About Information Map Transformations

What Are Information Map Transformations?

Information Map transformations are parts of a job that create information maps for source tables, which are typically aggregation tables. These transformations use PROC INFOMAPS to create information maps that describe source table items for reporting processes. Each Information Map transformation corresponds to a single source table within a job.
  • When the Adapter Setup and Add Domain Category wizards run, they automatically specify the columns that are to become data items. The wizards also create data items that are based on expressions, if needed.
  • When you work with the Information Map transformation manually, you must select the columns that you want to include in the transformation. No columns are included automatically.
When data item specifications are added to the Information Map transformation, the name for each data item that is based on a column in the source table is derived from the label of the source column. However, these names can be changed by the user after the data item is created.

What Are the Properties of an Information Map Transformation?

The Properties dialog box of an Information Map transformation provides tabs where you can specify the parameters for the information map that it creates.
Properties Dialog Box for an Information Map Transformation
Properties Dialog Box for an Information Map Transformation
As shown in the preceding display, the Properties dialog box for an Information Map transformation contains the following tabs:
  • The General tab contains information that identifies the Information Map transformation.
  • The Information Map Parameters tab contains the name, description, path, and filter information for the information map that this transformation will create.
    Note: If the path is blank, the information map is created in the path where the job is located.
  • The Data Items tab contains information about the data items that are specified for this transformation. This information can include the source column name, the data item name that is assigned to it in the information map, the description of the data item, and the expression, if specified.
    Data items are displayed alphabetically within sections for these item types:
    • Category data items
    • Category expressions (if any)
    • Measure data items
    • Measure expressions (if any)
    • Filters
    Note: A data item can be based on a source column or an expression, but not both.
  • The Options tab contains information about additional options that can be specified for this transformation.
  • The Code tab contains the code that is generated for this transformation.
  • The Precode and Postcode tab contains the user-written code that can be inserted at the beginning or end of the current job or transformation. The user-written code can be stored in metadata or in a file.
  • The Notes tab contains any notes or documents that are associated with this Information Map transformation.
  • The Extended Attributes tab contains any property that is specific to SAS IT Resource Management and is not part of the standard metadata for an Information Map transformation.

How to Access the Properties of an Information Map Transformation

To access the properties of an Information Map transformation that are created by the Adapter Setup wizard, perform the following steps:
  1. From the IT Data Marts tree, navigate to the IT data mart that contains the job where the Information Map transformation is located.
  2. Double-click the job to open it on the Diagram tab of the Job Editor window, and locate the Information Map transformation whose properties you want to access.
  3. Right-click the Information Map transformation. From the list that appears, select Properties. The Properties dialog box appears.
Note: You have the option to store the job that contains your Information Map transformation in another location. If so, the preceding instructions are not applicable.