3. Defining the Hierarchy Levels

The purpose of the sheet NodeStructure is to define the hierarchy level names as well as their relation to each other.

The which columns are visible does depend on the selection made in the sheet NodeOptions.

In this example, the user has defined that they do not want hierarchy levels.

Which will display no columns in the sheet NodeStructure.

Subsequently, the user can skip this sheet and go straight to the sheet Items.

In this example, the user has defined, that they want to have 2 hierarchy levels.

This will display 4 columns (2 columns used to define the hierarchy level name + 2 columns to provide an optional description for each hierarchy level) in the sheet NodeStructure.

To define the hierarchy level structure, the user always starts with the highest hierarchy level.

The first hierarchy level is called Level 1, as while items can be linked directly to the Node Name, this is considered hierarchy Level 0.

The name of a hierarchy Level 1 is configured in the column labeled Level1 Name.

The configurator will verify the Level Name for invalid ASCII characters. To learn more about which ASCII characters are allowed, review the section Restrictions on ASCII characters allowed to be used. The configurator also validates the length of the string.

If an invalid character is found, a prompt is shown to the user.

Invalid characters are marked in red.

As spaces are not a visible character, they can't be marked in red, so the user can make use of the comment added to the cell as well.

To allow for the most efficient storage of the configuration as well as practicality when using a Level Name in a query, the maximum length of a Level Name can not exceed 50 characters.

If a Level Name is longer 50 characters, the user will be prompted.

Note: Names of Levels which exceed the 50 character limit, will by default be trimmed to 50 characters if no action is taken by the user.

This is only required, if a hierarchy level has a sub sequent hierarchy level.

Note: Not every hierarchy Level needs to have a subsequent hierarchy level defined as shown by Station_C, which has no further hierarchy levels below it.

If the user has to define sub sequent hierarchy levels and allowed, shown by the respective columns being visible labeled LevelX Name, the user continues the configuration by repeating the values entered in the column Level 1 Name into the next row.

Important: Do not leave blank rows between entries. A blank row will be seen as the end of the configuration and the configurator will not process any entry past the blank row.

Tip: Users can copy & paste cell content as well as make use of the MS Excel autocomplete feature, where it does try to recognize what the user may want to enter as a repeat.

The user then defines the name of the subsequent hierarchy level in the column labeled with the respective name.

In this example the column labeled Level2 Name is used to define the name of the subsequent hierarchy level.

The configurator will verify the Level Name for invalid ASCII characters. To learn more about which ASCII characters are allowed, review the section Restrictions on ASCII characters allowed to be used.

This is repeated until all subsequent hierarchy levels are defined.

A data model used by Litmus Production Record Database can have up to five hierarchy levels.

To define such a model, the user does simply repeat the steps shown in the previous two sections but expanding it column by column.

The end result is a layout which looks like a step.

If more than one hierarchy level name is to be defined, repeat the steps from the previous three sections until all hierarchy levels are and their relation are defined.

The number of repeats and hierarchy levels entirely depends on the complexity and how many hierarchy levels are required.

The sheet NodeStructure provides an example of a five level deep hierarchy.

As shown in the example above, not every hierarchy level needs to have sub sequent hierarchy levels defined according to the max level. It is entirely acceptable, that some hierarchy levels have no further or less sub sequent hierarchy levels as shown by the last row, where the hierarchy ends at hierarchy level 3 instead of hierarchy level 5.

A final configuration could look like this.

Users are able to provide a description for a hierarchy level to provide some context for colleagues about the purpose of the level and what it is used for. The description only needs to be provided for the first instance of a hierarchy level name.

The configurator will verify the Level Description for invalid ASCII characters. To learn more about which ASCII characters are allowed, review the section Restrictions on ASCII characters allowed to be used. The configurator also validates the length of the string.

If an invalid character is found, a prompt is shown to the user.

Invalid characters are marked in red.

To allow for the most efficient storage the maximum length of a Level Description can not exceed 256 characters.

If a Level Description is longer 256 characters, the user will be prompted.

Note: Descriptions for Levels which exceed the 256 character limit, will by default be trimmed to 256 characters if no action is taken by the user.