Define custom properties for resources

You can create custom properties for resource objects, which users can then use to configure resources.

This can be useful to allow users to enter additional information about resources that are not directly managed by the CCMS, such as videos, legacy documentation, etc. For example, you could create a custom property called ISBN to store the document number for legacy documentation. You could also create a property to indicate whether a resource should be included in builds when documentation is built every night.

Creating custom properties ensures that this content is indexed and can be searched easily. When a user configures custom properties for a resource, the information is written into the Indexed Content file of the resource as metadata, as shown in the example below.

<metadata class="- topic/metadata ">
   <othermeta class="- topic/othermeta " content="false" name="user:build"/>
   <othermeta class="- topic/othermeta " content=" 1-23456-789-0" name="user:ISBN"/>
</metadata>

For example, the following diagram shows the custom user properties that were defined for a resource:

Figure: Configuring properties for a resource

To define custom properties for resources:

1. Open the TEXTML Administration perspective by clicking the TEXTML Administration shortcut on the tool bar. If the shortcut is not displayed, follow these steps:
   1. Select Window > Open Perspective > Other
   2. Click TEXTML Administration.
   3. Click OK.
2. In the TEXTML Administration view, double-click the server. If your server is not displayed in the view, you must add it to the view.
3. When the Connect as dialog opens, type your username and password and click OK.
4. Double-click the name of your docbase to open a connection to the Content Store.
5. Locate the userproperties.xml file in the repository's /system/conf collection.
6. Right-click the file and click Check Out.
7. Double-click the file to open it in the editor.
8. Locate the "resource" object element:

   <objecttype type="resource">

9. Use the <property> element to give the custom property an ID and a name:
   For example:

   <property id="isbn" label="ISBN Number">
   </property>
   <property id="build" label="Include in build">
   </property>

   Note: The label value appears in the Property column of the User Properties dialog box as shown in the screenshot above.
10. If applicable, enter an <allowedvalue> element for each possible value of the property:

    <property id="build" label="Include in build">
       <allowedvalue>true</allowedvalue>
       <allowedvalue>false</allowedvalue>
    </property>

11. Repeat from Step 7 to create additional custom properties if desired.
12. When you are done, save, close, and check in the userproperties.xml file.
13. Inform users of the changes.
    The changes will be applied automatically once users close and then reopen their . Users can also apply the changes without restarting their IXIASOFT CCMS Desktop by clicking DITA CMS > Synchronize Configuration.