Each record in the database has a set of attributes that hold data on the entity (material, process, test results, design data, etc) that a record represents. For a material record, these attributes may include its composition, strength, density, etc.; for a manufacturing process record, the attributes may include the surface finish, tolerance, economic batch size, etc.; for test data, the attributes may include the test ID number, specimen ID, test machine ID, and conditioning stages.
You can view the attributes and data values for a record on the record's datasheet.
If a quality rating has been specified for a data value, it will appear below the value. Click to view an example
The display of quality ratings on a datasheet can be turned on and off in the application Options.
Where it was not possible to obtain data from authoritative sources, estimated data values may be used and flagged as such. Click to view an example
Attributes may be assigned a value of Not Applicable, if required. For example, the attribute Dielectric Constant may be given the value Not Applicable for some electrical conductors (e.g. metals), since the dielectric constant is only relevant for electrical insulators.
Attributes with a Not Applicable value are visible on the datasheet when empty items are hidden. Click to view an example It is possible to explicitly include or exclude Not Applicable values in searches: see Search and Optimization Options.
MetadataAttributes in a datasheet may have metadata associated with them, allowing
subsidiary information such as statistical information or notes about
the source of the data to be stored alongside the data value. Attributes
for which metadata exists are identified on the datasheet with the Metadata
symbol ; click on this symbol to see the values, Click
to view an example
