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To create a synonym, you must have previously configured the adapter. You can create a synonym from the Applications or Adapters pages of the Web Console.

1. From the Web Console menu bar, click Applications.

   The Applications page opens.

2. Click the New button and select Synonym from the drop-down menu.

   The Select adapter to configure or Select connection to create synonym pane opens.

3. Click a connection for the configured adapter.

   The first of a series of synonym creation panes opens.

4. Enter values for the parameters required by the adapter as described in the synonym creation parameters reference.
5. After entering the parameter values, click Create Synonym.

   The Status pane indicates that the synonym was created successfully.

The synonym is created and added under the specified application directory.

Note:

• You can also create a synonym from the Adapters page by right-clicking a configured adapter connection and selecting Create Synonym.
• When creating a synonym, if you choose the Validate check box (where available), the server adjusts special characters and checks for reserved words. For more information, see Validation for Special Characters and Reserved Words.

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The following list describes the parameters for which you will need to supply values, and related tasks you will need to complete in order to create a synonym for the adapter. These options may appear on multiple panes. To advance from pane to pane, click the buttons provided, ending with the Create Synonym button, which generates the synonym based on your entries.

Library Name

Supply the name of the library in which the query definitions reside. (Wildcards are not permitted.)

Note: When you create a synonym for Query/400 on the IBM i platform, standard IBM i naming conventions apply to the target data source. Therefore, the Adapter for Query/400 supports the use of double-quotation marks around any library name and/or file name that contains lower case or NLS characters.

Click Submit to continue.

Application

Select an application directory. The default value is baseapp.

Prefix/Suffix

If you have tables with identical table names, assign a prefix or a suffix to distinguish them. For example, if you have identically named human resources and payroll tables, assign the prefix HR to distinguish the synonyms for the human resources tables. Note that the resulting synonym name cannot exceed 64 characters.

If all tables and views have unique names, leave the prefix and suffix fields blank.

Overwrite Existing Synonyms

To specify that this synonym should overwrite any earlier synonym with the same fully qualified name, select the Overwrite existing synonyms check box.

Note: The connected user must have operating system write privileges in order to recreate a synonym.

Do not save library information

Select this check box if you do not wish to save the library of the stored query in the metadata.

This selection ensures that the specific execution is based on the current library path of the connected user at run time.

Note that the library referred to here is not the library specification of the files used within the query, but rather where the query itself is located.

Select objects for synonym creation

To select all names in the list, select the check box to the left of the Default Synonym Name column heading. (If the library contains a large number of query definitions, this check box will not appear, however, synonyms will be created for all definitions automatically.)

To select specific names, click the corresponding check boxes.

Not all listed objects are data-related. Be sure to select those that are appropriate for creating synonyms.

Note: Mixed case names or names with NLS character will appear in double quotation marks. However, the double quotation marks will be replaced by underscore characters in the Default Synonym Name column (see below).

Default Synonym Name

This column displays the name that will be assigned to each synonym. To assign a different name, replace the displayed value.

Note: If you see a synonym name surrounded by underscore characters (as described in the previous note), you can remove the underscores if you wish.

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Example: Creating a Synonym for Query/400

To generate the following synonym from the Create Synonym panes:

1. Specify a library in the Library Name field, then click Submit.
2. On the second Create Synonym pane, choose a query from the Synonym list and click Create Synonym.

   The synonym is created and added under the specified application directory (the default is baseapp).

   A status window displays the message: Created Successfully

3. From the message window, click Applications on the menu bar.
4. Open the baseapp application folder in the navigation pane and click the synonym.
5. Choose Edit as Text from the menu to view the generated Master File, then choose Edit Access File as Text to view the corresponding Access File.

   Sample Generated Master File:

   FILENAME=CUSTSUM, SUFFIX=QRYI    , $
     SEGMENT=TMPFILE, SEGTYPE=S0, $
       FIELDNAME=YEAR, ALIAS=YEAR, USAGE=I9, ACTUAL=I4,
        TITLE='YEAR', $
       FIELDNAME=MONTH, ALIAS=MONTH, USAGE=I9, ACTUAL=I4,
         TITLE='MONTH', $
       FIELDNAME=DAY, ALIAS=DAY, USAGE=I9, ACTUAL=I4,
         TITLE='DAY', $
       FIELDNAME=CUSTOMER, ALIAS=CUSTOMER, USAGE=A25, ACTUAL=A25,
         TITLE='CUSTOMER', $
       FIELDNAME=QUANTITY, ALIAS=QUANTITY, USAGE=P15.2C, ACTUAL=P8,
         TITLE='QUANTITY', $
       FIELDNAME=REVENUE, ALIAS=REVENUE_WO_TAX, USAGE=P15.2C, ACTUAL=P8,
         TITLE='REVENUE_WO_TAX', $
       FIELDNAME=CUSTSUM, ALIAS=FILE1, USAGE=A32, ACTUAL=A32,
         ACCESS_PROPERTY=(NEED_VALUE), XDEFAULT='ACCT/CUSTOMER', $

   Sample Generated Access File:

   SEGNAME=TMPFILE, QIQRY=ACCT/CUSTSUM, $

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Once you have created a synonym, you can right-click the synonym name in the Adapter navigation pane of either the Web Console or the Data Management Console to access the following options.

Option	Description
Open	Opens the Master File for viewing and editing using a graphical interface. If an Access file is used it will be also available.
Edit as Text	Enables you to view and manually edit the Master File synonym. Note: To update the synonym, it is strongly recommended that you use the graphical interface provided by the Open option, rather than manually editing the Master File.
Edit Access File as Text	Enables you to view and manually edit the Access File synonym. Note: This option is available only when an Access File is created as part of the synonym.
Sample Data	Retrieves up to 20 rows from the associated data source.
Data Profiling	Data Profiling provides the data characteristics for synonym columns. Alphanumeric columns provide the count of distinct values, total count, maximum, minimum, average length, and number of nulls. Numeric columns provide the count of distinct values, total count, maximum, minimum, average value, and number of nulls.
Refresh Synonym (if applicable)	Regenerates the synonym. Use this option if the underlying object has been altered.
Data Management	Followed by these options, if applicable: Recreate DBMS Table. Recreates the data source table. You are asked to confirm this selection before the table is regenerated. (Note that the table will be dropped and recreated. During the process, data may be lost.) Delete All Data. Deletes all existing data. You are asked to confirm this selection before the data is deleted. Drop Table. Drops the table so that it is removed from the DBMS. Insert Sample Data. Inserts specified number of sample records, populating all fields with counter values. Show/Modify Data. Opens a window that shows the data in the data source with buttons you can click to insert values, filter values, reload the data source, and customize the view. Reorganize. Recreates the data source table preserving original data. Note: This option is not available in the Web Console.
Impact Analysis	Generates a report showing where this synonym is stored and used, with links to the synonym instances. Impact Analysis reports enable you to evaluate changes before they are made by showing which components will be affected. See the Server Administration manual for details about Impact Analysis reports.
Dependencies Analysis	Generates a report showing information about the synonym and other synonyms and objects that are referenced within it.
Copy	Copies the synonym to the clipboard.
Delete	Deletes the synonym. You are asked to confirm this selection before the synonym is deleted.
Cut	Deletes the synonym and places it on the clipboard.
Privileges	Shows the security subjects on the server and the privileges they have to this synonym.
Properties	Displays the properties of the synonym, including physical location, last modified date, description, and privileges.