What is it?

Metadata are information about a Resource.  Metadata are a permanent part of the Resource record but they are stored outside of the Resource.  Some types of metadata are CERF Resources themselves.  Metadata are used to track the history of Resources and search for Resources in CERF. 
Note: The user who submits the Resource to CERF or creates a new version is the Contributor (this is not the same as the Owner, because the Owner is a Workgroup; note that Contributor is not necessarily the author).

Some types of metadata are collected automatically when a Resource is submitted to CERF.  These metadata are title, Resource type, contributor, date (creation and update dates), and file size.  CERF will extract metadata from MS Office documents, PDF documents, and images at the time of resource submission.

For MS Office documents, metadata will be extracted from fields where there are values for Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Comments, Creation Date, and Company. 

For Images, metadata are extracted from fields where there are values for Image Length, Image Width, Resolution Horizontal, Resolution Vertical, Resolution Unit, Equipment Make, Equipment Model, Application Name, Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Location, Focal Length, Exposure Time, Shutter Speed, and Bits Per Sample.

All of these extracted metadata fields are searchable.

Viewing the Metadata

You can view metadata for any Resource that is in a File Cabinet or Notebook resource displayed in the Document Tree or any resource displayed in the Notebook Viewer or a Resource Page.  You can also view metadata for a search result.  For resources in the Document tree, simply select the resource, open the Info panel (right-hand panel in CERF), and expand the Metadata pane by clicking on the expander.

You can also view metadata for a Resource listed in a Search Result, Version History, Notification, or Annotation pane by right-clicking on it and selecting View Resource Info (or clicking the View Info button for a selected Search Result). 

An easy way to view metadata for resources that are Entries on a Notebook Page, click the Show Metadata button  on the Page Toolbar.  This button toggles from the Hide Metadata button (circled on the Page toolbar below). The following image illustrates a Notebook page with metadata shown (circled).

To view Resource Info for the Notebook Entry or Entry Content, select the Notebook Entry in the Notebook Viewer (click on the green selection bar) and click on the Info button  on the Entry toolbar. This launches the Resource Info dialog.  Select the Entry Content Tab to see all info about the embedded file and select the Entry Tab to see info about the Entry (container).

Editing and Adding Metadata

You have an option to edit metadata at the time of resource submission (unless you have chosen the "Quick Add" option) and you can also edit metadata for any existing CERF resource by clicking the Edit Metadata  button or click on the Edit button in the metadata pane in the Info Panel (for inline editing). 

You must have an access role of Metadata Editor or higher in order to edit metadata.  You will not be able to edit metadata if the Resource is already checked out or has pending signatures, or if the edit state of the resource is Final.  When you edit the metadata, you will see a red check mark next to the resource because the resource is checked out from the server.

The main part of the Edit Metadata dialog has options to change or add metadata such as Title, Description, Keywords, Comment, and Category.  The Submission/Modification Metadata and the System Metadata cannot be changed.  For more metadata options, click on the Add More Metadata button. 

The following are the types of additional metadata:

• Semantic Type - a standard controlled vocabulary, associated with all Resource Types in CERF.
• Attribute - allows you to create your own metadata type for precise retrieval of information.
• User Supplied Basic CERF Metadata - the option is to add an author field.  The author is another CERF user in your organization (this launches a search dialog to find the user).
• Annotations - allows you to link the resource to another CERF resource.  When you select this metadata type, a search dialog is launched to find the resource in CERF.
• Dublin Core  - depending on what you select, this will add a new text field to the metadata.

After you've selected the metadata type, fill in any requested information and click OK.  The new metadata are displayed in the Edit Metadata dialog.  When you are finished, click Save Metadata on the dialog. 

The Version Resource dialog is launched next.  If the resource is versionable (meaning that any changes replace the previous copy), you will see that the radio button is selected next to "Replace." In this instance, the resource is already under version control.

The update references action allows you to choose where to display the updated copy.  Usually, you will want to update in all collections (the default selection). Click OK to save these changes.