How do I edit metadata, asset categories, and asset groups?

If you've uploaded a number of new assets to your site and need to add metadata and assign them to categories, or if there are a number of outdated assets that need expiration dates so they're no longer used, you can add or edit details for those assets – including assigning them to asset groups and adding release dates or other security information – anytime. Edit details for a single asset or a batch of assets.

Edit a single asset¶

For single assets, edit metadata, categories, asset groups, and the release and expiration date on the Asset Details page or Asset Digest.

Edit in Asset Details¶

On the Asset Details page, click the pencil icon next to a field or edit all fields by clicking Edit all. In Quick View, click Edit. Add values to metadata fields on the fly by clicking Add Value.

Click Save after your additions/changes have been made. You can also click Save and Next Section to edit the next section (i.e., asset categories or asset groups/security) or Save and Next Asset to edit details for the next asset in search results.

Edit in Asset Digest¶

In Asset Digest, under Asset info and Details, if you have permission to assign categories to assets and edit metadata, you can edit:

Categories
Tags
Metadata type
Custom metadata fields
Asset groups
Release and expiration dates

To edit, hover over the field and click inside the gray bar.

Save by clicking outside the box, pressing tab, or clicking the checkmark icon.

With the edit metadata permission, you can create new metadata field values by selecting Add values.

When adding multiple values, add one per line.

When editing categories, asset groups, and dates, you can select and remove values. Currently, you cannot create new categories or subcategories in Asset Digest.

Under Tags, you’ll see the list of controlled keywords for an asset. If you have permission to edit metadata, you can create, add, and remove tags in the Asset Digest.

Edits you make in Asset Digest will appear in an asset’s history on the Asset Details page.

Batch edit assets¶

Edit a batch of assets from the Selection panel, when uploading, or after upload from the Uploads page.

Edit from the Selection panel¶

Up to 500 assets can be edited at once using batch editing in the Selection panel. Edit metadata, asset categories, and asset groups/security for selected assets either separately by action (e.g., edit only asset groups for the selected assets) or by editing all actions together. For example, clicking Edit security will take you directly to editing the asset groups and release and expiration dates.

Click Edit all to edit metadata, asset categories, asset groups, and release and expiration dates for the selected assets.

When you edit all, you'll see the Batch Edit page. Replace and add modes can be selected for all fields at the top of the page or be set for individual fields.

Replace mode is the default mode on the page. Replace mode overrides existing metadata values with new metadata you enter. Add mode adds metadata to the existing metadata. Add mode isn't available for numeric or single select fields (autocompleter, dropdown, or date fields) because they can only have one value.

For individual fields, you can also add or replace values, or clear values if they're no longer valid.

If you need to add more metadata values to a field as you're batch editing, you can add those values to individual fields by selecting Add Value, then enter the values. They'll be added to any existing metadata.

As you're batch editing, you may want to see the metadata that currently exists in a field. To do that, select the magnifying glass to the right of each field. If new values are not entered into fields, existing values will remain the same.

If you're batch editing dependent metadata fields, you'll first need to select from the parent fields, then choose a dependent child.

Edit during upload and from the Uploads page¶

Batch editing can also be completed during the upload process or after assets have been uploaded by selecting assets on the Uploads page.

After upload, select the files to add details to, choose Edit selection on the Review and Edit page, then make any updates. (Note that you can edit single assets from the Review and Edit page by clicking either the Options dropdown menu or by choosing Edit selection for a single file upload.)

To edit metadata for multiple assets from the Uploads page, select the checkboxes next to assets then click Edit. Follow the instructions above to edit metadata, asset categories, and asset groups/security on the Batch Edit page.

If your workflow includes tagging metadata after upload, use alerts and email notifications to track when new assets are uploaded. The alert or email notification serves as a reminder to tag metadata in batches.

Undoing edits¶

Edits to metadata cannot be reverted or undone when changes are made to a batch of assets. Therefore, we recommend that admins export the metadata of all assets on a weekly basis as a backup. Then, if an error is made when a user is editing metadata, the information will be available in the exported file for admins to import back into the site.

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Acquia DAM Support

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