Structure and Elements of an Annotation File

An annotation file is a semantic description of an OData service. It delivers semantic information to properties and entity types delivered by the OData service, which can be used for a generic rendering for a fact sheet. The description is defined by a sequentiality of annotations that are tags following a special syntax. Annotation tags use terms that are defined in vocabularies, either OData core or delivered by SAP.

Example Example

The term UI.LineItem is defined in the vocabulary as <Term Name="LineItem" Type="Collection(UI.DataFieldAbstract)" AppliesTo="EntityType">

End of the example.

An annotation file consists of:

A setup area that references the vocabularies, the XML name spaces, and one or several OData services, which provide data to the annotation file.
A vocabulary is a set of semantic and structuring term definitions. Vocabularies are delivered by SAP.
Syntax
1. ```
<edmx:Reference Uri="/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/resources/sap/ushell/components/factsheet/vocabularies/Communication.xml">
<edmx:Include Namespace="com.sap.vocabularies.Communication.v1" Alias="vCard"/>
</edmx:Reference>
```
End of the code.

An annotation area that provides a semantic description of the OData service referencing the entity types and properties of the corresponding OData service.

An annotation file always refers one or several targets. Each annotation has a target, which refers an entity type or a property of the OData service used.

Syntax Syntax

```
<Annotations Target="EPMModel.Product">
```
```
 <Annotation Term="UI.HeaderInfo">
```
```
   <Record>
```

      <PropertyValue Property="TypeName" String="Product" />

      <PropertyValue Property="TypeNamePlural" String="Products" />

      <PropertyValue Property="TypeImageUrl" String="/sap/bc/ui5_ui5/ui2/ushell/resources/sap/ushell/components/factsheet/vocabularies/Communication.xml" />

      <PropertyValue Property="ImageUrl" Path="ImageUrl" />

```
      <PropertyValue Property="Title">
```
```
        <Record>
```

          <PropertyValue Property="Label" String="Product" />

          <PropertyValue Property="Value" Path="Name" />

```
        </Record>
```
```
      </PropertyValue>
```

      <PropertyValue Property="Description">

```
        <Record>
```

          <PropertyValue Property="Label" String="Description" />

          <PropertyValue Property="Value" Path="Description" />

```
        </Record>
```
```
     </PropertyValue>
```
```
   </Record>
```
```
 </Annotation>
```

End of the code.

Each annotation refers to a term of a vocabulary. The features of annotations are:

Mapping properties of an OData service to the terms of a vocabulary, that is, the entity types and properties of the corresponding OData service are referenced in the properties of annotation terms.
Defining semantic terms, such as header, identification, or line item.
Defining areas on the UI, such as facets.
With a facet, you define a structure in your annotation file, where you can refer annotations defined before, such as header, identification, or line item.

More Information

Fact Sheet Extensibility

Extending a Search Model

Annotation Tags

Adding a New Field to a Fact Sheet

Adding Key Figures to a Fact Sheet