How to create a new Data Element

Owned by David Milward
Last updated: Mar 27, 2024
3 min read

If you find that a model is being used that lacks a particular data element, then you can import one from another data model, or alternatively you can create a new data element.


Step-by-step guide

First make sure you have selected the data model that you need to work with, and then click on the "Data Elements" component in the left-hand tree menu.

Select the "New Data Element" button on the (green) menu bar at near the top of the screen.

This should bring up a "Wizard" dialog box in the middle of the screen - simply fill in the details, name and description and the select an existing datatypes or create a new one for this data element.



When you come to datatype, you may choose an existing one (via search) or you may create a new datatype.

If you select an existing datatype which is not currently in the model you will get 2 options: import or clone. In effect the clone will copy the datatype selected, and build an exact copy in the current model. Import will import a reference to the datatype, this datatype cannot therefore be changed in this model, in fact most imported datatypes will be imported from a finalised and therefore unchanging source dataset, such as XML Schema.

 

In this example we create the first datatype for our data element “Abative Therapy” as a cloned xs:String, which means it is an exact copy of the XML Schema String datatype.  It can however be changed locally, and this will not affect the way the xs:string is defined by XML Schema.



 

In the screen on the right the tag next to xs:string is labelled in the first case in yellow, to indicate that is a datatype belonging to this “draft” datamodel.


We have also created a data element called Adrenal invasion, again we want it to be a string datatype, but this time we import the data element from the XML Schema model. It is is being imported from a finalised and therefore fixed model, and this cannot be changed locally.



In the screen on the right in this “imported” datatype case the tag next to xs:string is labelled in the first case in blue, to indicate that is a datatype belonging to this “finalised” datamodel. 

So although the datatypes are both called "xs:string" they are in effect different datatypes.