Common properties are shared attributes applied to services and assets in Activate. They are evaluated and populated automatically based on object state and configuration. This document explains how common properties are updated and how to backfill them for existing objects when required.

For services and assets, common properties are updated when SetInfo() is called and one of the following conditions is met:

If neither condition is met, common properties are not recalculated.

In some scenarios, common properties may be missing for existing service or asset instances. This typically occurs when common properties were introduced or modified after the objects were originally created.

To backfill common properties, the object must be treated as changed before calling SetInfo().

A data change can be triggered by performing a dummy update. This is a non-functional change that ensures the object meets the data-changed condition required for common properties to be recalculated.

A common approach is to set a transient or placeholder value, such as a newly generated GUID, on the object before saving it.

To backfill common properties across multiple objects:

This process must be applied to all objects that require backfilled values.

When performing bulk backfills:

The same behaviour applies to both service instances and asset instances.