Signals Notebook: Materials table columns do not auto-populate for custom fields within experiments

Description

Users observed that some Materials table columns populated automatically while others remained blank. 

Cause

Only standard system properties auto-populate by default within material tables, custom fields are not populated automatically.

Solution

As an alternative, using an ADT with an internal data source with fields mapped to material properties is recommended to achieve the desired autofill behavior and pull material data by ID as a workaround.

Steps

A. Create an internal data source:
    1. As an administrator navigate to System Configuration > Data Sources.
    2. Select Create Data Source > Internal Data Source.
    3. Define columns that mirror the desired material attributes (e.g., ID, Vendor, Vendor ID, Manufacturer).
    4. Set appropriate data types (typically text for IDs/strings; avoid unsupported list mappings if possible). Note: Fields defined in materials as lists can be defined as Text.
    5. Map each data source column to the corresponding material field/property where available.

B. Build a standard table template:
    1. Create a new table template and connect it to the internal data source created above.
    2. Select all columns that need to auto-populate in experiments.

C. Add the table to experiments:
    1. Insert the table template into the experiment.
    2. Enter or select the Material ID; linked columns will autofill from the internal data source.

D. Replace the Materials table where needed:
    1. If autofill is required for custom fields, use the standard table (linked to the internal data source) instead of the Materials table.
 

Notes/Validation:

-System properties (e.g., Manufacturer) typically populate automatically; custom fields (especially list-based) may not.
- Test the setup in a non-production environment to validate mappings before broad adoption.