13.3 Using metadata

By using a workspace template which is associated with a metadata schema - if templates are available then select the desired template from the list
By assigning a workspace type to the workspace - select "No template" (if there are templates available) and then choose Workspace Type from the drop-down list
By copying a workspace which has a schema (if this is permitted by the original)

Figure 13.3-1: Example of setting up a new workspace with templates and schema types defined

Clicking | Change Metadata Type for a workspace will allow you to change which schema type is used by the workspace. Only the schemas which you created or have been invited to will be offered to you. (You can also see these schema types in your schema bag - .) You can also decide what happens when the workspace is copied. Is the schema type also copied? Clicking "Set Type" will change the type of the workspace and will return you to your original location.

A workspace itself may have metadata associated with it, if this is defined by the schema. Clicking "Set Type and Edit Metadata" will allow you to provide values for this metadata.

If you change the schema which is applied to a workspace, existing metadata will not be lost. However, when you try to change the types of objects or add new ones, the only options available to you will be those relevant to the current schema type.

If you edit a schema while it is applied to a workspace, existing metadata will not be lost. However, it will not be possible to edit any metadata from a field which is no longer in use.

You will only be able to | Goto Schema if you created the metadata schema, or have access to it (i.e. have it in your metadata schema bag). This action will take you directly to the metadata schema in your schema bag where you can view or edit it (see section 13.2.1 - Creating a metadata schema).

Specifying the metadata type of a folder (or collection - see section 16) is described in section 13.3.2, of a document is described in section 13.3.3, of an issue is outlined in section 15.2.2 and of a review in section 17.

13.3.2 Setting the metadata type of a folder

When you add a folder to a workspace which has a metadata schema associated with it, you can select the folder type (see section 13.2.6 - Folder type) from those which are available at this level of the hierarchy. The folder type determines the metadata fields which may be associated with the folder and may dictate the document types (see section 13.2.5 - Document type) which can be added to the folder.

The Add Workspace page is shown in Figure 13.3-1. The available folder types are determined by the location in the workspace to which you are adding the workspace. Selecting "No Type" will result in a folder which has no metadata fields associated with it. Clicking "Create Workspace" will create a folder of the appropriate type at the level where you clicked Add | Workspace . The metadata associated with this folder can be set as described in section 13.3.4 - Editing metadata.

The folder type may be altered at a later date as described in section 13.3.5 - Changing the metadata type.

Note: If a folder has invalid metadata, the icon will appear beside the folder name. Depending on the validity policy of this schema type (see section 13.2.3 - Validity policy), you may or may not be permitted to go into a folder with invalid metadata, edit the metadata or perform any other actions on it.

13.3.3 Setting the metadata type of a document

When a document is added to a folder, its available metadata fields are determined by its document type - see section 13.2.5 - Document type.

When adding a document to a folder using Add | Document (see section 2.5 - Adding Documents quickly), you will be taken to the Change Metadata Type page instead of being returned to the folder immediately. Here, you can set the document type. To specify the document type, select the appropriate type from the drop-down list. The selection of types available will be dictated by the MIME type of the document and may have been set automatically if a Default Type - see section 13.2.12 - Default types - has been specified for this MIME type in this folder). Clicking "Set Type" will return you to the folder containing this document.

Alternatively, clicking "Set and Edit Metadata" will take you directly to the Edit Metadata page (see section 13.3.4 - Editing metadata) for this document type.

If you Drag and drop documents into a folder (see section 3.1.2 - The ActiveX drag and drop uploader), any default types available will be set for the documents. However, you will be returned to the folder and will need to set the metadata manually - see section 13.3.4 - Editing metadata.

Note

A collection (see section 16) can use the same folder types as folders at this level of the hierarchy.
If a document has invalid metadata, the icon will appear beside the document name. Depending on the validity policy of this schema type (see section 13.2.3 - Validity policy), you may or may not be permitted to read a document with invalid metadata, edit the metadata or perform any other actions on it.

13.3.4 Editing metadata

13.3.4.1 Editing metadata on a single object

13.3.4.2 Editing metadata on several objects

13.3.4.1 Editing metadata on a single object

To edit the metadata on an object (workspace, folder, document or issue), click | Edit Metadata for the object.

If the object does not have a metadata type, you will first need to assign a metadata type to the object by clicking | Change Metadata Type for the object as described in section 13.3.5 - Changing the metadata type. If there is no metadata type which corresponds to this type of object, you will not be able to assign metadata to it.

An Edit Metadata page will then appear - see Figure 13.3-2. At the top of the page, the object's name and its current metadata type are displayed, as is any previously set metadata. Depending on the metadata field types (see section 13.2.9 - Metadata field types) which apply to this object, the page will be presented differently. Suitable data entry boxes for the various types of metadata associated with this metadata type and their descriptions (as specified by the metadata schema designer) will be displayed.

Figure 13.3-2: The Edit Metadata page

When the metadata of the latest version of a document is being edited, the version number may be amended on this page. (This option is only available when the document has been revised at least once.)

(If a privacy setting - see section 13.2.2 - is being applied to the current workspace, you may not be permitted to edit, or even view, a document or issue let alone change its metadata. However, if a privacy setting does apply and you are the creator of the document or issue, you may set the privacy of the document or issue explicitly by choosing from the drop-down list shown in Figure 13.3-2.)

Type in or select the metadata which you wish to assign to the object and then click "Edit Metadata" to submit your changes.

You will not be prevented from entering invalid metadata. Objects with invalid metadata are indicated by the icon in the folder view. Clicking on this icon takes you directly to the Edit Metadata page for this object - see Figure 13.3-2. Depending on the metadata Validity Policy - see section 13.2.3 Validity Policy - in effect, the actions available on an object with invalid metadata may be restricted.

Metadata can also be edited from the View/Change | Edit Metadata action inside a folder or workspace. Editing metadata results in a "Metadata edited" event being generated.

Note

Some checking of this data will be performed when it is submitted, e.g. a date of the form 31/6/2003 will not be permitted. The page will reappear with an additional warning message displayed to indicate why the data is not valid.
If privacy settings - see section 13.2.2 Privacy - are being applied, you may not be permitted to edit the metadata of some objects. In this case, the icon will appear beside the name of private documents or issues. You will be prevented from carrying out any actions, including reading or viewing private objects.
If privacy settings see section 13.2.2 - are being applied to the object and you are permitted to edit the object, an additional drop-down list box containing the options Public and Private will be displayed. The value highlighted initially is the privacy setting on the document which is automatically assigned to this type of object. (This value is determined according to the privacy inherited from other objects containing it within the schema type and explicitly set on this document (or issue) type - see section 13.2.2 Privacy.) The value for a particular document can be edited manually.
The validity policy - see section 13.2.3 - of the current workspace may restrict access to objects with invalid metadata. However, it should always be possible to change the metadata type of an object with invalid metadata or edit its metadata values.

13.3.4.2 Editing metadata on several objects

The metadata associated with several objects can be edited simultaneously by selecting the objects whose metadata you wish to select (by checking the boxes beside their names) and then clicking on Selected | Metadata . A page listing all of the selected objects, in a section for each metadata type will be displayed - see Figure 13.3-3.

Figure 13.3-3: Example of editing metadata on several objects

If any objects are of a metadata type with no applicable metadata fields, these will be displayed in a separate section at the bottom of the page. You will be prevented from selecting objects with no metadata type in your multiple selection.

In order to present a potentially large amount of data, this page omits the previously set metadata. However, this is the fastest method of editing metadata on a large number of objects. Click "Edit Metadata" to commit your changes.

Alternatively, click "Edit Metadata and Issue" to make your changes to the metadata and issue the selected documents (see section 15 - Issuing). This provides a quick route direct to issuing a set of documents, which is often the next action after setting their metadata.

Note: To assign the same metadata values to a number of objects quickly, set the desired value on the top object of a list and then click . This will copy this value into the corresponding metadata fields of all the objects in this section of the page.

13.3.5 Changing the metadata type

To change an object's type, click on | Change Metadata Type . The different types available for this document will display in a drop-down list. Once the appropriate type has been selected, clicking "Set Type" will change the object's type to the one selected and refresh the page to the folder view. Alternatively, clicking "Set Type and Edit Metadata" will change the object's type to the one selected and refresh the page to the Edit Metadata page (see section 13.3.4 - Editing metadata).

The Metadata Type can also be changed for several objects at once by selecting the objects and clicking on Selected | Change Metadata Type .

Changing an object's metadata type results in an "Artifact type changed" event.

Note: The metadata values of any fields shared by both the "before" and "after" metadata types will be retained. However, the values of any fields which are not present in the "after" type will be lost. Similarly, any new fields will remain empty until given a value. Subsequently returning to a previous metadata type will not replace the values which any fields held before.

13.3.6 Viewing metadata

Metadata is by default only displayed on an object's Edit Metadata page (see Figure 13.3-2 Edit Metadata figure prev). The current values of the metadata fields are displayed in the upper part of the page (if any values have been set previously). Clicking "Go back" will not alter these values.

In addition, you may choose to display some or all of the metadata fields associated with the Object Types in the metadata schema via the View/Change | Expose Metadata action for the workspace or folders - see Figure 13.2-7. Editing the set of metadata fields which are displayed changes the view of all workspace members and is not a personal setting - unlike the Edit Prefs action (see section 5.7 - Personal preferences).

The Metadata Exposure page lists all of the metadata fields used by any of the metadata types at the current level of the metadata schema with an indication of which type or types the field is used by. In addition, this page also includes the automatically stored metadata types:

Entry Actions - actions on individual objects, e.g. Rename
Description
Object Type - e.g. MS Word or folder
Tasks In - see section 15.4.3.1 Tasks In
Tasks Out - see section 15.4.3.2 Tasks Out
Events - see section 4.7 - Events
Issue Sent Out Date - see section 15.4.1 Sending out an issue
Issue Completed Date - see section 15.4.2.2 Completing your actions
Owner - see section 2.2.2 - A Typical page
Last Modified - see section 2.2.2 - A Typical page

It may be useful to hide some of these automatic metadata items in order to leave more space to display the locally configured metadata.

Select the metadata types to be displayed and click "Done" to confirm these changes and return to the folder view.

Once certain metadata types have been selected to be displayed, the displayed fields can be reset to be those of the parent object by clicking "Inherit" on this page.

Note: If a metadata field is deleted, the exposed column will continue to be displayed until the Metadata Exposure page is edited.

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