add-attribute-to-type

Add Attribute to Type

Create a new attribute and add it to all forms of an existing type. ONLY for adding attributes to existing types — NOT for creating types, updating type properties, or editing forms directly.

Scope

This skill ONLY handles: Creating a new attribute definition and adding it to all forms of an existing object type.

For creating a standalone attribute → use create-attribute For reading a type's current attributes → use get-object-type

Tools Used

• novadb_cms_get_object — Fetch type and forms
• novadb_cms_create_objects — Create the attribute definition
• novadb_cms_update_objects — Update forms with the new field

Workflow (5 Steps)

Step 1: Fetch the Object Type

Call novadb_cms_get_object with the type ID to read its current form assignments.

Step 2: Find the Create Form

Extract the create form ID from attribute 5001 in the type's values. If no create form exists, stop with an error — the type must have a create form before attributes can be added.

Also extract detail form IDs from attribute 5002 for later use.

Step 3: Read Existing Form Fields

Call novadb_cms_get_object with the create form ID. Extract the existing field IDs from attribute 5053 (form content). Collect all values where attribute === 5053 and sort by sortReverse.

Step 4: Create the Attribute Definition

Call novadb_cms_create_objects with one attribute definition object:

{
  "branch": "<branch>",
  "objects": [
    {
      "meta": { "typeRef": 10, "apiIdentifier": "<optional-api-id>" },
      "values": [
        { "attribute": 1000, "language": 201, "variant": 0, "value": "Attr Name EN" },
        { "attribute": 1000, "language": 202, "variant": 0, "value": "Attr Name DE" },
        { "attribute": 1001, "language": 0, "variant": 0, "value": "String" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

• typeRef: 10 = Attribute Definition
• Response: { createdObjectIds: [<newAttrDefId>] }

Attribute Definition Values

Attribute ID	Field	Type	Notes
1000	Name	String	Language-dependent (201=EN, 202=DE)
1001	Data type	String	See valid data types below
1006	Required/Predefined	Boolean	Whether values are required
1010	Has local values	Boolean
1014	Max values	Integer	1=single-value, 0=multi-value
1015	Allowed types	ObjRef	For ObjRef data type — pass as array value

Valid Data Types

String, TextRef, TextRef.JavaScript, TextRef.CSS, XmlRef.SimpleHtml, XmlRef.VisualDocument, Integer, Decimal, Float, Boolean, DateTime, DateTime.Date, ObjRef, BinRef, BinRef.Icon, BinRef.Thumbnail, String.DataType, String.InheritanceBehavior, String.UserName, String.RGBColor

Step 5: Update All Forms

Update the create form by replacing all form content (5053) entries with the existing fields plus the new one:

{
  "branch": "<branch>",
  "objects": [
    {
      "meta": { "id": "<formId>", "typeRef": 50 },
      "values": [
        { "attribute": 5053, "language": 0, "variant": 0, "value": "<existingId1>", "sortReverse": 0 },
        { "attribute": 5053, "language": 0, "variant": 0, "value": "<existingId2>", "sortReverse": 1 },
        { "attribute": 5053, "language": 0, "variant": 0, "value": "<newAttrDefId>", "sortReverse": 2 }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

CRITICAL: Include ALL existing fields plus the new one. Each field is a separate CmsValue entry with incrementing sortReverse (0, 1, 2, ...). Never pass an array as the value.

Then repeat for each detail form (from attribute 5002) that differs from the create form — fetch it, read its existing fields, and append the new attribute.

Result

Fetch the newly created attribute definition with novadb_cms_get_object and return it to the user along with the form ID it was added to.

Common Patterns

CmsValue Format

Every value entry follows: { attribute, language, variant, value, sortReverse? }

• language: 201=EN, 202=DE, 0=language-independent
• variant: 0=default
• sortReverse: for multi-value ordering (0, 1, 2, ...)

Multi-Value ObjRef (Form Fields)

Form content (attribute 5053) uses individual value entries, NOT arrays:

• { attr: 5053, value: fieldId1, sortReverse: 0 }, { attr: 5053, value: fieldId2, sortReverse: 1 }
• { attr: 5053, value: [fieldId1, fieldId2] }

Read-Modify-Write Pattern

1. Read current form to get existing fields from attribute 5053
2. Append new attribute with next sortReverse value
3. Send complete field list back

API Response (POST/Create)

Returns { transaction, createdObjectIds: [id] }. Use the ID to fetch the full attribute.