Create new generic operations


We're working on it. Stay tuned!

You can add generic operations to the object class model. This is relevant for example if you create a custom object class and need to add create, delete, and edit operations for it, or if you would like to add special functionality like execution of an ADIF job. The scope of functionality that you can define as operation is limited to the use cases listed below. The operations that you define are added as buttons to all class based content areas and data workbenches for the object class you defined it for. You can exclude the operations via the class setting for user profiles, object class tereotypes, or when specific conditions apply.

You can add standard create, edit, and delete operations to object classes not yet having these operations defined.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add operations to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add Default Operations.
  4. Optionally, you can alter the appearance of the buttons. Click the operation and set any of the following attributes:
    • Caption: Enter the button caption.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.
    •  Confirm Message: For delete operations only, you can define a text that will then be displayed to the user clicking the button in a pop-up with two buttons No and Yes. The delete operation is only performed if the user clicks the Yes button.
    • Button Location: Select MainToolbar if the button shall always be directly visible in the toolbar of content areas and data workbenches and not hidden under the three-dots menu. Select MoreGroup to always hide the button under the three-dots menu. Select NoPreference to the button location shall depend on the available space on the user interface.

If no generic create operation is provided yet for an object class you can either use the functionality to automatically add create, edit, and delete operations. or define the buttons separately.

Generic operations for creating a new object are not displayed in class based content areas. They are only available in data workbenches.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add the operation to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add New Operation.
  4. Click the new operation and set the attributes:

    Attributes for performing the operation

    • Name: Enter a technical name for the generic operation.
    • Transaction: Leave this setting as is.
    • Type: Select Create.
    • Target Class: Select the object class you are defining the generic operation for. This is the object class for which objects will be created.

    Attributes for designing the button

    • Caption:: Enter a text that shall be displayed as button caption on the user interface.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.

    Attributes defining button availability

    • Access in User Interface: Select Access to make the button visible in the user interface and NoAccess to hide the button. If the button shall only be available in a single user profile, you can set it to NoAccess in the object class model and change this setting in the class settings of the object class assigned to the user profile only.
    • Base Context Class: Optionally, select an object class to limit availability of the button to data workbenches which are embedded or opened from the content area of an object of the selected object class.
    • Object-Based Operation Context/Enabled: Select Enabled if you have defined a Base Context Class. Otherwise this setting is ignored.
    • Selection-Based Operation Context/Source: Select System . The button will always be active in data workbenches. Alternatively, you can select Disabled to deactivate the button in data workbenches.
    • Button Location: Select MainToolbar to force display of the button in the main toolbar. Select MoreGroup to move the button to the three-dots menu. Select NoPreference to locate the button in the main toolbar, if the required space is available and otherwise move it to the three-dots menu.

If no generic create operation is provided yet for an object class you can either use the functionality to automatically add create, edit, and delete operations. or define the buttons separately.

A button for a generic edit operation will open the editor defined in the class settings of the object class. In the class settings, you can change the generic operation to open another editor instead.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add the operation to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add New Operation.
  4. Click the new operation and set the attributes:

    Attributes for performing the operation

    • Name: Enter a technical name for the generic operation.
    • Transaction: Leave this setting as is.
    • Type: Select Edit.
    • Source Class: Select the object class you are defining the generic operation for. This is the object class for which objects can be edited.

    Attributes for designing the button

    • Caption:: Enter a text that shall be displayed as button caption on the user interface.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.

    Attributes defining button availability

    • Access in User Interface: Select Access to make the button visible in the user interface and NoAccess to hide the button. If the button shall only be available in a single user profile, you can set it to NoAccess in the object class model and change this setting in the class settings of the object class assigned to the user profile only.
    • Base Context Class: Optionally, select an object class to limit availability of the button to data workbenches which are embedded or opened from the content area of an object of the selected object class.
    • Object-Based Operation Context/Enabled: Select Enabled if you want the button to be visible in the content area of the object or if you have defined a Base Context Class.
    • Selection-Based Operation Context/Source: Select Single . The button will only be active in data workbenches if a single object has been selected. Alternatively, you can select Disabled to deactivate the button in data workbenches.
    • Button Location: Select MainToolbar to force display of the button in the main toolbar. Select MoreGroup to move the button to the three-dots menu. Select NoPreference to locate the button in the main toolbar, if the required space is available and otherwise move it to the three-dots menu.

If no generic delete operation is provided yet for an object class you can either use the functionality to automatically add create, edit, and delete operations. or define the buttons separately.

Generic operations for deleting a new object are not displayed in class based content areas. They are only available in data workbenches.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add the operation to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add New Operation.
  4. Click the new operation and set the attributes:

    Attributes for performing the operation

    • Name: Enter a technical name for the generic operation.
    • Transaction: Leave this setting as is.
    • Type: Select Delete.
    • Source Class: Select the object class you are defining the generic operation for. This is the object class for which objects will be deleted.
    • Confirm Message: Optionally you can define a text that will then be displayed to the user clicking the button in a pop-up with two buttons No and Yes. Button executionThe operation will only be executed if the user clicks the Yes button.

    Attributes for designing the button

    • Caption:: Enter a text that shall be displayed as button caption on the user interface.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.

    Attributes defining button availability

    • Access in User Interface: Select Access to make the button visible in the user interface and NoAccess to hide the button. If the button shall only be available in a single user profile, you can set it to NoAccess in the object class model and change this setting in the class settings of the object class assigned to the user profile only.
    • Base Context Class: Optionally, select an object class to limit availability of the button to data workbenches which are embedded or opened from the content area of an object of the selected object class.
    • Object-Based Operation Context/Enabled: Select Enabled if you have defined a Base Context Class. Otherwise this setting is ignored.
    • Selection-Based Operation Context/Source: Select Single to activate the button on selection of one object in the data workbench or Multiple to activate the button if one or multiple objects are selected. Alternatively, you can select Disabled to deactivate the button in data workbenches.
    • Button Location: This setting is ignored for generic delete operations. The button will always be in the three-dots menu.

This type of generic operations adds a relation to an existing object B to an object A. The objects A and B can be of different object classes or of the same object class. Examples are the assignments of applications to application groups or the assignment of other applications groups to an application group as subordinate objects.

When creating a relation, there need to be an object class property in one of the object classes for storing the relation. The object class property must be of the type Reference or ReferenceArray . Which object classes are allowed as reference targets is defined in the Type Info attribute of the object class property. You can define a generic operation for adding a relation either on the target or source object class.

The generic add operation is displayed as a sub-menu item of the New button. When a user clicks the menu option, a selector opens to select an existing object.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add the operation to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add New Operation.
  4. Click the new operation and set the attributes:

    Attributes for performing the operation

    • Name: Enter a technical name for the generic operation.
    • Transaction: Leave this setting as is.
    • Type: Select Add Relation.
    • Target Class: Select the object class you are defining the generic operation for. This is the object class the relation is created for. If you define the Base Context Class attribute, you do not need to specify a target class. The base context class is then used as target class.
    • Source Class: Select the object class of the object that shall be assigned to an object of the target object class. This is the object class the selector opens for.
    • Relation Class: The object class with the object class property storing the relation. This can be either the source or the target class.
    • Relation Property: The object class property of the Relation Class storing the relation.

    Attributes for designing the button

    • Caption:: Enter a text that shall be displayed as button caption on the user interface.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.

    Attributes defining button availability


We're working on it. Stay tuned!

This type of generic operations adds a relation to a object B to an object A. the object A is created during the execution of the operation and the reference between the two objects is set. The objects A and B can be of different object classes or of the same object class. Examples are the assignments of applications to application groups or the assignment of other applications groups to an application group as subordinate objects.

When creating a relation, there need to be an object class property in one of the object classes for storing the relation. The object class property must be of the type Reference or ReferenceArray . Which object classes are allowed as reference targets is defined in the Type Info attribute of the object class property. You can define a generic operation for adding a relation either on the target or source object class.

The generic add operation is displayed as a sub-menu item of the New button. When a user clicks the menu option, a selector opens to select an existing object.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add the operation to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add New Operation.
  4. Click the new operation and set the attributes:

    Attributes for performing the operation

    • Name: Enter a technical name for the generic operation.
    • Transaction: Leave this setting as is.
    • Type: Select Create And Add Relation.
    • Target Class: Select the object class you are defining the generic operation for. This is the object class the relation is created for. If you define the Base Context Class attribute, you do not need to specify a target class. The base context class is then used as target class.
    • Source Class: Select the object class of the object that shall be created and assigned to an object of the target object class. This is the object class the editor opens for.
    • Relation Class: The object class with the object class property storing the relation. This can be either the source or the target class.
    • Relation Property: The object class property of the Relation Class storing the relation.

    Attributes for designing the button

    • Caption:: Enter a text that shall be displayed as button caption on the user interface.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.

    Attributes defining button availability


We're working on it. Stay tuned!


We're working on it. Stay tuned!


We're working on it. Stay tuned!

ADIF job execution on button interaction is done asynchronously.

  1. Go to the Meta-Model tab in Alfabet Expand.
  2. Expand the node of the object class you want to add the operation to.
  3. Right-click the Generic Operations node and select Add New Operation.
  4. Click the new operation and set the attributes:

    Attributes for performing the operation

    • Name: Enter a technical name for the generic operation.
    • Transaction: Leave this setting as is.
    • Type: Select Execute ADIF Scheme.
    • Views > Parameter: Select the ADIF scheme that shall be executed.
    • Views > Arguments: If parameters need to be set for execution of the ADIF scheme, enter a list of parameter name and value pairs with the following syntax:
      • -paramName1 paramValue1 -paramName2 paramValue2

      ADIF parameter names always start with an @ which need to be included in the name specification:

      • -@lastupdate 09/06/2018 -@orga ITGroup
    • Confirm Message: Optionally you can define a text that will then be displayed to the user clicking the button in a pop-up with two buttons No and Yes. ADIF execution is only performed if the user clicks the Yes button.

    Attributes for designing the button

    • Caption:: Enter a text that shall be displayed as button caption on the user interface.
    • Icon: If you want an icon to be displayed in front of the button caption, select the icon from the icon gallery.

    Attributes defining button availability


We're working on it. Stay tuned!