Some third-party tools store user-defined properties. A user-defined property is metadata you define for an object within the tool, such as metadata extensions you define in PowerCenter. MIMB preserves user-defined properties when you exchange metadata with third-party tools that support user-defined properties.

For example, when you export metadata to IBM Rational Rose, MIMB converts user-defined metadata extensions to user-defined properties in Rational Rose. Rational Rose creates a tab labeled Informatica with a user-defined property for each user-defined metadata extension. Also, when you import metadata into PowerCenter from Rational Rose, MIMB converts each user-defined property on the Informatica tab into a user-defined metadata extension.

You might want to create user-defined metadata extensions in the source and target definitions to specify fact and dimension tables in a start schema.

For more information about which third-party tools support user-defined properties, consult the third-party tool documentation.