Metadata
Metadata is data about data; it is structured data which describes the characteristics of a resource. Metadata that is commonly associated with an object is the name of the author, date that the object was last revised, the object's status, version, and so on. Content Manager uses the metadata to identify objects, facilitate searching, and enable publication planners to specify the version of an object that is to be used in a publication.
Each Content Manager object is comprised of content and metadata.
- The content is the data that the author includes in the topic or map object; it is the data that is viewed and modified in your editing tool.
- The metadata characterizes and describes the object. It is data that is stored with the object, in the database.
- Some metadata can be modified (for example, comments) and some metadata (for example, titles and IDs) can be specified only when an object is first created.
- Some metadata is automatically generated while other metadata may be supplied by the object's creator or author.
List of Values
On occasion, content creators select values from a pre-defined select list when entering metadata on a property sheet of a document, its versions, or translations. The advantage of a select list is:
- Typographical errors are eliminated since users are forced to select values from a pre-defined list. This ensures the integrity of the metadata.
- Automatic updates are made simple by a modification in the value in the list of values (LOV). All document components on which the value is used, are automatically updated .