Not all BI and data modeling tools use all column properties that PowerCenter uses, such as precision and scale. Also, not all tools support all datatypes that PowerCenter supports. For example, Business Objects Designer does not support binary datatypes and it does not use precision, scale, and not null information. When you export a binary column to Business Objects Designer, Business Objects Designer changes the datatype to a string and does not preserve the values for the precision, scale, or not null properties.

When you import metadata into PowerCenter from a tool that does not use all column properties, the Metadata Import Wizard uses default values for the column properties. However, you can retain the column properties if a source or target of the same name exists in the folder. To retain the column properties, enable the Retain Physical Properties attribute in the Metadata Import Wizard. You might want to do this if you export metadata to a tool that does not use all column properties, modify the metadata in the other tool, and then import the modified metadata back into PowerCenter.