Customer defined fields (CE)

You can use the Customer Defined Fields (CDF) sessions in LN to store additional information in tables without creating so-called customizations. These sessions are available in the Tools menu, under Application Configuration.

Configuration

To configure customer defined fields:

Step 1. Activate the CDF feature.
  1. Start the Customer Defined Fields Parameters (ttadv4590m000) session.
  2. Select CDF Active and click OK.
Step 2. Define customer defined fields.

Define customer defined fields in one of these ways:

  • Use the Customer Defined Fields option in the View menu of an already started session.

  • Use the Customer Defined Fields (ttadv4591m000) session.

    If you want to create customer defined fields of type ‘List’, specify the lists and their constants in the Lists (ttadv4592m000) and List Constants (ttadv4593m000) sessions.

Step 3. Convert to runtime.
  1. Start the Manage Operational Status (ttmtm3501m000) session.

  2. Click Admin Only to switch the environment to Admin only mode.

    In this mode, normal users can no longer log on to the environment. Users that were already logged on are forcedly logged off.

  3. Start the Convert to Runtime Data Dictionary (ttadv5215m000) session. Convert the customer defined fields and the related domains to the runtime data dictionary.

  4. To actualize the related domain and table definition changes, reinitialize the shared memory:
    1. Log off.

    2. Wait for two minutes, so that the shared memory can be stopped correctly.

    3. Log on again. The shared memory is reinitialized.

      Do not stop the logon process by closing the browser (tab) during the logon process. You must wait until the LN menu is visible.

  5. Start the Manage Operational Status (ttmtm3501m000) session.
  6. Click Bring Online to bring the environment online again, so that normal users can log on again.
Note

If you use the DEM Content Pack with Infor LN, consider using the MIT0200 (Customer Defined Fields) wizard to set up Customer Defined Fields. You can execute this predefined wizard from the Wizards by Project Model (tgwzr4502m000) session after you specified the business function model for your company.

Limitations
  • You cannot define customer defined fields for tables within the tl and tt Tools packages.
  • External integrations, such as Infor Integration, EDI, Office Integration, and SOA-based integration, do not support customer defined fields.
  • Customer defined fields cannot store application data in multiple data languages.
  • There is no direct limitation on the number of CDFs in a table. However, the actual number of fields in a table and the total length of all fields may be limited by the RDBMS you use.
  • Only super users can run the Convert to Runtime Data Dictionary (ttadv5215m000) session to convert the customer defined fields and the related domains to the runtime data dictionary.
Personalization

A session can contain two types of customer defined fields:

  1. Customer defined fields of the main table. These are regular customer defined fields. If set to active, these fields are initially visible in the session. See Customer Defined Fields (ttadv4591m000).
  2. Referenced customer defined fields. These are active customer defined fields that belong to a table that is referenced by the main table of the session. Referenced customer defined fields are initially invisible in the session.

A referenced customer defined field is linked to a session if its table is referenced through:

  • A table definition (so-called hard-reference)
  • A reference specified in the form definition, in particular in the Input/Ref Express property of a form field
  • A query.extend.select() call in the UI script of the session

If a session contains customer defined fields, you can perform these actions:

  • Hide/unhide these fields.
  • Move these fields to a different location, such as a different tab.

See "Application Personalization".

Related documentation

For more information about customer defined fields, see "Customer Defined Fields" in the Infor LN Extensions Development Guide.