When users upload assets to FotoWeb, they are prompted to fill in metadata in the fields that are defined in the metadata set that is associated with the archive.

When a user uploads files using the web interface after logging in to FotoWeb, 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, ensure 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 FotoWeb Desktop Uploader, a desktop utility for Windows and Mac OS that can read out all the metadata in the assets that are placed in the upload queue.
  or
• configuring FotoWeb to preserve metadata in fields that are left empty in the web upload module.

To configure FotoWeb to preserve the metadata in fields that are left blank in the web uploader (point 2 above), open the FotoWeb site configuration in the Operations Center, go to the Settings tab, and click on the Upload node. Then, select the Preserve existing metadata for fields left empty during upload option. Now, any fields left blank during upload will be preserved if the original file contains metadata in those fields.