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Centro Properties

A Centro Property is a named, reusable value that you reference from layouts, templates and dashboards using a curly-brace token — for example {welcome_message} or {checkout_time}. When Centro renders the screen, it replaces the token with the property's value for the current user and location.

Properties are what make one layout serve many situations. Instead of hard-coding text into a layout, you point the layout at a property and manage the value in one place — including its translations.

You manage properties under Settings → Objects → Centro Properties.

How a property is referenced​

  • Give the property a name. Centro derives the key from the name automatically — the key is what you use in a token.
  • Reference the property anywhere text is accepted by wrapping the key in curly braces: {key}.
  • When the layout, template or dashboard is rendered, every {key} token is replaced with the property's resolved value.

A property can also define a default value, used when nothing more specific applies.

Property types​

The type you choose controls how the value is entered and displayed. The common types are:

  • Text — a single line of text (the default).
  • Multi-Language Text — one value per enabled language, so the same token renders in the user's chosen language. This is the type to use for anything a guest reads.
  • Number, Currency, Date/Time, Time — typed values with appropriate input and formatting.
  • Boolean, Checkbox, Checkbox Group — on/off and multi-select values.
  • Select, Select with input — a fixed list of options, optionally with a free-text entry.
  • Colour, Icon, Attachment — a colour, an icon or an uploaded file.

Multi-language values​

For a Multi-Language Text property, enter a value for each language you have enabled under Settings → Workspace → Language. Centro shows a summary of your translations and warns about any that are missing, so you can see at a glance where a language still needs filling in.

At render time Centro picks the value for the user's selected language. If you later add a new supported language, revisit your multi-language properties to fill in the new column.

Scoping and overrides​

A property can be scoped to an entity type — such as Location, User, QR code or Product — so its value can differ per instance of that entity. When a token is resolved, Centro applies the most specific value available: a location or user override takes precedence over the property's default. This is what lets the same layout show location-specific or user-specific content.

Properties also carry visibility and edit flags that control whether they can be edited from the admin dashboard, a plugin, an integration or the API — useful when a value should be set by an integration rather than by hand.

Display masks​

Some property types support a mask — a formatting rule applied when the value is rendered, without changing the stored value. Use a mask to present a raw value in a friendlier form (for example formatting a number or padding a code). You can set a default mask on the property, and masks can also be applied where the token is used.

  • UI Layouts — where property tokens are most often used.
  • MultiLanguage Layouts — a worked example of creating a translation key and backing it with a Multi-Language Text property.