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Metadata Property References

Meta-metadata properties enable you to define the UI elements of an entity in the application. By adding and editing entities and their properties, you can configure the metadata model to best suit your needs.

There are two types of properties in ONE:

Simple (scalar) property types describe properties that relate to the defined entity and entities that extend it.
Object property types describe how the defined entity and entities that extend it link to other entities.

Remember that additional display logic for the application can be defined outside of the metadata model. For example, this accounts for grouping of entities into the General information and Description widgets.

For more information about defining additional display logic for entities and their properties, see the following topics:

Take note of the following:

The metadata model in ONE consists of metadata and meta-metadata.

References to entities, nodes, or objects in documentation apply to what is defined or included in this metadata model, for example, the entity source.

What is referred to as instances are the instances of data (that is, data assets). For example, in the source entity, instances could include AWS S3, a local filesystem, MDM, and others.
Because not all default entities are defined within the metadata model alone, it might not be possible to replicate these entities only by modifying the metadata model. Specifically, additional functionality can be hardcoded with plugins.
Compound naming is used in the metadata model. For example: 'compoundExample' displays as 'Compound example'.

For more control over the display names of entities and properties, use the fe:mmdProperty and fe:mmdEntity traits.

Add a property to an entity

To add a property to an entity:

Go to Global Settings > Metadata Model.
Find the entity to which you want to add a property.
On the entity screen, select Add Property.
In Type, choose the type of the property.
Fill out any other required fields.
Select Save.

Go to System Changes to publish your changes.

Applying changes includes switching to the maintenance mode, creating a database backup, and resolving any potential conflicts. For more information and step-by-step instructions, see System Changes, section Run and publish changes.

Simple property types

Simple (scalar) property types describe properties that relate to the defined entity and entities that extend it. See the following table for a reference of all simple property types available in ONE.

To make a property a required field, select the Required option when adding the property. This is not available for all properties.

Icon Property Description

String

Property for string values. The allowed length of the string is limited by the database.

Secret string

Property for storing secret values, for example, passwords. Characters in this property are displayed as asterisks (*).

Rich-text

Property best suited for storing longer text values, for example, descriptions. The rich-text property has an editor with advanced formatting options and is displayed in a scrollable textbox.

Boolean

Property that can either be true or false. Represented as a box you can check to define the state of the property.

Integer

Property for a natural 4-byte number.

Long

Property for a natural 8-byte number.

Float

Property for a Java double number.

Timestamp

Property for date-time with an offset stored to a precision of nanoseconds.

GID

Property for the id of entities stored in Metadata Management Module (MMM).

Node path

Property for the path of the stored entity in the MMD model (for example, the path to the catalogItem entity: path /sources/locations/catalogItems).

Object link

This property links to ONE Object Storage (MinIO). For example, it is used when working with lookups.

Drillthrough metadata

This property is a result of a drillthrough. It points to ONE Object Storage’s files, which contain actual rows of data, and to index files. Drillthrough metadata also contains information about the number of records in the drillthrough.

JSON

Property for JSON files, stored as a varchar (variable character) in the database. A varchar is an indeterminate length string data type that can hold numbers, letters, and special characters.

Delegated scalar property

This property takes content from a delegated property.

If you select this property, you also need to define the 'Via property' and 'Delegate property' fields.

Name: The name of the resulting property.
Via property (target): The property we are traversing through.
Delegate property (name): The name on the term entity.

For example, you have a termInstance entity, which has a target property that is a single reference to some term. Term has a name property, which is a string scalar and holds the name of the term. You can create a delegated property on termInstance to delegate the name of the referred term to the termInstance.

Examples of simple properties

See the following table for example implementations of simple property types.

Property	Example configuration	Example result
String	Click here to expand example configuration	Click here to expand example result Result on a listing screen and side panel detail: Result on an entity instance screen: Result on an entity instance in edit mode:
Secret string	Click here to expand example configuration	Click here to expand example result Result on an entity screen: Result on an entity page in edit mode:
Rich-text	Click here to expand example configuration	Click here to expand example result Result on a listing screen and side panel detail (to see the full text of the property, point to an instance of the property in the listing screen): Result on an entity instance screen: Result on an entity instance in edit mode:
Boolean	Click here to expand example configuration	Click here to expand example result Result on a listing screen and side panel detail: Result on an entity instance screen: Result on an entity instance in edit mode:
Integer	Click here to expand example configuration	Click here to expand example result Result on a listing screen and side panel detail: Result on an entity instance screen: Result on an entity instance in edit mode:
Timestamp	Click here to expand example configuration	Click here to expand example result Result on a listing screen and side panel detail: Result on an entity instance screen: Result on an entity instance in edit mode:

Property

Example configuration

Example result

String

Click here to expand example configuration

String property type example configuration 02

Click here to expand example result

Result on a listing screen and side panel detail:

Result on an entity instance screen:

Result on an entity instance in edit mode:

Secret string

Click here to expand example configuration

Secret string property type example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on an entity screen:

Secret string property type example result 01

Result on an entity page in edit mode:

Secret string property type example result 02

Rich-text

Click here to expand example configuration

Rich-text property type example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on a listing screen and side panel detail (to see the full text of the property, point to an instance of the property in the listing screen):

Rich-text property type example result 02

Result on an entity instance screen:

Rich-text property type example result 01

Result on an entity instance in edit mode:

Rich-text property type example result 03

Boolean

Click here to expand example configuration

Boolean property type example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on a listing screen and side panel detail:

Result on an entity instance screen:

Result on an entity instance in edit mode:

Integer

Click here to expand example configuration

Integer property type example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on a listing screen and side panel detail:

Result on an entity instance screen:

Result on an entity instance in edit mode:

Timestamp

Click here to expand example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on a listing screen and side panel detail:

Timestamp property type example result 01

Result on an entity instance screen:

Timestamp property type example result 02

Result on an entity instance in edit mode:

Timestamp property type example result 03

Object property types

Object properties define a relationship between entities in the web application. See the following table for a reference of all object property types available in ONE.

Icon Property Description

Embedded object

Use the Embedded object property to embed an entity within another entity.

The embedded entity is contained within another entity and is in a parent-child relationship. This means if a parent ceases to exist, the child is deleted as well, but the parent can exist without a child (for example, a catalog item embedded within a data source). It is required to select the embedded object when you add the property.

A single embedded entity can store a single value (a single entity).

Embedded object array

The function matches the Embedded object property with the added ability to store multiple values (multiple entities).

Referenced object

Use the Referenced object property to refer to a single instance of a referenced entity.

The referenced entity is independent from the entity (property) that refers to it, the entities only point to each other. If one of the entities is deleted, the other one continues to exist (for example, a catalog item referring to a term, the term can exist without a catalog item). It is required to select the referenced object when you add the property.

Only published entities can be selected.

In the web application, a referenced object is represented as a dropdown menu listing the instances of the referenced entity (for terms) or a section with a table listing the referenced entities.

Referenced object array

Use the Referenced object array property to refer to multiple instances of a referenced entity at once from any entity that includes this property. It is required to select the referenced object when you add the property.

Nesting Referenced object array properties across different entities also lets you create many-to-many relationships.

In the web application, a referenced object array is represented as a card with the option to select multiple instances of the referenced entity. On listing screens, it is represented as a column listing the selected instances of the referenced entity.

Currently, this property type is not available in ONE Desktop.

Arbitrary referenced object

The function matches the Referenced object property, but you do not need to define the object immediately. You can do this after the new entity has been created.

Arbitrary referenced object array

The function matches the Referenced object array property, but you do not need to define the object immediately. You can do this after the new entity has been created.

Examples of object properties

See the following table for example implementations of object property types.

Property Example configuration Example result

Property	Example configuration	Example result
Embedded object array	Click here to expand example configuration In the following example, the attribute property is used to embed an `attribute` entity on the `catalogItem` entity. With this configuration, you can embed any number of instances of the `attribute` entity on instances of the `catalogItem` entity.	Click here to expand example result Result on an entity instance screen: Result when adding an instance of an embedded entity: Result on a side panel on a listing screen:
Referenced object	Click here to expand example configuration In the following example, the owner `referenced object` type property on the `catalogItem` entity references the `person` entity. With this configuration, you can choose to reference an owner from instances of the `person` entity on instances of the `catalogItem` entity.	Click here to expand example result Result on a listing screen: Result on an entity instance screen: Result on a create screen:
Referenced object array	Click here to expand example configuration In the following example, the `Referenced object array` points to a custom employee entity from a custom office entity. With this configuration, we can refer to any number of instances of the employee entity from the office entity.	Click here to expand example result Result on a create screen: Result on a listing screen: In the following example, we added a property `Contributors`, which references a custom `office` entity from a custom `exampleManyToManyRelationship` entity. The `office` entity itself includes a `Referenced object array` property referencing a custom `employee` entity. As a result, you can drill down multiple levels of references. You can also add or remove references wherever one of the `Referenced object array` properties occurs.

Embedded object array

Click here to expand example configuration

In the following example, the attribute property is used to embed an attribute entity on the catalogItem entity.

With this configuration, you can embed any number of instances of the attribute entity on instances of the catalogItem entity.

Embedded object array example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on an entity instance screen:

Result when adding an instance of an embedded entity:

Result on a side panel on a listing screen:

Referenced object

Click here to expand example configuration

In the following example, the owner referenced object type property on the catalogItem entity references the person entity.

With this configuration, you can choose to reference an owner from instances of the person entity on instances of the catalogItem entity.

Click here to expand example result

Result on a listing screen:

Referenced object type example result 03

Result on an entity instance screen:

Referenced object type example result 01

Result on a create screen:

Referenced object type example result 02

Referenced object array

Click here to expand example configuration

In the following example, the Referenced object array points to a custom employee entity from a custom office entity. With this configuration, we can refer to any number of instances of the employee entity from the office entity.

Referenced object array example configuration

Click here to expand example result

Result on a create screen:

Referenced object array type example result 01

Result on a listing screen:

Referenced object array type example result 02

In the following example, we added a property Contributors, which references a custom office entity from a custom exampleManyToManyRelationship entity. The office entity itself includes a Referenced object array property referencing a custom employee entity. As a result, you can drill down multiple levels of references. You can also add or remove references wherever one of the Referenced object array properties occurs.

Referenced object array type example result 03

Traits

You can use traits to further configure entities and their properties in ONE. This way you can introduce additional functionality or change their appearance.

For more information, see Traits.

Entity extensions

You can use the Extends function when creating a new entity so that the properties and traits of the specified entity are added to the entity you are creating, in addition to any other properties you choose to add.

Inherited properties cannot be edited or removed, but new properties can be added.

This is useful when you are creating a generic entity with specialized subtypes. For example, we have the generic entity catalogItem with all instances of catalogItem consisting of the same shared properties and fields. Then we have specialized objects such as tableCatalogItem, fileCatalogItem, and so on. Each of them consists all of the standard catalogItem content plus additional properties.

Currently, you can’t rename or change type of the base properties, or add properties with names that are duplicates of those which exist elsewhere.

The base properties are also not displayed in the list of properties. To view them, select the item next to Extends.

For example, because the tableCatalogItem and fileCatalogItem entities extend the catalogItem entity, they have both their own and properties of catalogItem available.

Extension example catalogItem properties

Extension example tableCatalogItem properties

Extension example fileCatalogItem properties

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