to the right of the list to create, browse for, or view the properties of the currently selected user.
Usage	Specifies how the view will be used. You can choose between: Query only - Consultation only. The view cannot update tables. Updatable - Consultation and update of underlying tables. With Check options - Implements controls on view insertions.
Dimensional type	Specifies the type of the view for purposes of creating star or snowflake schemas containing fact tables and dimensions. You can choose between: Fact - see Facts (PDM) Dimension - see Dimensions (PDM) Exclude - PowerDesigner will not consider the view when identifying or generating multidimensional objects. You can instruct PowerDesigner to complete this field for you (see Identifying Fact and Dimension Tables). PowerDesigner's support for the generation of BusinessObjects universes (see Generating a BusinessObjects Universe) and of facts and dimensions in a multidimensional diagram (see Generating Cubes) depends on the value of this field.
Generate	Selects the view for generation to the database.
User-defined	By default, the view query is updated to reflect changes to model objects on which it is based. Selecting this option freezes the view and protects your manual changes.
Keywords	Provide a way of loosely grouping objects through tagging. To enter multiple keywords, separate them with commas.

The following tabs are also available:

Columns - Lists the columns in the view based on the SELECT orders from the queries. You can modify column properties in this list but to add or remove columns, you must modify the appropriate view query. View column properties are initialized from the properties of their source columns. The read-only Expression column specifies the qualified name of the view column.
Indexes - [materialized views] Lists the indexes defined on the materialized view (see Indexes (PDM)).
SQL Query - Displays the SQL code for all the queries associated with the view. You can edit this code directly in this tab or access the property sheets of individual queries (see View Queries).
Triggers - [if supported by your DBMSs] Lists the triggers associated with the view (see Triggers (PDM). You can define a trigger to fire when one or more attributes of a table view column are modified.
Preview - Displays the SQL code to be generated for the view (see Previewing SQL Statements).