Manage Custom Families Panel
In this panel you can create, edit and delete custom property families. Property families are also created by applications; these families cannot be changed.
To open this panel, choose Manage Custom Families from the filter menu in the Project Table — Property Tree Panel.
To open the Project Table — Property Tree Panel, choose Properties → Tree or click the Tree toolbar button in the Project Table Panel.
- Using
- Features
- Additional Resources
Using the Manage Custom Property Families Panel
Some procedures are given below for creating and editing custom property families. Changes that you make to a property family are applied immediately: there is no confirmation for changes to the properties included, or for deleting a family. You should therefore take care to make a copy of any family that you do not want to change or delete accidentally.
The primary property families for each application are custom families, which you can change if you want. To restore the default definitions of these families, click the Reset button.
You can change the primary property families from the Property Tree panel by dragging properties between the primary and secondary sets.
Property family definitions are stored in the file custom_property_groups in your Maestro user resources directory. Thus, they are not tied to a particular project, but are part of your Maestro customization.
To create a new property family from scratch:
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Click
Family.A family is added to the family list with the default name New Custom Family and the name is set to edit mode.
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Edit the name for the property family.
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Click Add to select the properties that you want to add to the family.
A property selector opens, so you can select the desired properties.
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Select the properties.
Each property is added to the properties list for the new family as it is selected.
To create a new property family from an existing family:
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Select the existing family in the families list.
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Click Copy.
A family is added to the list with copy appended to the original name, and the name is set to edit mode. The properties in the existing family are displayed in the properties list.
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Change the name for the copied property family.
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Click Add to select any properties that you want to add to the family.
A property selector opens, so you can select the desired properties. The properties in the selector do not include those already in the family.
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Select the properties.
Each property is added to the properties list for the new family as it is selected.
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Select any properties in the property list that you want to remove from the family, and click Remove.
The properties you selected are removed from the properties list.
To change an existing property family:
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Select the existing family in the families list.
The properties in the family are displayed in the properties list.
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Click Add to select any properties that you want to add to the family.
A property selector opens, so you can select the desired properties. The properties in the selector do not include those already in the family.
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Select the properties.
Each property is added to the properties list for the new family as it is selected.
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Select any properties in the property list that you want to remove from the family, and click Remove.
The properties you selected are removed from the properties list.
Note that the changes to the family are immediate: there is no confirmation.
To delete a property family:
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Choose the family in the families list.
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Click Delete.
The family is deleted immediately.
Manage Custom Property Families Panel Features
- Families list
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This list shows the property families that you have defined. You can select a single family from the list to operate on. Double-clicking the family name enters edit mode so you can change the name.
- Action buttons
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These buttons allow you to perform various operations on custom property families.
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Family—Create a new custom family. A family is added to the family list with the default name New Custom Family and the name is placed in edit mode so you can change it. You must provide a name that is not already in use.
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Copy—Make a copy of an existing custom family. A family is added to the list with copy appended to the source family name, and the name is set to edit mode. The properties in the existing family are displayed in the properties list.
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Delete—Delete the selected property family. The action is immediate: no confirmation dialog box is displayed to confirm the action.
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- family properties list
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List of properties that are in the selected property family. You can select items with click, shift-click, and control-click. You can select all items with Ctrl+A (⌘A). Adding properties to this list or removing properties from this list updates the family definition immediately.
- Property action buttons
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These buttons are used to add properties to the family or remove properties from the family.
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Add— add properties to the family. Opens a Single Property Selector, which has tools for filtering and selection of properties. When you select a property from the property list, it is added immediately to the property family, and the property selector remains open so you can select another property. Click the Add button again to close the property selector.
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Remove—remove the selected properties from the family.
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Remove All—remove all the properties from the family. The family itself remains defined, but has no properties.
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- Reset button
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Reset the property family definitions to the defaults. This action removes any new custom families and restores the standard families to their defaults.