MyInfo Community Forums

The Attributes pane is a valuable addition to MyInfo 4, and it makes it truly easy to add and modify searchable information about documents (metadata). This feature is a staple of high-end document & knowledge management systems, and as such it takes MyInfo farther ahead as a powerful, flexible and useful PIM. Thanks to the folks at Milenix for continuing to do their best in making MyInfo more and more useful and user-friendly.

The title of the pane (“Attributes”) and the headers in the pane (“Attribute” and “Value”) are noteworthy, and deserve some mention that MyInfo terminology is also gravitating towards sense and reality. We have had off-and-on discussions about certain terminologies in MyInfo that they are confusing and counter-productive. The terms "tree column" and "tree column value" have always defied my imagination and thrown me off so many times, that I keep a personal note reminding me that they really are attributes and attribute values.

Now we have an Attributes pane, showing Attribute and Value pairs where one can view and edit them, but are still called tree columns and tree column values elsewhere in the product and help files.

I wonder if this is high time to abolish the terms tree columns and tree column values and call them what they really are: attributes and attribute values. The new Attributes pane is exhibit No. 1, caught red-handed, that argues the point.

You raise very good question indeed. I agree that having two terms for the same thing (attributes, tree columns) could be confusing. And if we have to select one term for consistency (which we will probably do), it would be "attribute", because this term could be used in all areas of the application (tree, attributes pane, filters). "Tree column", on the other side, fits its description only when you use it in.. the tree... We will switch to the "attributes" terms in some of the next releases to avoid any further confusion.