A custom property is an element of an AODocs document.
It's a field providing information for a specific document. Properties can be used to structure documents, to improve the search experience or to customize a workflow.
Properties are also called metadata.
Important: Custom properties are defined at the document class level by library administrators. They can be edited by contributors and are visible by all library readers.
 Edit custom properties and save your changes |
| Edit categories |
| What if you can't save your document? |
| Features for administrators only |
Edit custom properties and save your changes
As a contributor, you can edit the properties of your document and save them.
1. Open a document and press the Edit button.
Note: When you are editing the properties of a document, the document is locked and other users can't edit it. The document stays locked for 15 minutes by default.
2. To see the description of a property, hover over the tooltip icon to the right of the property's name. Library administrators can add a description for each custom property to guide users when filling in the properties. Learn more: Configure custom properties.
Note: You can also access the property descriptions in view mode.
3. Fill in the property values for your document.
Adapt the value according to the type of field the administrator has configured:
- String: for a string of alphanumerical and special characters limited to 400 characters.
- Text: for a text field (where you can add line breaks).
- Date / Time / Date & Time: for date and time fields.
- Integer: for integer values (0, 1, 2, -1,..).
- Decimal: for decimal values (0.1, -5.1, 1.655,..) with maximum 3 decimal digits.
- Boolean: for a boolean field.
- Person: for the name of a person or a Google Group (AODocs autocompletes email addresses available in your G Suite domain global address list).
Note: A Person field accepts Google Groups only if the administrator has set the field as a multi-valued field in the document class configuration. Learn more: Configure custom properties.
- Geopoint: for the location in latitude and longitude.
- URL: for a link to a URL with a display name.
- Categories: custom values defined by categories like Manufacturer, Country and Category in our example.
Learn more: Edit categories and What are categories?
Note: When editing a document as a contributor, you can see read-only properties with values, but you can't edit them. However, you can't see read-only properties without values.
5. Press the Save button.
Edit categories
A category is a type of custom property. Categories are composed of a set of pre-defined values. Learn more: AODocs basic terms.
1. Open a document and press the Edit button.
2. To select a value for a category:
- for single-value or multi-value categories: position your cursor in the field, then select one or more values from the pop-up menu
- for multi-level categories: press the tree structure button, then select a value for each required level in the category hierarchy – if your multi-level category is also multi-value, you select add more than one value
If a category is set as dynamic, contributors can add new values to the predefined list.
Note: When you add a new value for a dynamic category, it becomes available for other users to select.
To add a new value for a dynamic category property:
- for single-value or multi-value categories: position your cursor in the field, type your new value and then select the name of the new value
- for multi-level categories: press the tree structure button next to the property, enter a new value in the editable field and then select the name of the new value
Note: If a multi-level category is set as dynamic, you can create a new value at any level in the hierarchy.
What if you can't save your document?
You can't save your document if one or more:
- mandatory properties haven't been filled in
- properties have incorrect values
- property values have been deleted
Property fields can become mandatory (and also hidden and/or read-only) depending on the workflow state. A warning message is displayed in view mode if you are a workflow validator and a workflow transition is prevented because:
- at least one mandatory property is empty
- at least one property has an invalid value
A warning icon appears at the top of the Properties section if at least one mandatory property is empty.
Mandatory properties haven't been filled in
Make sure all mandatory properties are filled in before saving. You can't save your document without filling in all the mandatory properties.
Note: It is also mandatory to give your document at title.
In edit mode, mandatory properties are marked with a red star. A progress bar indicates how many mandatory properties remain to be filled in.
Properties have incorrect values
Library administrators can add data validation rules on certain properties. This forces you to respect a rule when entering the values in the property. If you don't follow this rule, a red error message is displayed:
Properties have outdated category values
Library administrators can set category values as outdated. If a property has been assigned an outdated value, you must enter a new valid value before saving the document.
Features for administrators only
When viewing or editing a document as an administrator, you can use the Show hidden properties switch to show or hide the hidden properties.
Notes:
- If there are no hidden properties defined in your document class or as a result of a workflow action, the Show hidden properties button isn't displayed.
- Readers and contributors can never see the hidden properties. The Show hidden properties switch is not available for them.
When editing a document as an administrator, you can fill in values for hidden and read-only properties.
