Ref: 17300012
Title: Incorrectly Created Secondary 3+Name Property Causes Problems
date: 7/13/90

Copyright 3Com Corporation, 1991.  All rights reserved.

The 3N ADD PROP command may be used to add a new secondary property or
field to a class of entry in the 3+Name service.  After the property is
added, the 3N DIR PROP command may be used to display all of the properties
that have been added to that class of entry.

A problem can occur when the 3N DIR PROP command displays a property
that is not actually entered in the Name service.  This will happen if
that property was created incompletely or incorrectly.  Then, the next
time a user is created in that class of entry, the new property will not
be included in that user's record.

How a property may be created incompletely:

After 3N ADD PROP creates a new secondary property, it then prompts for
"primary property to add to."  However, unlike other required items, no
default value is supplied for this item.  Therefore, if the administrator
presses Enter without first typing "user" (or "group" or "server"), the
command issues the message "***cancelled" and exits.  3N DIR PROP will
display information about the secondary property, but will give no indication
that the property has not been added to any primary properties.

How a property may be created incorrectly:

When a new secondary property is being created, the prompt for "format"
information is supplied with the default of "(string)."  Instead of pressing
Enter to accept the default or typing "string," the administrator may
inadvertently type something other than "string" (such as "s").  3N ADD PROP
creates an invalid property entry, then prompts for "primary property to add
to."  3N DIR PROP will display information about this property, but will give
no indication that the "format" field contains invalid data.

To solve the problem, delete the new secondary property, then carefully
recreate it.  Make sure you enter valid information and complete the command
without allowing it to exit with the "***cancelled" message.
