Basic parameters

On the Basic subtab of the Attributes tab (see figure Document types – attributes above) you can adjust the following parameters. Mandatory input fields on this web page are marked with an asterisk (*).

Parameter	Mandatory	Description
Identifier	Yes	This identifier can be changed since an ID is used to reference the field internally, but it must be unique within one document type.
Display name	Yes, for the default language	This name is displayed as an attribute name. You can specify multiple names for different languages by using the link Localize.
Description	Yes, for the default language	This description is displayed as a tooltip. You can specify multiple descriptions for different languages by using the link Localize.
Attribute Family	N/A	This field is used only for informational purposes and cannot be edited. The attribute family can be used to determine the visibility of an attribute. See section To configure the attribute visibility.
Attribute Type	Yes	This is a drop-down list that provides the user with the available attribute base types. Attribute types may vary depending on the attached database system. The default is “string”. The following types are common for most database systems: string, text, Boolean, float, dateTime, date, decimal, and time. This parameter cannot be changed anymore after saving the document type once. Named-based types with the prefix "named..." (e.g. "namedString") can appear as attribute types in the AdminClient just to be compatible with the Integration Service to support multivalue attributes. Such types are not foreseen to be manually set up in a standard scenario. (Such types are used, for example, to handle internal configurations or customer-specific scenarios.) Also see section “String and text attributes” below this table. Attribute type limitations for “Save as new” in the OfficeClient Only basic metadata attribute types are supported as mandatory in an Office document type if you want to use the functionality “Save as new” directly from the OfficeClient. See Save as a new ImageMaster document in [SM OfficeClient].
Initial Length	Yes	Only applicable to type “String” The string length cannot be decreased, once it has been saved for a document type. Only an increase is possible later.
Key Attribute	N/A	Defines whether the attribute is a key attribute By default this option is not active, i.e. an attribute is NOT a key attribute. Consider section “Key attributes” below for side effects or requirements concerning the uniqueness of values for key attributes. There can be restrictions or you must foresee further steps when key attributes are changed if documents already exist!
Part of Document Identifier	N/A	If selected, the attribute is used as part of an overall document identifier. By default this option is not selected. A document identifier can appear in several locations in the WorkplaceClient. For example, after selecting a document in the hit list, a document identifier is displayed in the top area (above the hit list). After having opened a document in the view “Documents”, this identifier is also used in the list of opened documents. In a full-text search, the document identifier is used as the title of a search result. This option is overridden by the Document Identifier Pattern. So if a document identifier pattern is specified, this setting is ignored and does not show any effect.
Part of Document Summary	N/A	If selected, the attribute is used as a part of the document summary. By default this option is not selected. The document summary can be used to display a short note about a document, e.g. in the result entry of a full-text search.
Read Only	N/A	A user cannot change the value of a read-only attribute. This is usually used for attributes that are filled automatically and must not be changed manually. By default this option is not selected.
Autocompletion	N/A	Only applicable to type “String” If this is selected, the system predicts the rest of a word that a user is typing in the input field. Constraints are not supported in this case and the belonging settings will be disabled (see chapter Constraints for details). By default this option is not selected.
Minimum Characters	Yes	Enabled for string if Autocompletion is active (see above) Autocompletion is triggered when the number of typed characters reaches this limit. The default value is 3.
Mandatory	N/A	Defines if the attribute is obligatory A mandatory attribute value must be filled to complete any document creation or update. If you set the number of Minimum Occurrences to a value larger than 0 (see below), an attribute will also become mandatory. Attribute type limitations for “Save as new” in the OfficeClient Only basic metadata attribute types are supported as mandatory in an Office document type if you want to use the functionality “Save as new” directly from the OfficeClient. See Save as a new ImageMaster document in [SM OfficeClient].
Minimum / Maximum Occurrences	Yes	Number of supported or required values / multi-value attribute: A value larger than 1 for Maximum Occurrences indicates that an attribute is a “multi-value attribute”. In an already existing document type it is impossible to change a single-value attribute to a multi-value attribute. If a multi-value attribute is desired, the number of maximum occurrences must be specified larger than 1 right from the beginnings, when the attribute is initially set up. When initially adding an attribute, the Minimum Occurrences parameter is set to 0 and cannot be edited. Once the settings are saved, the field can become editable. If you then set a value larger than 0, the attribute will also be marked as mandatory. When documents already exist, you should only decrease the minimum value or increase the maximum value because otherwise there can be conflicts with already existing items. Trying to save an invalid setting will be rejected with an error message.
Required For Search	N/A	Defines whether the attribute may be empty when performing the search over the corresponding document type
Value True	No	Only applicable to type “Boolean” Defines the value that is displayed for documents and in the search panel in case the Boolean value is true. You can optionally localize the value. The default is “Yes”.
Value False	No	Only applicable to type “Boolean” Defines the value that is displayed for documents and in the search panel in case the Boolean value is false. You can optionally localize the value. The default is “No”.
Initial Precision	Yes	Only applicable to type “Decimal” Defines the total number of digits. This value cannot be changed after initial creation. The default value is “16”.
Initial Scale	Yes	Only applicable to type “Decimal” Defines the number of digits to the right of the decimal or binary point. This value cannot be changed after initial creation. The default value is “0”.
Table 31: Document types – attributes: basic parameters

String and text attributes

The attribute type “string” is characterized by a maximum length that has to be specified. This type of string attribute is searchable. In contrast, the type “text” supports an arbitrary length that does not need to be specified in the attribute configuration. String attributes support length of 2000 characters.

The type “text” is suitable when the maximum length cannot be predicted and large text values are expected (larger than the supported limit of attribute type “string”). However, for this kind of text, there is no associated attribute search field in the WorkplaceClient. Only if full-text search is installed, such text is searchable using the general full-text search field.

Key attributes

The key attributes of a document type provide a set of attributes that must be unique amongst the document type. Multiple values are not supported for a key attribute. Two documents never share the same value combination regarding their key attributes.

It is possible to define an attribute as a key attribute later, when documents of this document type already exist. However, keep the following in mind:

In such a case, at the time when the new key attribute is activated, there is no error if already existing documents violate the unique key condition.
However, whenever such a document, which is in a violating state, is updated and there is still a unique key violation at the time of the update, there will be an error!

This must be resolved by changing the key attributes to make them unique again for the affected document revision.

Before introducing a key attribute, check in advance for any key violations. Resolve these to avoid any follow-up issues in upcoming update operations. Consider that certain users or services may not be able to change the key attributes at the time of the update, for example due to the following situations:

A user does not have enough permissions.
A user does not know which key attribute should be changed to resolve the conflict in the best way.
This kind of update is not foreseen in an automated import process.

Removing a key attribute property does not affect any related index that has been created before. To delete a key attribute, first remove the key attribute property and then remove this attribute from the document type indices (Document type indices).

Attribute type limitations for “Save as new” in the OfficeClient

Only basic metadata attribute types are supported as mandatory in an Office document type if you want to use the functionality “Save as new” directly from the OfficeClient. See Save as a new ImageMaster document in [SM OfficeClient].