Unique keys

A unique key defines a group of attributes that should be unique for an entity.

Create a unique key

To create a unique key:

  1. Expand the entity node, right-click the Unique Keys node and select Add Unique Key…. The Create New Unique Key wizard opens.

  2. In the Create New Unique Key wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:

    • Name: Internal name of the object.

    • Label: User-friendly label for this object. Since the Auto Fill checkbox is selected, the Label field is automatically filled in. Modifying this label is optional.

    • Validation Scope: Select whether the unique key should be checked pre and/or post-consolidation.

  3. Click Next.

  4. In the Key Attributes page, select the Available Attributes you want to add and click the Add >> button to add them to the Key Attributes.

  5. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to order the selected attributes.

  6. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Unique Key editor opens.

  7. In the Description field, optionally enter a description for the Unique Key.

  8. Optionally define a custom Error Message. This message appears instead of a default message when this unique key is violated.

  9. Press Control+S (or Command+S on macOS) to save the editor.

  10. Close the editor.

Considerations for unique keys

A null value is always considered different from another null value. As a consequence, nullable key attributes may defeat the unique key violation detection mechanism. It is recommended to use mandatory attributes as key attributes.

In the certification process, unique keys are checked on the consolidated (merged) records. Possible unique key violations are not checked on the incoming (source) records.

You can check unique keys in data authoring for basic and ID-matched entities only. Fuzzy-matched entities do not support unique key checks while authoring.