Bug #3759
openmore dialog boxes for editing and maintaining data packages
0%
Description
When editing an existing data package, the tree editor is the only option for handling content of a responsibleParty(creator|contact|associatedParty) or a project tree. The other resource-level elements have dialog boxes to edit existing information or to add more. Scientists will not maintain their data packages with Morpho if they are forced to use the tree editor -- they need to have dialog boxes. At a minimum, all the resource-level elements should have dialog boxes - these 2 are the only ones missing them.
Ideally, the dataTable description fields should have dialog boxes as well. There are already functions for adding and editing data columns (under Data->Edit Column Documentation), and there should be one for "Data -> Edit data table description", too.
Updated by Jing Tao almost 16 years ago
Hi, margaret:
I use morpho 1.7.0 to open an eml which generated by morpho. Then those buttons can bring a dialog box rather than tree editor. I am wondering if you tried to open some complicated docs which dialog box couldn't handle it. Could you double check?
Thanks,
Jing
Updated by Margaret O'Brien almost 16 years ago
Hi jing -
as you suggested, I tested this with morpho 1.7rc1 and both a new (2.1) and existing (2.01 -> 2.1) doc. (Windows XP)
New doc: margaret.3.1 (created in morpho 1.7rc1 just now)
existing doc: obrien-test.102.3 (created outside morpho)
Both are in metacat at dev.nceas.ucsb.edu
I tried to create a little table below of the behaviors I saw. "m" stands for "menu", from the menu bar, under "Documentation" hope it stays formatted!
the behavior m->owner, m->contact m->assocParty click 'Edit' button
margaret.3.1 dialog box,dialog box,dialog box tree editor
obrien-test.102.3 tree editor,tree editor,dialog box tree editor
The previous version of obrien-test.102.3 (rev 2) did not have an associatedParty. It has a creator and contact.
My inferences from this test (2 pkgs, windows XP)
1. Morpho's Document menus go to the tree editor on docs that were created outside morpho if a tree of that type already exists, and brings up the dialog box when when it is the first instance of that tree.
2. The edit button on the right always goes to the tree editor.
Another observation: when adding a person with a dialog box, Morpho can access people from the package it created (margaret.3), but not from the outside-package (obrien-test.102)
Updated by Margaret O'Brien almost 16 years ago
In looking at SBC's documents, I think this behavior might be because some of my existing documents have an id attribute on one of the creator elements, and Morpho doesnt have a spot for ids in the dialog box.
In general, to disallow editing of an id by someone uninformed about the system (or EML) is a Good Thing. Morpho puts in plenty of scope="document" ids, and has no trouble ignoring them in dialog boxes.
It would be great if Morpho could be a bigger part of an integrated approach to EML maintenance -- where scientists are responsible for some content and an IM-professional takes care of other parts. To do this, Morpho would need to be able to accommodate a reasonable number of external changes in documents without resorting to the tree editor. Of course what's "reasonable" is yet to be decided.