Element

An element defines the maximum number of characters and the data type for an attribute value. An element must be assigned to every attribute and the element must exist before you can define an attribute that uses that element.

An element can be Lawson-defined or user-defined. You can define these types of elements:

• Alpha type (up to 32 characters)

• Numeric type (up to 18 characters)

• Date type (eight characters)

You can have more than one attribute use an element. This table shows an additional example of Lawson-defined attributes and corresponding Lawson-defined elements:

You can also create user-defined elements within the data type and size restrictions listed above. User-defined elements can be more generic than Lawson-defined elements, and can be associated with more than one attribute. This table shows examples of user-defined attributes and user-defined elements:

You can also associate a Lawson-defined element with a user-defined attribute. For example, you might use the Vendor element (Lawson-defined, Alpha 9) with the user-defined attribute of Manager, to group vendors who are managed by the same person.