Mapping Two-Dimensional Arrays

When you map a second-dimension array to a field in a data dictionary, the field will be defined as a second-dimension array with two indexes. Suppose you needed to enter a list of the last three employers for each borrower on a two-applicant form as shown in the table below:

Borrower Employers
Borrower 1 Employer 1, 1
Employer 1, 2
Employer 1, 3
Borrower 2 Employer 2, 1
Employer 2, 2
Employer 2, 3

Your global data dictionary contains a second-dimension employer field that is linked to a borrower array. You can create the employer array by mapping the employer fields to this array.

To map a two-dimensional array

1. Select all the data fields in the array (e.g., all employer fields) and right-click to display the context menu.

2. Select Map from the context menu to display the Data Dictionary dialog:

3. Expand the field list and find the category that contains the field description.

4. Select the field name and click . The Data ID, Description, and Data Dimension will be placed in the Field property pages of all the fields you selected.

5. Keep the group selected and enter the Number of Characters and Number of Lines (unless they were stored in the data dictionary).

6. Change the value of Data Index 1 to the appropriate value for each group of values in the array (e.g., 1 for the fields associated with Borrower 1, 2 for the fields associated with Borrower 2, etc.).

7. For each field in the array, change the Data Index 2 field to the correct index value for that field. The completed definition for the third employer field for Borrower 2 would look like this: