Managing generator presets
Last updated
Last updated
Required license: Enterprise
On Basic or Professional instances, you select and configure generators separately for each column.
Required global permission: Create and manage generator presets
Not available on Structural Cloud.
A generator preset is a saved configuration for a generator.
Tonic Structural provides a built-in preset for every generator. You can update the configuration of the built-in presets.
You can also create custom generator presets that have different configurations. For example, for the Address generator, you can have one generator preset to use for city columns, and another generator preset to use for full addresses. You can edit and delete the custom generator presets. The custom generator presets are available to assign to columns throughout the Structural instance.
Generator presets allow you to standardize the configuration for generators, and saves your users from having to replicate the same configuration selections across different columns, tables, and workspaces. For example, you might modify the generator preset for the Integer Key generator to enable consistency. Whenever a user assigns the Integer Key generator to a column, consistency is enabled.
For information about assigning and updating generator presets for a column, go to Assigning and configuring generators.
You can also view the video tutorial about generator presets.
The Generator Presets view contains the list of built-in generator presets for the entire Structural instance. The configured presets are not specific to a workspace or a user.
To display the Generator Presets view, in the Tonic heading, click Generator Presets.
For each generator preset, the list provides the following information:
The name of the generator preset. For the built-in presets, the generator preset name always matches the generator name.
Whether the generator preset is built-in or custom.
The number of occurrences. Includes the number of occurrences that use the current baseline configuration, and the number of occurrences that have overrides to the baseline configuration.
An occurrence has an override if, after a user assigns the generator preset to a column, one the following occurs:
A user changes the generator configuration options for that occurrence.
A user changes the baseline configuration for the generator preset.
When the preset configuration was most recently modified.
You cannot create or configure generator presets for generators that do not have any configuration options. For example, the Null generator does not have any configuration options.
For composite generators, you cannot create or configure generator presets from Generator Presets view. Generator Presets does not have access to data from which to create path expressions. You can create a new preset or update a preset baseline configuration from a column configuration panel in Privacy Hub, Database View, or Table View.
The list indicates when a generator does not allow you to configure a preset.
You can filter the list of generator presets by the preset name, whether it is built-in or custom, and by the underlying generator type.
To filter by the preset name, begin typing text from the name. As you type, Structural filters the list to only include the matching presets.
To filter the list based on whether the preset is built-in or custom:
Click Filter by Type.
In the dropdown list: To only include built-in presets, click Built-in. To only include custom presets, click Custom.
Tonic adds the selection to the selected filters.
Every generator preset is based on a Structural generator type. For example, there is a built-in generator preset for the Address generator, and you can also create custom generator presets based on the Address generator.
To filter the list based on the generator type:
Click Filter by Generator.
In the generator list, click a generator to include. You can use the search field to search for a specific generator. When you click the generator name, Structural adds the generator to the selected filters.
You can sort the generator preset list by the preset name and the by the modification date.
To sort the generator preset list by a column, click the column heading. To reverse the sort order, click the column heading again.
To create a new custom generator preset, you can either create a completely new preset, or copy an existing preset.
For composite generators such as JSON Mask, you cannot create a generator preset from Generator Presets view. Generator Presets view does not have access to data to use for path expressions. You can create presets for composite generators from a column configuration panel in Privacy Hub, Database View, or Table View.
You cannot create a custom preset at all for a generator that has no configuration options. For example, you cannot create a custom preset for the Null generator.
To create a completely new custom generator preset:
On the Generator Presets view, click Create Preset.
On the Create Preset panel, configure the generator preset.
Click Create.
When you copy an existing generator preset, the new generator preset by default inherits the configuration from the copied generator preset.
To copy an existing generator preset:
On the Generator Presets view, click the copy icon for the generator preset that you want to copy.
On the Copy Preset dialog, enter a name for the new generator preset, then click Copy. The new preset is added to the Generator Presets list, and the details panel is displayed to allow you to change the new preset configuration.
After you update the configuration, click Save and Apply.
On the confirmation panel, click Confirm.
To edit a preset, you must be either an editor or owner of at least one workspace in the Structural instance. If you are not an editor or owner of a workspace, then you can view the list of presets, but you cannot edit the presets.
When you change the configuration of a generator preset, the updated configuration becomes the new baseline configuration for the generator preset.
The baseline configuration is used whenever you select the generator preset. Existing occurrences of the generator preset keep their current configuration. You can reset those occurrences to use the current baseline configuration.
A change to the generator preset description is not considered a change to the baseline configuration.
For composite generators such as JSON Mask, you cannot update a generator preset from Generator Presets view. Generator Presets view does not have access to data to use for path expressions. You can update the baseline configuration from a column configuration panel in Privacy Hub, Database View, or Table View.
To update the baseline configuration of a generator preset:
On the Generator Presets view, click the edit icon for the preset.
On the Configuration tab of the Edit Preset panel, update the configuration. You cannot change the selected generator for the preset.
Click Save and Apply.
On the confirmation panel, click Confirm.
Each generator preset includes the following configuration:
Preset Name - The name of the generator preset. You can change the name of built-in presets. Built-in presets always use the generator name.
Preset Description - A longer description of the generator preset and how it is intended to be used.
Generator Type - Used to select the generator for a new generator preset. When you copy or edit a generator preset, you cannot change the selected generator type.
Generator configuration - The configuration options for the selected generator. For details on the specific configuration options for each generator, go to the Generator reference.
The following items are not included in the generator preset configuration. They are always configured for individual columns after you select the generator preset:
On the generator preset details panel, the Occurrences tab indicates where the generator preset is used. You can also see whether each occurrence overrides the current baseline configuration.
The Occurrences tab displays the list of workspaces that contain occurrences of the preset. Each workspace indicates the total number of occurrences that use the current baseline configuration and that have overrides to the current baseline configuration.
For workspaces that you have access to:
You can expand the workspace to display the list of columns that use the generator preset. For each column, the entry indicates whether the column uses the current baseline configuration.
You can click the Database View icon to navigate to Database View.
For workspaces that you do not have access to, you can only see the total number of occurrences. You cannot display the column list or navigate to Database View.
You can delete custom generator presets. You cannot delete built-in generator presets.
When you delete a custom generator preset, existing occurrences are assigned the built-in generator preset for that generator. If the current configuration does not match the baseline configuration for the built-in generator preset, then the occurrences also are marked as having overrides.
For example, a column is assigned a custom generator preset for the Name generator. The custom generator preset is deleted. The column is then assigned the built-in generator preset for the Name generator, and is marked as having overrides.
To delete a custom generator preset:
On the Generator Presets view, click the delete icon for the generator preset.
On the confirmation dialog, click Delete Preset.
