A subsidiary table contains additional information about a master table or a table. For example, the Item Vendor table is a subsidiary table that contains additional information (vendor numbers) for the Item table in the inventory application area.
Subsidiary table names
The name of a subsidiary table generally consists of the names of the table or tables for which it is a subsidiary or a close approximation. For example, the table that is subsidiary to both the Vendor table and the Item table is named Item Vendor. Usually, a subsidiary table name is a singular name that describes one record that is contained within the table.
Primary key and other standard fields
The primary key for the subsidiary table contains a field for each table for which it is a subsidiary, each of which is related to that table. For example, the primary key field for the Item Vendor table consists of the Item No. field (related to the Item master table) and the Vendor No. field (related to the Vendor master table).
Occasionally, the primary key can also contain an integer field as the last field (named Line No.) to differentiate multiple records with the same subsidiary relationship. For example, the Employee Qualification table has an integer field in the primary key to differentiate multiple qualification records for the same employee.
Subsidiary tables are generally not related to other tables except for the master tables. Other tables are generally not related to a subsidiary table because each subsidiary table has multiple fields in the primary key. Subsidiary tables usually do not have description fields.
Associated pages
A subsidiary table uses one page for editing and viewing purposes. This page is usually called from the master page to which it is subsidiary.
The name of the page is usually the plural of the name of the table, such as Employee Qualifications, or the name is related to the information in the subsidiary table, such as Item Vendor Catalog. The page that you use for a subsidiary table is either a worksheet page or a list page.
The following guidelines can help you select the correct page type:
If the primary key for the subsidiary table contains an integer, the page is a worksheet page and will not show primary key fields. The primary key fields (except for the Integer field) are included as filters so that they are set automatically when users enter information.
If the primary key for the subsidiary table does not contain an integer, the page is a list page and will not contain the primary key field of the master table from which it is called. This primary key field is filtered so that it is set automatically. For example, if you call the Vendor Item Catalog page from the Item Card page, then the Item No. field is not displayed. If you call the Vendor Item Catalog page from the Vendor Card page, then the Vendor No. field is not displayed.
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