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• Integer-type Primary Key Required: External data needs a unique integer-type field that can be aliased as an ID.
• External Data Not on Local Server Needs a Linked Server Relationship: If the external data is not physically stored on the local SQL server where Aptify is installed, then you need to create a Linked Server relationship.
• External Data Not on Local Server Must Map to a View in a Database on the Local Server: If the external data is not physically stored on the local SQL server where Aptify is installed, then you must also create a view in a local database that points to the virtual entity's data source.

Integer-type Primary Key Required

Data displayed in Aptify must have a unique integer-type field (int, smallint, bigint) that can be used as the ID value for the record. Aptify requires that primary keys use an integer type for ID values.

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Note that this requirement is already met if mapping Aptify sub-type data to a virtual entity, since sub-type entities already have an ID field.

External Data Not on Local Server Needs a Linked Server Relationship

A virtual entity can display external data that is not stored physically in the local SQL Server. However, to display this data in Aptify, the external data source must have a Linked Server relationship with the SQL Server that hosts Aptify.

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1. Launch Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the SQL server on which Aptify is installed.
2. In the Object Explorer, expand the server's heading and select Server Objects > Linked Servers.
3. Right-click the Linked Servers folder and select New Linked Server... from the pop-up menu.
   
   
4. Specify the Linked Server name in the field provided. If another SQL server, the Linked Server name must match the server's network name.
5. Specify the Server type.
   • If another SQL server, select the SQL Server option.
   • If the source is not another SQL server, specify the data source type from the list of available options in the drop-down list.
     
     
6. If you set Server type to Other Data source, enter the data source's information in the fields provided.
   • Refer to Microsoft's Help documentation if you need assistance completing this information.
     
     
7. Click the Security page and specify connection credentials for the data source, as appropriate.
   • For example, if connecting to another SQL Server, you must provide login information for this server.
   • Refer to Microsoft's Help documentation if you need assistance completing this page.
     
     
8. Click the Server Options page and modify the default options, as necessary.
   • Refer to Microsoft's Help documentation if you need assistance completing this page.
     
     
9. Click OK to create the Linked Server connection.

External Data Not on Local Server Must Map to a View in a Database on the Local Server

A virtual entity in Aptify obtains data from a view that is stored in a database on the local SQL server, either in the APTIFY database or another local database. Therefore, if you are creating a virtual entity for external data that is not on the local server or if you creating a virtual entity of Aptify data (such as a sub-type entity), then you need to create a view in a local database from which Aptify can pull the virtual data.

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1. If not already open, launch Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the SQL server on which Aptify is installed.
2. In the Object Explorer, expand the server's Databases heading.
3. Select a database on the local server other than APTIFY. You can create a new database also, as necessary.
   • The example in this section use a local database called VirtualData.
     
     
4. Click the New Query button in the toolbar to open a blank SQL query window.
   
   
   
   
5. Enter a SQL statement to create a view of the desired data.
   
   • Specify the Linked Server you created -previously (see External Data Not on Local Server Needs a Linked Server Relationship for details) as the location for this data.
     
     
   • The following is a sample statement you can use to create the view and grant access to a database role:
     
     
   1. • CREATE VIEW [ViewName] 
        AS
        SELECT * FROM [LinkedServerName].[database on linked server, if applicable].dbo.[ExternalTableName]
        GO
        GRANT SELECT ON [ViewName] to [database role]
      
      The statement shown in the figure below will create a view named vwLibraryInventory to display all of the data from the LibraryInventory table, which is located in the EXTERNAL_DATA linked server's Vault database.
       

   

   • If creating a view of data stored in Aptify, specify a view name that will not be confused with Aptify's standard naming convention for views (which is, vw[EntityName]).
     
     The following is a sample statement you can use to create the view and grant
   -
   • access to a database role:

   CREATE VIEW [ViewName] 
   AS
   SELECT * FROM APTIFY.dbo.[TableName]
   GO
   GRANT SELECT ON [ViewName] to [database role]

   The statement shown in figure below will create a view named vwVirtualProductPrices to display all of the data from Aptify's ProductPrices sub-type entity.

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   Note
   For the sake of simplicity, the sample view above grants access to the public database role. However, when creating a database view, you should follow your organization's standard security practices and grant SELECT access only to those roles that require it.

6. Execute the SQL statement to create the view in the specified database.
7. Close Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.