Extending the Schema

You can extend the schema of a tree by using ConsoleOne to create a new class or attribute. To extend the schema of your NDS tree, you need the Supervisor right to the entire tree.

You can extend the schema by:

You can extend the schema for auxiliary attributes by:


Creating a Class

You can add a class to your existing schema as your organizational needs change. The Create a Class Wizard in ConsoleOne helps you accomplish this task.

  1. In ConsoleOne, click anywhere in the NDS tree whose schema you want to extend.

  2. Click Tools > Schema Manager.

  3. Click the Classes tab > Create.

  4. Follow the instructions in the wizard to define the object class.

    Help is available throughout the wizard.

    See "Defining a Custom Object Class" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.

    If you need to define custom properties to add to the object class, cancel the wizard and define the custom properties first. See Creating an Attribute for more information.


Deleting a Class

You can delete unused classes that aren't part of the base schema of your NDS tree. ConsoleOne only prevents you from deleting classes that are currently being used in locally replicated partitions.

You might also want to consider deleting a class from the schema in the following instances:

To delete a class:

  1. In ConsoleOne, click anywhere in the NDS tree whose schema you want to modify.

  2. Click Tools > Schema Manager.

  3. Click the Classes tab > select the class > click Delete > click Yes.

See "Deleting a Class from the Schema" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Creating an Attribute

You can define your own custom types of properties and add them as optional properties to existing object classes. You can't, however, add mandatory properties to existing classes. The Create an Attribute Wizard in ConsoleOne helps you accomplish this task.

  1. In ConsoleOne, click anywhere in the NDS tree whose schema you want to extend.

  2. Click Tools > Schema Manager.

  3. Click the Attributes tab > Create.

  4. Follow the instructions in the wizard to define the new property.

    Help is available throughout the wizard.

See "Defining a Custom Property" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Adding an Optional Attribute to a Class

You can add optional attributes to existing classes. This might be necessary if:

  1. In ConsoleOne, click anywhere in the NDS tree whose schema you want to extend.

  2. Click Tools > Schema Manager.

  3. Click the Classes tab > select the class you want to modify > click Add.

  4. In the list on the left, double-click the properties you want to add.

    If you add a property by mistake, double-click it in the list on the right.

  5. Click OK.

    Objects you create of this class will now have the properties you added. To set values for the added properties, use the generic Other property page of the object.

See "Adding Optional Properties to a Class" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Deleting an Attribute

You can delete unused attributes that aren't part of the base schema of your NDS tree.

You might also want to delete an attribute from the schema in the following instances:

To delete an attribute:

  1. In ConsoleOne, click anywhere in the NDS tree whose schema you want to modify.

  2. Click Tools > Schema Manager.

  3. Click the Attributes tab > select the property > click Delete > click Yes.

See "Deleting a Property from the Schema" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Creating an Auxiliary Class

An auxiliary class is a set of properties (attributes) that is added to particular NDS object instances rather than to an entire class of objects. For example, an e-mail application could extend the schema of your NDS tree to include an E-Mail Properties auxiliary class and then extend individual objects with those properties as needed.

With Schema Manager, you can define your own auxiliary classes. You can then extend individual objects with the properties defined in your auxiliary classes.

  1. In ConsoleOne, click anywhere in the NDS tree whose schema you want to extend.

  2. Click Tools > Schema Manager.

  3. Click the Classes tab > Create.

  4. Follow the instructions in the wizard to define the auxiliary class.

    Make sure to select Auxiliary Class when setting the class flags. If you need to define custom properties to add to the auxiliary class, cancel the wizard and define the custom properties first. See Creating a Class for more information.

For more detailed information on defining and using auxiliary classes, see "Defining an Auxiliary Class" in ConsoleOne User Guide.


Extending an Object with the Properties of an Auxiliary Class

  1. In the main ConsoleOne window, right-click the object > click Extensions of This Object.

  2. Depending on whether the auxiliary class that you want to use is already listed under Current Auxiliary Class Extensions, complete the appropriate action in Table 19.


    Table 19.

    Auxiliary Class Is Already Listed? Action

    Yes

    Quit this procedure. See Modifying an Object's Auxiliary Properties instead.

    No

    Click Add Extension > select the auxiliary class > click OK.

  3. If a message appears stating that generic editors will be used, click OK.

  4. On the screen that appears, set the property values you want. Depending on which screen you're using, note the following:


    Table 20.

    Screen Notes

    Extensions tab (Properties dialog box)
    • Both mandatory and optional properties of the auxiliary class might be listed.
    • Click Help for more information on specific properties.

    New dialog box

  5. Click OK.

See "Extending an Object with the Properties of an Auxiliary Class" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Extending Multiple Objects Simultaneously with the Properties of an Auxiliary Class

  1. In the ConsoleOne right pane, Shift-click or Ctrl-click the objects to select them.

    The objects don't need to be the same type.

  2. Right-click your selection > click Extensions of Multiple Objects.

  3. Depending on whether the auxiliary class that you want to use is already listed under Current Auxiliary Class Extensions, complete the appropriate action in Table 21.

    Only those extensions that are common to all the selected objects are listed. Those that are specific to individual objects aren't listed.


    Table 21.

    Auxiliary Class Is Already Listed? Action

    Yes

    Quit this procedure. See Modifying an Object's Auxiliary Properties instead. You'll have to modify the objects one at a time.

    No

    Click Add Extension > select the auxiliary class > click OK.

  4. If a message appears stating that generic editors will be used, click OK.

  5. On the screen that appears, set the property values you want.

    IMPORTANT:  Each property value you set will be applied to each selected object. If the property already exists in the object and is single-valued, the existing value will be replaced. If the property already exists and is multivalued, the new values will be added to the existing values.

    Depending on which screen you're using, also note the following:


    Table 22.

    Screen Notes

    Extensions tab
    • Both mandatory and optional properties of the auxiliary class might be listed.
    • Click Help for more information on specific properties.

    New dialog box
    • Only mandatory properties of the auxiliary class are listed.
    • You must know the syntax of a property to set it correctly. For more information, see "Understanding Schema Manager".
    • After setting the mandatory properties, you can set optional properties as explained below. You'll have to modify the objects one at a time.

  6. Click OK.

See "Extending Multiple Objects Simultaneously with the Properties of an Auxiliary Class" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Modifying an Object's Auxiliary Properties

  1. In the main ConsoleOne window, right-click the object > click Properties.

  2. Click the Extensions tab > select the property page that's named after the auxiliary class.

    If the auxiliary class isn't listed or if there's no Extensions tab, use the generic Other page.

  3. On the screen that appears, set the property values you want. Depending on which screen you're using, note the following:


    Table 23.

    Screen Notes

    Extensions tab
    • Both mandatory and optional properties of the auxiliary class might be listed.
    • Click Help for more information on specific properties.

    Other tab
    • Only the properties of the auxiliary class that have already been set are listed. Click Add to set additional properties.
    • You must know the syntax of a property to set it correctly. For more information, see "Understanding Schema Manager".

  4. Click OK.

See "Modifying an Object's Auxiliary Properties" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Deleting Auxiliary Properties from an Object

  1. In the main ConsoleOne window, right-click the object > click Extensions of This Object.

  2. In the list of current auxiliary class extensions, select the auxiliary class whose properties you want to delete.

  3. Click Remove Extension > Yes.

    This deletes all the properties added by the auxiliary class except for any that the object already had innately.

See "Deleting Auxiliary Properties from an Object" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.


Deleting Auxiliary Properties from Multiple Objects Simultaneously

  1. In the ConsoleOne right pane, Shift-click or Ctrl-click the objects to select them.

    The objects don't need to be the same type.

  2. Right-click your selection > click Extensions of Multiple Objects.

  3. Depending on whether the auxiliary class whose properties you want to delete is listed under Current Auxiliary Class Extensions, complete the appropriate action from Table 24.

    Only those extensions that are common to all the selected objects are listed. Those that are specific to individual objects aren't listed.


    Table 24.

    Auxiliary Class Is Listed? Action

    Yes

    Select the auxiliary class > click Remove Extension > click Yes.

    This deletes all the properties added by the auxiliary class except for any that the object already had innately.

    No

    Cancel the dialog box. You'll have to delete the auxiliary class from each object one at a time. For more information, see Deleting Auxiliary Properties from an Object.

See "Deleting Auxiliary Properties from Multiple Objects Simultaneously" in ConsoleOne User Guide for more information.