# Object Editor

The Object Editor allows objects of the chosen class to be created or edited. To start the object editor, click on the "Manage Objects" tab and then select the class of the object(s) to be created or edited.

To create a new object, click on the "Create" button.
To edit an object, select (left-click) the object. Right-click the selection and a menu will appear. Choose edit. Double clicking an object will also load it into the Object Editor.
Both of these actions start the Object Editor.

The class's Attributes and Relationships, as specified by your repository's data model, will be listed on the left side of the screen. The fields are color-coded. Required fields are shown in red. Optional fields are shown in black. Fields which have been given at least one value are shown in blue. See help documentation on Repository Properties / Data Model Editor for more information about the data model and what the fields mean.

## How to use the Object Editor

Clicking on a field brings up its typein box in the workspace. Click in the box and type in the field's value, either text or a url.

- "Add Field" button: enabled for fields that can have multiple values. Click to get another input box.
- "Save Object" button: not enabled until all required fields have been given a value. Used to save the object.
- "Save As New" button: only appears when editting an existing object. Used to save the object being editted as a new object.
- "Cancel" button: used to abort creating or editing the object. Objects made as the targets of relationships are still available.
- "Delete" button: used to delete a field's value.

What to supply for each field:
A brief description of the Attribute or Relationship should appear in the blue box at the bottom of the workspace.

- Attributes: For attributes, enter a value for the field. The type of typein box that is offered depends on the field's data type (as specified in your repository's data model). If a class has an Attribute called "DateOfInformation", its value will automatically be set to the current date when an object of that class is edited or created. The field's value can still be changed manually if desired.

- Relationships: For relationships, enter a url that points to an object of the relationship's destination class. This can be done two ways:
  1. Type in a url that can point to an object in another repository, if desired. Supplying a value that is not a url will cause RIB to generate an error message when the "Save Object" button is clicked.
  2. Use one of the following options to point the relationship to a local object.
     - "Browse" button: click here to see a list of the local objects that already exist in your repository for the relationship's destination class. Select one of these objects by clicking on it.
     - "New" button: Clicking this button will cause your current progress to be saved. Then a new instance of the object editor will start which allows you to create a new object of the relationship's destination class. After saving the new object, its url will appear in the original object's typein box for the relationship's value.