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Properties Administration

Property Administration includes tasks to create and manage property definitions. You must have administrative access to perform these tasks.

Properties are attributes associated with a file. Vault recognizes two types of property definitions: system-defined properties and user-defined properties (UDPs). System-defined properties are those that are derived from the vault. The vault has a global set of properties that are applied to files in the vault. User-defined properties are created by using the administrative tools.

Before working with properties, it is important to become familiar with the terms, data types, and attributes associated with the Vault properties system.

Common Terms

The following table contains terms commonly used with properties.

TermDefinition
AssociationsAttribute that determines for which entities classes the property is available.
CompliantThe status of a property that meets all property policies and equivalence evaluations.
Data TypeThe type of data accepted for the property value. This type can be text, number, boolean, or date.
Database PropertyAny property in the database, either user defined or system.
EntityAn entity is the system class with which a file can be associated. Entities are files, folders, items, or change orders.
EquivalentThe status of a mapped property when its value matches the source value.
File PropertyA property associated with a file.
Mapped PropertyA property from which the propriety being defined gets its value. For example, a UDP can get its value from several different file properties. A file property can get its value from a system property.
MappingA set of relationships between the property being defined and a property from which it receives its value. There can be multiple mappings for a given property definition.
MasterThe property from which a mapped property gets its value. The master property writes its value to the subordinate property.
Non-compliantThe status of a property when it has failed to meet one or more property policies or its equivalence evaluation.
Non-equivalentThe status of a mapped property when its value does not match the source value.
Property DefinitionAll attributes and constraints about the property including its name, data type, initial value, mapping, minimum and maximum values, case values, in-use value, and basic search value.
Property NameThe name used in the GUI (graphical user interface) to identify the property.
Property PolicyDepending on the data type, the property policy specifies certain constraints that must be met. The constraints may include a value range, a value type, or a value format must be met. For example, a property policy might be described as follows: the property must have a value and that value must be in the range of 1 to 10.

When a property fails to meet its property policies, it is considered non-compliant.

Property ValueThe literal content of a property attribute for a specific file version.
OverrideDetermines whether the property value is overidden by the policy defined by its category.
SubordinateThe mapped property that receives its value from the master property.
System-Defined PropertyA property in the database created by the system, which is then assigned to a file.
User-Defined Property (UDP)A property in the database created by an administrator. The property can be applied to a file when it is added to a vault.

Data Types

Every property value has a data type that determines how that value is read and processed.

Data Type NameDescription
BooleanTrue or False.
Date TypeCan be a specific date or date range expressed by a beginning and end date.
NumberNumbers only.
TextLetters and numbers.

Attributes

Properties have attributes that determine how the property is described and the constraints for its value.

Attribute NameDescription
Basic SearchA constraint that determines whether or not the property should be included in basic searches.
Case SensitivityA constraint that applies to text data types. This constraint can be set to none, UPPER CASE, lower case, Name Case or Sentence case.
Enforce List of ValuesA constraint that determines whether the property must have a value from a list.
Initial ValueAn attribute that specifies the initial property value when one isn't specified.
Note: Initial values are best used with write mappings. If an initial value is set on a regular read mapping, that read mapping has higher priority and will overwrite the initial value. The only case in which an initial value won't be overwritten by a read mapping is if the value it maps to is blank.
List ValuesDisplays the List Type dialog box from which you can enter and order values for a list. At least one item must appear in the list.
Minimum LengthThe minimum number of characters a property value can have.
Maximum LengthThe maximum number of characters a property value can have.
Requires ValueA constraint which determines whether the property must have a value to be compliant.
StateA setting on a property that indicates whether it recognizes the state the file in a lifecycle.
UsageIndicates the number of files currently using the property. Use this information to determine which properties are used more than others, to help decide which properties can be removed from the vault.

Property Compliance Icons

The main view in the vault client has a Property Compliance column that lists various status icons. The Icons in this column indicate whether a property associated with the file is compliant, non-compliant, pending, or has failed the equivalence evaluation.

IconValueDefinition

No icon

Compliant

All properties meet policy requirements and equivalence.

 

Non-compliant

One or more properties do not meet property policy requirements or equivalence.

Hover your mouse over the icon to learn more about why one or more properties failed compliance.

 

Not calculated

There has been a change to one or more properties but equivalence and policy have not been verified yet.

 

Pending

Properties are currently being evaluated for equivalence.

 

Evaluation failed.

The equivalence evaluation failed. This is a rare situation and can result when the processor enters an evaluation loop.

Note: On the Find dialog, an evaluation failed value is added. This allows you to search for any files for which the evaluation failed.
Note: See also Re-index File Properties.

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