How to Create a Profile Definition
You use the Profiles Schema Manager to create new profile definitions. You can create a profile definition that is automatically mapped to a data object, or one that is not mapped to a data object. You use profile definitions to define the data that you collect about customers who visit the Web site.
You can create custom attributes for a profile definition. For example, you can add a custom attribute called defaultParentURL that controls where profiles are stored in the underlying Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) store. For information about how to add custom attributes for a profile definition, see How to Add a Custom Attribute to a Profile Definition.
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If you create new profile definitions or modify the name of an existing profile definition, you must update the Profiles Web Service Authorization Manager policy file before you can access the new or renamed profile definitions. Define the scope of the new or renamed profile type in the Profiles Web Service Authorization Manager policy, and assign users to the roles that have the required permissions. Additionally, when you modify profile definitions, you must restart the Profiles Web Service and any site applications that use profiles. This is required because the Profile objects cache the profile definitions at application startup and do not detect the changes until after a restart. |
To create a profile definition that is mapped to a data object
Expand Commerce Server Manager, expand Global Resources, expand Profiles, expand Profile Catalog, expand Data Sources, expand the data source that contains the data object that you want to map the new profile definition to, and then expand Data Objects.
Right-click the data object the new profile definition will be mapped to, and then click New Profile Definition. A primary key data member must exist on the data object to be mapped, or the data object will not map correctly.
In the New Profile Definition dialog box, do the following:
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To do this
Name
Type a programmatic name for the new profile definition. The name can contain a maximum of 127 alphanumeric characters and the underscore (_) symbol. The name cannot contain spaces.
Display Name
Type a display name that contains a maximum of 127 Unicode characters.
Description
Type a description for the new profile definition. The description can contain a maximum of 127 Unicode characters.
Click Next.
In the Custom Attributes dialog box, click Finish.
If you want to add custom attributes to the profile definition, see How to Add a Custom Attribute to a Profile Definition.
The new profile definition appears in the list of available profile definitions in Commerce Server Manager. The new profile definition contains the properties mapped to the data members of the data object from which you built the profile definition.
To create a profile definition that is not mapped to a data object
Expand Commerce Server Manager, expand Global Resources, expand Profiles, expand Profile Catalog, right-click Profile Definitions, and then select New Profile Definition.
In the New Profile Definition dialog box, do the following:
Use this
To do this
Name
Type a programmatic name for the new profile definition. The name can contain a maximum of 127 alphanumeric characters and the underscore (_) symbol. The name cannot contain spaces.
Display Name
Type a display name that contains a maximum of 127 Unicode characters.
Description
Type a description for the new profile definition. The description can contain a maximum of 127 Unicode characters.
Click Next.
In the Custom Attributes dialog box, click Finish.
If you want to add custom attributes to the profile definition, see How to Add a Custom Attribute to a Profile Definition.
The new profile definition appears in the list of available profile definitions in Commerce Server Manager. The new profile definition does not contain properties and is therefore not mapped to a data source. You must add properties to the new profile definition. For information about how to add properties to a profile definition, see How to Add a Property to a Profile Definition.