Add aspects to a type in a model via "Model Manager"

[giasqui]

Hi,

how can I add aspect to type in a model with "Model Manager"?

Seems it is not possible.

Thanks.

[angelborroy · Accepted solution]

You're right.

Limitations of Model Manager in Alfresco Share

The Model Manager in Alfresco Share offers a user-friendly way to define custom types, aspects, and properties, but it comes with several notable limitations:

• Cannot Edit Existing XML or Bootstrapped Models: The Model Manager does not allow editing of content models that have been defined in XML and bootstrapped through Spring (static models). It only manages models created within the tool itself
• Deactivation Restrictions: You cannot deactivate a content model if any of its custom types or aspects are still applied to content, including items in the trashcan
• Limited Property and Constraint Support: Multi-value properties are supported, but certain constraints (like those on d:long, d:float, and d:double) are not fully supported for multi-value use or for list constraints
• You cannot reuse constraints across properties
• No Support for Associations: The Model Manager does not support defining associations, which are essential for modeling relationships between content items
• Inheritance and Localization Gaps: You cannot access all parent types or aspects for inheritance, especially for content types not yet activated
• There are limitations in localizing property titles and constraint list values
• Mandatory Aspects and Property Overrides: You cannot set mandatory aspects on a type or override properties through the Model Manager
• Search and Facet Integration: You cannot create custom search forms directly in the Model Manager
• Adding model properties as custom facets in the search engine is not supported without a system restart
• Form Customization: While the layout designer allows for some UI customization, advanced form configurations and interactions still require XML editing or custom development

[angelborroy · Accepted solution]

You're right.

Limitations of Model Manager in Alfresco Share

The Model Manager in Alfresco Share offers a user-friendly way to define custom types, aspects, and properties, but it comes with several notable limitations:

• Cannot Edit Existing XML or Bootstrapped Models: The Model Manager does not allow editing of content models that have been defined in XML and bootstrapped through Spring (static models). It only manages models created within the tool itself
• Deactivation Restrictions: You cannot deactivate a content model if any of its custom types or aspects are still applied to content, including items in the trashcan
• Limited Property and Constraint Support: Multi-value properties are supported, but certain constraints (like those on d:long, d:float, and d:double) are not fully supported for multi-value use or for list constraints
• You cannot reuse constraints across properties
• No Support for Associations: The Model Manager does not support defining associations, which are essential for modeling relationships between content items
• Inheritance and Localization Gaps: You cannot access all parent types or aspects for inheritance, especially for content types not yet activated
• There are limitations in localizing property titles and constraint list values
• Mandatory Aspects and Property Overrides: You cannot set mandatory aspects on a type or override properties through the Model Manager
• Search and Facet Integration: You cannot create custom search forms directly in the Model Manager
• Adding model properties as custom facets in the search engine is not supported without a system restart
• Form Customization: While the layout designer allows for some UI customization, advanced form configurations and interactions still require XML editing or custom development

[giasqui]

Thanks Angel. I need to add aspect to type because I have to choose type when upload a document and then set the related properties. Moreover I would be able to change the type and then the properties of a document. But, probably it could not be done because once the type is set, is not possible to modify it, isn't it? Probably I can manage the different properties over different type with aspects. I mean that also the type should be an aspect. And I need to use "model manager" because after the implementation the customer will do application maintenance themself.

[angelborroy · Accepted solution]

The only alternative I see is creating a Folder Rule or similar, so the type / aspect(s) is set automatically when a document is created. In any case, doing the maintenance of a custom content model is not an easy task. This is mainly why I prefer to deploy models as an independent Repository addon.