Advanced Object Type Properties

On the Advanced tab of the Object Type Properties dialog, for the selected object type, you can:

Defining an Object Type Hierarchy

Object types can have hierarchical relationships. For example, the relationship between a customer company and its contact person can be defined so that the Contact Person object type is a subtype of the Customer object type. Viewing the value list for the Customer object type also displays the contact persons filtered by customer.

Note: You cannot define an internal hierarchy for an object type.

To define an object type hierarchy:

In M-Files Admin, go to the Advanced tab of the Object Type Properties dialog for the object type that you want to modify.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
5. Expand Metadata Structure (Flat View) and then select Object Types.
  Result:The Object Types list is opened in the right pane.
6. Double-click the object type that you want to modify.
  Result:The Object Type Properties dialog is opened.
7. Click the Advanced tab.

Do one or both of the following:

If you want to	Do the following task
Define subtypes for this object type	Click the Add button, then select the object types to be added as subtypes of this object type, and click Add. Note: You can select more than one item at once. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple individual items or hold down the ⇧ Shift key to select adjacent items on the list. Note: To remove a subtype, click Remove.
Define this object type as a subtype of another object type	Select the This object type is a subtype of the following object type check box and select the object type from the drop-down menu.

Click OK.

An object type hierarchy is created between the selected object types. In M-Files, when you create a new object that you have defined as a subtype of another object type, you will need to select an owner object for it. Thus a relationship is created between the owner and the subobject when the new object is created.

Defining Automatic Permissions for an Object Type

An object receives automatic permissions when a value with automatic permissions is added to the object metadata. You can define automatic permissions for an object type so that when an object of the selected type is referred to in the metadata of another object, the object inherits the permissions of the object that it references.

Note: The automatic permission settings that are specific to a value list item always have priority over the settings made at value list and object type level. For more information on automatic permissions for value list items, see Automatic Permissions for Value List Items.

Note: Micro Focus IDOL and Smart Search: If more than four automatic ACL sources control the permissions of an object, only administrators can see it in search results.

To define automatic permissions for an object type:

In M-Files Admin, go to the Advanced tab of the Object Type Properties dialog for the object type that you want to modify.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
5. Expand Metadata Structure (Flat View) and then select Object Types.
  Result:The Object Types list is opened in the right pane.
6. Double-click the object type that you want to modify.
  Result:The Object Type Properties dialog is opened.
7. Click the Advanced tab.
Click the Define button next to Default automatic permissions from this object type.
Result:The Automatic Permissions dialog is opened.
Select the Restrict the permissions of objects that refer to this value check box to enable automatic permissions for the selected object type.

Do one of the following:

If you want to	Do the following task
Use the object permissions defined on the metadata card as automatic permissions	Select the Use the object's own permissions check box.
Use a predefined named access control list as automatic permissions	Select the Use named access control list check box and then select a predefined named access control list from the drop-down menu.
Use custom permission settings as automatic permissions	Click the Add button, then select the users or user groups to be added to the custom permission settings, and click Add. Note: You can select more than one item at once. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple individual items or hold down the ⇧ Shift key to select adjacent items on the list. Note: To remove a user or group from the settings, click Remove. Select a user or group in the Users and user groups list and grant permissions in the Permissions list with the Allow and Deny check boxes.

If you want to

Do the following task

Use the object permissions defined on the metadata card as automatic permissions

Select the Use the object's own permissions check box.

Use a predefined named access control list as automatic permissions

Select the Use named access control list check box and then select a predefined named access control list from the drop-down menu.

Use custom permission settings as automatic permissions

Click the Add button, then select the users or user groups to be added to the custom permission settings, and click Add.

Note: You can select more than one item at once. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple individual items or hold down the ⇧ Shift key to select adjacent items on the list.

Note: To remove a user or group from the settings, click Remove.

Select a user or group in the Users and user groups list and grant permissions in the Permissions list with the Allow and Deny check boxes.

Optional: Select the Allow users to deactivate these restrictions check box if you want vault users to be able to disable the automatic permissions granted by these settings.
Click OK to close the Automatic Permissions dialog.
Back in the Object Type Properties dialog, click Apply or OK.

The selected object type now has automatic permissions. Now when an object of this object type is referred to in the metadata of another object, the referring object inherits the permissions of the object that has automatic permissions set.

Using a Separate Metadata Search Index for an Object Type

You might want to enable the Use a separate metadata search index for this object type option for essential object types that are frequently used and that are found in large number in the vault.

Since these essential object types vary from organization to organization, the option is disabled by default. In document management, for example, the Document object type is naturally the most important object type. In CRM vaults, however, the most important object types are usually something different, such as Customer, Project, and Contact person.

If you select this option, M-Files uses a separate search structure for the objects of the selected object type. This improves search speed for both the objects of the selected object type and for other objects – especially if the vault contains a high number of objects representing this key object type.

Note: Enabling this option might take a long time to complete, from a couple of minutes up to a few hours. The vault is also taken offline for the duration of this operation and the users cannot access the vault.

To enable a separate metadata search index for an object type:

In M-Files Admin, go to the Advanced tab of the Object Type Properties dialog for the object type that you want to modify.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
5. Expand Metadata Structure (Flat View) and then select Object Types.
  Result:The Object Types list is opened in the right pane.
6. Double-click the object type that you want to modify.
  Result:The Object Type Properties dialog is opened.
7. Click the Advanced tab.
Select the Use a separate metadata search index for this object type check box.
Click OK.

M-Files now uses a separate search index for the objects of the selected object type.

Defining Aliases for an Object Type

Aliases can be used for identifying semantically equivalent metadata. For example, when importing objects from another vault, their Date and Description properties can be mapped to the target vault's equivalent properties on the basis of aliases even if the properties' internal IDs, names, or both are different. That is, the aliases refer to semantically equivalent metadata in different vaults, or in other words, alias is a common ID for the same metadata definition between several vaults.

The alias is defined as a common ID with the same name in both source and target vault.

When you define the alias, you can use various external data type and archive standards, such as SÄHKE2, MoReq2, and Dublin Core.

For more information, see Associating the Metadata Definitions.

To define aliases for an object type:

In M-Files Admin, go to the Advanced tab of the Object Type Properties dialog for the object type that you want to modify.
1. Open M-Files Admin.
2. In the left-side tree view, expand an M-Files server connection.
3. Expand Document Vaults.
4. Expand a vault.
5. Expand Metadata Structure (Flat View) and then select Object Types.
  Result:The Object Types list is opened in the right pane.
6. Double-click the object type that you want to modify.
  Result:The Object Type Properties dialog is opened.
7. Click the Advanced tab.
In the Aliases field, enter the aliases for the selected object type.
Use semicolons (;) to separate many aliases.

Example:ObjectType.Customers; OT.Customers

When automatic aliases are in use and you write a name on the General tab, the Aliases field on the Advanced tab is automatically filled in. The alias has the format <predefined prefix>.<name>. Configure automatic aliases for your vault in Advanced Vault Settings.
Click OK.