When the Attribute is defined using the Attribute Value Window, selection of an object Attributes in the model will show the items in the excel spread sheet in the context panel as shown on the right so they can be selected. To change items you must change the spreadsheet and then they will show up in when the excel spread sheet is saved.

 

Also notice context field shows item in alphabetical order not as in the spreadsheet

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE:  If the Excel sheet has not been Pre-defined before defining the Selection Attribute the following will apply allowing the Analyst to setup the spreadsheet at that time

 

When you change the type of a text or checklist Attribute to “Selection”, the following prompt will appear:

 

 

If you answer “Yes” to this prompt, you will be given the opportunity to write all values currently assigned to that Attribute (or, for checklist Attributes, all possible values in the Attribute definition) to an external spreadsheet that will then be used as the definition file for that Attribute.

 

It is important to remember that, unlike checklist Attributes, selection Attributes are Analyst-managed. If you modify one of the possible selections in the definition file, existing assignments within the model are NOT automatically updated to reflect the change. The only indication that an assigned setting is not included in the external definition file is a warning generated by the Error Checker. It is up to the Analyst to monitor these warnings and make sure that all assignments are valid.

 

Likewise, if you copy a system (using the Hierarchical Save As operation), all selection Attributes in the new system will continue to use the definition files in the original location(s). However, if you wish, you can publish updated Attributes to a design template and then use the Hierarchical Save to update all lower-level selection Attributes to point to the new definition file.