Manage asset relations

Introduction

Asset relations are an important way to organize information in censhare. Asset relations store qualitative and/or quantitative information about the relationship between the assets. You can use these entities to define the connection between individual assets. For example, an "Assignment" relation indicates that two assets have something to do with each other. An "Author" relation indicates that a specific “Person” asset is the author of a specific "Article" asset.

Asset references define the connection between two assets in a slightly different way than asset relations. Asset references are not separate entities. Asset references store information about the related asset as a property in the parent asset. For example, an "Author" property in an "Article" asset can reference a specific "Person" asset.

The way that asset relations and asset references work in the user interface is nearly identical from the perspective of an end user. Therefore, in the censhare Web documentation we use the term “relation” for both types of relationships. Processes in which censhare Web displays only one or the other type of relationship are clearly labeled. 

• Assets that you create via the "Create asset" dialog and files that you upload as assets do not have relations. The relations that you add to the asset define the meaning and context of the asset. For example, when you upload an image, censhare Web creates a new "Image" asset and stores the image file in your system.
• Assets that you create in a given context, are automatically related to the source asset with the respective relation or reference. For example, if you upload an image file in the "Main picture" widget of an asset, censhare creates an "Image" asset and the respective relation.

When you add one or more relations, you add meaning to the image asset in specific contexts. For example, if you connect the image to a “Product” asset with a "Main image" relation, the image asset becomes part of the product information. To connect the person who created the image to the image asset, you can add an “Author” relation. If you use the image in the “Layout” asset of your product catalog, censhare Web adds a “Placement” relation to the Image asset automatically.

When you add a relation, you must indicate the type and direction of the relation. The direction is always described from the context asset to the asset being linked. For example, the relation between an image and a layout can be created and viewed in two directions or contexts:

(1) If the direction is from image to layout, then the image is the parent of the layout:

(2) If the direction is from layout to image, then the layout is the parent of the image:

The latter is the correct direction for our example: The image is assigned to the layout, because the image is to be used in a layout, not the other way around. The direction of a relationship is indicated by "child" or "parent". These terms are used to describe and display asset structures in censhare. "Parents" have a higher hierarchical rank than "children": A layout contains the texts and images, therefore, it is the parent asset of the latter.

Assets can have multiple relations with other assets. At the same time, multiple relations can exist for the same asset. The relations will have different types, however, as the following example illustrates:

Visualized asset structure with assets (1) and relations (2).

Whereas tree or table views give you an overview of asset structures in your system, in many cases you will be working on an asset and want to know about the relations of this particular asset. Other than in asset structures, where the viewpoint is from outside, you are here looking at relations from a context. Thus, relations are described and shown in the context of the current asset:

• If the image of our example was the context asset, and you were viewing layout it was assigned to, then the viewing direction would be from child to parent. The relation, in this case, would be shown as "Assigned for".

• If, in the same example, the layout was the context asset and you were viewing the assigned image asset, then the viewing direction would be from parent to child. The relationship would be shown as "Assignments".

Some relations can only be created in a certain direction, since censhare uses filters that, for example, only allow a "Product part" to be a child of a "Product". There are, however, more generic relations like the "Assignment" that can be created either way.

Display relations

"Show relations" action

You can open the "Show relations" page of an asset from any asset page or asset list.

The corresponding asset actions are available in the asset action menu of the list entry as well as in the asset menu of the asset page. 

1. To view the Show relations page for an asset, open the asset page of the desired asset.

2. In the actions menu of the asset page, select "Show relations". A search page with a list of the assets that are related to the selected asset opens.

The “Show relations” page of an asset: An icon that identifies the page as a search page (1). The title of the search page that includes the name of the selected asset (2) The asset type of the selected asset (3). The asset list is grouped by the names of the relations (8). Below each relation title the related assets are shown (9). The "View" menu (4). The "Sort by" menu (5). in the title bar (7) to adjust the asset list view to suit your needs. Use the "action menu" (6) Options to save or export the search.

censhare always shows the relations here from the perspective of that particular asset, the so-called context asset. All displayed relations with assets, therefore, refer to this context asset. censhare shows related assets on this page grouped by their various types and directions. This means, there may be a group "Assignments" (child direction" as well as "Assigned to" (parent direction). This page does not show relations stored as references.

The default sort order and grouping are by relation type. Use the sorting button to arrange the asset list according to other criteria such as name or due date. For more information, see "Sorting search results".

To save the relations search page for the context asset you can drag and drop the associated entry from the "Open" area to the "Favorites" area. Or you can save the relations search page as a search favorite. To do this move the cursor to the action menu button and select the entry "Save search". For more information see the article Save and manage searches.

Use the "Show relations" page to get a quick overview of the assets that are linked directly to a selected asset. If you need to display the relations for a certain asset frequently, save the search in your “Stored searched”. 

Single relation widget and Multi relation widget

These two widgets display asset relations in a more structured view and can display the properties of the related assets in a table view. The widgets can show relations of the context asset as well as any other root node type. That means, other than the "Single relation" or "Multi relation" widgets, these widgets can show asset relations in a much wider context than the context asset page they are placed in.

For example, in a PIM system, you can place a table widget showing product categories, products and product items. This widget is then placed on all product asset pages. Thus, you can navigate to the product you are currently working on. The widget shows you the categories and product items of this product. You can also drag and drop it to another category, add product items or remove it from a category.

Both widgets can be configured in order to show any relation type/direction, including feature reverse asset references. The widgets also provide functionality to add and remove asset relations. 

Display related assets in the Table widget and Report widget

These two widgets display asset relations in a more structured view and can display the properties of the related assets in a table view. The widgets can show relations of the context asset as well as other assets. That means, other than the "Single relation" or "Multi relation" widgets, these widgets can show asset relations in a much wider context than the context asset page they are placed in.

These two widgets display asset relations in a more structured view. Plus, they can display any type of properties of the related assets in a table grid view. The configuration of the widgets allows you to show relations of the context asset as well as any other root node type. That means, other than the "Related assets" or "Multi relation" widgets, these widgets can show asset relations in a much wider context than the context asset page they are placed in.

For example, in a PIM system, you can place a table widget showing product categories, products and product items. This widget is then placed on all product asset pages. Thus, you can navigate to the product you are currently working on. The widget shows you the categories and product items of this product. You can also drag and drop it to another category, add product items or remove it from a category.

Both table and report widgets, can optionally be configured with a toolbar to filter displayed assets. The table widget can be configured in order to add and remove asset relations to or from any given node in the structure. This option is not available in the report widget. To learn more about the usage of the table widget, read the article "Managing asset relations using the Asset Table widget".

Display related assets in different views

censhare Web offers different ways to explore the relationships of the assets that are listed on a search page:

• Column view: The column view sorts all assets that are directly related to the selected asset by relationship type. When you select an asset in one column, the relations are shown in a separate column.

• Relation view: This view offers a graphical, network-like display of directly and indirectly related assets of the selected asset. In order to give you a better overview, the relationship nodes bundle all assets that have relations of the same name with the context asset. You can then select every related asset in order to graphically show their relationships. This will also generate a path from the assets that you selected one by one.

To open the “Views” menu, click the icon of the view that is selected currently in the title bar. From the “View” drop-down select the desired view. Based on the view that you select, censhare Web displays the asset list. Select the asset whose relations you want to see. This will open the respective column or create the paths. Now, you can further explore the relations by selecting another asset from the second column or from the diagram, respectively. 

As you navigate through the asset relations in an asset list, you can switch views. However, asset relations are visible in the "Column view" and "Relation view" only.

In the preferences of your workspace, you can set the default view mode for search pages and the "Show relations" page. For more information, see Preferences.

Add, move, and remove relations

Using the asset action "Add relation"

This asset action adds an asset relation to an existing asset, by creating a new asset. It is the most generic way to create an asset relation in censhare. You should have some experience with asset relations and working with censhare when you use this action. It is available on any asset page in the asset menu:

Clicking the "Add relation" menu item opens a dialog where you select the relation you want to create. The dialog presents a full list of available assets relations and references. Be aware that relations and references can be created in two directions: as child and parent relation. Hence, unless restrictions apply to the selected asset type, the list displays each relation twice. For example, the "Assignment" relation will appear as "Assignments" (child relation) and as "Assigned for" (parent relation).

When you select the desired relation, the asset chooser dialog opens. Based on the configuration of your system, the asset chooser dialog offers different ways to add the relation asset:

• Create a new asset

• Create a new asset from a template

• Upload a file

• Select an existing asset

For certain relation types, the asset chooser dialog limits the available assets to select from. For example, if the relation type "Tasks" is specified in the widget configuration. the asset list in the main window of the dialog shows only "Task" assets types. 

Once you have created or selected an asset, click OK. The relation is created immediately. 

Note: If you create an asset relation that is stored as a reference, the reference is not shown on the "Show relations" page. To view asset relations that are stored as references, you need a Single relation widget or Multi relation widget that is configured accordingly.

Using the "Remove" action on a "Related assets" or list page

Note: If you create an asset relation that is stored as a reference, the reference is not shown on the "Show relations" page. To view asset relations that are stored as references, you need a "Related assets" or "Multi relation" widget that is configured accordingly.

To confirm the action, click OK in the confirmation dialog. censhare Web removes the asset relation.

Add, move or remove relations in the "Related assets" or "Multi relation" widgets

The widgets Single relation widget and Multi relation widget allow you to add or remove asset relations to the currently displayed asset (the context asset). In the Multi relation widget, you can add assets in each of the relation types displayed in the widget. You can also move-related assets from one relation type to another.

To create a relation, move the cursor to the widget title bar or the title bar of the desired relation, respectively, until the "Add relation" button appears. Click on it to open the asset chooser:

You do not have to choose the relation type, since this is given by The widget or the group of the widget, respectively. In the asset chooser dialog, select whether you want to create a new asset, new asset from a template, upload a file, or select an existing asset to create the relation. For certain relation types the asset chooser dialog limits the available assets to select from. For example, if you selected the "Tasks" relation type in the widget configuration, the dialog shows only "Task" assets. 

In the Multi-relation widget you can also add relations using drag & drop. To do so, click and hold the asset you want to relate and drag it to the widget. There, drop it in the highlighted area of the desired relation type. Dragging is also possible between different assets. Click and drag the asset title icon in the title of an asset page. Move it to the side navigation over the target asset. Wait until the target asset opens and move it to the tab, where the Multi-relation widget is placed. 

Add or remove relations in the Table widget

If configured accordingly, you can manage asset relations in the table widget. This allows you to add or remove relations to the asset that is currently open, and any other asset in the table. Every node in the table can serve as the context node for the relation to be created. The table relation configuration is very flexible. Check whether relations can be added or removed to a certain node by moving the cursor over it:

If more than one relation type can be created from a node, a dialog to select the relation type opens. For example, a product table shows an asset structure with top-level product categories, sub-categories, and products. When you click "Add" in a sub-category, you can select one of the following options:

• Add a product-category relation as a parent relation

• Add a product-category relation as a child relation

• Add a product

Select an option and click OK to continue. The asset chooser dialog opens. Select an existing asset or create a new one. To continue, click OK.