Every asset in your Acquia DAM is assigned one metadata type during the upload process. The metadata type determines the combination of metadata fields available. Metadata fields and dependent metadata fields assist users in searching for assets in your site.

You can create metadata fields, editing existing fields, and choose to have fields display in the refine search so users with permission for an asset group can quickly find what they're looking for. Metadata fields can also be required, meaning certain users can't view those assets until the required fields are completed.

Access to view and edit metadata is based on permissions. Enable the Edit Assets' Metadata, Type and Preview for the asset group for users to view and edit metadata, metadata types, and previews.

Create metadata fields¶

Metadata types are created before metadata fields. To create metadata fields:

1. Go to the Admin app.
2. Click Metadata types under Search Settings in the left navigation.
3. Click Edit Fields for the metadata type. 
4. Click Create field to add a metadata field that doesn't currently exist. To select an existing field, click the Add Existing Field dropdown and choose a field.
5. Name the metadata field and avoid using certain characters that can cause errors. Then select a field type.
6. Click Create.

 

After you've created a metadata field, you'll see additional settings to configure for the field. Configure permissions for editing or for how users can see the field when searching. Fields are permissioned based on a user's role, not on the metadata type.

To configure field settings:

1. Click View and determine the users who can see the metadata field. Options include no, which means no one will see it; yes, which means everyone will see it; or permissioned, which allows you to select the roles that will be able to see it.
2. Click Edit and determine the users who can edit the field.
3. Click Required and determine if the field is required.
4. Click Quick Search and determine if the field will be searched when using the quick search.
5. Click Sort and determine if the field should display in the sort options in search results.
6. Click Predictive Search and determine if the field should display for predictive searches.
7. Click Search Filter and determine if the field can be used in the Refine Search area.
8. Click Selected in Advanced Search and determine if the field can be a selected option in the advanced search.
9. Enter any help text to display if users hover over the Help icon. In the asset uploader, help text is limited to 400 characters. If the text is more than 45 characters, it will display as a tooltip. If it's fewer than 45 characters, it will display as a line below the metadata field. 
10. Click Save.

If your site has dependent fields for dropdowns, click Edit to create list values that display as dependencies.

Edit metadata fields¶

If there's been a change to your metadata, the fields can be edited. To edit metadata fields:

Reorder how metadata fields display¶

To see all of your available metadata fields easily, you can reorganize the order in which they are displayed by dragging and dropping the gray bar with the field name into the preferred order. Original metadata fields you've selected as dependent fields can also be reordered by dragging and dropping so they appear after the parent fields.

Note that this reordering only affects the Asset Details and Batch Edit pages. Other places where metadata fields are listed, such as the Refine Search area, may not reflect this order.

 

Remove metadata fields from metadata type¶

DAM admins can remove metadata fields from metadata types but are unable to delete a field permanently from the site. To permanently delete a field, contact DAM Customer Support. Default metadata fields that cannot be deleted are description, Original Filepath, image type, year, and usage rights.  

To remove a metadata field from a metadata type: 

1. Go to the Admin app. 
2. Click Metadata types under Search Settings in the left navigation.
3. Click Edit Fields for a metadata type. 
4. Find and expand the correct metadata field in the list – in the example below, Display Name.
5. Select Remove. 
6. If you want the field removed from multiple metadata types, review the other types and remove the field.  

 

 ¶

If you do want a metadata field to be deleted, complete these steps before submitting your case to the support team:

1. Ensure the metadata field is no longer being used in metadata importer field mappings. To do this, go to the Admin app. Select Auto-import mappings under Search Settings in the left navigation.
2. Remove or separate any dependent fields from the metadata field that will be deleted. To do this, follow the “Edit metadata fields” steps above. 
3. Check that you are not removing the Original Filepath field. This must remain on the site. If you don’t want your users to see it, you can change the field’s permissions so that only DAM users see it.

Required metadata fields¶

If the mandatory required metadata setting is turned on, required metadata fields must be completed before uploading files. If the setting is turned off, required fields do not have to be completed before uploading files. 

 

View assets with empty required metadata¶

With permission, users can see assets with empty required metadata. You can enable the Access Assets with Empty Required Metadata permission for users to see assets that have metadata fields that aren't completed even if assets have been released.

As an admin, you can see assets with empty required metadata through an admin task alert in your user profile or in the Asset-Related Tasks queue on the Admin dashboard. In the alert, click Assets w/ Empty Required Fields. On the Admin dashboard, click the Assets With Empty Required Metadata queue. Click View for the corresponding asset group to see assets without required metadata, then click an asset's thumbnail to complete the required metadata.