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Setting SubOrg values

Define SubOrg values, enable dependencies, clean up tables, and import SubOrg data.

\When you add an organization, you define its infrastructure by specifying sub-levels called SubOrgs. You can define up to 16 SubOrg attributes. Use this article to set the values for those attributes, allow dependencies between them, clean up the sub-org tables, and import SubOrg data.

Before you begin

Note: When creating SubOrg values, it is always a good idea to add -None- as the first value, for two reasons:

  • If someone is creating a new user record in Manage Users and does not go to the SubOrg tab to enter data, the value that is put in the user record is the first value in the table, which is -None-. Otherwise, the user record is updated with a real value (for example, East) and you may never realize it has the wrong value in it.
  • If you batch load user data and have the manage property AddSubOrgValuesOnImport turned on to Yes, all the unique values in the suborg column in your spreadsheet are uploaded automatically to your SubOrg table. If the value of -None- is not the first record in the SubOrg values, the values will not load.

Additional guidelines for sub-org values:

  • Do not use special characters, such as *, &, and #, when creating SubOrg values.
  • SubOrg values should not be created for data that is unique to each student, such as Hire Date, Clock #, or Cell Number. For those types of data, use one of the eight Personal Info fields.
  • If you need this kind of data to filter for reports or data searches (this is very unusual), title your SubOrg column something like Key in Your Cell Number and do not put any values in the table. That way, when entering data for that SubOrg, it can be keyed in and kept in the student record. However, it will not be added to the main SubOrg table. You will still be able to filter and search for it by keying it in, rather than selecting from a drop-down list.
  • For performance reasons, never have more than 200 available values in a SubOrg as a drop-down list from which to choose.

Set SubOrg values manually

After you have defined and saved the SubOrg definitions, use the Set SubOrg Values button to specify values for the sub-org attributes. SubOrgs can be added and deleted as necessary.

  1. Open the Admin Tasks side-tab and click Manage Orgs. Manage Orgs opens.
  2. Use the fields in the Search box to filter the list of organizations.
    • Org ID – Org ID with which an organization was added.
    • Description – Enter any combination of letters and numbers to search for any administrators that contain that combination in the description.
  3. Select the org ID and either click Set SubOrg Values or right-click on the table and select Set SubOrg Values. The Set SubOrg Values dialog box opens.
  4. In the Set SubOrg Values dialog box, use the SubOrg drop-down list to select the specific SubOrg attribute and specify its value in the Values box.
  5. Click Save to save your changes.
  6. Click Close to close the dialog box. The SubOrg attribute is updated.

Allow SubOrg dependencies

You can specify that the SubOrg values have dependencies. This allows you to define each SubOrg's values dependent on the previous SubOrg's value, which results in nested levels of classification. When SubOrgs are not dependent, users are categorized into mutually independent groups that allow independent levels of classification instead of nested levels of classification.

Note: Be aware, enabling this will mean a great deal of manual entry to set this up, depending on how many of the SubOrg categories you are using. For example, if you were to configure SubOrg 0 to the state, Sub Org 1 to the county, and Sub Org 2 to the city, you would need to manually enter each city within each county within each state. In essence, you will have to build the entire tree structure.

To enable SubOrg dependency, enable the Allow SubOrg Dependencies check box when adding and editing SubOrg values. For details, see Adding an organization and Editing organization details.

Clean up sub-org tables using data in your user records

You can clean up your existing SubOrg table by using data already in your user records. This cannot be done if your SubOrg table is set up for dependency.

  1. Go to Manage Orgs, bring up each defined SubOrg, and clear out all values except for one value of -None-.
  2. Go to Manage Properties and be sure the property AddSubOrgValuesOnImport is set to Yes. If it is not, change it to Yes and select the Apply Changes button to finalize the change.
  3. Go to Manage Scheduled Tasks and either manually run Database Maintenance or just let it run overnight. This job updates your SubOrg table values with the values that are in each student record.
  4. Determine if you still want to have the AddSubOrgValuesOnImport property set to Yes and update accordingly.

See Working with LDAP and SSO for integrated creation and update of users with internal systems. You can use LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) or SSO (Single Sign-on) in conjunction with the automated import process.

Import SubOrg data

SubOrg values can be created automatically if you use the import data process to load users. For the Managed Properties category of Import Options, set the property AddSubOrgValuesOnImport to Yes to load values in the validation tables.

Tip: Do not leave an organizational category SubOrg value blank. Always enter a value, like -None-. This ensures that the import process will properly load additional values.

For more information about managing properties, see System properties reference.

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