A CommunityOS Hidden Gem: The Data Provider Tool
It’s
always a delight to run across a product feature that surprises me, even after
years of work. The Data Provider Tool is one such hidden gem. The Data Provider
Tool allows an administrator to tag a group of resources outside of the normal
agencies or portal restriction filters. Internally, we use data providers to
organize large imports and feeds of data across multiple customers. Here are
three unconventional ways you might use this tool to make resource
administration easier.
Flagging
groups of data
This
tool can be used to tag all the resources from a resource helper tool import.
Typically, you might search by date to find these resources again, but searches
by date may not always be accurate. Instead, the data provider itself can be a
tag, such as “March 2014 Import,” which provides a handy way for an
administrator to later pull these resources up in a search to further review or
manipulate them.
Locking
Resources
All
resources under a particular Data Provider can be locked, preventing resource
administrators from accidentally editing them. This might be important for
internal resources
with costs, or for a core set of resources that shouldn’t be changed often.
Displaying
Logos
The Data
Provider Tool also allows you to upload a logo that is then displayed on the profile,
so all related resources can be visually linked. As a simple example, all your Thanksgiving
resources could be highlighted by tagging them with a Turkey icon, helping you
keep your related work organized.
Knowledge
is power. Contact solutions@visionlink.org to learn more about the CommunityOS features and
what they could do for you.
Craig Quincy
VP of Engineering
VisionLink
Craig Quincy
VP of Engineering
VisionLink