Table of Contents
Controlling metadata handling
31. March 2025
Table of Contents
This topic explains how to control the metadata fields used throughout Fotoware.
There are several unused fields of different types that can be customized with a user-defined label and used in your configurations to allow users to add any amount of metadata to the assets in your collections.
Managing metadata handling
From the Tools menu (cogwheel icon), go to Site Configuration > Metadata>Metadata Setup.
Field names and numbering
The metadata settings let you control the display names for the text fields in Fotoware. You can always see the original field names in the Field name column. The Field number column shows the numeric codes for the fields. This code is used when you want to display the content of a field in the Fotoware user interface.
Changing field labels (names)
You can easily change the label for a field by selecting the field and filling in the User defined field name box. This label will then be used throughout Fotoware for this field, provided that you enable the option to Override default name.
Enabling taxonomies for a field
Taxonomy / Plural name: To enable taxonomies for a field, tick the Taxonomy box for all the fields you wish to enable them for. Then, in the Plural Name field, enter a plural field name that is used as the header for that field when it is exposed in the user interface. The actual content in the taxonomies can only be created by a site administrator through the Fotoware Pro interface. Taxonomy content can then be used for navigation when searching and for metadata input throughout the Fotoware interfaces.
For more information about metadata taxonomies, see Creating metadata taxonomies.
Include metadata in renditions and downloads
Include in previews: This option controls whether the content of the selected metadata field is included in preview renditions that are created in Fotoware.
Include in downloads: This option controls whether the content of the selected metadata field is included when the file is downloaded (high-resolution download). If the option is enabled, users will be able to see this text if they view the file in FotoStation, Photoshop, or any other XMP-compatible software. You may want to mask certain fields on download, for example, the History field that contains information on how a file has been used in your system.
By default, all fields are included on download. If you remove one or more fields, this will slow down download processing as the metadata has to be filtered and the file resaved. The same applies if a user chooses to download the Original File from a set of processing profiles.
To ensure that the original file is delivered untouched, all fields should be checked. The file will then bypass metadata filtering altogether and be delivered as-is, including XMP and EXIF metadata.
Using custom fields
Fotoware comes with a large field definition that also includes custom fields for single entries, bags (for collections of keywords), and date fields. (These custom fields start in the #800 field range) You can assign a custom label to these fields and use them in your metadata views so users can input metadata in these fields. For example, if you need an extra date field, add a custom label to that field to specify what it's used for and assign that field to a metadata view, which in turn is associated with an archive.
To assign a custom label to a field, select Override default name for the field in question and enter a custom label. Save the changes and then add this field to a metadata view used in your archive(s).
Tip: Make a note of the field number to find it again easily when you're adding it to the metadata view.