Sync Embedded Metadata

NetX manages two different types of asset metadata:

• Custom Attributes  - name/value pairs of data that are stored within NetX in the underlying database and searchable from the integrated search engine.
• Embedded Metadata - values of various types and formats, stored inside the asset file itself.

Using the sync metadata feature, NetX can automatically import embedded metadata into custom attribute values upon asset upload, reimport, version (check-in), and resync all (it will not be mapped on an index-only resync or rebuild index).

XMP and embedded metadata types

There are a wide variety of embedded metadata formats including IPTC (originally for newspapers), EXIF (digital camera information), Camera Raw, Dublin Core, and various Adobe extensions among others. However, Adobe's XMP has become the industry standard, which does a good job to create a "meta" embedded metadata format they call "XMP". Here's Adobe's definition of "XMP": 

Adobe's Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a labeling technology that allows you to embed data about a file, known as metadata, into the file itself. With XMP, desktop applications and back-end publishing systems gain a common method for capturing, sharing, and leveraging this valuable metadata — opening the door for more efficient job processing, workflow automation, and rights management, among many other possibilities. With XMP, Adobe has taken the "heavy lifting" out of metadata integration, offering content creators an easy way to embed meaningful information about their projects and providing industry partners with standards-based building blocks to develop optimized workflow solutions.

Read more at Adobe's XMP site. Effectively, XMP becomes a common container for all the other embedded metadata types.

Mapping setup

This tutorial assumes that you already have custom attributes created in NetX.

1. To access the Sync configuration, log on as an administrator and click on System. From the System panel, click on Attributes. Choose an attribute to be synced; access the editor by using its action menu and clicking Edit attribute, clicking the attribute name directly, or clicking the Metadata sync toggle.
   
   
2.  Enable the Sync metadata toggle. This will allow the Schema field to appear. Choose the schema you want to use from the list of options:
   • Dublin Core
   • EXIF
   • IPTC
   • Photoshop
   • PDF
   • XMP
     
   • Corel
   • ID3
   • DICOM
   • Custom: an advanced function that allows the user to specify a custom XMP field or one that is not listed.
      
3. After the schema is chosen, select the Value, or field within the schema that you wish to map. For each schema, these options will vary.
4. Click Save when finished. You have now created a one-way mapping that copies data from the embedded field inside the asset file to the NetX attribute.

Validation options

By default, the values that can be imported into a pulldown, multi-select, or tag attribute must match those contained in the attribute's controlled vocabulary. Any values present in the metadata field that do not match a value in the attribute's vocabulary will be ignored, i.e. not applied to the attribute field on upload. There are a couple of ways to alter this behavior:

• For tag attributes, check the box marked  Allow users to create values when editing an attribute in the Systems area. When this box is checked, all values present in a mapped metadata field will copy over to the NetX attribute and get added to the vocabulary/dataset as new values.
• The following property will change this behavior for both pulldown and multi-select attribute types; this setting will apply to all attributes of both types.

Multiple values

Multi-value mapping is supported only for XMP fields with data structures that accommodate multiple values. NetX has verified mapping multiple semicolon-delimited values into Multi-select and Tag (Vocabulary) attributes from these fields:

• Iptc4xmpCore:Scene
• Iptc4xmpCore:SubjectCode
• Iptc4xmpExt:LocationId
• Iptc4xmpExt:OrganisationInImageCode
• Iptc4xmpExt:OrganisationInImageName
• Iptc4xmpExt:PersonInImage
• dc:creator
• dc:subject
• photomechanic:CreatorIdentity
• photoshop:SupplementalCategories
• plus:ModelReleaseID
• plus:PropertyReleaseID

Other fields may be supported, but additional testing may be required.