Topic properties

What do you want to do?

One way to include data in a map is by adding properties sets to your topics. A topic properties set is an object included within a topic that contains a list of property names and their values. You can create and re-use topic properties sets to standardize the entry of data for topics of a specific type. For example you could create a topic properties set with fields for standard employee data such as department, manager, title, employee number, etc.

Within the set, you can classify some properties as Hidden. Hidden properties are not shown, by default, but you can choose to display them.

Creating a topic properties set involves two steps:

Define a list of properties of various data types.
At this point, you have a list of properties without values ready for data entry. If you'd like to use this list of properties for other topics you can duplicate it by copying the topic or by creating a Map Part.
Edit the topic properties to populate the fields with data specific to this topic.

Once the topic properties set has been created you can choose to show or hide it, and if its no longer needed, you can remove it from the topic.

You can also calculate a topic property based on the values of other properties used on the map. See Use Formulas to learn more.

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Define a list of topic properties

Select a topic.
On the Advanced tab, in the Topic Data group, click the Properties icon .
Click Define Topic Properties.
The placeholder "Property" appears as the first entry in the properties list
In the Name field, enter the name for the property.
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Topic properties must have unique names. You will not be permitted to enter a property name if it is already used in the topic.

Choose its data Type and options. The data type and options you choose will determine how the property's data is displayed and what type of data entry field is used. (See Use Formulas for information on Calculated properties.)
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The Hidden checkbox determines whether this data is shown by default. If checked, the property is only shown when you choose to view Hidden properties.

To define another property, click New, then repeat steps 3 and 4.
Continue until you have added all the properties you want.

Click OK to exit the dialog.

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Enter data for topic properties

Select the topic where you have defined the properties, then do one of the following:

Click any property value in the topic properties set.

Right-click the topic Properties icon , then click Edit Topic Properties.

Select the properties set, then press F2.

Enter the data for the properties. The data entry is controlled by the property's data format and options. If you have entered data that is not valid for the property type, the OK button will be disabled.
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To see more properties, select the properties list and drag the corner handles.

When you are finished entering the data click OK.

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View and modify topic properties

View the topic properties

Click the show or hide button on the topic.
To see more or fewer properties, click the properties box and drag to resize it.

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Show hidden properties

Right-click the topic's Properties icon , then click Show Hidden Topic Properties.

Hide properties in all map topics

On the View tab, click the Topic Info drop-down.
Choose Topic Info Display Settings.
Uncheck the Properties check box.

All properties in topics are hidden.
To show hidden properties in topics, click the Show/Hide indicator in the bottom right of the map, and choose Reset Show/Hide to Default.

Enter or edit property values

Do one of the following to switch to Property value editing mode, then enter new values:

Right-click the topic's Properties icon or right-click the topic's property list, and then click Edit Topic Properties.

Double-click a property value displayed on the topic.

On the Advanced tab, in the Topic Data group, click the Properties icon , and then click Edit Topic Properties.

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Modify property names and definitions

Do one of the following to switch to Property definition mode:

Double-click a property name displayed on the topic.

Right-click the topic's Properties icon

or right-click the topic's properties list , and then click Define Topic Properties.

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Remove topic properties or values from a topic

To remove all properties and their values, right-click the topic's Properties icon , then click Remove All Topic Properties.
To remove a single property and its value, right-click the property in the displayed properties, and then click Remove Topic Property. *
To remove only the value for a property, right-click the property in the displayed properties, and then click Clear Topic Property Value. *

* To perform this operation on multiple properties, CTRL+click the properties you want to select first.

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Copy and paste topic properties

You can copy and paste a property value, a property name, or both the property name and value.

To copy only the property value, right-click the value on the topic, and then click Copy Topic Property Value. To paste the value anywhere, press Ctrl+V.
To copy both the name and value, right-click the topic property on the topic, and then click Copy Topic Property. To paste the copied properties, select a topic, and on the Home tab, click Paste, Paste Topic Properties.
You can also paste the copied properties or values anywhere as text using the basic Paste (Ctrl+V) command.

You can also copy properties from one topic to another using drag and drop.

Select the topic property and drag it to a new topic.
To drag and drop more than one property, press CTRL as you select the properties, then drag and drop to the new topic.

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