Any note or agent may optionally display a table of user selected attributes. The point is to enable the user to view those attributes' values in the note text pane instead of having to open the Get Info pop-over or use the Properties Inspector's Quickstamp method.
Importantly, there is nothing special about these attributes compared to other attributes: new user often assume these are the only available attribute—wrong!.
A note's Displayed Attributes, i.e. the contents of its Displayed Attributes table, is simply a user-chosen list of attributes considered worthy of display for a given note. Indeed, this listing is stored, and inherited as the value for attribute $DisplayedAttributes.
Reasons for using Displayed Attributes so can include:
- Making it easy to see or edit certain attributes.
- Using the Displayed Attributes table as a form of dashboard.
- In demos and tutorials, it can help the learner view and edit pertinent attributes without having to use other (unfamiliar) parts of the program to do so.
As new users often first come across Displayed Attributes or reference to the feature, this can cause confusion. To be clear: adding an attribute to the Displayed Attributes table has no effect on the displayed attribute(s)' value or upon those attribute(s)' inheritance. However, such editing of the Displayed Attributes table does break inheritance of $DisplayedAttributes itself. Therefore a 'displayed' attribute is merely more easily viewed/edited in the context of the selected note.
Legacy: the old term 'Key Attributes' was replaced by the more descriptive 'Displayed Attributes'
See also—notes linking to here: