Editing Topic Properties

This topic covers entering or editing information for a topic's properties.

If you're reading this topic it's probably because you've been looking around Freebase and have found a topic that has some information missing; maybe it's a character from your favorite novel, or the writer for a TV show, or just something you think needs to be added for one of the topic properties. If you're a registered Freebase user, adding that information is as easy as clicking a button.

Let's take the novel Gravity's Rainbow as an example. There's a property called Characters for every topic typed as a book. With over 400 characters, it's easy enough to find one to add for this particular literary work. 

1. Click Edit next to the property name.
2. Enter the new information in the empty field.
3. In some cases, where a property is supposed to link to other topics, the autocomplete feature will attempt to match your entry against an existing topic. If none of the potential matches are the same as your entry, click Create a new ___. This will create a new topic. You can edit the topic after you've saved this property entry by clicking on the topic name
4. Click Save .

When you clicked Edit you might have noticed three icons next to the fields for the property values. Clicking on the first one that looks like dots in a square lets you drag that property and place it elsewhere in the list. Clicking the up arrow moves that value to the top of a list (you might want to put Tyrone Slothrop at the top since he is the "main" character of the novel, for example). Clicking the X removes that entry. If you have any questions about what should be entered for a property, click the ? in the lower left corner; if the type creator has entered any descriptive or hint information for that property, this will let you see it.

Given that there are so many characters for this novel, it might be easier to enter them all as a list rather than one at a time. To do that, click the Import List icon to the right of the edit button next to the property name. The Import List Wizard will take you through the process of entering your items, reconciling them against current Freebase topics, if applicable, and then entering them for the original property value.

It's important to note that when you want to change an entry, you should remove it and then create a new entry, rather than backspacing or deleting the previous entry and then typing in the new information. Doing that may prevent your new information from being property saved and displayed.

When viewing a topic you might also see an entry like 4 empty fields below the name of the type. In the normal topic view empty property fields aren't displayed. Clicking on the empty fields link lets you see what properties haven't been entered yet. You can enter values for these fields just as you would for any other.