A type (also called an object type) is analogous to a class in object-oriented programming and describes a kind of object that the registry can store. Objects abstract the real-world entities and each object belongs to a particular type that defines its characteristics and behavior.

CentraSite includes many predefined types. Any custom type that you add to CentraSite is treated as an asset type (that is, instances of that type are treated as assets).

Types are system-wide objects, meaning that they apply to all organizations. Consequently, all organizations within a particular instance of CentraSite use (or have access to) the same global set of types.

A type is made up of attributes. Attributes hold data about an object. When a type defines an asset (that is, if it is an asset type), the attributes that make up the type are assigned to profiles. Profiles determine how the type's attributes are grouped and presented when an instance of that type is displayed in CentraSite Control, CentraSite Business UI or the CentraSite plug-in for Eclipse.

Asset types also include an additional set of properties called advanced settings. These properties determine how CentraSite manages instances of that type. Among other things, the advanced settings for an asset type determine whether assets of the type are visible in the catalog browser, whether they can be used with reports and/or policies, and whether they can be versioned.