Structural Metadata: Tree Navigation

Introduction

Using the structural metadata for tree navigation one can fetch the (direct) children of a record or get the grandparents of a record.

Reference Codes & Has (Non Representation) Children

The metadata field Structural.ReferenceCodes is an ordered multi-item field (see Complex Fields) containing the record IDs from the parents, starting from the oldest / first.

{
   "Structural": {
      "ReferenceCodes": {
         "Series": ["3e3b17c058b14ed79095c7fc9c4af88848bd7afbc5294c19a214625a5a5d3d7d"],
         "Dossier": ["6b83485cfe1f48729ab493f912b2c7cc6336afdc597843e7bcaf664abd209043"],
         "Document":["120b5fe7f7a346bca277e13988ed96224f40330432584955b6e33b524321dff5"]
      }
   }
}

Once a record obtains its first child the field Structural.HasChildren will be true for the parent. Even if the child is later permanently deleted, the field Structural.HasChildren will be true forever on the parent.
Data objects, e.g., the record type Media, always have `Structural.HasChildrenset to true because it has direct (grand)children representations. In order to know whether the data object has other data objects that are children, e.g. emails with attachments, a new field HasNonRepresentationChildren has been introduced in version 23.4.

Navigation

From child to parent

The metadata field ParentRecordId provides the RecordId of its parent → Metadata Fields
For representations, the metadata field DataRecordId provides the RecordId of the data record to which it belongs

From child to grandparents

The field ReferenceCodes contains the full line of ancestors. The sub-fields are in the exact order of the grandparents from top to bottom with as key the RecordType of the (grand)parent as value the RecordId of the (grand)parent
For representations, the metadata field DataRecordId provides the RecordId of the data record to which it belongs

From parent to direct children

Make a search request on the field ParentRecordId
Form +Structural.ParentRecordId:<my RecordId>
Example +Structural.ParentRecordId:3e3b17...

From parent to all (grand)children

Make a search request using the matching sub-field of ReferenceCodes
Form +Structural.ReferenceCodes.<my RecordType>:<my RecordId>
Example all (grand)children of particular Series: +Structural.ReferenceCodes.Series:3e3b17...