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Create an item

Create an item of the chosen design​

Items store data. Therefore, creating items is how you add data to Alloy!

Creating an item lets you store a set of values for the attributes defined by its design. In other words, the design is the concept, and any items created from it are implementations of that concept.

For example, the Litter Bin design below has attributes that define the characteristics of bins in general. The item beside it contains values for those attributes, which describe an actual bin.

A comparison of the Litter Bin design and a Litter Bin item
Note

While items can't be created directly from an interface, you can create an item of any design that implements it.

For example, the Highway Jobs design implements the Jobs interface, so a Highway Jobs item can also be considered a Jobs item.

Start the process​

There are several ways to start creating an item of any design.

From the Boards app

To create a new item directly from the active board, select the relevant column's button and choose Create item .

This lets you do one of the following:

  • create an item of the design targeted by the board

  • create an item of any design implementing the interface targeted by the board

The Column attribute tracked by the board will be populated on the new item with the value represented by the column.

For example, the new job created below will have its Priority attribute set to "Medium".

Creating an item from the Boards app
From the Designer app

When editing a design/interface, select Create item in the toolbar.

This lets you do one of the following:

  • create an item of the current design

  • create an item of any design implementing the current interface

Creating an item from the Designer app
From the Data Explorer app

After creating and refining a query in the Data Explorer app, the resulting items and their attribute values are displayed as a table. To store a new row of attributes in that table, you can create a new item directly from the query tab. Just select Create item in the bottom toolbar!

This lets you do one of the following:

  • create an item of the design targeted by the current query

  • create an item of any design implementing the interface targeted by the current query

After creating one or more new items, select Refresh data in the bottom toolbar to update the query tab.

Populating the new item's attributes with values
From the Lists app

To create a new item directly from the active list, open the List Menu in the toolbar (top-right) and choose Create item.

This lets you do one of the following:

  • create an item of the design targeted by the list's query

  • create an item of any design implementing the interface targeted by the list's query

Creating an item from the Lists app
From the Workspaces app

To create a new item from the active workspace, select the button beside a widget data point and choose Create item.

This lets you do one of the following:

  • create an item of the design targeted by the data point's query

  • create an item of any design implementing the interface targeted by the data point's query

Creating an item from the Workspaces app
From the Item Viewer

When viewing an item's details, select Create item in a canvas section (if available).

This lets you do one of the following:

  • create an item of the design in the section's query

  • create an item of any design implementing the interface in the section's query

If applicable, the current item will be made a parent of the new item.

For example, the Jobs section below can create a new job for the current grass area.

Creating an item from an item canvas section

The Item Creator​

The Item Creator will appear. Perform the following steps to create a new item containing the data you supply. All fields marked with an asterisk * require a value to continue.

Choose a design or recent item​

First, choose the design of the new item. Either pick one of the suggestions or select New to pick another design from a searchable list. The available designs are determined by the context that you started from. If you were working with an interface, only designs that implement the interface will be available.

Alternatively, choose a recently created item to use as the basis for a new one. The new item will use the same design and initially contain the same attribute values, which you can then change as needed.

The Item Creator showing suggested designs and recent items

Settings​

Before continuing, select (top-right) to change any of these optional settings:

  • Item form - if any item forms exist for the new item's design, Alloy will automatically load the most suitable one. Alternatively, choose the one you want to use. This affects the layout and visibility of the attribute fields shown when creating the item.

  • Collection - change the collection that the new item will belong to (usually Live by default). The new item's design determines which collections are allowed. If set to Template, required attributes can be left blank on the new template item if necessary.

  • Open on create - enable this to view the new item in a new browser tab, immediately after its creation.

Parents​

This is an optional step, which lets you form a parent-to-child link from an existing item to the new item. It involves adding the new item to a compatible Link attribute on the existing item.

For example, imagine creating an item of the Benches design. It's located in Jephson Gardens park, so it needs adding to the Assets Link attribute on the corresponding Grounds Site item. The attribute is compatible because it points to the Assets interface, which is implemented by the Benches design.

Open the top Parents menu and select Add parent:

  • Design * - choose from the list of designs containing a compatible Link attribute.

  • Attribute * - after choosing the design, specify the Link attribute to use.

  • Item * - after choosing the design, specify which of its items should link to the new item. To browse for items on the map, select the button in the search box to use the map picker.

Select Add to finish. You can add any number of parents.

The Parents dropdown and Add Parent window
Note

This is commonly used to link a new activity to a parent asset, or a new component to a parent asset head.

Location​

This step may be required. If the Location menu is marked with an * asterisk, a value must be supplied. This is because the new item's design (or an interface it implements) has the Requires geometry property enabled.

Open the top Location menu and select Geometry. Use the Geometry Editor to draw the new item's geometry on the map. This will typically be a point, line or polygon, depending on the new item's design.

Activities typically require geometry but can inherit it from a parent asset if none is set. This happens if you perform a bulk action to create multiple activities against multiple parent assets (the Location box will be dimmed and unusable).

The Location dropdown showing the item's Geometry attribute
Note

When editing a design/interface in the Designer app, the Details section lets you configure whether geometry is required and the allowed types.

Attributes​

By default, all attributes are displayed in the order they were added to the new item's design. Alternatively, the layout and visibility of attributes may be determined by an item form (see Settings above).

Some attributes may be pre-populated with a default value. Required attributes are marked with an asterisk *. They must have a value set in order to continue. The only exception is if you're creating a template item, because those attributes will be filled in when creating an item from the template!

Select an attribute field to edit its value. Depending on the attribute type (and the item form's configuration), you can either type directly into the field, or a specialised picker will appear to let you choose one or more values. For example:

  • use the calendar picker to populate a Date (and Time) attribute

  • use the map picker to populate a Geometry attribute

  • use the item picker to populate a Link attribute

Populating the new item's attributes with values
Note

Calculated attributes (e.g. Job Number) are never displayed. Read-only attributes are not displayed by default but may be included on an item form.

Finish the process​

After completing the relevant steps for your item, select Create to finish. A notification will indicate whether the item was created successfully or failed due to error.

The new item's details will be displayed. If Open on create was enabled in Settings, the new item will be opened in a new browser tab instead.

A notification saying Item Successfully Saved

Create multiple items​

To keep creating items similar to the first, ensure Create another is enabled at the bottom before creating the first. The Item Creator will stay open with all existing values intact, which you can change as needed for each subsequent new item.

If you need to create lots of items of a particular design, consider storing the attribute data in a CSV file and importing it. To learn more, see Gateway in Alloy Web.

For more complex scenarios, you can build workflows that perform Create actions according to various conditions, which can be triggered automatically or on demand. To learn more, see Workflows in Alloy Web.