Forming Relationships Across Models and Data Sources

The entities in one model can have relationships to the entities in another model. You can form such relationships even if the models map to different databases and different database servers.

When you add a model to a project, it becomes part of a model group. Every Enterprise Objects application includes a default model group, even if the project contains only one model. Each model you add to a project automatically becomes part of the project’s model group. The only regulation between multiple models in a model group is that entity names must be unique.

To form a relationship from one model to another, use the Relationship Inspector as follows:

1. Add a relationship to the entity you want to use as the source of the relationship.
2. In the Relationship Inspector, use the Model pop-up menu to choose the model that contains the entity you want to use as the relationship’s destination. This menu displays all the models in the application’s model group. Figure 5-7 shows two models in an application’s model group, RealEstate and DEO.

   Figure 5-7 Multiple models to choose from

   
3. Specify the relationship as you normally would.