Work with Attribute Dependencies

Overview

Attribute dependencies allow you to create a parent/child relationship between two fields on an Ticket, Asset, or Configuration Item form.

• For example, imagine a form that needs to know the make and model of your car. Attribute dependencies let you have the "Model" field appear after you choose a value for "Make".
• Similarly, another box can pop up when you choose the model, prompting for the year.
• If you have two different forms that use those attributes, you may want the dependencies to behave differently between forms. 

Attribute dependencies can reduce the number of forms required by dynamically changing a part of the form based on an attribute's value (called the "parent" attribute). Once the parent attribute is set, a "child" attribute will display with its own input field. 

When using attribute dependencies on a ticket form, be sure to consider how the cascading attributes will interact with the Automation Rules system.

What materials do I need?

• Internet connectivity
• Web browser
• ESM App Admin, or Enterprise Admin role

Defining Attribute Dependencies in TDAdmin

The following instructions describe how to set up Attribute Dependencies for Ticket, Asset, and CI forms. 

1. Login to Enterprise Service Management.
2. Open the applicable ticketing application.
3. Click the Settings (i.e. the gear icon).
4. Click Admin.
5. In Attributes or the form builder, create the attributes you want to use as your parent and child attributes
   Important

   The parent attribute must be a choice-based attribute (e.g. checkbox list, dropdown, radio button) and cannot be a protected custom attribute. 
6. Click Attribute Dependencies.
7. Click +New to create a new dependency.
8. In the New Attribute Dependency dialog enter the following options:
   • Name
     Tip

     While the name can be anything there are two recommended naming convention

     • "<Parent Attribute name> -> <Child Attribute Name>" - Use when the attribute dependency can be used across many different forms.
     • "[Optional Form Name] | <Parent Attribute name> -> <Child Attribute Name>" - Use when the attribute dependency is specific to the business logic associated with the form.

     For example:

     • Billing Needed -> Fund
     • Billing Needed -> Org
     • Problem | Request Type -> Reason/Purpose (Textarea)
   • Description
   • Parent Attribute
   • Child Attribute
   • Is Active
9. Click Save. The system will take you to the attribute dependency details page. 
10. Click on the Choice Mappings tab.
    
11. Configure the specifics of the dependency. The parent and child attributes' choice will then be displayed in a grid.
12. Check each of the boxes in the grid that correspond to the options you want to display. If the parent attribute has the value specified by the column, then the child attribute will display each of the checked choices in that column. You can use the checkboxes in the rows and columns to select/unselect all boxes in that row or column. 
    • In the example screenshot above, child options "Add a Department Listing", "Change an existing Department Listing", "Remove an existing Department Listing", and "Other" will appear if the user selects "Department Listing" using the field "Support Category: Online Directory".
13. When you've chosen the relevant options, click Save.

This defines a dependency, and makes it available to be used on forms in the form builder, but it does not automatically apply the dependency to forms that use the chosen attributes. You can check which forms are using the dependency using the Usage tab of the Attribute Dependency Details page.

Adding Dependent Attributes to Forms

After you've defined a dependency, you will need to add it to a form before it can be used. Follow these instructions to add dependencies to a form: 

1. Open the form builder for the form you want to change.
2. Add the parent attribute and the child attribute to the form.
   • The form builder will detect that there is a dependency that can be applied, and display a broken link icon by the child attribute's Name.
3. Click Edit on the child attribute and choose the Dependency you wan to use.
4. Save the attribute settings for the child attribute.
5. Save the form.

At this point, the attribute dependency will take effect.

Need additional help or have issues

For support, requests may be submitted anytime using the appropriate Enterprise Service Management form. Requests generate a Ticket which will be worked in order received and urgency by IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.

For immediate assistance please review the Contact Us page for the appropriate support group.