Creating an object

Objects are the building blocks you will create in an Ambry database to keep track of your information. There are three ways you can create an object in an existing document.

Creating an object from scratch

Choose Create Object from the Object menu.

A new object is created and inserted into the current location. The object already has four properties created - Name, ID, Parent, and Contents. You can now edit the contents and the data of properties, add properties to, or remove properties from the object.

Instance objects

If you already have an object and you'd like to create a new object that inherits that object's properties and property values, you create an instance or child object of the object.

An instance inherits all the properties of its parent object and their values. If you add or remove a property from the child's parent, the property is added to or removed from the child object as well. You can change the value of properties in a child object, but, for simple properties, you cannot change the behavior of inherited properties.

When you add properties to a child object, all children of that object will then inherit those properties (in addition to any properties inherited from the object's parents).

Select the object you wish to be the child object's parent.
Choose Create Child from the Object menu.

The instance object is created. You can now edit the contents and the data of properties, add properties to, or remove properties from the object. However, you cannot remove or change the definition of inherited properties.

Using the Catalog

Using the Catalog, you can create objects of types other than the generic object.

To use the Catalog to create an object:

Choose Catalog from the Window menu. The Catalog palette is displayed.
Double-click the kind of object you'd like to create.

The object is created and inserted into the current location. You can now edit the object.

Renaming an Object

An object's name is editable directly in the Contents window. To edit an object's name:

Select the name by clicking on the object's name in the contents view.
Move the cursor our of the name or press Return; the property becomes a text entry box.
Type the new name and press Return to set it.

The name of the object in the list is changed.

Object Contents

Objects have a property which can be interacted with specially. The Contents object list property can be used to keep track of objects contained within the object. To open an object's contents:

Select the object.
Choose Open Contents from the Object window. A window for the Contents property is opened.

Tip: You can also open an object's contents by double-clicking the object while holding the Command key.

Object properties

To open an object's properties:

Select the object.
Choose Open Properties from the Object window. A window for the Contents property is opened.

Tip: You can also open an object's properties by double-clicking the object.

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