Adding properties to a dialog box in Studio for InDesign and InCopy

The dialog boxes in Studio for InDesign and InCopy with which files are saved to Studio Server or in which file properties are changed contain a default set of metadata properties.

Figure: The Properties dialog box for a layout, showing the default set of properties such as those for saving the layout to a Brand, assigning it to a Category, adding a Status, and more.

Many more metadata properties are available in Studio Server and when needed, custom properties can be added to Studio Server as well.

The dialog boxes can be customized by adding or removing properties, depending on which ones are needed in a particular workflow.

Step 1. In Studio Server, access the Dialogs Setup Maintenance page by choosing Dialogs Setup in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Step 2. Use the filter at the top of the page to specify to which Brand, for which object type and for which action the properties should be made available.

Example: To make the properties available to the Check In dialog box of images for all Brands, choose Brand '<All>', Object Type 'Image' and action 'Check In'.

Action list options

By choosing an action from the Action list, you control in which workflow dialog box each property appears. The following table lists each action that can be chosen, the dialog box the property will appear in and the menu action required for displaying that dialog box in the client application:

¹ Only a limited number of properties can be added to the Send To dialog; these include dynamic properties and XMP properties but no static properties or custom properties.

Note: The action named 'Preview' and the actions that contain the word 'Query' are used for adding properties to areas other than dialog boxes. For the purpose of this article they can be ignored.

Step 3. At the bottom of the page, click Add Action Property.

Options appear for adding the property.

Step 4. Set the options as needed.

• Group. Not editable. Shows the name of the Group as set on the Metadata Maintenance page for the property. This groups properties together in a dialog box.

• Order. (Optional) Enter a number that specifies the order in which the property should appear in the dialog box.

Note: The higher the number, the lower the property will appear.

• Property. Shows all static, dynamic and custom properties that are not yet added to the dialog box.

Note: Custom properties are listed first and are preceded by an asterisk character (*).

• Editable. Select if metadata should be editable by the user. (See About restricted metadata below.)
• When selected, the user will be able to edit the content of the item, for instance by editing the default value or by entering a new value.
• When not selected, the item appears unavailable (grayed out) and will not be editable by the user. This can be used for instance when a default value is given for a property that should not be changed, such as copyright information.

• Mandatory. Select if metadata should be mandatory. (See About restricted metadata below.)
• When selected, the user is required to enter a value for that item. If no value is entered and the user attempts to go to the next step of the process (for instance by clicking OK button), a message appears informing that a value is required for that item.
• When not selected, the item can be left blank by the user.

• Restricted. Select if user is not allowed to modify metadata. (See About restricted metadata below.)
• When selected, only users that have the option 'Change Restricted Properties' selected in their Access Profile are allowed to edit the item. For all other users, the item appears unavailable (grayed out).
• When not selected, the setting of the 'Change Restricted Properties' option in the user's Access Profile is not taken into account. .

• Multiple Objects. (Requires Studio for InDesign and InCopy 19.0.0 for Adobe 2024, or any higher version of Studio for InDesign and InCopy for any higher version of Adobe) Select if the property should be available when a user wants to change the properties for multiple objects or files.

About restricted metadata

Not all combinations of Editable, Mandatory and Restricted can be used together.

Example: Making a field Mandatory but not Editable is not logical if no default value is provided.

The table below shows an overview of the combinations that can be used.

Step 5. Do one of the following:

• To add the property without adding another one, click Update.
• To add the property and display a new set of property settings for adding another property, click Add Action Property.

The created action property is displayed in the section above the Add Action Property button.

Note: Review the settings that are shown for that action, since they may hold additional information.

Example: When adding the Character Count property, the editable setting is automatically selected and a lock icon () is displayed to indicate that this option cannot be edited (this is because the character count value is provided by the system and should not be entered manually).

In the Custom section of the page, a Brand/Object Type/Action group is displayed to indicate that at least one action property has been added to that combination. Clicking the link displays all properties at the bottom of the page that have been configured for that combination.