Introduction
A node type converter in Oracle Enterprise Data Management (formerly Enterprise Data Management Cloud Service, or EDMCS) does what its name suggests: it converts one node type into another. That conversion is what lets you compare, locate, align, and drag and drop nodes between two viewpoints that use different node types, and it's what makes viewpoint subscriptions and mappings work across applications.
You need a converter whenever the two viewpoints you want to connect are built on different node types. A common case, and the one shown here, is connecting an Oracle Financials Cloud General Ledger (FCGL) viewpoint to a Financial Consolidation and Close (FCCS) viewpoint, where the same accounts need to appear under the FCCS node type with slightly different names.
Inside a converter, every property is given an Operation that tells EDM how to populate it in the target node type:
- Copy: copy the property's stored value from the source node.
- Force Copy: copy the value regardless of how it originated (inherited, derived, specified, or stored).
- Transform: calculate the target value with an expression.
This tutorial uses Transform to add a D_ prefix to the node Name as records move from the FCGL node type to the FCCS node type.
Following along with screenshots? Rather than reproduce Oracle's copyrighted UI images, this walkthrough links to Oracle's official documentation, which is kept current with the Redwood interface. Oracle's Adding a Node Type Converter reference and its hands-on Node Type Converter tutorial show each screen described below.
First, the direction: convert to, then choose from
One detail trips people up: you build a converter starting from the node type you want to convert to (the target), then pick the node type you're converting from (the source). In Oracle's words, "you start with the node type that you want to convert to and create a converter by selecting which node type you want to convert the node type from." So in this example you inspect the FCCS (target) node type first, then add the FCGL (source) node type to it.
Step 1: Go to Node Types
Open the inspector for your target viewpoint, select the Data Chain tab, and choose Node Types. (You can also reach node types from the application that owns them.)
Step 2: Select the target node type
Select the node type you want to convert to: here, the FCCS node type.
Step 3: Open the Converters tab
Select the Converters tab and click Edit.
Step 4: Add the source node type
Click Add, then select the node type you are converting from: the FCGL source node type.
Worth noting: in the Add step you choose a node type, not a viewpoint. Oracle's documentation is explicit: "Select the node type that will be converted. This will be the 'from' node type."
Step 5: Set the Name operation to Transform
Find the Name property, set its Operation to Transform, and click the fx (Define Expression) icon in the Source column.
Step 6 & 7: Build the expression, Apply, and Save
In the expression editor, enter an expression that adds the D_ prefix to the source node's name:
return "D_".concat(sourceNode.properties.Core.Name)
The sourceNode object exposes the source node's properties, and Core.Name is its name in the source node type, so account 1000 becomes D_1000. (The namespace, Core here, depends on where the Name property is defined in your application.) Click Apply, then Save.
Validate before you save. Use Test Expression → Evaluate against a sample node to confirm the result is what you expect. It's much easier to catch a mistake here than to unwind it from generated subscription requests later. Oracle's Node Type Converter tutorial walks through this exact expression-and-test screen.
What the converter does now
With the converter in place, EDM applies the D_ name transformation whenever it works across these two node types, comparing and aligning the viewpoints in side-by-side layout, and generating requests when a subscription pushes changes from the FCGL viewpoint into the FCCS one.
One caveat to remember: "you cannot use transformed property values when comparing property values." Because a transformed value is calculated for the target rather than read from the source, EDM doesn't treat it as a directly comparable source value, so plan to compare on copied properties, not transformed ones.
That's one example of building a node type converter and expression in Oracle Enterprise Data Management. For a broader look at how EDM's core concepts fit together, see our EDM overview, and for a related walkthrough, see our blog on the EDMCS Alternate Hierarchy, which uses converters and subscriptions together.