Maintaining an Agency Entity

The Agency Entity Summary lists information recorded about the entity, including its parent entity, any calculations performed when records are saved, and a list of fields created as part of the entity.

The upper portion of the summary displays information about the entity. You can view or change information in these fields:

Below the entity information, the component lists rows of fields that are part of the entity. Each row contains an Actions button. You can view or change information in these fields:

Click in a field and add, change, or delete information as needed. You cannot modify an agency entity after it has been used to store data.

A value is required in either the Parent Entity field or the Parent Agency Entity field, but not both. If the parent entity is a system entity, the value is entered in the Parent Entity field. If the parent entity is an agency entity, the value is entered in the Parent Agency Entity field. Any agency entity can be used as a parent agency entity. Any of the following system entities can be used as a parent entity: Contract, DSR Material SMFMI, DWR Acceptance Record, DWR Item Posting, Mix Design, Mix Design Component, Sample Record Test.

Any calculations entered in the On Save field must be entered using IronPython functions and syntax. For a list of supported functions, see Supported Utility Functions in Python Code Fields. For information about using the code editor text box, see Using the Code Editor Text Box.

Note: The On Save field includes a text editor that enables you to indent lines of code by using the Tab key. As a result, you cannot use the Tab key to navigate out of the On Save field as you can in other fields.

To add a new field to the entity, click the New button. The system adds a new field row. All fields in the row are required. Click the Save button when you are finished.

To delete a field from the entity, select Delete from the Actions menu on the field row. You cannot delete an agency entity after it has been used to store data. To reverse the delete action, click the Undo button. To save your changes, click the Save button.

To view or change additional information about the fields included in the agency entity, select Open from the Actions menu on the field row. The system takes you to the Agency Field Summary. See Maintaining Agency Fields for more information.

To add a new agency entity to the system, select Add New from the Actions menu on the component header. The system takes you to the Add Agency Entity component. See Adding an Agency Entity for more information.

To create a new agency entity based on this entity, select Copy from the Actions menu on the component header. The system takes you to the Copy Agency Entity component. See Copying an Agency Entity for more information.

Using the Code Editor Text Box

Code Editor text boxes are available on components where you customize system metadata. Clicking the magnifying glass button on the right side of the text box opens a secondary window that displays XML or IronPython code in numbered rows. This window provides basic code editing features, such as syntax color coding and indentation, in-line error and warning syntax validations, and the ability to expand and collapse elements.

While this window is open, pressing the tab key advances the cursor only within the text window; it will not advance the cursor to other areas of the page. Also, using your browser's search function (CTRL+F) will only search text that is currently visible on the component. To search the entire contents of the text window, click anywhere inside the window and press CTRL+F. A search field for use only in searching the contents of the window appears in the upper right corner of the window.