Helper Model — Consolidating Various Selection Data in One MetaModel

When building a data structure, it is common to need simple selections such as salutation, academic title, gender, colours, units of measurement, discounts, etc. Each of these would need to be created as a separate model and referenced in the desired model via single or multi-select.

This would result in a large number of models, each ultimately consisting of only two attributes: name and alias.

The setup and maintenance of these “auxiliary entries” can be simplified by managing the data in a helper model construct and showing only the matching values in the input mask via a filter.

The disadvantage of this approach is that it is inflexible when adjustments are needed, and individual value ranges may need to be moved back into a separate model. For example, if at a later point the “Discounts” entries should also have a numeric discount value in addition to the label.

An example of a possible setup is as follows: create two MetaModels — one for the names of the taxonomy groups, e.g. “Taxo Groups”, and one for the taxonomy values, e.g. “Taxo Values”. In the model where the values are needed as a selection, create a reference as a single or multi-select to the “Taxo Values” model, along with a filter that only shows values from the desired taxonomy group. The individual steps would be:

1. Create MetaModel “Taxo Groups”

  • Text or translated text attribute with “Name”, required field

  • Alias attribute with “Alias” pointing to “Name”, unique values and force recreation

2. Create MetaModel “Taxo Values”

  • Single select attribute with “Taxo Groups” pointing to the “Taxo Groups” model, required field

  • Text or translated text attribute with “Name”, required field

  • Alias or translated alias attribute with “Alias” pointing to “Name”, unique values and force recreation

  • Sorting on “Taxo Groups”, grouping type “First letter” and grouping length 0

  • Filter “Select group” with filter rule “Simple lookup” on attribute “Taxo Groups” with “Static parameter” checkbox enabled

img_helper-models_01

3. Integration in MetaModel with selection

  • Single or multi-select attribute pointing to the “Taxo Values” model, filter “Select group”, and in the filter parameter select a group, e.g. “Salutation”.

img_helper-models_02

In addition to this two-table approach, it is also possible to work with a single table, e.g. using the “Variants” option or render mode “Hierarchy” — the filter settings must then be adjusted accordingly.