Long Text Attributes

Overview

Long Text Attributes are designed for storing and collaboratively editing large text content. They use Operational Transformation (OT) for real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to edit the same document simultaneously.

When to Use Long Text

Use Long Text Attributes when you need:

Large text documents (notes, articles, code)
Real-time collaborative text editing
Character-by-character synchronization

Use Key-Value Attributes instead when:

You have structured data (JSON objects)
Text is relatively short and rarely edited collaboratively
You need to update specific fields independently

Creating Long Text Attributes

Using createLongText()

const notes = await lr.Attribute.createLongText(
  'Initial content of the document',
  [['$it', 'isA', 'Notes']]
);

Using create()

const article = await lr.Attribute.create(
  'longText',
  'Article content goes here...',
  [['$it', 'isA', 'Article']]
);

In Blueprint Pattern

const { doc, notes } = await lr.Attribute.createAll({
  doc: {
    type: 'KeyValueAttribute',
    value: { title: 'My Document', metadata: {} },
    facts: [['$it', 'isA', 'Document']],
  },
  notes: {
    type: 'LongTextAttribute',
    value: 'Detailed notes for the document...',
    facts: [
      ['$it', 'isA', 'DocumentNotes'],
      ['$it', 'belongsTo', '{{doc}}'],
    ],
  },
});

Reading Content

const notes = await lr.Attribute.find(notesId);
const content = await notes.getValue();
console.log(content);  // Returns the full text content

Updating Content

Replace Entire Content

const notes = await lr.Attribute.find(notesId);
await notes.set('Completely new content');

Using set() replaces the entire text content. For collaborative editing, use the real-time editing approach with load().

Real-Time Collaboration

Enabling Real-Time Updates

const notes = await lr.Attribute.find(notesId);
 
// The attribute now syncs with the server
// Changes from other users are automatically merged
// Whenever you call notes.getValue() you will get the most up to date value

Editing with OT

Once loaded, edits are automatically synchronized:

// Get current content
let content = await notes.getValue();
 
// Make changes (this would typically be done through a text editor)
// The OT system handles merging concurrent edits

Querying Long Text Attributes

By Type

const { notes } = await lr.Attribute.findAll({
  notes: [
    ['$it', '$hasDataType', 'LongTextAttribute'],
    ['$it', 'isA', 'Notes'],
  ],
});

By Relationship

const { docNotes } = await lr.Attribute.findAll({
  docNotes: [
    ['$it', '$hasDataType', 'LongTextAttribute'],
    ['$it', 'belongsTo', documentId],
  ],
});

Integration with Text Editors

Long Text Attributes work well with text editor libraries. Here's a conceptual example:

function CollaborativeEditor({ attributeId }) {
  const { lr } = useLinkedRecords();
  const [content, setContent] = useState('');
  const [attribute, setAttribute] = useState(null);
 
  useEffect(() => {
    let attr;
 
    async function setupAttribute() {
      attr = await lr.Attribute.find(attributeId);
      if (attr) {
        // Subscribe to receive real-time changes from other users
        await attr.subscribe(async () => {
          setContent(await attr.getValue());
        });
        setAttribute(attr);
        setContent(await attr.getValue());
      }
    }
 
    setupAttribute();
 
    return () => {
      attr?.unload();
    };
  }, [attributeId, lr]);
 
  const handleChange = async (newContent) => {
    setContent(newContent);
    await attribute?.set(newContent);
  };
 
  return (
    <textarea
      value={content}
      onChange={(e) => handleChange(e.target.value)}
    />
  );
}

Common Patterns

Meeting Notes

// Create meeting notes linked to a meeting
const meetingNotes = await lr.Attribute.createLongText(
  `# Meeting Notes - ${new Date().toLocaleDateString()}
 
## Attendees
-
 
## Agenda
-
 
## Discussion
-
 
## Action Items
- `,
  [
    ['$it', 'isA', 'MeetingNotes'],
    ['$it', 'belongsTo', meetingId],
    [teamId, '$canAccess', '$it'],
  ]
);

Documentation

const { doc, content } = await lr.Attribute.createAll({
  doc: {
    type: 'KeyValueAttribute',
    value: {
      title: 'API Documentation',
      version: '1.0.0',
      lastUpdated: Date.now(),
    },
    facts: [['$it', 'isA', 'Documentation']],
  },
  content: {
    type: 'LongTextAttribute',
    value: '# API Documentation\n\n## Introduction\n\n...',
    facts: [
      ['$it', 'isA', 'DocumentContent'],
      ['$it', 'belongsTo', '{{doc}}'],
    ],
  },
});

Code Snippets

const snippet = await lr.Attribute.createLongText(
  `function greet(name) {
  return \`Hello, \${name}!\`;
}`,
  [
    ['$it', 'isA', 'CodeSnippet'],
    ['$it', 'language', 'JavaScript'],
    ['$it', 'belongsTo', projectId],
  ]
);

Permissions

Long Text Attributes follow the same authorization model as other attributes:

// Create with team access
const sharedDoc = await lr.Attribute.createLongText(
  'Shared content',
  [
    ['$it', 'isA', 'SharedDocument'],
    [teamId, '$canAccess', '$it'],  // Team can read and write
  ]
);
 
// Create with read-only sharing
const readOnlyDoc = await lr.Attribute.createLongText(
  'Published content',
  [
    ['$it', 'isA', 'PublishedDocument'],
    [viewerTeamId, '$canRead', '$it'],  // Viewers can only read
  ]
);

Limitations

No partial updates - Unlike Key-Value Attributes, you can't update specific portions through the API (OT handles this internally during real-time)
Text only - No binary content, use Blob Attributes for files

Best Practices

Use for prose content - Long Text is ideal for documents, notes, and articles
Clean up subscriptions - Always call unload() when done to free resources
Combine with Key-Value - Use Key-Value for metadata (title, author, tags) and Long Text for the content body

Long Text Attributes

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