The General step is the first of the five steps in the Dimension or Fact table editor, ahead of Columns, Dependencies, RLS and Indexes. Use it to name the table, describe it, group it with logical models, choose permission groups and source systems, and set its history (Dimension) or partition frequency (Fact). The full create flow is on Create a dimension or fact table.
The Name and Description cards sit at the top of the left column.
DataMind OS measures the name after URL encoding, so a space counts as three characters (%20), and symbols or letters outside basic Latin also take more than one character. A name over the limit is refused with "The max name length is 211, current length is N", where N is the measured length.
The Configuration card fills the right column:
| Field | What it does | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Logical Models | The business groups the table belongs to. | Required; up to 20 |
| Permission Groups | The roles that can read the table. | Up to 20; the admin group is hidden and always applies |
| Source Systems | The upstream sources the table is tied to. | Required; up to 20 |
A Dimension's General step shows History Settings.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Store History | Turns on historical versions of the table. On, it reads Historical versions stored; off, it reads History not stored. | Off |
| Enable Retention | Turns on a retention policy. On, it reads Retention policy active; off, it reads Retention disabled. Greyed out while Store History is off. | Off |
| Frequency | The unit of the retention period: Day, Month, Year or Decade. Shown when both toggles are on. | Day |
| Store For | The length of the retention period, from 0 to 9999, in the units of Frequency. Shown when both toggles are on. | 40 |
Turning Store History off also turns Enable Retention off.
On a deployed Dimension, turning off Store History asks you to confirm in the Disable Store History? dialog, because confirming drops and recreates the table. The dialog warns that "All existing historical data will be permanently lost." On a table that is not deployed yet, the toggle turns off without the dialog.
A Fact's General step shows Partition Settings, with the Partition Frequency field. The options are Year, Month, Day, Hour, Half Hour (30 min) and 15 Minutes.
Only Day can be selected. The other options are greyed out, and each shows a note such as "Month isn't available yet." Every new Fact is partitioned by day.
A Fact has no history settings; history and retention belong to Dimensions.
No. The Name locks once the table is saved. Check it before the first save; the other fields on the step stay editable.
The name is measured after URL encoding, so a space counts as three characters (%20), and symbols or letters outside basic Latin take more than one. The message names both numbers: "The max name length is 211, current length is N". Shorten the name and save again.
Enable Retention needs Store History to be on. Turn on Store History first. Turning Store History off again turns retention off with it.
On a deployed Dimension, turning Store History off opens the Disable Store History? dialog first: confirming drops and recreates the table, and all existing historical data is lost. On a table that is not deployed yet, the toggle turns off without the dialog.
Day is the only frequency that can be saved. The other options are disabled, and each shows a note such as "Month isn't available yet."
No. The General step of a Fact shows Partition Settings instead of History Settings; a Fact is partitioned by time. History and retention are Dimension settings.
The admin group is hidden from the picker because it always applies to the table. It keeps full access, and DataMind OS adds it back on save even if you never select it. Warehouse permissions and row-level security explains what the groups do.
No. Only a Name, at least one Logical Models choice and at least one Source Systems choice are required to save. The description is free notes.
Source systems are created once and reused across the Warehouse. Create the one you need first, as described in Semantic sources, source systems and logical models, then reopen the table's General step and pick it under Source Systems.
The table is created and appears in the tree straight away. The popup title becomes the table's name, the Name field locks, and later saves update the same table.
No. Click Apply to save the changes on the step; Revert discards them. If you leave the step with unsaved changes, the Unsaved Changes dialog appears first; see Create a dimension or fact table for the choices.