Manage relations in the table widget

The Asset Table widget shows asset structures in an expandable table. You can get an overview on asset structures and manage asset relations on this widget.

Prerequisites

Configurations for the table widget queries and table relation types must have been defined by your censhare administrator. What is displayed and what can be managed depends on these configurations.

Introduction

With highly nested product structures typically used in a PIM system, an overview on a complete set of assets and their relations is essential. To keep asset structures consistent, you can display and manage assets and their relations in a table on one widget in censhare. In this article, you learn how to easily add, move and remove asset relations using the Asset Table widget.

The workflow is carried out in censhare Web. It refers to any Asset Table widget that is either available from an open asset page or from generic pages such as "Products", on the side navigation.

On the Asset Table widget, asset hierarchies are presented in a structured table. Assets are displayed in rows, on top and lower levels, indicating their relations. The top-level, for instance, might be showing product categories as parent assets and products as child assets on the lower levels. The hierarchies that are displayed, depend on the table widget configuration.

You may browse the elements on the table, manage relations, and carry out general editing on any asset on the table.

Which relation types can be managed?

On the Asset Table widget, you are able to manage those relations types that have been defined by your censhare administrator: You can then drag & drop assets to different rows to create new relations. Or drag them from the pinboard. You can also add new assets to the table, thereby creating relations. Removing relations is available as well.

More than one relation type can have been defined. In this case, you are prompted to select the appropriate one when creating or removing a relation. When placing or removing the asset, the selected relation type is applied. Different directions may be available, child-parent as well as parent-child relations or a combination of both.

Sorting and grouping of assets on the same level

Assets of the same level in the table can be sorted and grouped automatically. For example, all product items of a product. Sorting and grouping must be enabled in the root and/or child query of the widget configuration. Grouping and sorting can be combined.

Assets can be sorted by any asset property, for example by their name (alphabetically) or ID. The sort order is ascending or descending.

If the automatic grouping is enabled, the table shows additional headlines for each group. Assets can be grouped by any asset property, for example by their size or color. The groups can be sorted in ascending or descending order.

The grouping represents a flat order of the assets within one table level, based on a specific property. It is not part of the table hierarchy. Therefore, you cannot drag and drop assets between the groups. If you want to move an asset to another group, edit the respective property in the asset. censhare adjusts the table automatically. The asset appears in the new group.

Browse the table

The asset table may be available on your workspace when opening an asset page. The top-level item shows the currently opened asset. The items displayed on lower levels are the assets related to the currently opened asset. For example, you open the product category asset "Food". "Food" has a relation of type "product" to the child assets "Cheese", "Bread" and "Honey". So, "Food" is displayed on the top-level of the table, and "Cheese", "Bread" and "Honey" are displayed indented, on the lower level.

The table is also available for generic overviews, such as "Product" which you can access from the side navigation. The content displayed varies depending on the table widget configuration. For example, showing a hierarchical list of product categories and products assigned to them.

For any item, the table displays properties such as name, description or modification date in a separate column. The asset name is always displayed in the first column. Change the order of all other columns by dragging the column to a different position in the table header.

Browse the table by expanding or collapsing the top-level elements.

Drag & drop assets to create relations

To create a relation by moving an asset:

Drag the child asset you want to create a relation for, either from a row in the table or from the pinboard.
Move it onto the respective asset and drop it.

If more than one relation type has been defined for the table, you are prompted to select the respective relation type.

The asset is placed in the selected context. The relation is created with the selected relation type.

Add assets to create relations

To create a relation by adding or selecting an asset:

Select the asset you want to create a relation for from the table. To the right of the asset name, click the
button.
If more than one relation type has been defined, you are prompted to select the appropriate one.
The Asset Chooser is displayed. Select which asset to relate: either "New asset", "Asset from template", "Asset from file" or "Existing asset".
When choosing "Existing asset", asset types are already displayed according to your table configuration.
When selecting "New asset", keep in mind that asset types can only be displayed according to the table configuration. For example, if you create an asset of type "Video", but this type has not been defined for display in the table, then the asset cannot be created and a respective error message is displayed.

The asset is added and placed into the selected context. The relation is created according to the selected relation type.

Note: On a generic page, such as the "Products" table, you might also see a plus-button in the table header. You are then able to also add top-level elements to the table. The button is only available, if this functionality is enabled in the table widget configuration.

Remove asset relations

To remove a relation:

Click the
button to the right of the asset you want to remove the relation for.
If more than one relation type has been defined, you are prompted to select the appropriate one.

The asset relation is deleted and the asset is removed from the table row.

Edit assets from the table

For any asset on the table, the standard editing options are available directly from the Actions menu in each row. These include opening or deleting an asset or editing its properties.

To edit an asset from the table widget:

Select the asset you want to edit.
Click the Actions menu to the right of the asset name and select any action you want to carry out.
Make you edits and confirm with OK.

The asset is updated according to you edits. You are back on the table widget.

Result

You have obtained an overview on specific asset structures. You have added and/or removed certain asset relations for the asset structures displayed. The assets have been updated according to your edits.