Using Shortcut Keys in PowerCenter Designer

Challenge

Using shortcuts and work-arounds to work as efficiently as possible in PowerCenter Mapping

Designer and Workflow Manager.
Description
After you are familiar with the normal operation of PowerCenter Mapping Designer and Workflow
Manager, you can use a variety of shortcuts to speed up their operation.
PowerCenter provides two types of shortcuts: keyboard shortcuts to edit repository
objects and maneuver through the Mapping Designer and Workflow Manager as
efficiently as possible; and shortcuts that simplify the maintenance of repository
objects.
General Suggestions
Maneuvering the Navigator window
Follow these steps to open a folder with workspace open as well:
Click the Open folder icon. (Note that double clicking on the folder name only
opens the folder if the folder has not yet been opened or connected to.)
Alternatively, right click the folder name, then scroll down and click Open.
Working with the toolbar
Using an icon on the toolbar is nearly always faster than selecting a command from
a drop-down menu.
To add more toolbars, select Tools | Customize.
Select the Toolbar tab to add or remove toolbars.
Follow these steps to use drop-down menus without the mouse:
Press and hold the <Alt> key. You will see an underline under one letter of each of
the menu titles.
Press the letter key of the letter underlined in the drop down menu you want. For
instance, press 'r' for the 'Repository' menu. The menu will appear.
Press the letter key of the letter underlined in the option you want. For instance,
press 'w' for 'Print Preview'.
Alternatively, after you have pressed the <Alt> key, use the right/left and up/down
arrows to scroll across and down the menus. Press Enter when the desired
command is highlighted.
To use the 'Create Customized Toolbars' feature to tailor a toolbar for the functions
you use frequently, press <Alt> <T> then <C>.
To delete customized icons, select Tools | Customize and select the Tools tab. You
can add an icon to an existing toolbar or create a new toolbar, depending on where
you "drag and drop" the icon. (Note: adding the 'Arrange' icon can speed up the
process of arranging mapping transformations.)
To rearrange the toolbars, click and drag the double bar that begins each toolbar.
You can insert more than one toolbar at the top of the designer tool to avoid having
the buttons go off the edge of the screen. Alternatively, you can move toolbars to
the bottom, side, or between the workspace and the message windows (which is a
handy place to put the transformations toolbar).
To use a Docking\UnDocking window (e.g., Repository Navigator), double click
on the window's title bar. If you have a problem making it dock again, right click
somewhere in the white space of the runaway window (not the title bar) and make
sure that the "Allow Docking" option is checked. When it is checked, drag the
window to its proper place and, when an outline of where the window used to be
appears, release the window.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Use the following keyboard shortcuts to perform various operations in Mapping
Designer and Workflow Manager.
To:
Press:

Cancel editing in an object

Esc

Check and uncheck a check box

Space Bar

Copy text from an object onto a clipboard

Ctrl+C

Cut text from an object onto the clipboard

Ctrl+X.

Edit the text of an object

F2. Then move the cursor to the desired location

Find all combination and list boxes

Type the first letter of the list

Find tables or fields in the workspace

Ctrl+F

Move around objects in a dialog box

Ctrl+directional arrows

Paste copied or cut text from the clipboard into an object

Ctrl+V

Select the text of an object

F2
To start help
F1

Mapping Designer
Navigating the Workspace
When using the "drag & drop" approach to create Foreign Key/Primary Key
relationships between tables, be sure to start in the Foreign Key table and drag the
key/field to the Primary Key table. Set the Key Type value to "NOT A KEY" prior
to dragging.
Follow these steps to quickly select multiple transformations:
Hold the mouse down and drag to view a box.
Be sure the box touches every object you want to select. The selected items will
have a distinctive outline around them.
If you miss one or have an extra, you can hold down the <Shift> or <Ctrl> key and
click the offending transformations one at a time. They will alternate between
being selected and deselected each time you click on them.
Follow these steps to copy and link fields between transformations:
You can select multiple ports when you are trying to link to the next
transformation.
When you are linking multiple ports, they are linked in the same order as they are
in the source transformation. You need to highlight the fields you want in the
source transformation and hold the mouse button over the port name in the target
transformation that corresponds to the source transformation port.
Use the Autolink function whenever possible. It is located under the Layout menu
or accessible by right-clicking somewhere in the background of the Mapping
Designer.
Autolink can link by name or position. PowerCenter version 6 or above gives you
the option of entering prefixes or suffixes (when you click the 'More' button). This
is especially helpful when you are trying to autolink to a Router transformation, for
instance. Each group created in a Router will have a distinct suffix number added
to the port/field name. To autolink, you need to choose the proper Router and
Router group in the 'From Transformation' space. You also need to click the 'More'
button and enter the appropriate suffix value. You must do both to create a link.
Autolink does not work if any of the fields in the 'To' transformation are already
linked to another group or another stream. No error appears; the links are just not
created.
Sometimes, a shared object is very close to, but not exactly what you need. In this
case, you may want to make a copy with some minor alterations to suit your
purposes. If you try to simply click and drag the object, it will ask you if you want
to make a shortcut or it will be reusable every time. Follow these steps to make a
non-reusable copy of a reusable object:
Open the target folder.
Select the object that you want to make a copy of, either in the source or target
folder.
Drag the object over the workspace.
Press and hold the <Ctrl> key (the crosshairs symbol '+' will appear in a white
box)
Release the mouse button, then release the <Ctrl> key.
A copy confirmation window and a copy wizard window will appear. Note that the
look and feel of the copy wizard differs between versions 6 and 7.
The newly created transformation no longer says that it is reusable and you are free
to make changes without affecting the original reusable object.
Editing Tables/Transformation
Follow these steps to move one port in a transformation:
Double click the transformation and make sure you are in the "Ports" tab. (You go
directly to the Ports tab if you double click a port instead of the colored title bar.)
Highlight the port and use the up/down arrow keys with the mouse (see red circle
in the figure below).
Or, highlight the port and then press <Alt><w> for down or <Alt> <u> for up.
(Note: You can hold down the <Alt> and hit the <w> or <u> as often as you need
although this may not be practical if you are moving far).
Alternatively, you can accomplish the same thing by following these steps:
Highlight the port you want to move by clicking the number beside the port (note
the blue arrow in the figure below).
Hold down the <Alt> key and grab the port by its number.
Drag the port to the desired location (the list of ports scrolls when you reach the
end). A red line indicates the new location (note the red arrow in the figure
below).
When the red line is pointing to the desired location, release the mouse button, then
release the <Alt> key.
Note that you cannot move more than one port at a time with this method. See
below for instructions on moving more than one port at a time.

If you are using PowerCenter version 6 or 7 and the ports you are moving are
adjacent, you can follow these steps to move more than one port at a time:
Highlight the ports you want to move by clicking the number beside the port while
holding down the <Ctrl> key.
Use the up/down arrows (see the red circle above) to move the ports to the desired
location. To add a new field or port, first highlight an existing field or port, then
press <Alt><f> to insert the new field/port below it.
To validate the Default value, first highlight the port you want to validate, and then
press <Alt><v>.
When adding a new port, just begin typing. There is no need to first press DEL to
remove the "NEWFIELD" text, or to click OK when you have finished.
This is also true when you are editing a field, as long as you have highlighted the
port so that the entire Port Name cell has a light box around it. The white box is
created when you click on the white space of the port name cell. If you click on the
words in the Port Name cell, a cursor will appear where you click. At this point,
delete the parts of the word you don’t want.
When moving about in the fields of the Ports tab of the Expression Editor, use the
SPACE bar to check or uncheck the port type. Be sure to highlight the port box to
check or uncheck the port type.
Follow either of these steps to quickly open the Expression Editor of an OUT/VAR
port:
Highlight the expression so that there is a box around the cell and press <F2>
followed by <F3>.
Or, highlight the expression so that there is a cursor somewhere in the expression,
then press <F2>.
To cancel an edit in the grid, press <Esc> so the changes are not saved.
For all combo/dropdown list boxes, type the first letter on the list to select the item
you want. For instance, you can highlight a port's Data type box without displaying
the drop-down. To change it to 'binary', type <b>. Then use the arrow keys to go
down to the next port. This is very handy if you want to change all fields to string
for example because using the up and down arrows and hitting a letter is much
faster than opening the drop-down menu and making a choice each time.
To copy a selected item in the grid, press <Ctrl><c>.
To past a selected item from the Clipboard to the grid, press <Ctrl><v>.
To delete a selected field or port from the grid, press <Alt><c>.
To copy a selected row from the grid, press <Alt><o>.
To paste a selected row from the grid, press <Alt><p>.
You can use either of the following methods to delete more than one port at a time.
You can repeatedly hit the cut button (red circle below); or
· You can highlight several records and then click the cut button. Use <Shift>
to highlight many items in a row or <Ctrl> to highlight multiple non-contiguous
items. Be sure to click on the number beside the port, not the port name while you
are holding <Shift> or <Ctrl>.

Editing Expressions
Follow either of these steps to expedite validation of a newly created expression:
Click on the <Validate> button or press <Alt> and <v>. Note that this validates
and leaves the Expression Editor up.
Or, press <OK> to initiate parsing/validating the expression. The system will close
the Expression Editor if the validation is successful. If you click OK once again in
the "Expression parsed successfully" pop-up, the Expression Editor remains open.
There is little need to type in the Expression Editor. The tabs list all functions,
ports, and variables that are currently available. If you want an item to appear in
the Formula box, just double click on it in the appropriate list on the left. This
helps to avoid typographical errors and mistakes such as including an output-only
port name in an expression.
In version 6.0 an above, if you change a port name, PowerCenter automatically
updates any expression that uses that port with the new name.
Be careful about changing data types. Any expression using the port with the new
data type may remain valid, but not perform as expected. If the change invalidates
the expression, it will be detected when the object is saved or if the Expression
Editor is active for that expression.
The following table summarizes additional shortcut keys that are applicable only
when working with Mapping Designer:
To:
Press

Add a new field or port

Alt + F

Copy a row
Alt + O

Cut a row
Alt + C

Move current row down

Alt + W

Move current row up

Alt + U

Paste a row
Alt + P

Validate the default value in a transformation

Alt + V

Open the Expression Editor from the expression field

F2, then press F3

To start the debugger

F9

Repository Object Shortcuts

A repository object defined in a shared folder can be reused across folders by
creating a shortcut (i.e., a dynamic link to the referenced object).
Whenever is possible, reuse source definitions, target definitions, reusable
transformations, mapplets, and mappings. Reusing objects allows sharing complex
mappings, mapplets or reusable transformations across folders, saves space in the
repository, and reduces maintenance.
Follow these steps to create a repository object shortcut:
Expand the “Shared Folder”.
Click and drag the object definition into the mapping that is open in the workspace.
As the cursor enters the workspace, the object icon will appear along with a small
curve; as an example, the icon should look like this:

A dialog box will appear. Confirm that you want to create a shortcut.
If you want to copy an object from a shared folder instead of creating a shortcut,
hold down the <Ctrl> key before dropping the object into the workspace.
Workflow Manager
Navigating the Workspace
When editing a repository object or maneuvering around the Workflow Manager,
use the following shortcuts to speed up the operation you are performing:
To:
Press:

Create links
Press Ctrl+F2 to select first task you want to link.
Press Tab to select the rest of the tasks you want to link
Press Ctrl+F2 again to link all the tasks you selected

Edit tasks name in the workspace

F2

Expand a selected node and all its children

SHIFT + * (use asterisk on numeric keypad)

Move across to select tasks in the workspace

Tab

Select multiple tasks

Ctrl + Mouse click

Repository Object Shortcuts

Mappings that reside in a “shared folder” can be reused within workflows by
creating shortcut mappings.
A set of workflow logic can be reused within workflows by creating a reusable
worklet.
Challenge:
Using shortcuts and work-arounds to work as efficiently as possible in PowerCenter Mapping
Designer and Workflow Manager.

Description:
After you are familiar with the normal operation of PowerCenter Mapping Designer and Workflow
Manager, you can use a variety of shortcuts to speed up their operation.

PowerCenter provides two types of shortcuts:

Keyboard shortcuts to edit repository objects and maneuver through the Mapping Designer and
Workflow Manager as efficiently as possible, and shortcuts that simplify the maintenance of
repository objects.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
Use the following keyboard shortcuts to perform various operations in Mapping Designer and
Workflow Manager.

To: Press:

Cancel editing in an object Esc

Check and uncheck a check box Space Bar

Copy text from an object onto a clipboard Ctrl+C

Cut text from an object onto the clipboard Ctrl+X

Edit the text of an object F2. Then move the cursor to the desired
location

Find all combination and list boxes Type the first letter of the list

Find tables or fields in the workspace Ctrl+F

Move around objects in a dialog box Ctrl+directional arrows

(When no objects are selected, this will pan within the

workspace)

Paste copied or cut text from the clipboard into an Ctrl+V

object

Select the text of an object F2

 To start help F1

To: Press

Add a new field or port Alt + F

Copy a row Alt + O

Cut a row Alt + C

Move current row down Alt + W

Move current row up Alt + U

Paste a row Alt + P

Validate the default value in a transformation Alt + V

Open the Expression Editor from the expression field F2, then press F3

To start the debugger F9

To: Press

Create links Press Ctrl+F2 to select first task you want to link.

Press Tab to select the rest of the tasks you want to link

Press Ctrl+F2 again to link all the tasks you selected

Edit tasks name in the F2

workspace

Expand a selected node and SHIFT + * (use asterisk on numeric keypad)

all its children

Move across to select tasks in Tab

the workspace

Select multiple tasks Ctrl + Mouseclick

The following table summarizes additional shortcut keys that are applicable only when working
with Mapping Designer.
When editing a repository object or maneuvering around the Workflow Manager, use the following
shortcuts to speed up the operation you are performing.