Chapter 7: Defining Custom Types

Engineering Knowledge Manager

Administration Guide |

6.3. Optional Settings |  | 7.1. Overview of Custom Types
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## Chapter 7: Defining Custom Types

You can create and edit custom data types when the workspace is in restricted configuration mode. To create a custom type you simply fill out fields in a dialog box, as described in Defining Custom Types Directly in EKM. Alternatively you can create an XML file outside of EKM and then upload it into EKM. See Defining Custom Types Using XML for details.

This chapter will describe the steps required to add or modify a custom type, assuming that the restricted configuration mode has already been started (see Restricted Configuration). Once you are done with your modifications, you can accept the configuration to commit the changes and exit the restricted configuration mode. At that time, EKM may ask you to migrate old data whenever it sees a structural difference between an old type and a new one. Structural differences occur when you add or remove a property or child from an existing type. Adding a new type or deleting a type is not considered a structural change. See Migrating Workspaces for more details on how to migrate workspaces. Data migration is a time-consuming exercise that you should undertake only when necessary on a production workspace. Therefore you should ensure that the changes are correct and agreeable to all stakeholders before committing them to a production workspace.

Many of the examples described in this chapter can be found in the `examples` folder in your EKM server: `EKM_HOME/examples/conf/customTypes`.

Important: By default, Google Chrome does not display XML files such as those in `/Administration/Configuration/Custom Types`. However, you can install an extension such as XML Tree to enable viewing of XML. Go to https://chrome.google.com/extensions (or choose Extensions from the Chrome menu) and search for XML. Among the search returns will be the XML Tree extension, which has been found to work.

In this chapter:

- Overview of Custom Types
- Suggested Steps for Defining Custom Types
- Defining Custom Types Directly in EKM
- Defining Custom Types Using XML
- Custom Type Examples
- Extending Built-in Types

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