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Entity Types

Article • 04.08.2022 • 4 minute(s) to read

This page gives you short instructions on how to create, edit or delete Entity Types from your Novunex Subscription.

An Entity Type defines the data representation in Novunex. For different data, different Entity Types need to be defined. There are no Entity Types configured by default, you have to define all Entity Types for your Account.

Features of Entity Types

  • Entity Types must have unique names
  • An Entity Type can have one or more Attributes
  • Entity Types model the data you want to work with
  • You can assign an icon to an Entity Type to identify the Entity Type more easily
  • Date in Entities of an Entity Types are automatically and persistently stored in the SQL Database.

More information on Entity Types is shown in this getting general reference.

Create an Entity Type

  1. Navigate to the Entity Types by clicking on Administration > DATA > Entity Types
  2. Click on Create new entity type to open the Entity Type Editor
  3. Enter a Name describing the Entity Type. The name must be unique in your Novunex Subscription
  4. If needed, you can connect your Entity Type with a Report
  5. When no Permission are set, all Users in any User Groups can access the Entity Type. By clicking Add Permission you can add specific User Groups and thus limit the access to the Entity Type to these User Groups.
  6. Configure the Attributes of the new Entity Type by:
    • Click the + button
    • Configure the Attribute definition with its Name, Description, Data type, Array, and Unique constraint properties
    • If needed, define a Lookup which can use either predefined values or another Entity Type.
  7. You can finalize your changes by:
    • Discard your changes by clicking Cancel
    • Save changes by clicking Save & close
    • Or save changes by clicking on Save or Save as….

Always design your data models before implementing them as Entity Types, since modifying them later can lead to potential data loss.

Modify an Entity Type

  1. Navigate to the Entity Types by clicking on Administration > DATA > Entity Types
  2. Click on in row of the Entity Type you want to modify and click on Edit
  3. You are now in the Entity Type Editor. Here you can change any property or configuration of the Entity Type:
  4. Once finished, you can:
    • Discard your changes by clicking Cancel
    • Save changes by clicking Save & close
    • Or save changes by clicking on Save or Save as….

Modifying Entity Types needs to be done with care since it has many implications:
Changing an Entity Type’s name can break References All Activities, Data Queries, etc., Using the Entity Type need to be updated to work correctly with the Modifications, like renamed Attributes.
In case the Entity Type was already populated with Entities before it is modified, further issues can arise:
When a new Attribute is added to an Entity Type, this new Attribute will be set to null for all existing Entities of the modified Entity Type. This can take a long time if a large number of Entities exist for the modified Entity Type. When a data type of an Attribute is changed, the Novunex Platform will try to convert this Attribute of any exiting Entities. This can work in some cases, e.g., converting an Integer into a String, but will not work in others, e.g., converting a Decimal into a Boolean. If the Novunex Platform cannot convert the Attribute to its new data type, the data will be lost and the Attribute is set to null. This can also take a long time if a large number of Entities exist for the modified Entity Type. When an Attribute is deleted from an Entity Type, all data stored in this Attribute is lost. Furthermore, all Activities, Data Queries, etc., using the Attribute have to be updated, so that they do not use this deleted Attribute anymore.

Delete an Entity Type

  1. Navigate to the Entity Types by clicking on Administration > DATA > Entity Types
  2. Click on in row of the Entity Type you want to delete
  3. Click Delete
  4. Confirm by clicking Yes, delete it!

When an Entity Type is deleted, all data stored in the corresponding Entities is deleted and cannot be restored again. Furthermore, all Activities, Data Queries, etc. using this Entity Type need to be updated so that they do not use it anymore.

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