Entity List

The Directory of MOPS 4.0 contains a list of entities, which are items that can be managed within the system. Each entity has a type, properties, and permissions associated with it.

The Directory Explorer presents a subset of all entities in the system, allowing users to browse, search, open and manage these entities. The entities can represent various items such as displays, dashboards, trends, and other items that are available in the system.

The Entity List presents all entities of the Directory, making it possible to manage them in a centralized way. The Entity List can be accessed from the Directory Settings > Entities menu option on the System menu.

Selecting the Entities option opens the Entity List, which by default displays all entities in the system.

The entity list allows you to view, filter, search, and manage entities. You can perform various operations on the entities, such as creating new entities, editing properties, assigning permissions, deleting entities, and more.

Filtering the Entity List

The Entity List current supports filtering by search term, entity type and owner.

Search Term

In the field named Search Term, you can enter a text to filter the entities displayed in the list. This will search for entities that match the text you enter, allowing you to quickly find specific entities. The search is case-insensitive and will match any part of the entity name or description.

Entity Type

In the Entity Type dropdown, you can select a specific entity type to filter the list. This allows you to view only entities of a certain type, such as displays, dashboards, trends, etc. All entity types available in the system will be shown in the dropdown.

Owner

In the Owner dropdown, you can select a specific user to filter the entities by their owner. This allows you to view only entities that are owned by a specific user, making it easier to manage entities associated with that user. The dropdown will show all users in the system. Possibly the most common use case for this filter is to find entities that you have created yourself.

Entity Operations

Opening and Editing Details of an Entity

To view the details of an entity, you can click on the entity name in the list. This will open a details view where you can see the properties of the entity, such as its name, description, type, owner, and any other relevant information. The details view may also allow you to perform additional operations on the entity, such as editing its properties or assigning permissions.

If you have the necessary permissions, you can edit the properties of the entity directly from the details view. This may include changing the entity name, description, type, owner, and other properties. After making changes, you can save the updated properties to apply them to the entity.

The top part of the details view shows the ID, name, description, parent, entity type, owner, permissions and labels of the entity. These are common properties that is available for all entities in the system.

Below the common properties, under the title «Type» Attributes, you will find the properties specific to the entity type. These properties can vary depending on the entity type and may include additional information relevant to that type of entity.

Common attributes include:

• ID: The unique identifier of the entity. This is a system-generated value that cannot be changed. In some situations the ID is used to reference the entity in other parts of the system. For this purpose, there is a copy button next to the ID that allows you to copy the ID to the clipboard. In most situations you will not need to directly use the ID, as most places where an ID is expected you can simply select the entity from a list or a directory explorer.
• Name: The name of the entity. This is a user-friendly name that is used to identify the entity in the system. The name can be changed by editing the entity properties. The name should be unique for its parent location, so that it can be easily identified.
• Description: A brief description of the entity. Event tough this is an optional field it is recommended to provide a description for the entity, as it can help other users understand its purpose and functionality.
• Parent: The parent of the entity. This is the location in the directory where the entity is located. The parent location can be changed by editing the entity properties. The parent location is used to organize entities in the directory.
• Entity Type: The type of the entity. This is a system-defined value that indicates the type of entity, such as display, dashboard, trend, etc. The entity type should not be changed after the entity is created, as it defines the properties and behavior of the entity. The entity type determines which properties are available for the entity and how it can be used in the system.
• Owner: The owner of the entity. This is the user who created the entity and has full control over it. The owner can currently not be changed after the entity is created, but this may be implemented in a future release. The owner is used to determine who has permissions to manage the entity and who can perform operations on it. The owner is also used to filter the entity list by owner, allowing you to view only entities that are owned by a specific user.
• Permissions: The permissions associated with the entity. This is a list of permissions that determine who can perform operations on the entity. Permissions can be assigned to roles that in turn is assigned to users. To edit permissions for an entity you either need to have the Administrator role or the Grant permission for the entity. See section Assigning Permissions to an Entity for more information on how to assign permissions.
• Labels: Labels are used to categorize and organize entities in the system. Labels can be used to filter the entity list by label, allowing you to view only entities that have a specific label (not yet available, planned for future release). Labels can be assigned to entities using this field or assigned to Components in the Designer. See the section Labels for more information on how to use labels.

Type-specific attributes are described in reference documentation for each entity type.

After editing the properties of an entity, you can save the changes by clicking the Save button. On successful save, the entity list will be updated to reflect the changes made to the entity. If there are any validation errors, they will be displayed in the details view, and you will need to correct them before you can save the changes. Validation errors may include missing required fields, invalid values, or other issues that prevent the entity from being saved.

If the operation fails for any reason, an error message will be displayed as a notification in the bottom right corner of the screen. This message will provide information about the error and suggest possible actions to resolve it.

Creating a New Entity

To create a new entity, you can click the Plus ⊕ button located at the bottom right of the entity list. This will open an empty entity details panel, on the right side, where you can enter the properties of the new entity.

The entity create from the entity list will have no default values set, so you will need to manually enter the properties for the new entity. Required properties are Name and Entity Type and depending on the selected entity type, you may have some type-specific required properties as well.

If you intend to have the new entity created in a specific location in the directory, you can select the parent location from the Parent dropdown. This will determine where the new entity will be created in the directory hierarchy. If you do not select a parent location, the new entity will be created in the root of the directory and now shown in the directory explorer.

To have the new entity created, you must click the Save button at the bottom of the details view. If the operation is successful, the new entity will be added to the entity list.

Deleting an Entity

To delete an entity, you can use the button available in the entity list. This button is represented by a trash can icon and is located on the right side of the entity row in the list.

Alternatively, you can also delete an entity from the details view by clicking the Delete button located at the bottom of the details view.

This Delete operation will remove the entity from the system and cannot be undone. You must have the Delete permission for the entity to perform this operation. If you do not have the necessary permissions, the Delete button will be disabled, and you will not be able to delete the entity.

When you click the Delete button, a confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm the deletion.

Showing and Hiding Inherited Attributes

An entity defines attributes that are specific to its type, but it may also inherit attributes from its parent entity. In the entity list, you can choose to show or hide these inherited attributes.

To toggle the visibility of inherited attributes, you can use the Show Inherited Attributes checkbox at the bottom of the entity details panel.

When the checkbox is checked, the inherited attributes will be displayed in the details view. This allows you to see the complete set of attributes for the entity, including those inherited from its parent entity. When the checkbox is unchecked, the inherited attributes will be hidden, and only the attributes specific to the entity will be shown. This can help to reduce clutter in the details view.

Inherited attributes will be listed under the section titled «Inherited from Parent» in the details view. These attributes are read-only and cannot be edited directly in the entity list. If you need to change an inherited attribute, you will need to edit the parent entity from which the attribute is inherited.

Showing Entity Dependencies

To view the dependents of an entity, you can click the Entity is used in button located at the bottom of the entity details panel. This will open a modal that show the dependents of the entity, including any components, displays, dashboards, or other entities that require this entity for its operation.

You may use this feature to determine whether this entity can be safely deleted or whether special care need to be taken when making changes to it.

IMPORTANT: This feature was developed for tracking dependent for display components and, while some other types of relations are supported, it is not guaranteed that all entity types will be correctly tracked. The feature is still under development and may be improved in future releases.

Defining Labels for an Entity

You can find information on how to use labels in Labels.

Assigning Permissions to an Entity

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