# Custom Categorical A version of the [Categorical](https://docs.tonic.ai/app/generation/generators/generator-reference/categorical) generator that selects from values that you provide instead of shuffling the original values. ## Characteristics


Consistency	Yes, can be made self-consistent or consistent with another column.
Linking	Yes, can be linked.
Differential privacy	Yes, if consistency is not enabled.
Data-free	Yes, if consistency is not enabled.
Allowed for primary keys	No
Allowed for unique columns	No
Uses format-preserving encryption (FPE)	No
Privacy ranking	1 if not consistent 4 if consistent
Generator ID (for the API)	`CustomCategoricalGenerator`

## How to configure ### Linking the column From the **Link To** dropdown list, select the columns to link this column to. You can only select other columns that use the Custom Categorical generator. ### **Providing the values to use** In the **Custom Categories** text area, provide the list of values that the generator can choose from. To provide the values, you can either: * Enter the values manually * Provide an AI prompt to populate the values (Structural Cloud only) #### **Entering the values manually** When you enter the values manually, put each value on a separate line. To add a NULL value to the list, use the keyword `{NULL}`. #### **Providing an AI prompt** {% hint style="info" %} Only available on the Structural Cloud instance that is hosted in the United States, and on self-hosted instances that [enable Structural AI features](https://docs.tonic.ai/app/admin/structural-ai-use/connecting-a-self-hosted-instance-to-an-llm). Not available on the European instance of Structural Cloud. {% endhint %} To use an AI prompt to create the values: 1. In the AI prompt field below the **Custom Categories** text area, type the prompt to use to create the values.\ \ The prompt can include the number of values to create. For example, `10 names of flowers` or `20 cities in California`.\ \ If the prompt does not include a number, then Structural determines a reasonable set of values to generate based on the prompt. If there is a very limited set of values, then Structural often generates the full set of values. Otherwise it attempts to generate a reasonable number of values, usually between 10 and 20. 2. Press **Enter** or click the add values icon. The values replace any existing values in the list. After you use the prompt to create a set of values, you can edit the list manually. For information about how Structural uses AI, go to [structural-ai-use](https://docs.tonic.ai/app/admin/structural-ai-use "mention"). ### **Configuring consistency** Toggle the **Consistency** setting to indicate whether to make the column consistent. By default, consistency is disabled. If you enable consistency, then by default the generator is self-consistent. To make the generator consistent with another column, from the **Consistent to** dropdown list, select the column. When a generator is self-consistent, then a given value in the source database is always mapped to the same value in the destination database. When a generator is consistent with another column, then a given source value in that column always results in the same value for the current column in the destination database. For example, a department column is consistent with a username column. For each instance of User1 in the source database, the value in the department column is the same. ### Enabling Structural data encryption If [Structural data encryption](https://docs.tonic.ai/app/generation/generators-assign-config/generators-data-encryption-config) is enabled, then to use it for this column, in the advanced options section, toggle **Use data encryption process** to the on position.