Creating Data Models
1. Launch the Data Modeler. To import your tables, from the File menu select Import > Data
Dictionary.
Select your connection:
Press the Properties button.
Press the Connect button. If it connects, then you will be taken back to the Data Dictionary
Import Wizard screen again.
Select your Connection Name again and press the Next button. Step 2 “Select Schema Database”
will be blue.
For Oracle Database:-
Test and the click on Next
Check the check box under the “Selected” heading and press the Next button.
Select your tables and press the Next button.
Press the Finish button.
When the View Log screen comes up, press the Close button.
2. The details to be shown in the Data Model are:
This setting is annoying because this window goes away each time you select a value so you
have to go to View > View Details over and over and over and over.
3. To display the grid, right mouse click on the white space in the design, select Show and then
Grid. This will need to be done each time you open a Data Model.
All the tables should have a width of 30 grid dots. The starting position first table on the upper
left side should be 3 grid dots from the top and 3 grid dots from the left. (See the Data Model
Standards document.)
4. There is a way to make your tables all the same width and height.
a. Size one of your tables to the correct size. Then press the button.
b. Then select the table that you have sized correctly by left mouse clicking on it. Then
select all the tables you want to be that size.
c. After you have selected all the tables you want, select Equal Width from the Edit menu.
d. Then select the Equal Height option from the Edit Menu.
e. Press the button when you are done.
f. You can use the Align Left and Align Top options also but you might want to change you
selected tables before using them.
5. To change the Max Name Length properties on the Data Model, right mouse click on the white
space of your data model and select Properties.
Expand the Naming Options menu. Select each of the values under the Naming Options and
change the Max Name Length to 40.
Press OK to save your changes.
If you don’t do this, when you create the foreign keys, you will get a pop-up window, similar to
the one below, for every field in the table that has a name longer than 18 characters and it gets
REALLY, REALLY annoying.
6. To create the Foreign Keys, right mouse click on your table and select Properties.
Select Foreign Keys from the menu. Press the (Add) button.
Select the other table from the Reference Table drop down menu.
Once the Referenced Table is selected, information will be defaulted into the form for you.
Mandatory controls whether referential integrity is enforced. If this option is enabled,
referential integrity is enforced (that is, a matching value in the table for the referenced primary
or unique key is mandatory; and if a matching value does not exist, a record cannot be created
in the current table). If this option is not enabled, referential integrity is not enforced, and
applications that use the database must deal with any potential problems caused by
inconsistent data. All foreign keys do not have to be mandatory. Evaluate each key and check
or uncheck the Mandatory box as appropriate.
Transferable (Updateable): Controls whether the foreign key relationship is transferable (that is,
updateable). In a non-transferable relationship, each foreign key value cannot be changed; for
example, if a line item has non-transferable relationship to an order, a line item cannot be
reassigned later to another order. In a transferable relationship, a foreign key value can be
changed; for example, an employee could be transferred later from one department to
another.
The “Column” column will provide a
drop down list with values in your
Referenced Table that are of the
same type as the corresponding
Referenced Column.
Select the foreign key(s) and press OK when you are done to save the relationship.
If you don’t have all the Reference Columns populated with a value from the Column column,
you will probably get an error when you press OK. In this case, create a Unique Constraint
instead of a Foreign Key.
7. The program always creates a straight line for foreign key relationships. Add Elbows to the lines
to improve readability. Highlight the arrow, right mouse click and select Add Elbow.
8. Most tables should be the default yellow color but setup and master tables should be green.
To get here, right mouse click on the table and select Format.
Uncheck the “Use Default Color” check box and then press the button next to it.
9. After sending some reports for feedback, I got a PDF back to demonstrate the length of the
tables, which is not documented in the standards but is apparently a standard. The tables
displayed 19 columns of the tables.
10. To connect to the SVN repository:
My user name is my Oracle GUID and the password is the same.
The current directories in the repository.
11. Before sending your data model for technical review, check it into INDEV. If there isn’t a folder
for your data model, create one by right clicking on the Subfolder for your functional area and
select New Remote Directory.
Enter your Directory Name and press OK.
Check out the directory.
Accept the defaults.
If you have already saved your models, choose Save As and accept the default location.
When prompted, say Yes to add design to version control.
If you get this window, navigate to the location created when you checked out the folder.
When you have selected the correct folder, press Selected.
Watch the log to see if it is added – it sometimes takes a fair bit of time.
12. If you need to make changes to a model saved in the repository, check out the folder again.
When prompted, accept the default information in the Check out from Subversion form.
When you have completed your changes, make sure you commit them:
This is located on the Pending Changes tab. If you don’t see it:
Press OK when the Pending Changes dialog box prompts you to. To make sure my changes are
saved in the repository, I do a Save As again, loosely (skipping things like creating a new
directory) following step 10 again.
13.
