Update Object

In Contendo Server, objects can be updated in various ways depending on the required modification. Properties (metadata) and content are updated independently.

Operations for updating objects

Operation	Description
Update Properties	Modifies the metadata (properties) of an object without changing its content.
Set Content	Replaces the content of a document while keeping its properties unchanged.
Append Content	Appends new data to an existing document without removing existing content.
Delete Content	Removes the content of a document while preserving its metadata.

Update Properties

The updateProperties operation in Contendo Server allows updating the properties of an existing object in the repository. This operation supports modifying metadata fields but does not affect the object's content.

Note: Only readwrite properties may be updated.

Request Format

Operation: updateProperties
HTTP method: POST
Content-Type: application/json, multipart/form-data
Target object: The object whose properties will be updated. See Specifying the Target Object.

Parameters

Name	Required	Description	Link
`properties`	Yes	A JSON object containing the properties to be updated. Only the specified properties will be modified. Fields that are not included remain unchanged.	Properties
`succinct`	No	If set to `true`, the response will be more compact.	Succinct

Example Request - Updating description and weight properties:

curl -X 'POST' \
  '{REPOSITORY_URL}/Animals/Dogs/Rex'/ \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "operation": "createObject",
    "succinct": true,
    "properties": {
      "cmis:description":"Good Dog!",
      "weight":35
    }
  }'

Response Format

Content-Type: application/json
Response body: the JSON representation of the updated object:

Field Name	Condition	Description	Link
`properties`	`succinct=false` or succinct omitted	The object's properties in detailed format.	Properties
`succinctProperties`	`succinct=true`	The object's properties in concise format.	Succinct Properties

Example Response - Properties description and weight are updated to new values, while other properties are unchanged (omitted some properties for clarity):

{
  "succinctProperties": {
    "cmis:name": "Rex",
    "cmis:objectId": "2f14b215-32ce-497d-bbea-e8e58c1971bc",
    "cmis:objectTypeId": "dog",
    "cmis:description": "Good Dog!",
    "weight": 35,
    "height": 63
  }
}

Set Content

The setContent operation in Contendo Server allows updating the content of an existing document while preserving its metadata. This operation replaces the document's binary content but does not modify its properties.

Request Format

Operation: setContent
HTTP method: POST
Content-Type: multipart/form-data
Target object: The document whose content will be updated. See Specifying the Target Object.

Parameters

Name	Required	Description	Link
`content`	Yes	The binary content to replace the current content of the document.
`overwriteFlag`	No	If set to `false`, the operation fails if the document already has content. Defaults to `true`.
`succinct`	No	If set to `true`, the response will be more compact.	Succinct

Example Request - Updating the content of a document:

curl -X 'POST' \
  '{REPOSITORY_URL}/Animals/Dogs/Rex' \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F 'operation=setContent' \
  -F 'succinct=true' \
  -F 'content=@new_picture_of_rex.png;type=image/png'

Response Format

Content-Type: application/json
Response body: the JSON representation of the updated document:

Field Name	Condition	Description	Link
`properties`	`succinct=false` or succinct omitted	The document's properties in detailed format.	Properties
`succinctProperties`	`succinct=true`	The document's properties in concise format.	Succinct Properties

Example Response - The content of the document has been updated. While most metadata remains unchanged, content stream-related properties, such as cmis:contentStreamFileName, cmis:contentStreamLength, and cmis:contentStreamMimeType, are modified to reflect the new content (some properties are omitted for clarity):

{
  "succinctProperties": {
    "cmis:name": "Rex",
    "cmis:objectId": "2f14b215-32ce-497d-bbea-e8e58c1971bc",
    "cmis:objectTypeId": "dog",
    "cmis:contentStreamFileName": "new_picture_of_rex.png",
    "cmis:contentStreamLength": 1048576,
    "cmis:contentStreamMimeType": "image/png"
  }
}

Append Content

The appendContent operation in Contendo Server allows appending new data to the existing content of a document while preserving its metadata. If the document has no existing content, it will be set instead. Unlike setContent, which fully replaces the content, appendContent extends the current content by adding new data at the end.

When to Use `appendContent`

Use appendContent when you need to incrementally add data to a document without overwriting its existing content. This is useful for scenarios such as:

Logging data to a text file.
Incrementally updating large binary files.
Streaming additional content without re-uploading the entire document.

Request Format

Operation: appendContent
HTTP method: POST
Content-Type: multipart/form-data
Target object: The document to which content will be appended. See Specifying the Target Object.

Parameters

Name	Required	Description	Link
`content`	Yes	The binary content to append to the document's existing content.
`succinct`	No	If set to `true`, the response will be more compact.	Succinct

Example Request - Appending new content to an existing document:

curl -X 'POST' \
  '{REPOSITORY_URL}/Animals/Dogs/RexLog' \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F 'operation=appendContent' \
  -F 'succinct=true' \
  -F 'content=@additional_data.txt;type=text/plain'

Response Format

Content-Type: application/json
Response body: The JSON representation of the updated document.

Field Name	Condition	Description	Link
`properties`	`succinct=false` or succinct omitted	The document's properties in detailed format.	Properties
`succinctProperties`	`succinct=true`	The document's properties in concise format.	Succinct Properties

Example Response - The content of the document has been appended. While most metadata remains unchanged, content stream-related properties, such as cmis:contentStreamLength, are updated to reflect the new content size (some properties are omitted for clarity):

{
  "succinctProperties": {
    "cmis:name": "RexLog",
    "cmis:objectId": "2f14b215-32ce-497d-bbea-e8e58c1971bc",
    "cmis:objectTypeId": "dogLog",
    "cmis:contentStreamFileName": "log.txt",
    "cmis:contentStreamLength": 2097152,
    "cmis:contentStreamMimeType": "text/plain"
  }
}

Delete Content

The deleteContent operation in Contendo Server allows removing the content stream of an existing document while preserving its metadata. This operation deletes the document's binary content but does not modify its properties.

Request Format

Operation: deleteContent
HTTP method: POST
Content-Type: application/json, multipart/form-data
Target object: The document whose content will be deleted. See Specifying the Target Object.

Parameters

Name	Required	Description	Link
`succinct`	No	If set to `true`, the response will be more compact.	Succinct

Example Request - Deleting the content of a document:

curl -X 'POST' \
  '{REPOSITORY_URL}/Animals/Dogs/Rex' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "operation": "deleteContent",
    "succinct": true
  }'

Response Format

Content-Type: application/json
Response body: the JSON representation of the updated document (with content removed):

Field Name	Condition	Description	Link
`properties`	`succinct=false` or succinct omitted	The document's properties in detailed format.	Properties
`succinctProperties`	`succinct=true`	The document's properties in concise format.	Succinct Properties

Example Response - The content of the document has been deleted. Metadata remains unchanged (some properties omitted for clarity):

{
  "succinctProperties": {
    "cmis:name": "Rex",
    "cmis:objectId": "2f14b215-32ce-497d-bbea-e8e58c1971bc",
    "cmis:objectTypeId": "dog",
    "cmis:contentStreamFileName": null,
    "cmis:contentStreamLength": null,
    "cmis:contentStreamMimeType": null
  }
}

Update Object

Operations for updating objects

Update Properties

Request Format

Parameters

Response Format

Set Content

Request Format

Parameters

Response Format

Append Content

When to Use appendContent

Request Format

Parameters

Response Format

Delete Content

Request Format

Parameters

Response Format

When to Use `appendContent`