Add custom properties

One way to include data in a map is by adding custom properties sets to your topics. A custom 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 custom properties sets to standardize the entry of data for topics of a specific type. For example you could create a custom properties set with fields for standard employee data such as department, manager, title, employee number, etc.

Within the set, you can classify some or all of the properties as Basic Properties. You can choose to view only Basic properties or all the properties.

Create a custom properties set

Creating a custom properties set involves two steps:

1. 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.

2. Edit the custom properties to populate the fields with data specific to this topic.

Once the custom 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.

Define the list of properties

1. Select a topic.

2. On the Insert tab, in the More Topic Elements group, click  Custom Properties.

3. In the Define Custom Properties dialog click New. The placeholder "Property" appears in the properties list

4. Enter a Name for the property.

5. 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.  

6. The Basic Property checkbox determines whether this data is shown in the custom properties Basic Properties view. If cleared, the property is only shown when you view All Properties.

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 to add more properties.

7. When you have finished adding properties, click OK to exit the dialog.

• If you want to re-use this set of properties for other topics, you can duplicate this topic before entering the data. You can either copy the topic or, if you plan to use it frequently, create a Map Part from it.

Enter data for the properties

1. Select the topic, then do one of the following:

• Right-click the custom properties topic icon , then  click Edit Custom Properties.

• Double-click the custom properties set.

• Press F2.

2. Enter the data for the properties. The data entry is controlled by the data format and options.

3. To see more properties, you can enlarge the Custom Properties window by dragging the right and bottom margins.

3. When you are finished entering the data click OK.

Use custom properties

Show or hide the custom properties

• Click the show or hide button on the topic

Show only basic properties or all properties

• Right-click the Custom Properties topic icon , then click Show Basic Properties or Show All Properties.

Modify the list of custom properties

• Right-click the Custom Properties topic icon , then click Define Properties.

Remove the custom properties from the topic

• Right-click the Custom Properties topic icon , then click Remove Custom Properties from Topic.