Adding a Non DMSII Column

Most sites do not add a non DMSII column. Non DMSII columns (also called user columns) are generally used to store the audit file timestamp so that you can track when the data was last updated. You can add non DMSII columns to your relational tables in any of the following ways:

• To add a non DMSII column to every data set, set the corresponding bit in the configuration file parameter default_user_columns; this parameter then assigns the appropriate value to the external_columns column of the DATASETS client control table. The bits in this column determine which non DMSII columns are added to your data table.
• To prevent the Client from adding some of the non DMSII columns to secondary tables (for example, DMSII items that have an occurs clause), set the corresponding bit in the configuration file parameter sec_tab_column_mask. This parameter is used in conjunction with the external_columns column in the DATASETS table entry.
• To add a non DMSII column to most, but not all, of your data sets, use the script script.user_layout.primary_tablename to set the external_columns column of the DATASETS client control table back to 0 for the data sets that you want to keep unchanged.
• To add a non DMSII column to only a few data sets, do not set the default_user_columns parameter. Instead, use the script script.user_layout.primary_tablename to modify the external_columns column of the DATASETS client control table for the data sets you want to change.