Adding and Deleting Objects 

Use

You can add and delete objects from the repository as described below.

Procedure

Adding Objects

Any time you add an object to an MDM repository, the object is added as a new record on the corresponding object table (new images are added to the Images table, and so on).

The MDM Data Manager provides three ways to add new objects:

·        Adding new records directly on an object table

·        Clicking the Add… button on the object selector dialog

·        Choosing Add/Link from the object lookup field context menu.

Adding a new object record directly on an object table makes the new object instantly available as a lookup field value for lookup fields that look into that object table.

Clicking the Add… button on the object selector dialog adds the object record to the repository and also lets you select it as a value for the lookup field from which you opened the dialog.

Choosing Add/Link from an object lookup field context menu adds the object to the object table and automatically links it to the lookup field.

When you choose any of these methods, the MDM Data Manager opens an Add Objects dialog like the one shown in the figure below.

Adding objects to the repository usually means importing external files. In the case of text block, text HTML, and copy block objects, you have the option of entering text directly into the Add Objects dialog.

In the Add Objects and other object-related dialogs, the Data Manager replaces the word “Object” in the title bar with the relevant object type.

To add one or more new objects to an object table:

...

       1.      Issue an Add Record command from an object table, or open the object selector dialog from an object lookup field and click Add…, or right-click on an object lookup field and choose Add/Link.. to open the Add Object dialog shown in the figure above.

       2.      Select the desired data group from the Data Group drop-down list.

You can use the Edit button to add new data groups (see Editing the Data Groups Hierarchy for more information).

       3.      Select the language layer into which you want to import the image.

       4.      Click Add to open the Windows file Open dialog shown in the figure below.

       5.      Navigate to the desired folder, select the object file(s) you want to add to the object table, and click Open. The file name is added to the Files area of the Add Object dialog.

The Windows file Open dialog limits the number of files you are able to select to 1,000-2,000 files, depending on the length of the file names selected.

You can add all object files from a specific folder by clicking Folder instead of Add on the Windows file Open dialog. Browse to the desired folder in the Choose Directory dialog and click OK, as shown in the following figure.

You can change the data group after you have already selected one or more files to import. The new data group will then be applied to subsequent files you select for import.

If you change your mind about adding an object – or you would like to change its data group – select its file name in the Files area and click the Remove button, and then add it again if necessary.

       6.      Select one of the storage options as follows:

○       Store in Repository

○       Link to Original File Only

The storage option determines whether or not the object is stored in the repository. If you select Link to Original File Only, MDM expects to find the object file in the original source location. If you decide later to store the object in the repository, you must use the Reimport command to reimport the image from the original location.

Regardless of which storage option you choose, MDM automatically creates a thumbnail (if the object is an image or PDF file), stores it in the repository, and uses it for display in MDM.

       7.      Click OK to close the Add Objects dialog and add the object to the object table. MDM opens the Adding Object progress dialog to indicate the status as it adds the object.

Deleting Objects

To safely delete an object from the repository, simply delete the object record from the corresponding object table (see Deleting Records for more information about deleting records). Before you can delete an object, however, you must first remove all links to that object.