Most of the main MDM objects (Document, Variable, Array, Grid, Class, VariableInstance, Element, Elements, ElementInstance, and so on) have a DataSourceProperties collection to store custom properties that are specific to a particular DataSource object.

The DataSource object stores details about case data that is associated with the MDM Document. The details stored include the CDSC used to read or write the case data and the default location of the case data. There may be several DataSource objects in an MDM Document. For example, if you use UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer to collect case data in a relational MR database, and then use a Data Management Script to export the case data to SPSS, XML, and Quantum, the Document would typically have four DataSource objects, one for each case data type and location. For more information, see IDataSource in the MDM Object Model Reference.

DataSourceProperties, like the DataSource object, are unversioned, which means that they are outside of version control. You can change an object that is unversioned at any time, regardless of the lock status of the current version.

The DataSourceProperties is an object of type IProperties (see IProperties in the MDM Object Model Reference), just like that used for the custom properties and it makes use of the user contexts defined in the Document.Contexts collection in the same way. Moreover, the DataSourceProperties collection for an object automatically inherits from that object's Properties collection. (See MDM custom properties for an example of property inheritance.)

When you add a custom property to the DataSourceProperties collection, it is visible only when the same DataSource is set as the current DataSource. For information on viewing DataSourceProperties in MDM Explorer, see Viewing custom properties in MDM Explorer.

For information about iterating through the DataSourceProperties of an object, see Iterating through custom properties.