Roles Database: Selection Sets and Criteria

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Contents

• What is a Selection Set.
• What are Criteria
• Why some criteria are unchangeable

Working with Selection Sets and Criteria

• Two ways to change the Value of changeable criterion
• How to see changes
• How to save criteria
• How to change the default Selection Set
• How to get more options

What is a Selection Set

Selection Sets and Criteria are a set of tools for viewing Authorizations, Functions, Qualifiers, and Persons.

A Selection Set is a set of criteria for selecting or filtering Authorizations, Functions, Qualifiers or Persons to be displayed in the large window on the lower left part of the screen.

Each of the four main windows has a default Selection Set that is automatically chosen when you enter that screen for the first time. You can change the Selection Set by clicking on the down arrow, , and choosing a different Selection Set from the drop down menu that appears.

Below the Selection Set, the scrollable Criteria window displays the criteria associated with the current Selection Set.

The scrollable Criteria window has the following three fields, from left to right:

1. A check box. If the check box is checked, the criterion to its right is applied; if not, the criterion is ignored.
2. The "Criteria for the above selection" field provides a brief description of each criterion
3. The "Value" field contains the value applied in each criterion. For example, a criterion might be "Function category =". If the Value field contains "SAP", then the criterion selects only Authorizations that apply to Function category SAP.

Some criteria are essential to a Selection Set, and changing them would change the meaning of the Selection Set in a confusing way. For example, in the Selection Set "My authorizations," you cannot change the criterion "Kerberos name = ". If you changed this, you wouldn't be looking at "My authorizations" anymore.

Most Selection Sets specify more than one criterion. When multiple criteria are checked, the Authorizations displayed on the screen must satisfy all the checked criteria. (There is one exception to this; see the Selection Set "Compare authorizations for two people" described in the section "Displaying authorizations".)

The illustration below shows the "Selection" and "Criteria" areas at the top of the Authorization List screen.

To choose a "Selection Set," click on (the down arrow) at the end of Selection field.

Result: A drop down menu of Selection Sets appears. Depending on which screen is displayed (for the Authorizations, Functions, Qualifiers or Persons), the size of the list and the items on the list will differ.

To enable or disable criteria, click on the check box to the left of a criterion.

Two ways to change the Value of changeable criterion:

• Select a Value field with a white background, type in the new value and press Enter.

  ...or...

• Position the cursor on the Value field and click the List Values button.
  Result: A "Pick List" screen appears from which you can select an item (by clicking on it).

  Click on the value you want and then the Pick button.

  Note: The "Pick List" screen may also be a complex display with its own Selection Sets and Criteria.)

After you have picked a Selection Set and you have changed the Criteria, click the Refresh button (ctl-R).

Result: The display window is refreshed and your changes appear.

You can save your own sets of criteria for each Selection Set. You can only save one set of criteria for each Selection Set, and you cannot rename the Selection Set.

To save the criteria for a Selection Set so that you can use them in later sessions, click on the Save Criteria button.

You can also change the default Selection Set that is used when you first enter one of the four main list screens.

1. Go to the desired screen
2. Select the desired Selection Set
3. Click the Set As Default button.

How to get more options

The Selection Sets and Criteria are designed for the limited user-tailoring described above. Since they are maintained in database tables, it is also relatively easy for the Roles Database Administrator to add new Selection Sets and Criteria. If you find that the existing Selection Sets do not provide a way of listing a particular set of Authorizations, Functions, Qualifiers, or Persons of interest, contact the Roles Database administrators at rolesdb@mit.edu. They may be able to help you tailor an existing Selection Set or add a new one to accommodate your needs.

| Intro | Requirements |Getting Started | Working in Roles |