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Adding a custom metadata property in Studio Server

Updated

Studio Server contains various default metadata properties. Additional metadata properties can be created in the form of custom properties.

This article explains how this is done.

Note: Be aware that custom properties are not restored when restoring file versions.

Step 1. In Studio Server, access the Metadata Maintenance page by clicking Metadata in the Maintenance menu or on the Home page. The Metadata Maintenance page appears.

The Metadata page

Step 2. Make sure that the Brand list and Type list both show <All>.

Notes:

  • Although custom properties can be added to a specific Brand and Type combination by making choices from the lists, this method is not recommended. A more effective way of doing this is during the process of assigning the property to a dialog box
  • When aiming to create a custom property with the 'External' option enabled, the Brand and Type lists need to be set to <All>.
  • Query Criteria and Result Column lists can only include fields defined at the global level (created at the 'All' (Brand) - 'All '(Type) level). Custom metadata fields should be defined at this level if users will need to search on those fields or display them as result columns.
  • Fields should only be created for a specific Brand or asset type if their use will be limited to the Properties dialog or where the access to a given field is only through an automated process such as an API, custom server-side script, custom plug-in, and so on.

Special case: Using custom properties with the same name across multiple Brands

Scenario: a Brand is chosen from the list and a custom property is created with a specific name. Next, another Brand is chosen from the list and another custom property is created with the same name as the one created for the other Brand.

This scenario is supported but only if the type of both properties is the same.

A use case is when 2 lists need to be created but each list needs to hold different values. For example: you could create 2 different custom properties named 'Languages' and the list of one property could hold different languages than the list of the other property.

Note though that it is recommended to use unique and descriptive names for each custom property; this will make it easier to manage them and will at the same time prevent possible system conflicts.

Step 3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Add Custom Property. The Custom property page appears.

The Custom Property page

Step 4. Enter the values of each field as needed:

  • Name. Should start with a capital letter, not contain any spaces, and may not start with a number. Valid characters: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, or _.
  • Display name. Name used for displaying the property in the client user interfaces.
  • Group. When filled, the property will be shown in Workflow dialog boxes on a separate tab control. If left blank the property will be placed on the General tab together with all other properties.

Setting a custom property to appear in a dialog box

Figure: In this scenario, the custom property named 'Intent' is added to a separate tab in the Check-in dialog.

  • Type. Choose from the following:
  • String. Any sequence of characters.
  • Multistring. Used for keywords.
  • Multiline. Input can be displayed on multiple lines.
  • Boolean. True or False.

Tip: To set a boolean to True by default, set the Default value to 1 and add true and false to the value list (in that order and each on its own line).

  • Integer. Whole numbers.
  • Double. Decimal numbers, for example 1.56.

Note: The min, max or default values are used for determining the precision.

Example: To have a precision of 4 decimal values, enter 0.9999.

  • Date. Date.

Note: The format to follow is that of the LANGPATDATE option as defined in the configserver.php file. See Controlling the way the date is displayed.

  • Datetime. Date and time.

Note: The format to follow is that of the LANGPATAMPM option as defined in the configserver.php file. See Controlling the way the time is displayed.

  • List. Drop-down list.
  • Multilist. List box.
  • External. Mark the custom property as a property that can be updated without the object being locked.

Notes:

  • This feature requires Studio Server 10.70.0 or higher and is available on WoodWing Cloud only.
  • When enabled, it functions as follows:
  • Only external scripts can update the property by using the SetObjectExternalProperties web service.
  • The property can be updated at any time, even when the object it is part of is locked.
  • The update process itself does not lock the object.
  • When the SetObjectExternalProperties service is called, only the sent in external custom properties will be updated. Properties such as ‘modifier’, ‘modified’ are not updated. The version number of the object is also not increased.

Also take note of the following:

  • Any newly created custom metadata property can be set as 'external'.
  • Any existing custom metadata property will have the External option disabled. It can only be enabled by Super admins.
  • Once a custom metadata property has been saved with the External option enabled, the option cannot be changed anymore.
  • The property is shown as read-only in client applications. Users cannot update it.
  • When a user has a dialog or panel opened with a custom property for which External is enabled, the value of that moment is shown. If this property is in the meantime updated by the external process, the new value will not be reflected in the dialog. When the user closes the dialog by clicking OK, the old value is stored, thereby overwriting the value that was updated externally.
  • Default value. Default property value.
  • Value list. List of values that a list or drop-down list should hold.

Notes:

  • This is only applicable for types 'List' and 'Multilist'.
  • Separate each item list by a new line.

Example:

listItem1

listItem2

listItem3
  • The comma is a reserved character and is therefore not allowed to be used in the item list.
  • Min value. The minimum value. Used for numeric values. Zero is the limit. To set no minimum, leave the field empty.
  • Max value. The maximum value. Used for numeric values. Zero is the limit. To set no maximum, leave the field empty.
  • Max length. The maximum length that the value can have. Used for strings.

Step 5. Click Update.

Step 6. Click the Left Arrow icon to return to the Metadata page.

After adding a custom property, you want to make it available to the end users. This is typically done by adding it to a Workflow dialog box.

Revisions

  • 17 September 2026: Added information about the 'External' option.

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