AX2651

Adding a column to a table

Columns can be added to tables when the table is created, or later by editing the table structure. The ability to add new columns to a table is limited to administrators and to users with the following security permissions: either the global Administer Tables permission, or the Allow changing table structure permission for individual tables.

NOTES:

If the table is a Picklist table, keep in mind that any additional columns beyond the required columns of Code, Value, and Description will not be visible or editable in the Web Client picklist editor.
If the table uses the Large Table index scheme, columns can only be added to the table if the table does not contain any data. Once the table has data, the overall column structure is fixed.
Product-controlled tables may be configured such that clients cannot add new columns to the table, in which case the icon to add a column is disabled. This is done when the product depends on the table having a particular structure. If a table does not allow adding new columns, the table properties will contain a setting IsClientExtensionAllowed that is set to False.

To add a column to a table:

On the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Tables > Table Administration > Manage Tables.

The Axiom Explorer dialog opens, with the focus on the Table Library.

NOTE: If you are using an installed Axiom product, you can access this feature from the Admin tab. Click System Browser to open Axiom Explorer, then navigate to the Table Library.
In the Table Library folder, navigate to the table that you want to edit. Right-click the table and then click Edit table structure.

You can view the list of tables by folder, by table, or by table type. By default, tables are displayed by folder. If you want to change the display, right-click the Table Library folder and then use the View menu to select the desired view.

On the Columns tab of the Edit Table dialog, click Add Column .

If you are creating a new table, you can manage columns on the Edit Columns screen of the Create Table wizard.

The new column is added to the bottom of the column list.
In the column properties area on the right-hand side of the dialog, complete the following settings (at minimum):
- In the Column Name box, enter a name for the column. This name is used in Axiom queries and Axiom functions to query data, so it should be descriptive and short. See Table and column naming requirements.
- In the Data Type box, select a data type. If the data type is String, enter a maximum string length in the Max String Length field.
- In the Key Column box, select True if you want this column to be a key column for the table. Otherwise, leave the default of False. See About key columns.
- If the values in this column should be validated, complete the Lookup Column setting by selecting the name of the table and column that contains the list of values. For example, if you are defining an ACCT column in a data table, the lookup column would be set to ACCT.ACCT. For more information, see About lookup columns.
  
  The lookup column must point to a key column in an existing reference table.
For more information on all column properties, see Column properties.
To save the new column, click Apply (or OK if you are finished editing the table).

Other options for adding table columns

The previous procedure details how to add a single column to a table. Alternatively, you can add columns using the following tools:

Use Add Multiple Columns to add multiple related columns in a batch process—for example, to add a set of time-based data columns. See Adding multiple related columns.
Use Add Columns from External Table to copy the column structure of another table. See Adding columns from an external table.