DataFlux Data Management Studio 2.5: User Guide

Working with Collection Fields

Overview

You can manage and analyze the fields that are contained in your collections. You can open a collection by selecting the Data riser bar to access the Collections folder. The collected data is visible in the Fields tab of the selected collection. Then you can perform the following tasks in the Fields tab:

• Insert and Remove Fields
• Cut, Paste, and Copy Fields
• Perform Field Analysis
• Manage Fields

Insert and Remove Fields

Perform the following steps to insert fields into a collection:

1. Click Insert Fields in the toolbar. An Insert Field dialog opens.
2. Select the connection that contains the fields. Note that you can filter the connection so that it only displays the tables that you need.
3. Select the fields that you need. Note that you can either open a table and pick individual fields with check boxes or select the check box next to the table to pick all of its fields. To view an example of the field's data, click on the field name and an example appears in the Data sample section.
4. Click Add to insert the selected fields.

To remove one or more fields from a selection, select the fields and click Remove.

Cut, Paste, and Copy Fields

You can use the cut, paste, and copy functions to move fields and groups of fields between collections. For example, you could copy a group of fields from a collection and paste them into several different collections. You could also cut or copy all of the fields in a collection and paste them in a new collection.

Perform Field Analysis

You can click Show Field Analysis Pane to display an analysis pane for a selected field. The pane contains the following riser bars:

• Count Riser Bar - Displays counts for a selected field
• Length Riser Bar - Displays length data for the rows that contain a selected field
• Report Riser Bar - Displays a report interface that you can use to sort or summarize the data for a selected field
• Data Sample Riser Bar - Displays sample data for a selected field

The analysis pane interacts with the field list: if you select a different field in the field list, the appropriate information is displayed in the analysis pane. The following display shows part of the Count riser for a field:

Manage Fields

You can use the following toolbar functions to manage the fields in a collection:

• Find in Data Connections - Displays the table view for the table that contains the selected field.
• Query Field - Enables you to create a query based on one or more selected fields.
• Explore Table - Enables you to create a data exploration based on one or more selected fields.
• Profile Fields - Enables you to create a profile based on one or more selected fields.