Create a content area

You can create a new content area from scratch or base it on a copy of an existing content area to re-use part of the content.

• Create a class based content area
  1. Go to the Presentation tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Right-click the Content Areas node in the explorer and select New Class-based Content Area.

     Alternatively, you can create the content area as a copy of an existing content area. Right-click a content area and select New Content Area as Copy.

  3. Select the object class in the selector.
  4. Click the new content area in the explorer and define the following:
     • Name: Change the name to a meaningful technical name.
     • Automatically Hide Content Page Tabs: If a content area consists of only one page, no tab is displayed on top of the page. You can set this attribute to False to show the tab even if only one page is available.
     • Object Profile: Select the object profile named SAG_<ClassAbbreviation>_Profile to add the buttons for the class related functionality to the content area.

       The way buttons are added to content areas is currently moved from display of buttons in an object profile to display of buttons enabled via class operations. If a button is not available in a content area without selection of an object profile, you should first check whether it is available as class operation, but deactivated. If the button is not available as class operation, select the object profile and contact PLM to ensure that it will be added to the class operation buttons.

     • Enable Class Operations: Button interactions for the Operations of an object class are by default added to a class based content area. If the button interactions are all not applicable to the use of the content area, set this attribute to False to hide the buttons for the standard class operations.

       Individual class operation buttons can be excluded from a class based content area on the class level and on the class settings level.

     • Format String: You can change the information about the object displayed in the header of the content area with this attributes. Open the editor of the attribute and specify the header in two lines. In the first line, provide a comma separated list of property names including all properties that shall be visible in the header information. In the second line, write the complete headline with property values added as property name enclosed in curly brackets.

       Open an editor for an attribute

       Click in the attribute value field. A button for opening the editor appears on the right of the field.

       To change the header for an application content area to show not only name and version, but also the status of the application, you can define the following: Name,Version,Status Application: {Name} {Version} ({Status})

     • Group: You can move content areas to sub-folders of the Content Area node in the explorer. Define the name of a new or existing folder to display the content area under a folder with the defined name.
     • Prevent Inline Editing in Object Views: By default users can edit the attributes of an object directly in the property groups added to the content area. Set this attribute to True

     All attributes not mentioned above are currently not in use.

• Create a class independent content area
  1. Go to the Presentation tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Right-click the Content Areas node in the explorer and select New Non-Class-based Content Area.

     Alternatively, you can create the content area as a copy of an existing content area. Right-click a content area and select New Content Area as Copy.

  3. Click the new content area in the explorer and define the following:
     • Name: Change the name to a meaningful technical name.
     • Automatically Hide Content Page Tabs: If a content area consists of only one page, no tab is displayed on top of the page. You can set this attribute to False to show the tab even if only one page is available.
     • Group: You can move content areas to sub-folders of the Content Area node in the explorer. Define the name of a new or existing folder to display the content area under a folder with the defined name.

     The attributes Object Profile, Enable Class Operations, Format String, and Prevent Inline Editing in Object Views are only relevant for class based content areas and should not be set.

     All attributes not mentioned above are currently not in use.