Object Metadata

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Metadata helps you to find objects in M-Files. Metadata is the information related to an object. For example, the creation date, the class, and the name of an object are all metadata. The more you enter metadata for an object, the easier it is to find the object when you need it.

Editing the metadata

You can edit the object metadata on the metadata card:

If you want to... Do this:
Edit property values. Click a property. Mandatory fields show an asterisk (*).
Add properties. Click Add property at the end of the property list.
Remove added properties. Select a property and click the icon on the left of the property name.
Change the workflow state. See Changing the Workflow State on the Metadata Card.
Change permissions of the selected items. See Editing object permissions.

Click Save to save the changes and create a new version of the object.

Tip: You can use keyboard shortcuts when you edit object metadata. For more information, see Shortcuts for the metadata card.

Metadata suggestions

When Intelligent Metadata Layer and intelligence services are set up, M-Files shows metadata suggestions for a new document.

Click a suggestion to add it as a value for the property above the suggestion. If there is a plus sign (+) on the left of the suggested value, the value is added as a new object or value list item. Some property types let you add more than one of the suggested values.
Note: Metadata suggestions are not available if the metadata card is in the bottom pane.

Using the metadata card toolbar

Click a property to activate the metadata card toolbar. The toolbar is available for properties that use a value list. The toolbar can include five options:

Click the icon... If you want to...
Add a field to a multi-select property. This way, you can make a link between a document and many property values, such as many different projects.
Remove a field from a multi-select property.
Refresh the values of the property.
Open a dialog to create a new property value.
Open a dialog to edit the selected property value.

Editing the properties of many objects

To select many objects in the listing area, select one of these options:

If you want to... Do this:
Select a list of objects. Click the first object, hold down the ⇧ Shift key, and click the last object. You can also click and drag a box around the objects that you want to select.
Select many individual objects. Click the first object, hold down the Ctrl key, and select the other objects.
Select all objects. Use the shortcut Ctrl + A.

The metadata card shows all the properties of the selected objects. See this table for descriptions of the special property values used when you have selected objects that have a different value for the same property:

Property value Description
The values of the selected objects are different.

None of the selected objects have the value selected.

Some of the selected objects have the value selected.

All the selected objects have the value selected.
Note: When you edit a value, you change the value for all the selected objects. For example, if you replace (varies) with a new value, it is set for all the selected objects.