Metadata Explorer

The Metadata Explorer (shown below loaded to display a specific class) is a design tool that can be loaded from the Properties tab of most Enterprise Manager property sheets.

The Metadata Explorer presents a graphically navigable way to display Content Engine's class hierarchy. Through the various property pages displayed in the Metadata Explorer, you can examine the classes and properties that make up your object store.

When loaded, the object name and class name at the top of the Metadata Explorer comprise its "selection location" or "selection point".

Regardless of the selection point, the Metadata Explorer can navigate to every metadata object in the object store. The Metadata Explorer does not show object instances: it shows metadata that is the underlying classes and properties that make up the object from which it is loaded.

Items shown by the Metadata Explorer are part of the static metadata snapshot loaded into Enterprise Manager; that is, they are class and property descriptions. These are not the same as the class and property definitions used to change metadata in Enterprise Manager (using such tools as the Create a Class wizard, the Class Definition property sheet, and others). One consequence of this is that changes to class and property definitions will not be immediately reflected in the Metadata Explorer, but will require a refresh of the object store.