KB79698544: WebCenter - How to use the new List functionality in WebCenter 14

Description

In previous WebCenter versions, Excel based lists could be used for cascading attributes. Now, in WebCenter 14, the list concept has been improved. List data no longer resides in Excel sheets on the Web Server, but is added to the WebCenter database.

This new implementation allows for larger data sets, as previously you were limited to 64,000 items. Also, you no longer need to access the Web Server to modify your data. Since list data is maintained in a specific WebCenter project, you can control who can access this data by setting project permissions.

Procedure

1. Adding a new List

The new type of lists can be added directly in WebCenter. To add a new list:

1. Upload your Excel or XML document to a project or template named ListManager. If this project does not exist yet, create a new one.
2. Go to the Lists page, by choosing Admin > Attributes > Lists from the main menu.
3. Click New List, a configuration page will load.
4. In General List Information, you need to specify a List Name. Optionally, you can add a Description.
5. In the Input Source Properties section, specify your list's Input Source Type. This can be either Excel Document or XML Document.
6. Select your list document from the Select Document list. For an Excel file, specify the Sheet Name of the Excel sheet that contains your data. For an XML file, you need to specify the XML Main Node.

7. Optionally, enable Flush existing list data before updating the list. This option will ensure that old data is completely cleared when a new version of the document associated with the List is uploaded, before the new version is loaded to the List.

8. Optionally, enable Database username and password are required when deleting data from list. This option is used to add extra security when data is deleted from the List.
9. Click Create List to save your configuration.

2. Configuring and inspecting a List

After uploading the XML or Excel file and adding it on the Lists page, you can further configure your List as follows:

1. Choose Admin > Attributes > Lists from the main menu.
2. Click your List's Name, to go to its configuration page.
3. You should see a new item on the page, a table titled List Properties.
   The Input Columns and List Properties are displayed in the table, in the rightmost column you can enable a checkbox to mark a certain column as a Unique Identifier. Enabling this checkbox means that each value in the corresponding column in the List has to be unique.
4. Click Show List Data to see all the data available in your list.
   1. You can now inspect your List data. It is also possible to filter on a list column with a specific value.
   2. Click Return to List Overview to return to the general Lists overview page.
5. Click Return to return to the general Lists overview page.

3. Deleting a List or List Data

After configuring a List, it is still possible to remove the List from the system or to only remove the List's data.

To delete the List:

1. Choose Admin > Attributes > Lists from the main menu.
2. Click your List's Name, to go to its configuration page.
3. Choose Delete List.
4. You may need to enter the Database user name and Password.
5. Click Delete List to confirm.

To delete the List's data:

1. Follow the preceding steps, but in step 3 choose Delete List Data instead.

4. Using a List in your Attribute Category

After your List is completely configured. You can start using it in your Attribute Category:

1. Choose Admin > Attributes > Attribute Categories from the main menu.
2. Click the name of the Attribute Category you would like to edit or click New Category to create a new one.
3. Select a Text attribute (or add one first). Make sure you are using Grid Layout. On the right side you will see Details for selected cell.
4. In the details panel, set Restrict Values to List.
5. Select your List's name from the drop-down.

Do this for multiple attributes and you will see cascading behavior; if you pick a value for one attribute, the other attribute values are restricted to what is allowed according to the List data.

5. Adding a button that fetches multiple attribute values based on input attribute(s)

A new option has been added, which you can use in case you want to fill multiple attribute fields based on one or more input attributes. In this case, all the list configuration is done in the details of this single button, meaning you don't need to set each individual attribute to be restricted to a list. Follow these steps to add such a button:

1. First of all, add all your attributes to your attribute category. Make sure you are in Grid Layout.
2. Next to your input attribute(s), add a button by clicking the  Add Button icon.
3. Modify the button's details:
   1. Change the Label to the text you would like to show on the button.
   2. Pick a Style for the button to change its look.
   3. Set Function to LookUpAttributes.
   4. Set List to your list on the system.
   5. Add one or more Input Attributes. Select the attribute from a list of attributes in your category and match it to the right Column in the list. Click Add Input Attribute to add more.
   6. Enable Exact to only allow exact matches.
   7. Add all the Output Attributes. Select the attribute from a list of attributes in your category and match it to the right Column in the list. Click Add Output Attribute to add more.
4. Click Save.

Example

If you enter a value in the input attribute field and click Get Data, the other fields are filled based on the values found in the list.