Create and edit any entity

What is it? 

The Entity Configuration allows you to adjust your ITONICS platform according to your needs by defining what your entities should look like and what modules are activated. Read through the steps below to learn how to add and configure an entity.

How does it work?

1. Add a new entity to the platform

First, navigate to the Settings wheel (in the top right corner) > Entity Configuration > Entity Configuration. Click on the button to add a new entity type to your platform in the Entity Manager and define the basic structure of this entity.

You can now define the basic information of the entity:

• Define the name of the entity (1)
• Define the color of the entity that is being used in different visualizations (e.g. Network Graph) (2)
• Define a generic Key / ID that is, i.e. added to the element export as an additional column “Generic ID” to be able to easily reference the elements of an entity type, while also being reelected on the element detail page (3)
  • Note that this generic ID / Key is merely used as a reference, concatenating the Key defined for the respective entity type in the entity configuration with the actual system.
  • This ID is not used as a unique identifier during the import.
  • This ID is included in the regular excel exports as a Generic ID column, and include in the PDF export.
• Define an icon for the entity (4)

2. Enable modules/visualizations (optional)

After you defined the basic information of the entity, you can now enable modules or visualizations for your entity according to your needs and license. Below, you will find a list of all the modules that can be activated by your customer success manager.

Please note the following explanations:

• External Gateway: The external gateway allows you to collect ideas outside the systems, e.g., by placing a form on a public webpage or Intranet page, and routing those ideas into your ITONICS Innovation OS. This does not require any user account and eases the idea submission.
• Parent-child allows you to create a hierarchy between two entities. One parent can have multiple children, a child can only have one parent. This way, you can inherit information from the parent to its children, e.g., the visibility or from the children an aggregated value of ratings.

3. Choose a view-type template

You have two options to define how the general view form of an entity should look like. 

It can either have a hero image on top or a small image that is placed left to the title and abstract.

4. Field Configuration

The entity consists of different attributes/fields. You can configure these fields in the Field Configuration.

Please note the following mandatory fields: Title, Abstract, Image, Tags

These fields can be renamed, yet they cannot be taken out of the configuration.

Rating Configuration (optional)

In comparison to list fields that are available in the filed configuration, rating criteria allow for collecting opinions from numerous individuals. Add rating criteria via the rating configuration. 

Group Field Configuration (optional)

Fields that logically belong together can be combined as group fields. Add group fields via the Group Field Configuration.

5. Manage the Create Form

The Form Configuration defines the arrangement of the configured fields in the entity when a user creates or edits content.

All fields put in the left zone will be displayed. All fields in the right dropzone will not be displayed.

6. Manage the View Form

The View Configuration defines the display of the content of an entity to the user. Via the View Configuration, you can define the arrangement of the configured fields in the entity when a user views content.

All fields put in the left zone will be displayed. All fields in the right dropzone will not be displayed.

7. Manage entity-specific permissions

Third, configure the entity-specific permissions to meet your requirements regarding visibility and collaboration.

8. Configure additional modules and features (optional)

After completing the previous steps, you can now start configuring additional modules/features for the entity. Read more about the feature configuration in the articles below:

• Configure your first Radar
• Configure your first Roadmap
• Workflow Configuration
• Configure your first Matrix
• Configure your first Kanban Board
• Configure the field order of the Export / Import file

Final tip: Do not forget to save your changes

To save your settings, click the Save button. You can always adjust the settings again later.