Metadata & tables

Offering metadata is Rayon's way of allowing users to add data to their drawing. This information can be added onto blocks, styles, walls, etc, and later be retrieved, listed, and formatted in tables.

Working with metadata

You may add properties (also called metadata) to your Model, Zones, Walls , Blocks (instances and definitions), Layers, Styles, and Pages. To do so, select one or multiple elements and head to the Metadata section of properties panel.

Metadata types available in Rayon today are:

• Text

• Length (in model units)

• Area (in model units)

• Volume (in model units)

• Number

• Price (in model units)

• Boolean

Creating and applying metadata

Let's start by creating a new metadata. With an entity selected, click on the Add metadata button. Then, click on the + button, in the header of the panel. This will allow you to create a new metadata that will be applied to the current selection. Additionally, any existing metadata, present in the panel, can be applied to the selection by simply ticking its check box.

Managing metadata

At any point, metadata present in a model can be managed from the left side of the screen. The Metadata panel stores all existing metadata. From there, metadata can be...

• Searched

• Created (from the New metadata drop down)

• Edited (name and default value(s))

Inheritance

Another useful feature of metadata is inheritance. In other words, the metadata carried at one level can be transmitted to a lower level. For instance:

• Definition → Instance : A property carried by a block definition will also be carried by its instances.

• Style → Entity : A property carried by a style will also be carried by entities carrying that style.

At any point, an inherited property can be overridden; for instance, the value of a property inherited by an instance from its definition can be changed to a different, specific value. The value can then we set back to its initial value, by clicking on the reset icon present on the metadata value field.

Working with tables

The properties that entities in your model carry can also be listed into tables. To that end, the Tables panel can be found on the left in the editor.

To create a new table, click the + button.

Adding properties to a table

Click on the + button at the top-right of your table to add new properties to the table.

Arranging elements in a table

Click on a column header to display options such as Sort, Filters, Group by.

Sort & Filters

You may sort the table alphabetically based on a given column.

You may filter each column to only show the elements matching a given filter.

Group by

You can also arrange tables by group

Exporting a Table

You may export your tables at any time in .csv or .xlsx formats using the Export button.

For more step-by-step information, watch our tutorial about how to use tables and metadata in Rayon:

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