What is metadata? 

Metadata is "data about data" - descriptive information about the files in your Fotoware.

To illustrate: When you save a document to a local hard drive or a network drive, the operating system stores the file along with some file attributes - its size, the date and time it was created, and so on. If you later edit and re-save that document, its modification time changes. All these attributes are metadata that tell us more about the file you created.

However, time and date stamps have limited practical use when trying to find a piece of content you made a long time ago. What would be nice is if it were possible to create additional searchable attributes that could help people find specific documents among thousands. That's exactly what a DAM system does - and the key is metadata.

How does metadata work, exactly? 

When you add files to a DAM system, whether pictures, documents, videos, or other types of content, you can describe them during or after upload using a common set of keywords agreed upon in the organization.

For example, a presentation is always tagged with the year it was made, who made it, and who it was made for.

Some of the metadata added to assets is applied automatically - for example, files you upload will be tagged with your name or user ID in the Uploaded By metadata field.

Key points to remember about metadata:

• Your organization can choose precisely which information to collect by defining the metadata fields that should be used to describe your content.
• All metadata is immediately searchable.
• Metadata can also organize content structure - allowing users to browse categories and find the content they seek by clicking rather than using complex searches.