Data Management

‍Data Management: Properties and Object Layers

This guide walks you through creating properties, structuring your CSV files, and uploading object layers into spaciv. This is your base data — the foundation everything else in spaciv is built on. Use it alongside the video and slides as a step-by-step reference.

What you will need

• Access to your spaciv account
• Two CSV files provided with this lesson: an employee list and a room list

Overview

In this lesson you will:

• Check and create any missing properties before uploading your files
• Upload your employee list as an object layer
• Upload your room list as a second object layer

Together, these two object layers form your base data, which you will use in all the lessons that follow.

1. Properties — A Refresher

A property is a piece of information attached to an object that describes or defines it. Every column in your CSV file — except name and ID — will become a property in spaciv.

For example, a space object might have properties like:

• Location — where it is
• Type — what kind of space it is
• Area — how large it is in m²

Different objects can share the same property. A person and a space can both have a location property, for example.

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Preset vs. custom properties

Preset properties come with your spaciv account. They are defined based on best practice and cover the most common use cases.

Custom properties can be created in-app when a property you need does not exist as a preset.

Note: Before uploading any CSV file, check that all the columns in your file are covered by existing properties in spaciv. If any are missing, create them first. Doing this before uploading avoids import errors.

2. The Object Type Property

One property deserves special attention: object type.

Object type is a property that tells spaciv what kind of object each row in your file represents. It is what allows you to distinguish between different types of objects in the same layer stack later on.

For example:

• Employee list — set object type to consumer for all rows
• Room list — set object type to space for all rows

When you later want to filter your data — for example, to run a calculation only on rooms, or only on people — the object type property is what makes that possible.

There are two ways to set object type:

• As a column in your CSV file — add an object type column and fill in the value for every row. This is the standard approach.
• As an associated property on the object layer — if all objects in a layer share the same object type, you can set it directly on the layer rather than in the file. See Section 5 for how to do this.

3. Structuring Your CSV File

Every CSV file you import into spaciv must follow this structure:

• name — required. The display name of each object. Must be in the first column.
• id — required. A unique identifier for each object. Can be the same as the name if names are unique.
• object type — strongly recommended. Defines what kind of object each row is (e.g. space or consumer).
• Additional columns — each one becomes a property. The column header must match the property name in spaciv exactly for automatic mapping to work.

Column naming

The column headers in your CSV should match the preset property names in spaciv. If they do, spaciv will map them automatically during import. If they do not match, you will need to map them manually or adjust your file.

 Note: Check your column names against the Properties list in spaciv before uploading. This is especially important for tree properties like Cities or Building, where the values in your file also need to match the options defined in the property.

4. Creating a Missing Property

If a column in your CSV does not correspond to an existing property in spaciv, you need to create it before uploading.

Here is how to create a custom property:

1. In the sidebar, navigate to Properties under your account.
2. Search for the property name. If it does not appear, it does not exist yet.
3. Click Add New.
4. Enter the property name exactly as it appears in your CSV column header.
5. Select the property type. For a property with multiple selectable values (like Cities with Berlin and Munich), select Tree.
6. Click Confirm.

Adding values to a tree property

After creating a tree property, you need to add its values:

1. Search for your new property and click View Tree.
2. Click Add Root. The root is the container for all values inside this property.
3. Click on the root, then click Add Child to add the first value (e.g. Berlin).
4. Repeat to add each additional value (e.g. Munich).

Note: The values in your CSV must match the child node names in spaciv exactly. For example, if your CSV has ‘Berlin’ in the Cities column, you must have a child node called ‘Berlin’ in the Cities property.

5. Uploading Your Employee List

With your properties in place, you are ready to upload your first object layer.

1. In the sidebar, navigate to Object Layers under your account.
2. Click Add New. Name it Employee List and confirm.
3. The new object layer will appear in the list, empty.
4. Hover over it and click View Entries to open it.
5. Click the upload button and select your employee CSV file.

Reviewing the property mapping

After selecting your file, spaciv displays a mapping screen. Each row shows a column from your CSV on the left and the matched spaciv property on the right.

• If the column name matches a property exactly, it will be mapped automatically
• If a mapping looks incorrect, fix it manually by selecting the right property from the dropdown
• If you do not need a column, select Ignore — it will be excluded from the object layer

 Once everything looks correct, click Upload. Your employee list is now an object layer in spaciv, with all entries and their properties visible.

6. Uploading Your Room List

Repeat the same process for your room list.

1. In Object Layers, click Add New. Name it Room List and confirm.
2. Open the new layer and click the upload button. Select your room CSV file.
3. Review the property mapping. Correct any mismatches and ignore any columns you do not need.
4. Click Upload.

Note: You can also combine your employee and room data into a single CSV file. If you do, make sure the object type column is set correctly for every row — consumer for employees and space for rooms — so spaciv can distinguish between them.

7. Setting an Associated Property (Optional)

If all objects in an object layer share the same object type value, you can set it as an associated property on the layer itself rather than including it as a column in your CSV.

This is useful when you want to keep your CSV file simpler, or when you are working with a layer where every object is the same type.

1. In Object Layers, find your object layer and click the three-dot menu on the right.
2. Select View Details.
3. Click Add Associated Property.
4. Select Object Type as the property.
5. Enter the value — for example, space for a room list or consumer for an employee list.
6. Set the weight to 1 and confirm.

The associated property is now applied to every object in the layer. It will not appear in the individual entry view, but spaciv will use it for filtering and calculations.

Note: Associated properties only appear in the general object layer overview, not in the detailed entry view. If you need to verify it has been set, check the layer details rather than the entries list.

8. Summary — What You Did

• Checked properties in spaciv and created any that were missing before uploading
• Structured your CSV files with the required name and ID columns, object type, and property columns
• Uploaded your employee list as an object layer and confirmed the property mapping
• Uploaded your room list as a second object layer

These two object layers are your base data. In the lessons that follow, you will stack modification layers and space rules on top of them to model scenarios and generate space calculations.