Document type to relationship mapping fails when custom fields added

QMS Sparta Systems TrackWise
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1

We’re experiencing issues with document type relationships after adding custom fields to our document control module. When we create custom fields on a parent document type, the entity-relationship mapping doesn’t propagate correctly to child documents.

The custom fields save initially, but when we try to query related documents, the metadata isn’t available in the relationship queries. We’ve tried refreshing the schema through the admin console, but the relationships still don’t reflect the new field structure.

SELECT d.DOCUMENT_ID, d.CUSTOM_FIELD_1, r.RELATED_DOC_ID
FROM DOCUMENTS d
JOIN DOCUMENT_RELATIONSHIPS r ON d.DOCUMENT_ID = r.PARENT_ID
WHERE d.CUSTOM_FIELD_1 IS NOT NULL
-- Returns NULL for CUSTOM_FIELD_1 in related records

This is blocking our compliance reporting workflows. Has anyone dealt with custom field propagation issues in document relationships? Do we need to update the ETL process manually?

2

I’ve seen this before. The relationship mapping tables don’t automatically pick up schema changes from custom fields. You need to manually update the metadata cache after adding custom fields to document types. Try running the metadata refresh utility from the admin console under System Maintenance > Refresh Metadata Cache. This forces TrackWise to rebuild the relationship mapping tables with the new field definitions.

3

Thanks for the suggestions. I ran the metadata refresh but still seeing the same issue. When I check the relationship type configuration, I don’t see a Field Mapping tab. We’re on 9.0 - is this feature version-specific? The custom fields are simple text and date types, nothing complex.

4

The metadata refresh helps, but there’s more to it. Custom fields on parent document types need explicit mapping configuration in the relationship definition. Go to Document Control > Relationship Types and edit your relationship. Under the Field Mapping tab, you’ll need to add the custom fields manually to the propagation rules. Without this step, the fields exist on the parent but aren’t included in the relationship queries. Also check if your custom field data types are compatible with the relationship model - some complex types don’t propagate well.