Documentation Center

Metadata/properties

Metadata is data about data. It is structured data which describes the characteristics of a resource. Metadata is associated to all objects, Content Manager uses it to identify objects, facilitate searching, and lets publication planners to specify the version of an object that is to be used in a publication, for example. In the user interface, you access metadata through the Properties dialogs.

Each Content Manager object is comprised of content and properties.

  • The content is the data that the author includes in the topic, image or map object; it is the data that is viewed and modified in your editing tool.
  • The properties characterize and describe the object. They are stored with the object, in the database.
    • Some properties can be modified (for example, comments) and some can be specified only when an object is first created (for example, topic type).
    • Some properties are automatically generated (for example, ID) while others may be supplied by the object's creator or author (for example, title).

List of Values

On occasion, content creators select values from a pre-defined select list when entering data on a property sheet of a document, its versions, or translations. The advantage of a 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 modifying the value in the list of values (LOV). All document components on which the value is used, are automatically updated.