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Documentation & User Guides | Fotoware

Preserving metadata on upload

When users upload assets to Fotoware, they are prompted to enter metadata in the fields defined in the metadata set associated with the archive.

When a user uploads files using the web interface after logging in to Fotoware, the web upload module cannot determine if metadata already exists in the files placed in the upload queue. Therefore, when a user leaves a field empty, the content of that field will, by default, be empty in the file that is uploaded, even if it did contain metadata at the outset.

Note:

  • Fields that are not editable in the metadata set will not be modified. Therefore, to preserve the metadata in a certain field, make sure that the field is not exposed in the metadata set or, at the very least, not editable.
  • When the user enters metadata in a field, the content entered overwrites any existing metadata in that field.
  • With bag fields, all existing content in the bag field is removed if the user enters a new value.

This can be overcome by:

  • using the Fotoware Desktop Uploader, a desktop utility for Windows and Mac OS, that can read out all the metadata in the assets placed in the upload queue.
    or
  • configuring Fotoware to preserve metadata in fields that are left empty in the web upload module.

Configuring Fotoware to preserve metadata on upload

FotoWare SaaS site Upload settings.png

To configure Fotoware to preserve the metadata in fields that are left empty in the web uploader (point 2 above):

  1. From the Tools menu (cogwheel icon), go to Site Configuration > Metadata > Upload.
  2. Select Preserve existing metadata for fields left empty during upload. Now, any fields that are left empty during upload will be preserved if the original file contains metadata in those fields.
  3. Select Save.

Note: This option only applies to the web uploader.