Create subproperties

Properties (object and datatype properties) can be defined in a hierarchy in the same way classes can be structured in a hierarchy.

For example, a hierarchy of the property hasAncestor may have subclasses hasMother, hasFather, and hasParent. When querying the ontology, you can now ask for objects that are linked by the hasAncestor property, and return all the results that are linked by its subproperties.

Subproperties can be specified in a number of ways.

When you know at the creation time the parent of a new property:

• Click on the parent property in the Properties View, then select Create subproperty option from the drop-down menu. Create a new property. It will be defined as a subproperty of the property you have clicked on before invoking create.

When you need to add or change a parent property after the child property has been created:

• Click on the child property in the Properties View and drag and drop it under the parent property.
• Select the child property in the Properties View so that it appears in the Resource Editor. Add a parent property under the rdfs:subPropertyOf widget in the Other Properties section of the Property Form. This can be done in the following ways:
  • Click on the parent property in the Properties View then drag and drop it over the rdfs:subPropertyOf property in the child's Form.
  • Click on the down facing triangle next to the rdfs:subPropertyOf widget in the Property Form to invoke a menu. Select the Add empty row option. Either drag and drop the parent property in to the empty row or simply type the parent property name.
  • Click on the down facing triangle next to the rdfs:subPropertyOf widget in the Property Form to invoke a menu. Select the Add existing... option. Select the parent property from the resulting dialog.
  • Click on the down facing triangle next to the rdfs:subPropertyOf widget in the Property Form to invoke a menu. Select the Create and add... option. Create a new parent property in the resulting dialog.
  • Click on the down facing triangle next to the rdfs:subPropertyOf widget in the Property Form to invoke a menu. Select the Create and add nested... option. Create a new parent property in the resulting dialog. When the parent property is created, a nested form will be shown, where you could see and modify further details of the property.

The screenshot below shows the object property hasTopping - a subproperty of hasIngredient.

If the Property Form does not show an rdfs:subPropertyOf widget:

• Click on  in the upper right corner of the Form.
• If you still do not see the widget, click on  and pick rdfs:subProperty from the list.
• Alternatively, if you have selected to see rdfs:subPropertyOf in your Properties View Preferences, you can drag and drop rdfs:subPropertyOf on to the Form from the Properties View.