Properties in definitions can be related to properties in other definitions. Some of these relationships are of the types “uses,” “owns,” and “owned by.”

To bring older encyclopedias up-to-date, see Working with mirrored properties. It updates properties in definitions created with earlier versions, or properties that you have enabled for mirroring in your current encyclopedias. It makes related properties mirrored that were not mirrored before. The tool starts automatically when it detects that an encyclopedia from a previous version is being opened, and provides the option of updating the encyclopedia with the mirrored properties. On enterprise encyclopedias, use of the Synchronization tool can be restricted to users with the Administrator role.

The mirrored properties feature is implemented through the MIRRORS keyword. A Definitions with mirrored properties is enabled with mirrored properties out-of-the-box. However, you can use System Architect’s extensibility mechanism (see Customizing the repository metamodel: SAPROPS.CFG and USRPROPS.TXT) to mirror properties in standard definitions, in custom definitions already present in your encyclopedia, or in new custom definitions.