Create Item Description metadata
The Item Description metadata style captures the primary information used by the ArcGIS system to describe and find items. This style includes the most important descriptive information included in standards-based metadata styles, but is not associated with a standard. The metadata elements included in this style match the elements available on the Overview tab of the item page in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portals (with a few exceptions).
This metadata style is designed to facilitate publishing data in the ArcGIS system. Some metadata elements support using HTML markup to make the text easy to read and provide links to other resources because these capabilities are available on the portal item page. This allows you to configure the item page from ArcGIS Pro before publishing the item to ArcGIS Online or an ArcGIS Enterprise portal.
This metadata style also supports the following capabilities:
Document custom geoprocessing tools, including model and script tools.
Content provided with this style is indexed by ArcGIS Pro to support searching for items. ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise also index this content to support searching for items in the portal.
Item Description is the default metadata style in ArcGIS Pro. There is no equivalent metadata style in ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise because the equivalent capability is available from the item page even when metadata is not enabled for the organization.
This topic describes the workflow for authoring metadata in ArcGIS Pro using the Item Description metadata style.
Configure ArcGIS Pro
Because Item Description is the default metadata style, you do not have to configure ArcGIS Pro to create metadata using this style. However, if you tried using another metadata style and you want to switch back to Item Description, you can do this using the Options dialog box. Choose Item Description in the metadata style drop-down list.
The Item Description metadata style is only supported by the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor. If you previously used the ArcGIS metadata editor to author metadata using another metadata style, when you choose Item Description the metadata editor setting automatically changes to the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor. A warning message indicates your previously selected metadata editor is not valid for the Item Description metadata style.
With this metadata style, when you view metadata in a catalog view you only see the metadata content that is included in the Item Description metadata style. This mirrors how information is displayed on the Overview tab of the item page in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portals. To see more metadata content, configure ArcGIS Pro to use a different metadata style such as Dublin Core+.
Note:
The ArcGIS system only works with metadata in the ArcGIS metadata format. As a metadata style designed to support sharing content in the ArcGIS system, the Item Description style is not associated with a standards-based metadata format and therefore does not have an associated metadata exporter. ArcGIS metadata created with the Item Description metadata style can be copied between items or saved to a stand-alone metadata file.
Create Item Description metadata
In the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor, each metadata style can include a different set of metadata editor pages. When you edit metadata with the Item Description metadata style, the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor includes only one metadata editor page named Item Description. The Item Description page is immediately available in the metadata editor view; it allows you to provide all information associated with this metadata style.
The Item Description metadata style only provides access to a small portion of an item's metadata. Other metadata styles let you edit more metadata content. Metadata specialists and others who want to provide more information about an item should choose a different metadata style.
You can author Item Description metadata in ArcGIS Pro using the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor following the steps below.
Edit an item's metadata in the metadata view.
The metadata view appears, displaying the metadata editor. Item Description is the only metadata editor page included in the Contents pane.
Provide the appropriate content to describe the item.
When all required content has been provided, the page will be identified as valid in the Contents pane.
Apply or save your changes as appropriate.
It may take some time to write a good description of the item. You can save your changes and continue later. The metadata view remains open the next time you open the project.
Close the metadata view when your work is complete.
ArcGIS Online and recent versions of ArcGIS Enterprise only require you to provide a title for each portal item. However, in the past, a summary and tags were also required for each portal item; these metadata elements remain required in ArcGIS Pro with the Item Description metadata style. Input controls associated with the required elements have a red background.
Over time, different headings were used on the Overview tab of the item page in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portals to better characterize the expected content. However, labels for the associated metadata elements have not changed on the Item Description metadata editor page in the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor. This provides consistency with other metadata styles, which also use the same Item Description metadata editor page.
Some metadata elements are labeled differently on the Item Description metadata editor page compared to both the Overview tab in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portals and to the names metadata standards used for the associated metadata elements. Labels on the Item Description page were selected to bridge the gap between the language used in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portals and the language used in metadata standards for ArcGIS metadata elements that capture the same information.
The relationships between the metadata elements on the Item Description page in the metadata editor, the elements shown on the item page in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise, and the associated metadata standard elements are described in the table below. A description of the expected information for each element is also provided.
|
Item Description metadata element |
Portal item page element |
Metadata standards element |
Content to provide |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Title |
Title |
Title—In metadata standards, the title is part of the item's citation. |
Provide a descriptive title for the item that is helpful to distinguish it from other items. |
|
Thumbnail |
Thumbnail |
Not included. External graphic files can be referenced, but thumbnails cannot be included directly in standards-based metadata documents. |
Create a thumbnail for a spatial item using ArcGIS Pro, or include a graphic file describing the item in its metadata. When other metadata styles are used, thumbnails are not included in exported standards-based metadata documents. |
|
Tags |
Tags |
Not included. Metadata standards support providing keywords. |
Provide words that will help you find the item when searching the ArcGIS system; enter a comma between each tag. Tags are collected separately to keep search words from interfering with formal keywords that can be derived from a thesaurus. When other metadata styles are used, tags are included in exported standards-based metadata documents only when no keywords are provided. |
|
Summary (Purpose) |
Summary |
Purpose |
Provide a short description of the item. This element is not included when documenting a custom geoprocessing tool. |
|
Description (Abstract)—For custom geoprocessing tools, this element is labeled Summary (Abstract) for consistency with tool help topics. |
Description |
Abstract—HTML markup is not supported in standards-based metadata documents. |
Provide in-depth information about the item. When other metadata styles are used, HTML markup is removed when metadata is exported to a standards-based metadata document. For custom geoprocessing tools, this information appears when you open the tool and hover over the Help button |
|
Credits |
Acknowledgements—In some versions of ArcGIS Enterprise, this element is labeled Attribution. |
Credit |
Acknowledge the individual or agency who provided the item. When you click the service layer credits button |
|
Use Limitation |
Terms of use |
Use Limitation—In ISO-based metadata standards, general constraints are defined with the Use Limitation metadata element. Other elements clarify conditions relating to access, use, security, releasability, and other legal information for the item. Different standards and profiles use variations of this language. HTML markup is not supported in standards-based metadata documents. |
Provide information about how the item can be used and by whom. If someone who uses your item must display copyright information or give credit to the source agency when using your item, state that information here. When other metadata styles are used, HTML markup is removed when metadata is exported to a standards-based metadata document. |
|
Appropriate Scale Range |
Not included. |
Not included. One or more Scale Denominator elements can be provided, but this information cannot be expressed as a range of values. |
Provide the relevant levels of detail for your spatial datasets. This information is used in ArcGIS Pro to find items suitable for a given map scale. When other metadata styles are used, scale denominators for the maximum and minimum scales are included in exported standards-based metadata documents in a manner suitable for that standard. |
|
Bounding Box |
Extent—If an extent can be calculated for spatial data in the portal item, this option is available on the Settings tab of the item page. |
Bounding Box |
ArcGIS Pro can calculate the bounding rectangle in decimal degrees for spatial data items. You can provide an extent manually to indicate that a non-spatial item has content that is relevant to a specific geographic area; bounding coordinates must be provided in decimal degrees. This information is used in ArcGIS Pro to find items within or overlapping a map. |
|
Usage (Custom geoprocessing tools only) |
Not included. |
Not included. |
Provide tips or instructions on how to use the tool correctly. When other metadata styles are used, usage is not included in exported standards-based metadata documents. |
|
Syntax (Custom geoprocessing tools only) |
Not included. |
Not included. |
Explain how to use each tool parameter, including acceptable data types and values. Provide different values for using the tool interactively or in a script if parameter values are handled differently in each case. The Dialog Explanation value appears when you open the tool and hover over the Information button |
Code Samples (Custom geoprocessing tools only) |
Not included. |
Not included. |
Illustrate how to use the tool in a Python script. Each code sample should have a title and a description. When other metadata styles are used, code samples are not included in exported standards-based metadata documents. |
in the Geoprocessing pane.
in the bottom corner of a map, acknowledgements available for web layers appear in the Service Layer Credits pop-up.
in the Geoprocessing pane. When other metadata styles are used, syntax is not included in exported standards-based metadata documents.View Item Description content
All metadata elements in the Item Description metadata style are visible when you look at an item's metadata in a catalog view on the details panel. Other areas in ArcGIS Pro that show Item Description metadata content include the Layer Properties or Table Properties dialog boxes, browse dialog boxes such as Add Data, and the Catalog pane's item pop-up.
Learn more about viewing metadata
The table below indicates where metadata content is available in the ArcGIS Pro application.
| Item Description metadata element | Catalog view Details panel Metadata tab | Map contents Properties dialog box Metadata tab | Browse dialog box details panel | Catalog pane detailed item pop-up | Geoprocessing pane | ArcGIS Pro maps, ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise map viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title |  |
|
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| Thumbnail | |
|
|
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| Tags | |
|
|
|
||
| Summary (Purpose) | |
|
|
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| Description (Abstract) | |
|
|
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| Credits | |
|
|
|||
| Use Limitations | |
|
||||
| Scale Range | |
|||||
| Bounding Box | |
|||||
| Usage | |
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| Syntax | |
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| Code Sample | |
Search Item Description content
Several metadata elements in the Item Description metadata style are indexed to support searching in the ArcGIS system. If indexing is enabled in ArcGIS Pro, this information can be used to search for items on local or network disks. When an item is published, much of this content is also indexed and available to use when searching for portal items.
The table below illustrates what metadata content is indexed for searching in ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and ArcGIS Enterprise portals.
| Item Description metadata element | Indexed in ArcGIS Pro | Indexed in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise portals |
|---|---|---|
| Title | |
|
| Thumbnail | |
|
| Tags | |
|
| Summary (Purpose) | |
|
| Description (Abstract) | |
|
| Credits | |
|
| Use Limitation | |
|
| Scale Range | |
|
| Bounding Box | |
|
| Usage | ||
| Syntax | ||
| Code Sample |
Note:
Existing thumbnails are included in the index generated by ArcGIS Pro. If an item doesn't have a thumbnail, ArcGIS Pro can optionally generate thumbnails for items that contain spatial data during the indexing process.
Thumbnails provide a visual representation that is a snapshot of an item's spatial data at a single point in time. Because thumbnails are graphic files, they are not used to search for items. However, thumbnails are included in the index so they can be made available to you as part of your search results. The visual representation provided by an item's thumbnail can help you evaluate the items found by your search, and decide which item you want to use.