User-Defined Properties

Learn about how user-defined properties work in Vault.

When files are checked into the vault, only the properties that are set enabled are automatically extracted and indexed by default. All the extracted properties being tracked by the vault can be managed using the Property Definitions dialog box. The Property Definitions dialog box lists:

Property Name	The name of the property as it appears in the interface. The display name can be edited by the vault administrator.
Data Type	The type of data represented by the property. The data types are: text, number, date, and boolean.
Usage	Indicates 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.
State	Indicates whether or not the property is enabled for indexing and visible to the user. Enabled If a property is set to Enabled, the property is indexed and extracted from files when they are added or checked into the vault. Disabled If a property is set to Disabled, it is not indexed and it is not extracted from files when they are added or checked in to the vault. Administrators can clean up unwanted properties by marking them Disabled.
Associations	Lists the entity class that can use the property. Classes are change orders, custom objects, files, folders, items, and custom objects. In addition, UDPs may be associated with Bill of Materials Rows, Reference Designators, and Links between entities.
File Categories	If the property is associated with a file category, the category name is displayed. Category values will override property values if the property Override attribute is enabled.
Item Categories Note: This feature is available in Vault Professional.	If the property is associated with an item category, the category name is displayed. Category values will override property values if the property Override attribute is enabled.
Folder Categories	If the property is associated with a folder category, the category name is displayed. Category values override property values if the property override attribute is enabled.
Custom Object Categories Note: This feature is available in Vault Professional.	If the property is associated with a custom object category, the category name is displayed. Category values override property values if the property override attribute is enabled.
Basic Search	Indicates if a string property is searched when using the basic search feature. The possible values are: Searched: the property is included in the basic search. Not Searched: the property is excluded from the basic search. No Allowed: the property is not a string value and therefore cannot be included in the basic search.

Important: When a new user-defined property is created, it does not have to be associated with any categories. However, even if the property is associated with an entity (file, folder,custom object, change order, item, etc.) and is not associated with any categories, it will not appear in the properties grid for that entity type.

When migrating an existing vault database, all existing properties set to Enabled are migrated. However, any new properties default to Disabled. To improve indexing performance, all properties without mappings are not created unless specified by the administrator.

Renaming

The display name of a property can be edited to make it more meaningful. Both system-defined and user-defined names can be changed by selecting Edit on the Property Definitions dialog.

Changing the State

The state of a property determines whether or not the property is included in the vault index.

You specify which properties to include in the vault by setting the state to Enabled. Marking properties Enabled lets administrators clean unused properties from the vault. When a property is not in use, it is no longer associated with any files and it is removed from the index. This makes searching more efficient overall because there are fewer properties. You cannot search on a property that is not in use. You cannot display an unused property as a column in a grid. You cannot map properties to unused file properties. Unused properties can be re-associated with files by changing the state back to Enabled and then using the server console to re-index the properties. For more information on re-indexing, see the Autodesk Server Console Help.

Note: Changing the state of properties requires that the vault be re-indexed using the server console. For more information on re-indexing a vault, see Autodesk Server Console Help.

Examining Usage Count

The usage count of a property tells you how prevalent the property is throughout the vault. The number in the Usage column is the number of files with which the property is associated. When a property is Disabled, its usage count is set to 0.

To view the usage count of a property, select the Get Usage Counts button in the Property Definitions dialog.

Specifying Searchable Properties

The Basic Search setting for a property determines whether or not that file property is available for searching when performing a basic search. The Basic Search setting applies only to the basic search and not to searches using the query builder or the Find dialog. Only string type file properties can be set to Searched.

String type file properties that are set to Searched are available for the basic search. Properties set to Not Searched are not currently available for the basic search. By setting unused file properties to Not Searched, you can increase search performance. Properties set to Not Allowed are not string type properties and are not available for the basic search. A property set to Not Allowed cannot be changed to any other setting.

When the state of a property is set to Disabled, the basic search setting is automatically set to Not Searched. If that property is later set to Enabled, the basic search setting remains Not Searched. In order for the property to be available for basic search, the administrator must manually set the property to Searched.

Note: All item and change order string type properties are set to searched and are always included in the basic search.

Specifying user-defined properties as Hyperlink

The display of a property value can be edited to make it a hyperlink.

You can:

Select multiple files and choose any user-defined property with a Text data type. For example, “Description”.
Click on Edit Property on the Properties Panel.
The Property Edit dialog will be displayed.

Enter the property value and format each row to make it a hyperlink. The property value and format can be:

Value	Format
Link to help https://help.autodesk.com/	Link to help `https://help.autodesk.com/`
Click here to open link	Click `[here](https://help.autodesk.com/)` to open link.
testemail@example.com	`testemail@example.com`
Send me email	Send me `[email](mailto:testemail@example.com)`

Click OK.
The new values are saved. Click Close to return to the Main grid within Project Explorer.

You will be seeing the hyperlink in blue underlined text on the Main grid and on the Properties Panel.

Note: If the hyperlink text is cropped, hovering on the hyperlink will display the complete hyperlink. Pressing Ctrl+Click on the hyperlink will open it in your default browser or email provider.