CentraSite 10.7 | CentraSite User’s Guide | Type Management | Managing Types through CentraSite Business UI | Adding Attribute to an Asset Type
 
Adding Attribute to an Asset Type
Pre-requisites:
To add a user-defined attribute to the asset type definition, you must have the Manage Asset Types permission.
Note:
By default, users with the CentraSite Administrator role and Asset Type Administrator role have this permission.
*To add an attribute to a new asset type
1. In the CentraSite Business UI activity bar, click Asset Types.
A list of defined asset types is displayed in the Asset Types page.
2. Click the asset type to that you want to add an attribute.
The Asset Type details page is displayed. Also, the Actions bar displays a set of actions that are available for working with the displayed type.
3. On the actions bar of the Asset Type details page, click Add Attribute.
4. In the Add Attribute dialog box, provide the required information for each of the displayed data fields.
Field
Description
Name
Type a display name for the new attribute.
This is the attribute name that CentraSite displays in instances of this type in CentraSite Business UI. Ensure the display name is meaningful.
The display name can contain any combination of characters, including spaces.
Note:
If you are defining a relationship attribute, by default the attribute's name is derived from the name of the association type that you assign to the attribute. You can, however, assign a custom name to the relationship attribute by specifying the Name attribute.
Description
Optional. Type a short description for the new attribute.
Data Type
Select the data type for this attribute.
Select the data type carefully. You cannot change the data type after a type is added to the CentraSite registry.
Additional type-specific fields or check boxes are displayed based on the selected data type.
Required
Select the Required check box to restrict users from saving an instance of this type without first assigning a value to this attribute.
In CentraSite Business UI, a required attribute field with an empty value is indicated with a warning icon.
Note:
An attribute can be a required attribute and have a default value. If you do not supply a value for an attribute that is required and has a default value, the default value is automatically assigned to this attribute.
Consider the following guidelines, when modifying an existing type:
*When there are no instances of the type in the registry, you can add a required attribute to an existing type.
*When there are instances of the type in the registry, you can add a required attribute of type slot or classification. However, you cannot add a required attribute of type relationship or file.
*When you add a new required attribute, no automatic update of existing instances takes place. This prevents the potential degradation of performance that could arise from the automatic update of a large number of instances.
*You can select the Required check box for an existing attribute, even if there are empty instances of that attribute. However, in this case a default value must be provided for the attribute.
*You can clear the Required check box for an attribute at any time (even if there are instances of the attribute existing in the registry).
Multi Value
Select the Multi Value check box to allow an attribute to hold multiple values (that is, an array of values).
Note:
The Multi Value check box is not available for Boolean data type.
Consider the following guidelines, when modifying an existing type:
*You can switch on an attribute to Multi Value at any time (even if there are instances of the attribute existing in the registry).
*You can switch off an attribute from Multi Value only if instances of the type exist in the registry, and each instance has at most one value assigned to this attribute (that is, no instances exist wherein this attribute has multiple values).
Default Value
Optional. Type a value you want to assign to the attribute by default.
Note:
The Default Value option is not available for all attribute types.
Consider the following guidelines, when modifying an existing type:
*You can change a default value, assign a default value, or remove a default value from an attribute at any time. Changing the attribute's default value does not immediately affect any existing instances of the attribute.
*If you add a default value to an attribute that did not previously have one, and the registry contains empty instances of that attribute, the default value is assigned to those assets the next time that they are saved to the registry.
*If you add a new attribute to an existing type and you assign a default value to that attribute, the default value is assigned to the existing instances of that type the next time those instances are saved to the registry.
If an attribute has the Required check box, then the following conditions apply:
*When creating a new type definition with one or more required attributes, you do not need to provide a default value for the required attributes.
*If instances of a type exist, and you update the type definition in any manner, regardless of whether or not you modify the required attributes, you must provide a default value for each of the required attribute in the type definition. Required attributes that have no value is set to the default value the next time an instance of the particular type is updated in the registry.
*If instances with missing required attributes are viewed in CentraSite Business UI, these attributes are simulated and displayed with the default value. But the default value does not be added to the instance until the next update in the registry.
5. Click OK.
The user-defined attribute is added to the type.