Editing the Presentation Metadata
Metadata is essentially data that describes other data. Component metadata contains information that determines the display aspects of the user interface, such as which fields are visible or hidden, field types, drop-down menu options, the location of different fields on the component, and agency Help content. This information is called presentation metadata. The metadata for web-based AASHTOWare Project is in XML format.
By editing the presentation metadata in a component, you can customize the component to display information in a way more useful to your agency. You can also assign different versions of the same component to different roles, depending on agency need.
Note: For detailed information about the presentation metadata that can assist you when making customizations, refer to the Web_Based_Project_Ui_Metadata_Documentation.html file, available from the Documentation folder in the installation.zip file.
To create a copy of a component that can be assigned to one or more user roles, navigate to the Component Overview, locate the component you want to customize in the list, and then select Copy to Role Component from the Actions menu on the component row.
The Copy to Role Component opens on the Metadata tab, which contains all the base (default) presentation metadata for the component you are customizing. You can view or change information in the following fields:
Enter an identifying value into the Agency ID field. This identifier is used when assigning role access rights to the custom component (see Assigning Component Access Rights to a Role).
Click in the Metadata text box and edit the metadata text as needed. For more information about using the code editor text box, see Using the Code Editor Text Box.
Future software updates will overwrite the base presentation metadata with the new version. Once you have customized the presentation metadata for a component, future system updates will not overwrite the custom presentation metadata. However, customizations should be evaluated after each software update to ensure that they have not been impacted by deprecated controls and that users have access to any newly added features.
When you are finished, click the Save button to save your changes. The system displays a message to confirm that your changes were saved in the database.
To add agency Help for the component, click the Agency Help tab. For more information, see Creating Agency Help for a Component.
Using the Code Editor Text Box
Code Editor text boxes are available on components where you customize system metadata. Clicking the magnifying glass button on the right side of the text box opens a secondary window that displays XML or IronPython code in numbered rows. This window provides basic code editing features, such as syntax color coding and indentation, in-line error and warning syntax validations, and the ability to expand and collapse elements.
While this window is open, pressing the tab key advances the cursor only within the text window; it will not advance the cursor to other areas of the page. Also, using your browser's search function (CTRL+F) will only search text that is currently visible on the component. To search the entire contents of the text window, click anywhere inside the window and press CTRL+F. A search field for use only in searching the contents of the window appears in the upper right corner of the window.
