Metadata only

Learn how to add metadata only using the Project Client in CONTENTdm.

Add metadata only if you have metadata that you want to load into a collection. You may be outsourcing image scanning, or the metadata may be important enough to include in the collection before the images are ready to be loaded.

Adding metadata requires only a tab-delimited text file. For information about tab-delimited text files, refer to Using Tab-delimited text files.

Add metadata only

  1. Navigate to the Home tab or Project tab.
  2. On the left task pane under Common Tasks, click Add Multiple Items. The Add Multiple Items wizard opens.
  3. On the Import Method screen, select Import using a tab-delimited text file and browse for the file.
  4. Click Open and then click Next. The Import Type screen displays.
  5. Select Import Metadata Only and then click Next. The Map Metadata screen displays.
  6. Map the fields in your CONTENTdm collection to the imported field names. The imported field names from your tab-delimited text file appear in the left column. See About mapping fields for more information on mapping fields.
    • When checking the map fields menu, confirm that the file name is mapped to None.
  7. Click Next. The Confirm Settings screen displays.
  8. Review the settings and then click Add Items.
  9. A progress screen displays as the items are processed. When complete, a summary screen displays the summary and any errors or warnings.
  10. Click Close. The items are displayed in the project spreadsheet.

Refer to Troubleshoot tab-delimited text files for help resolving problems.

For imported metadata, the default thumbnail used in the project spreadsheet is the same as the one used for the URL.

 Note: Use the Images and Thumbnails section of the Project Settings Manager to change the thumbnail used for URLs or metadata only.