create-a-link-attribute-master-data-services.md

title	Create a Link Attribute
description	Create a Link Attribute (Master Data Services)
author	CordeliaGrey
ms.author	jiwang6
ms.date	03/15/2017
ms.service	sql
ms.subservice	master-data-services
ms.topic	how-to
helpviewer_keywords	attributes [Master Data Services], creating link attributes creating link attributes [Master Data Services]
ms.custom	build-2025

Create a Link Attribute (Master Data Services)

[!INCLUDE SQL Server - Windows only ASDBMI]

[!INCLUDE support-notice]

In [!INCLUDEssMDSshort], create a link attribute when you want users to enter a hyperlink as an attribute value, such as https://www.contoso.com.

Note

When users enter a value for a link attribute, the string must begin with https:// or an error will be displayed.

Prerequisites

To perform this procedure:

• You must have permission to access the System Administration functional area.

• You must be a model administrator. For more information, see Administrators (Master Data Services).

• An entity must exist to create the attribute for. For more information, see Create an Entity (Master Data Services).

Attribute Information

For each created attribute, a row with seven columns is added to the grid. The following table describes the columns.

Column	Description
Status	The attribute status. When you click Save, the image displays, indicating that the attribute is updating. If there are errors when creating or editing an attribute, the image displays. Otherwise, the status is OK and the image displays.
Name	The attribute name.
Display Name	The attribute display name.
Description	The attribute description.
Display Pixel Width	The attribute width.
Type and Properties	The type and data type information of the attribute.
Enable Change Tracking	Specifies whether the attribute is enabled for change tracking and shows the group number in parentheses.

When you click an attribute, the following information displays.

• Created By: The name of the user who created the attribute.

• On: The date and time when the attribute was created.

• Updated By: the name of the user who last updated the attribute.

• On: The date and time when the attribute was last updated.

To create a link attribute

1. In [!INCLUDEssMDSmdm], click System Administration.

2. On the Manage Model page, select a model from the grid and then click Entities.

3. On the Manage Entity page, select the row for the entity that you want to create an attribute for.

4. Click Attributes.

5. On the Manage Attributes page, do one of the following and then click Add.

   • If the attribute is for leaf members, select Leaf from the Member Types list box.

   • If the attribute is for consolidated members, select Consolidated from the Member Types list box.

   • If the attribute is for collections, select Collection from the Member Types list box.

6. In the Name box, type a name for the attribute. For a list of words that should not be used as attribute names, see Reserved Words (Master Data Services).

7. Optionally, type a display name, and type a description for the attribute in the Description box.

8. In the Display pixel width box, type the width of the attribute column to be displayed in the Explorer grid.

9. From the Attribute type list, select Free-form.

10. From the Data type list, select Link.

11. In the Length box, type the maximum number of characters allowed.

12. Optionally, select Enable change tracking to track changes to groups of attributes. For more information, see Add Attributes to a Change Tracking Group (Master Data Services).

13. Click Save.

See Also

Attributes (Master Data Services)
Change an Attribute Name and Data Type (Master Data Services)
Create a Domain-Based Attribute (Master Data Services)
Create a File Attribute (Master Data Services)