Use this dialog to view the properties of a unit of measure, or to update the properties of a user-defined unit of measure.
Unit of measure ty
The type of the unit of measure. If you are viewing the properties of an existing unit of measure, you can see the type here for information purposes, but you cannot change it. If you are defining a new custom unit of measure, do one of the following:
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Select a unit of measure type from the Name list.
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Select New to define a new unit of measure type if the required type is not defined.
Edit
Select Edit to modify the details of an existing custom unit of measure type.
If you are editing an existing unit of measure type, you can only modify the description;
you cannot modify the code.
Name
Unique name of the unit of measure. The maximum is 30 characters.
The following restrictions apply when using an MS SQL database:
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If you are not using a case-sensitive database, you cannot add new units of measure that use the same letters in a different case. For example, you cannot add a new unit of measure with the name M because a unit of measure already exists with the name m.
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MS SQL databases interpret superscripts as regular text. This means that you cannot add a new unit of measure that uses numbers if a unit of measure exists using that power. For example, yopu cannot add a new unit of measure with the name m2 because the unit of measure m2 already exists.
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You cannot enter * as a name for a unit of measure.
Description
A description explaining the usage of the unit of measure. The maximum is 60 characters.
Code
The notation of the measurement. This is the code that is displayed in selection lists (Note: sometimes Name is displayed in selection lists). For example, the Code for centimeters is cm. The maximum length is ten characters.
You can also modify the Code in the Unit of Measure Codes dialog for shipped and custom units of measure.
Sub-type
Some unit of measure types require a sub-type to differentiate the different kinds of measurement. This is true for Flow and Viscosity.
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For Flow the Sub-type can be one of the following:
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Volumetric Flow
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Mass Flow
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For Viscosity the Sub-Type can be one of the following:
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Saybolt Universal Seconds
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Kinematic Viscosity
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Dynamic Viscosity
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Barrel/Gallon Identifier
Units of measure that are indicated in barrels or gallons, or where barrels or gallons are a factor in the measurement can only be measurements of liquid and not gas, vapor, or steam. If the Barrel/Gallon Identifier is selected, it indicates that the unit of measure is for a liquid only.
Conversion unit
The base unit used for calculating the unit of measure. Every unit of measure type has one Conversion unit. All other units of measure of that type are calculated as multiples of the Conversion unit. For example, the Conversion unit for time is seconds. An hour is calculated as 3600 seconds.
Unit of measure types that use sub-types have a different Conversion unit for each sub-type.
For user-defined unit of measure types, you can change the Conversion Unit. To set a unit of measure as a conversion unit, and make it available on the Conversion unit selection list, set the Conversion factor to 1. To remove a unit of measure from the Conversion unit selection list, change the Conversion factor for that unit of measure to a value other than 1.
Every unit of measure type must have at least one conversion unit. If there is only one conversion unit, you cannot modify it without first making another unit of measure into a conversion unit for that type.
Conversion factor
The factor by which the Conversion unit is multiplied to calculate the unit of measure. For example, the Conversion factor for an hour is 3600. Legal values are positive numeric values or numbers written in exponential notation, for example, one million can be entered as 1e6.
If the Conversion factor is 1, this unit of measure functions as a conversion unit. This means that it is available as a conversion unit for all units of measure of the same type.
Factor Test
Select to run a test of the conversion factor. A message is displayed showing the conversion of the selected unit of measure based on the Conversion unit and Conversion factor. For example, if you select Factor Test for the hour unit of measure, the following message is displayed:
1 hour = 3600 seconds