Integrating BDC Data with WSS Lists

Another included piece of functionality with the BDC is the business data column. The business data column is available to be created as a column on a list or library. It’s not available when creating a site column. The business data column is like a lookup column but better. First, like a lookup column, it prevents the need to recreate data and manage the data in several spots. If you already have a list of clients in the database, it’s more efficient to use that list, rather than re-create the data in SharePoint. Second, it ensures everyone is referencing items in the same manner. Because it’s looking up against the database, everyone will refer to the client by the full name rather than some using abbreviations, some using acronyms, and so on. Third, if the database is updated with new clients, those choices will be available the next time an item is created or edited. Finally, the major benefit over lookup columns is that additional fields may be brought into the list when populated by a column. For example, going back to the client list in the database, in addition to name and contact information, there may also be fields in the database for last order date, year-to-date order amount, and so on. When you bring the client into the list, you may also want to bring in this information, and the business data column allows you to accomplish this as shown in Figure 11.15.

Figure 11.15. Business data column configuration options.

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It’s important to note that the business data column is taking a copy of the information at the time the column is populated. This means that if you select the year-to-date order amount column, and next week another order is placed, this column won’t automatically be updated. For the business data columns in a list to be updated, the update button shown in Figure 11.16 must be selected. Then all items in the list will be updated, which may be time consuming depending on the number of items in the list.

Figure 11.16. Update button.

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Because the information in the business data column is a copy being stored in the SharePoint content database, the data in the list will be included in the search index and can be searched on.

Exercise: Adding the Business Data Column to a List

This exercise uses an announcement list. The announcement list should be created on the site that has the Enterprise features activated. When new announcements are made about a product, the announcement is tagged for the product it relates to. 1. Navigate to the list. 2. Click Settings > Create Column. 3. For Column Name, enter “Product”. 4. For column type, select Business data. 5. For Type, click the browse button. 6. Select Product. 7. Click OK. 8. For additional fields, select Description and List Price. 9. Click OK. 10. In the breadcrumb, select the link to the list. 11. Click New. 12. Fill in information for the Title, Body, and Expires fields. 13. For the Product field, select the browse button. 14. The find box should be set to Description; in the search box, type “Mountain Bike”, and click the search icon. 15. Select the item, Fender Set-Mountain. 16. Click OK. 17. Click OK. The item is now added as shown in Figure 11.17. Figure 11.17. Example announcement using the business data list column. [View full size image]

Exercise: Updating the Data in a Business Data Column