NetX manages two different types of asset metadata:
- Attributes - name/value pairs of data that are stored and searchable in NetX
- Embedded Metadata - data stored inside the asset file itself, such as IPTC, EXIF, Camera Raw, Dublin Core, and various Adobe extensions among others.
Metadata Maps allow administrators to automatically map embedded metadata to NetX attributes on upload and/or export NetX attribute data into assets on download or sharing.
Creating a map
- Log on as an Administrator and navigate to Systems Metadata maps.
- Use the Add map button to create a map.
- Enter the Metadata field you wish to map to/from a NetX attribute, in the XMP format schema:field. For example, if you wish to map Dublin Core Description, enter dc:Description. Please refer to the respective standards specification for the proper XMP syntax and data structures for metadata fields.
- Choose the corresponding NetX attribute you want to map the metadata to/from. Note: the only non-custom attribute field you can import metadata to is Name.
- Select Import, Export, or both, then click Save when finished. If you aren't ready to go live with your map, leave those checkboxes blank and you will be able to edit them another time.
- Your new map will be shown in the Metadata maps table.
Editing maps
You can edit the Import/Export controls right from the Metadata maps table. If you wish to edit the fields or attributes, click on the map to open its editor or use the row action menu and select Edit.
To delete a map, use the row action menu and select Delete.
Map order
Maps can be reordered using the drag handles next to each map in the table. Map order impacts the following scenarios:
- If multiple NetX attributes are exported to the same metadata field, the attribute values will be appended in the order they are mapped.
- If multiple metadata fields are imported to the same NetX attribute, only the last one in the map order will be respected.
Import mapping
NetX will map embedded XMP data to attributes upon import, resync, and version (check-in).
Supported exports
Attributes configured for export will only be embedded while downloading or sharing original or repurposed files. Other derivatives and proxies such as thumbnails and previews are excluded from this feature.
Attribute precedence
Be aware that if an import map is active in the system, it will likely overwrite any attribute values input by users or attribute profiles. See Attribute Update Precedence for more details.
Data types
Metadata standards specify certain supported data types for each field. For example, the photoshop:Headline field is limited to 64 bytes, so mapping to a text field attribute may not be supported. Likewise, unless a field supports bag values, it will not correctly map to multi-value (multi-select, tag) attributes. Please verify using your metadata standard specification or the exiftool XMP reference. We recommend thoroughly testing maps to ensure reliable data transmission.
Case sensitivity
NetX accepts case-insensitive schema:field input, but other applications may not. We recommend using proper casing for XMP schema:field inputs as per metadata specifications.
Multi-value attributes
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
Controlled vocabularies
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 attributes:
Property Description metadata.autoAddOptionsForDataImports If the value of this property is true, new values can be applied and added to both pulldown and multi-select attributes. If the value of this property is false, all pulldown and multi-select attribute type values must match existing value options exactly.
Value options: true / false
Requires restart? No