--- title: Create a Domain-Based Attribute ms.custom: "" ms.date: "07/25/2017" ms.prod: sql ms.prod_service: "mds" ms.reviewer: "" ms.technology: master-data-services ms.topic: conceptual helpviewer_keywords: - "domain-based attributes [Master Data Services], creating" - "creating domain-based attributes [Master Data Services]" - "attributes [Master Data Services], creating domain-based attributes" ms.assetid: 11c31c9f-e6cc-47b7-b76a-d691f84c93c6 author: lrtoyou1223 ms.author: lle --- # Create a Domain-Based Attribute (Master Data Services) [!INCLUDE[appliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md-winonly](../includes/appliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md-winonly.md)] In [!INCLUDE[ssMDSshort](../includes/ssmdsshort-md.md)], create a domain-based attribute to populate an attribute's values with members from an entity. ## Prerequisites To perform this procedure: - You must have permission to access the **System Administration** functional area. - You must be a model administrator. For more information, see [Administrators (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/administrators-master-data-services.md). - An entity must exist to use as the source of the attribute values. For example, to create a domain-based attribute based on the Color entity, you must first create the Color entity. For more information, see [Create an Entity (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/create-an-entity-master-data-services.md). - An entity must exist to create the attribute for. For more information, see [Create an Entity (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/create-an-entity-master-data-services.md). ## Attribute Information For each created attribute, a row with seven columns is added to the grid. The following table describes the columns. |Column|Description| |------------|-----------------| |Status|The attribute status.

When you click Save, the ![Icon for updating status](../master-data-services/media/mds-statusicon-updating.png "Icon for updating status") image displays, indicating that the attribute is updating.

If there are errors when creating or editing an attribute, the ![Icon for error status](../master-data-services/media/mds-statusicon-error.png "Icon for error status") image displays.

Otherwise, the status is OK and the ![Icon for OK status](../master-data-services/media/mds-statusicon-ok.png "Icon for OK status") image displays.| |Name|The attribute name.| |Display Name|The attribute display name.| |Description|The attribute description.| |Display Pixel Width|The attribute width.| |Type and Properties|The type and data type information of the attribute.| |Enable Change Tracking|Specifies whether the attribute is enabled for change tracking and shows the group number in parentheses.| When you click an attribute, the following information displays. - **Created By**: The name of the user who created the attribute. - **On**: The date and time when the attribute was created. - **Updated By**: the name of the user who last updated the attribute. - **On**: The date and time when the attribute was last updated. ### To create a domain-based attribute 1. In [!INCLUDE[ssMDSmdm](../includes/ssmdsmdm-md.md)], click **System Administration**. 2. On the **Manage Models** page, click a model, and then click **Entities**. 3. On the **Manage Entities** page, select the row for the entity that you want to create an attribute for. 4. Click **Attributes**. 5. On the **Manage Attributes** page, do one of the following and then click **Add**. - If the attribute is for leaf members, select **Leaf** from the **Member Types** list box. - If the attribute is for consolidated members, select **Consolidated** from the **Member Types** list box. - If the attribute is for collections, select **Collection** from the **Member Types** list box. 6. In the **Name** box, type a name for the attribute. For a list of words that should not be used as attribute names, see [Reserved Words (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/reserved-words-master-data-services.md) 7. Optionally, type a display name, and type a description in the **Description** box. 8. In the **Display pixel width** box, type the width of the attribute column to be displayed in the **Explorer** grid. 9. From the **Attribute type** list, select **Domain-based**. 10. From the **Domain Entity** list, choose the entity to be used to populate the attribute values. 11. **Optional, for domain-based attributes for leaf members.** Select a filter parent attribute that is used to constrain the allowed values for the domain-based attribute. The filter parent attribute must be another domain-based attribute for a leaf member, within the same entity. A derived hierarchy must exist with a level that defines the parent-child relationship between the domain entities of the two attributes. For information about constraining the allowed values, see [How to filter Domain Based Attribute drop down lists](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/mds/2015/12/03/in-sql-server-2016-master-data-services-how-to-filter-domain-based-attribute-drop-down-lists/), on the Master Data Services blog. 12. **Optional.** Select **Enable change tracking** to track changes to groups of attributes. For more information, see [Add Attributes to a Change Tracking Group (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/add-attributes-to-a-change-tracking-group-master-data-services.md). 13. Click **Save**. ## See Also [Domain-Based Attributes (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/domain-based-attributes-master-data-services.md) [Create a Derived Hierarchy (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/create-a-derived-hierarchy-master-data-services.md) [Change an Attribute Name and Data Type (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/change-an-attribute-name-and-data-type-master-data-services.md) [Delete an Attribute (Master Data Services)](../master-data-services/delete-an-attribute-master-data-services.md)