Using the View Editor - adobe-dmeservices/custom-metadata GitHub Wiki

Using the View Editor

Metadata forms are called Views. Views are JSON files that can be edited manually or by using the View Editor. The Custom Metadata Panel ships with an example View that includes many of the available form elements. It references some common metadata schemas and a custom metadata schema for a fictional Pet Rescue organization. You will likely want to adjust the View or create your own from scratch. There are also several additional Views available as starting points, which highlight common Namespaces and their properties.

You can access the View Editor from Settings. You can then edit a specific View by choosing it from the View Editor menu, or you can use the Tab Manager to edit a View for a specific Tab.

Choosing a View from the list of predefined Views

Edit a preexisting View for a specific Tab

When you create a new View or edit an existing View, the View Editor Panel will appear. You can add metadata Fields and/or edit and reorder existing metadata Fields.

  • To create a new metadata Field, click Add Metadata.
  • To edit existing metadata Fields, click the pencil icon Edit Field icon next to the metadata Field you want to modify.
  • To reorder Fields, select one or more Fields, then drag them up or down, then release when they are in the right place. The Fields will remain selected, so you may need to deselect if you want to perform further adjustments to the Field order.
  • To duplicate one or more Fields, select them and then click Duplicate selected
  • To copy one or more Fields for pasting into the current or another View, select them and then click Copy selected
  • To paste one or more Fields into a View, first copy those fields and then navigate to the View Editor for that View. Click Paste copied property. This will paste the Fields into the current View and clear the View Clipboard.

How to edit a Field's details

  • To remove a Field, select it and then click Delete selected.

The buttons that appear once you select one or more Fields in the View Editor

When you create or edit a Field, you must enter values on the Basic tab before you can enter values in other tabs.
Note: some common metadata properties have specific pre-defined values or formatting. Be sure to consult your schema definition before creating or modifying a Field with the Custom Metadata Panel. Know that you can always copy properties from existing Views and paste them into other Views. See Using Example Views for more details.

Managing Field details

  • On the Basic tab, you must enter the following properties for each Field:

    • Field Type Choose from one of the options described below
    • Display Name The name of the Field you want to display in the View when a user selects a file
    • XMP prefix The short name for the XMP namespace in which your property resides. For instance, the Dublin Core namespace has an XMP prefix of dc. When you type, Custom Metadata will pre-fill with prefixes from common namespaces. When you select one from list, the corresponding namespace details will populate in the XMP namespace Field
    • XMP namspace The URI that points to the XMP namespace definition in which your property resides. For instance, the Dublin Core namespace has an XMP Namespace URI of http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/ When you type, Custom Metadata will pre-fill with URIs from common namespaces. When you select one from list, the corresponding prefix will populate in the XMP prefix Field
    • XMP property name The name of the specific metadata property to which you want to write the value of this Field. For instance, within the Dublin Core namespace, the property subject is used for the Keywords that have been applied to an asset by Creative Cloud applications.
    • Read Only You can set a Field as read only. This will prevent users from entering data into this Field.

  • Other tabs may appear, based on the Field type. Details about these options can be found at the Learn more links for each Field type.

See more detail about each Field type in the Contents on the right or follow the Learn more links from each Field below.

Here are some helpful tips for identifying common metadata namespace details using File Info:

  • You can find the XMP namespace and prefix in the Raw Data panel. At the top of the Raw Data, there is a list of all of the namespaces defined in the file. These will start with the tag xmlns: and will follow the pattern xmlns:prefix="namespaceURI"
  • In the example shown below, the prefix is dc, and the namespace URI is http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1
  • You can also find the XMP Property Name in the Raw Data. Property tags have the form <prefix:propertyName>
  • In the example below, the entry for Keywords is highlighted. Keywords uses the property called subject in the namespace whose prefix is dc.
  • It is common to add metadata to a file and then view the resulting formatting in File Info. Record the Namespace URI, Prefix and property for use in your View.

Raw Data Specifics

AEM Tags

AEM Tags is a special case. Adobe Experience Manager can add tags to assets. These tags can relate to projects, marketing rules, asset life cycle, and much more. The AEM Tags Field Type allows users to view and modify tags. Admins can constrain what the user sees when the configure the Field. Learn more about AEM Tags.

Date Fields

Date and Multiple Date Fields allow users to select dates and/or times. Admins can configure the Field to display dates and times in several formats. When a date is specified The date picker will allow users to select a date and time from a calendar. It allows users to type values, and it will attempt to format the text as a date if necessary. Learn more about Date Fields.

Checkbox and Checkbox Group Fields

Checkbox Fields allow users to select one of two predefined values, as defined in the Options. The checkbox will show a checked or unchecked state, or an indeterminate state if the selected file has a value that is different from what is defined in the Options.

Checkbox Group Fields allow users to select one of many predefined values, as defined in the Options. The values are stored in an array in XMP. Learn more about Checkboxes and Checkbox Groups.

Dropdown and Multi-Dropdown Fields

Dropdown Fields allow users to select one value from a menu. Multiple Dropdown Fields allow users to select one or more values from a menu. Multi-Dropdown Fields store values in an array in XMP. You can configure the available menu items in the Options tab. Menus can display custom labels for each value to make it easier to read or if your users are familiar with another term for the value.

Multi-Dropdown Fields also have a feature called Selection Groups, which allow you to define a menu option that will select other related values. For instance, if your menu had a choice of different breeds of dogs, cats and birds, you could have a menu choice "All cats" that would select all of the cat breeds in the menu. Multi-Dropdown Fields also can be configured to allow users to enter their own values when their choice does not appear in the menu.

You can also configure Dropdown and Multi-Dropdown menus with a filter to reduce the options based on the value in another Field. This is very helpful in reducing errors in data entry when one choice affects another. Learn more about Dropdowns and Multi-Dropdowns

Radio Groups

Radio Group Fields allow users to select one of several predefined values using a Radio Button. These can be arranged horizontally or vertically. Learn more about Radio Groups

Switch and Switch Group Fields

Switch Fields allow users to select one of two predefined values using a switch. The user clicks the switch to enable it and again to disable it. Switch Groups can have multiple values, and you can set the display orientation of the Switch Group to horzontal or vertical. Learn more about Switches and Switch Groups

Text and Multi-Text Fields

Text Fields provide a single free-form text entry for a property. Multiple Text Fields allow users to create multiple free-form text entries for a single property that will be stored in an array. Any text can be included. Text Fields can display as a single line or multi line Field. For multi line, enable the Multi Line option in the Advanced tab. Learn more about Text and Multi-Text Fields

Language Alternatives are supported. To use Language Alternatives, enable Language Alternative in the Advanced Tab.
Note: Multiple Text fields do not yet support Language Alternatives Learn more about Language Alternatives

Section and Subsection Dividers

Section and Subsection Dividers are used to separate metadata into logical blocks in your form. Dividers only require a Display Name, which will be used as the divider message.

  • Dividers have an optional URL Field. If you include a URL, the Divider will display the URL in the form, and users can click on the link to open it in their browser.
  • Section Dividers include a rule above the Display Name.
  • Subsection Dividers have smaller text than Dividers.

Tags

Tags Fields let you constrain the values of a property while allowing entry of multiple values. This is commonly used in keywords-like scenarios where you want to limit what tags a user can apply. Tags Fields will auto-complete when a user starts typing values. Learn more about Tags

URL Fields

URL Fields provide a single free-form text entry for a property. The form will attempt to validate that entered value is formatted properly as a URL, and if so, the LinkOut icon will activate. When the user clicks on the icon, the default browser will navigate to the URL. Learn more about URL Fields