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A connection is a link between two related entities in a data model.
When a connection exists between two entities in a data model, reviewers can connect entity items that belong to the two entities. For example, a connection between the lawsuit entity and the subject entity allows reviewers to connect the lawsuit entity item Smith v. Jones to the subject entity item Stolen property.
You can connect an entity to multiple entities, depending on the relationships that you want to define in the data model.
If you want a data model to describe different kinds of relationships between the same two entities, you can create multiple connections between the two entities. For example, say that a data model has a lawyer entity and a lawsuit entity. A lawyer can represent the plaintiff for some lawsuits and the defendant for other lawsuits. To describe these relationships between lawyers and lawsuits, you can create two connections between the lawyer entity and the lawsuit entity. You can label one connection Lawyer - Plaintiff, and label the other connection Lawyer - Defendant.
Depending on the relationship between entities, you can create the following types of connections:
●One-to-many: Each item of the first entity can connect to multiple items of the second entity, and each item of the second entity can connect to one item of the first entity.
For example, say that the collection entity has a one-to-many connection to the evidence entity. Each collection can contain multiple pieces of evidence, but each piece of evidence can belong to only one collection.
●Many-to-one: Each item of the first entity can connect to one item of the second entity, and each item of the second entity can connect to multiple items of the first entity.
For example, say that the evidence entity has a many-to-one connection to the collection entity. Each piece of evidence can belong to only one collection, but each collection can contain multiple pieces of evidence.
Note: A many-to-one connection in one direction represents the same relationship as a one-to-many connection in the opposite direction.
●Many-to-many: Each item of the first entity can connect to multiple items of the second entity, and each item of the second entity can connect to multiple items of the first entity.
For example, say that the custodian entity has a many-to-many connection to the collection entity. Each custodian can provide documents to multiple collections, and each collection can include documents from multiple custodians.
Use the following procedure to create a connection between entities.
1.To access the entities in a data model, do the following:
a.On the Case Home page, under Case Setup, click Data Models.
b.Click the name of a data model.
Note: When an entity exists in multiple data models, the entity's connections are the same in every data model that the entity belongs to.
2.Click the name of the entity that you want to create a connection from.
3.In the navigation pane, click Connections.
4.Click Add.
The entity that you are creating a connection from appears in the Source entity area.
5.In the Connection type list, select the type of connection between the entities, such as One-to-many, Many-to-one, or Many-to-many. For more information, see About entity connection types.
6.In the Target entity list, select the entity that you want to connect to.
7.Optionally, type a unique Connection label and Reverse connection label for the connection. A label allows you to identify different kinds of connections between the same two entities, such as Lawyer - Plaintiff and Lawyer - Defendant. If you create connection fields, the labels are what users see when they code the connection fields in the Conditional Coding pane.
8.Optionally, you can create connection fields that allow users to manage the connections between entity items without having to use the Related pane. Do any of the following:
oTo use one of the target entity's fields as a connection field on the source entity's coding template, select the Use connection as a field check box. In the Connection field value list, select a field that belongs to the target entity. Users see the values for this field in a list in the Conditional Coding pane.
oTo use one of the source entity's fields as a connection field on the target entity's coding template, select the Use reverse connection as a field check box. In the Reverse connection field value list, select a field that belongs to the source entity. Users see the values for this field in a list in the Conditional Coding pane.
For more information about connection fields, see About entity connection fields.
9.Click Save.
10.If you created connection fields, add the connection fields to the appropriate entity coding templates. For information about how to add fields to an entity coding template, see Create or modify an entity coding template.
11.Repeat the previous steps to create additional connections between the entities in the data model.
A connection field is a field from one entity that can be used in the entity coding template for another connected entity to create connections between individual entity items. Connection fields allow users to manage the connections between entity items without having to use the Related pane.
The following example illustrates how you work with connection fields. Say that you want a review lead to be able to create new task entity items, and then assign each task to a user. To accomplish this, you do the following things:
●To create a connection field, you create a connection between two entities and configure the connection (or the reverse connection) as a connection field. To determine which values users see when they code the connection field, you select a field that belongs to the connected entity. You can also specify a label for the connection field.
In this example, you create a connection from the task entity to the user entity. You configure the connection from the task entity to the user entity as a connection field, and then select the user name field as the connection field value. You also specify the connection label as Assigned to.
●To allow users to code the connection field, you add the connection field for one entity to the coding template for the connected entity.
In this example, you add the Assigned to connection field for the user entity to the coding template for the task entity.
●When users code an entity item that belongs to one entity, the connection field that belongs to the connected entity appears as a pick list in the Conditional Coding pane. Users can select an existing value from one of the connected entity's fields.
In this example, when a review lead codes values in the Conditional Coding pane for the task entity item TASK-0001, the review lead sees a list labelled Assigned to. In this list, the review lead can select a user name from all of the user entity items in the case.
●When users code a value for the connection field, Ringtail creates a connection between the two related entity items.
In this example, when the review lead selects the user name Jane Doe from the Assigned to list, Ringtail creates a connection between the task TASK-0001 and the user Jane Doe.
After you create the connections between the entities in a data model, allow groups to access the data models feature. For more information, see Enable the data models feature.
