The metadata content standard ISO 19115, Geographic information — Metadata and the implementation specification ISO 19139, Geographic information — Metadata — XML schema implementation, are well-known standards that have been used internationally for many years. This guide describes the workflows for editing metadata in ArcGIS Pro to produce content that complies with these standards.
Configure ArcGIS Pro
The first step toward creating metadata content that complies with the ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 metadata standards is to configure ArcGIS Pro correctly. On the Options dialog box, choose the appropriate style in the metadata style drop-down list. The following options are available:
- ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification—This style allows you to view and edit a complete metadata document that complies with ISO standards 19115 and 19139. When metadata is exported to an ISO 19139-format XML file with this style, the output file can be validated with versions of the ISO 19139 XML schemas that use an older version of GML. Applications outside the ArcGIS platform could require metadata documents to have the older GML XML namespace declaration.
- ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification GML3.2—This style is identical to the one above. However, when metadata is exported to an ISO 19139-format XML file, the output file can be validated with versions of the ISO 19139 XML schemas that use the 3.2.1 version of GML. Applications outside the ArcGIS platform could require metadata documents to have the newer GML namespace declaration.
When you edit metadata in the metadata view and either of the above metadata styles are selected, the validation errors you see are based on the ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 standards. Both styles have the same validation rules.
Both styles allow you to view all of an item's metadata content in the catalog view. If the metadata style set in ArcGIS Pro doesn't match the metadata style used elsewhere by your organization, you may see inconsistencies when you view and edit metadata throughout the ArcGIS system.
Note:
The ArcGIS platform only works with metadata in the ArcGIS metadata format. If you have metadata content stored in the ISO 19139 XML format, it can't be used directly in ArcGIS Pro or elsewhere in the ArcGIS platform. When you try to view this metadata content in a catalog view, a message appears indicating you can't use the information. You can view this metadata content in a browser.
Create ISO-compliant metadata
You can create full ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 metadata for an item in ArcGIS Pro using both metadata editors.
To help you get started, the following sections describe how to create metadata that satisfies the minimum mandatory ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 metadata elements. You're not limited to creating a minimally compliant metadata document. When you provide more information, other validation rules are activated. Additional content may be required to complement the extra information you provided. Follow the same techniques described below to provide additional required content.
Use the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor
Follow the steps below to create metadata that meets the requirements of the ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 metadata standards using the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor.
- Edit an item's metadata in the metadata view.The metadata view appears, displaying the first metadata editor page. All pages available for editing metadata are listed in the Contents pane.
- Click each page in the Contents pane where required content is identified as being missing
and provide the appropriate content. When all required content has been provided, the page will be identified in the Contents pane as being valid
. - Apply or save your changes as appropriate.
It may take some time to complete an item's metadata. You can save your changes and finish the remainder at a later time, even if required information is missing. The next time you work on the project, the metadata view will be open to the page you worked on last.
- Close the metadata view when your work is complete.
The table below describes where you can find each of the minimum mandatory ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 metadata elements. Each row in the table identifies a page in the ArcGIS Pro classic metadata editor. Click the page in the metadata view's Contents pane and provide the required information. In the requirements column the metadata elements are identified by the entity and element names used in the ISO 19115 Geographic information - Metadata UML diagrams and data dictionary tables.
| Metadata editor page | Fulfill ISO 19115 and 19139 requirements |
|---|---|
| Overview > Item Description |
|
| Overview > Topics & Keywords |
|
| Overview > Citation |
|
| Metadata > Details |
|
| Metadata > Contacts |
|
| Resource > Details |
|
| Resource > Extents |
|
Use the ArcGIS metadata editor
Follow the steps below to create metadata that meets the requirements of the ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 metadata standards using the ArcGIS metadata editor.
- Edit an item's metadata in the metadata view.The metadata view appears, displaying the ArcGIS metadata editor's Essential Metadata page.
- Make the metadata view wide enough to see all three columns.
- In the metadata editor's third column, click the Required tab.
- Click every metadata element listed on the Required tab that does not have a green check mark and provide the appropriate content.
The metadata element gets a green check in the list when a correct value has been provided.
- Apply or save your changes as appropriate.
It may take some time to complete an item's metadata. You can save your changes and finish the remainder at a later time, even if required information is missing. The next time you work on the project, the metadata view will be open to the page you worked on last.
- Close the metadata view when your work is complete.
Metadata elements that are required for the current metadata style are listed on the Required tab in the third column of the metadata editor. The name of the card on which the metadata element appears is shown below the element's name. Some elements are included on more than one card.
Each row in the table below describes one of the minimum mandatory ISO 19115 or ISO 19139 metadata elements. The element's name in the ArcGIS metadata editor is shown along with the metadata editor page and the card on which the element can be found. The requirements column identifies the same metadata elements by the names used in the ISO 19115 or ISO 19139 metadata standards.
Note:
The list of elements that appears on the Required tab for the ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification metadata styles is incomplete in the current version of ArcGIS Pro. However, all minimum mandatory elements in the 19115 and 19139 standards are included in the table below. Some information must be provided by navigating to the appropriate location on the All Metadata page. If a metadata element is listed on the Required tab but is not included in the table below it can be skipped when you use this metadata style.
| Metadata editor page | Fulfill ISO 19115 and 19139 requirements |
|---|---|
Title—Essential Metadata page Item Description card or Citation Title card | MD_DataIdentification.citation.CI_Citation.title—Type a descriptive title for the item in the Title text box. |
Description (Abstract)—Essential Metadata page Item Description card | MD_DataIdentification.abstract—Type the abstract in the Description (Abstract) text box. |
Topic Category(s)—Essential Metadata page Item Description card | MD_DataIdentification.topicCategory—If the scope of the item's metadata is dataset or series, click the Topic Category(s) drop-down list and check as many values as appropriate. |
Bounding Box—Essential Metadata page Geographic Extent card | MD_DataIdentification.extent.EX_Extent.geographicElement—If the item is a dataset, you must provide either a bounding box (EX_GeographicBoundingBox) or a place identifier (EX_GeographicDescription) for the data. If a bounding box hasn't been provided automatically for the item but you want to provide an extent, type coordinates in the West, East, South, and North text boxes. Or, click the Select extent button, draw a bounding rectangle on the map, and click Save. |
Place Identification Code—Essential Metadata page Geographic Description card | MD_DataIdentification.extent.EX_Extent.geographicElement—If the item is a dataset, you must provide either a bounding box (EX_GeographicBoundingBox) or a place identifier (EX_GeographicDescription) for the data. To provide a place identifier instead of a bounding box, type the appropriate information into the Place Identification Code text box on the Geographic Description section of the Extents card. To identify the registry that defines the place identifier, click the Extents link at the bottom of the Extents card. The All Metadata page is selected in the Contents pane, and is opened to the Extents card. This card has both a Geographic Extent and a Geographic Description section. If necessary, turn on the Extent contains resource setting. In the Geographic Description section, click the Add button under the Authority Citation heading. Type the registry's name in the Title text box. Scroll down to the Dates heading, and click the calendar button to specify a Publication Date, Creation Date, or Revision Date for this registry. If you do not want to provide a bounding box, you can remove the Geographic Extent section by clicking the Remove button at the top of that section. |
Language—Essential Metadata page Resource Language card | MD_DataIdentification.language—If the item includes textual information and a language hasn't already been provided, click the Language drop-down list and click an appropriate value |
Resource Character Set—Essential Metadata page Character Set card | MD_DataIdentification.characterSet—If the item is not encoded in the Unicode UTF-8 format, click the Resource Character Set drop-down list and click the appropriate value. |
Published / Created / Updated—Essential Metadata page Citation Dates card | MD_DataIdentification.citation.CI_Citation.date—Click the Calendar button for the Created, Published, or Updated date control and select an appropriate date. Add a time if the information is significant. Click the Current button next to the date and time control to insert the current date and time. Once a creation date, publication date, or update date is provided, the other date controls no longer appear on the Essential Metadata page's Citation Dates card. To provide additional dates related to significant events for the item, click the Citation Dates link at the bottom of the card. The All Metadata page is selected in the Contents pane, and is opened to the Citation Dates card. Use the date controls to provide the remaining dates that are important for this item. |
Metadata Language—Essential Metadata page Metadata Details card | MD_Metadata.language—Click the Metadata Language drop-down list and click an appropriate value if one hasn't already been provided. ArcGIS metadata is always encoded in UTF-8 format, which accommodates many languages; therefore, the language used must be identified. |
Metadata Scope (Hierarchy)—Essential Metadata page Metadata Details card | MD_Metadata.hierarchyLevel—Click the Metadata Scope (Hierarchy) drop-down list and click an appropriate value. |
Hierarchy Level Name—All Metadata page, Metadata Info > Metadata Details section, Metadata Details card | MD_Metadata.hierarchyLevelName—If a value other than Dataset was selected for the hierarchyLevel element, a value must be provided describing the item's hierarchy level. Click the Metadata Details link at the bottom of the Metadata Details card on the Essential Metadata page. The All Metadata page is selected in the Contents pane, and is opened to the Metadata Details card. Under the Hierarchy Level Name heading, click the Add button. Type a suitable value in the Hierarchy Level Name text box. |
Individual Name / Organization / Position—Essential Metadata page Metadata Contact card | MD_Metadata.contact—Type an appropriate value in the Organization, Individual Name, or Position text box to identify the primary contact for the item's metadata. Once an individual, organization, or position name is provided, the other text boxes no longer appear on the Essential Metadata page's Metadata Contact card. To provide additional information for the contact, click the Metadata Contact link at the bottom of the card. The All Metadata page is selected in the Contents pane, and is opened to the Metadata Contact card. Type the remaining information into the Organization, Individual Name, or Position text box. |
Role—Essential Metadata page Metadata Contact card | MD_Metadata.contact—Click an appropriate value in the Role drop-down list. |
Metadata Parent Identifier—All Metadata page, Metadata Info > Metadata Details section, Metadata Details card | MD_Metadata.parentIdentifier—If this item has a parent item, that item should be identified. Click the All Metadata page in the Contents pane. Expand the Metadata Info section in the first column of the metadata editor and click the Metadata Details section that it contains. On the Metadata Details card, type the appropriate information in the Metadata Parent Identifier text box. It isn't possible at this time to provide a title as well as an identifier for the parent item. |
Best practices for authoring ISO content in ArcGIS
ArcGIS allows you to create a full ISO 19115 and 19139 metadata record to describe an item. However, there are a few differences between the instructions in ISO 19115 and ISO 19139 and how you should provide the corresponding information in ArcGIS. By following some best practices, the metadata you create in ArcGIS will be accurate and easier to maintain and will transition seamlessly to other metadata styles and formats in the future.
Inapplicable or unknown values
When a metadata element's value is unknown or inapplicable, leave its value blank when you edit metadata in ArcGIS. If a mandatory metadata element is left blank in ArcGIS and metadata is exported to an ISO 19139-formatted XML file using other applications in the ArcGIS platform, a nilReason code is added automatically in a manner that satisfies the ISO 19139 XML schemas to indicate that the value is missing or unknown. Other metadata standards have similar requirements, but different elements are considered mandatory and the manner in which the uncertainty or absence of a value is indicated in the exported XML file is different. Exporters for each style handle the situation in an appropriate manner.
Content defined by the metadata style
A metadata style configures ArcGIS to support a specific metadata standard or profile. Each metadata standard typically has metadata elements to record the name and version of the standard that was followed, how the metadata content was recorded, and so on. Exporters for each style handle the situation in an appropriate manner. When metadata is exported to an ISO 19139-formatted XML file using other applications in the ArcGIS platform, the metadataStandardName and metadataStandardVersion elements are added at that time.
Content that can't or shouldn't be edited
For most items, ArcGIS automatically records the item's intrinsic properties in its metadata as appropriate. For example, if an item's spatial reference is set, full details of that spatial reference are recorded in its metadata. Detailed spatial reference properties can't be edited manually in the metadata view. This ensures the metadata reflects the item's actual spatial reference. With other metadata styles, you can manually provide information about an item's spatial reference for items that don't support synchronization, but you can only do so by providing the spatial reference identifier. The properties of the spatial reference are fixed for that identifier, and they can be examined in the appropriate registry where they're defined; individual spatial reference parameters are not manually typed into an item's metadata.
For other properties, such as an item's feature count, raster size, or attribute labels, it's possible to change the information derived from the item when editing metadata in ArcGIS. However, these values should be left unaltered. As long as these values aren't edited in the metadata view, ArcGIS will continue to update them as the item's properties change and they'll remain accurate. For example, if attributes are provided in an item's metadata but their names don't match field names in the item's attribute table, they'll be removed from the item's metadata the next time it's synchronized with the item's intrinsic properties.
The ArcGIS metadata editor automatically provides the current date as the date when the metadata was last updated, and the appropriate character set value describing how metadata created by ArcGIS is encoded. These values typically should not be modified. However, if you're transcribing metadata that describes an archived item, for example, you may want to change the metadata date to reflect the date when the metadata content was originally authored.
Export metadata to the ISO 19139 XML format
If you need to provide information about an item to people or organizations outside the ArcGIS platform, you can export the item's metadata to a stand-alone metadata file in the ISO 19139 XML format. When ArcGIS Pro is set to use either of the ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification styles, the item's metadata will be exported by default to the ISO 19139 XML format. If you're using another metadata style, you can still choose to export your metadata in this format by selecting it in the drop-down list.
- On the Catalog tab on the ribbon, in the Metadata group, click Export
.The Export Metadata dialog box appears.
- Click The metadata content to export drop-down list and click the amount of content to filter out of the item's metadata during the export process.
- All Supported Content—The item's metadata is not filtered.
- Without Machine Names—The item's metadata content is filtered to remove any machine names that may exist. Appropriate actions are taken depending on the context in which the machine name is found. The metadata element will be removed if it doesn't cause the document to be invalid, the machine name will be removed from the beginning of a UNC path, or the value will be changed to identify the location as being withheld.
- Without Sensitive Information—Machine names are filtered as described above. Additionally, local and network file paths, and internet locations other than http or https addresses are removed in the same manner. Operating system information, database information, and geoprocessing history are also removed.
- If the ISO 19139 format is not already selected, click The type of metadata to export drop-down list and click ISO 19139.
- Browse to or type the location and name of the XML file that will be created in the Export metadata to text box.
- Click OK.
The filtered ArcGIS metadata elements are matched to the appropriate ISO 19139 metadata elements, and their content is transferred to an ISO 19139-format XML file. The GML namespace in the exported XML file is set appropriately depending on the metadata style ArcGIS Pro is set to use. ArcGIS metadata includes content that's not included in the ISO 19139 standard, such as thumbnails and descriptions of the fields in an attribute table; this content can't be included in an ISO 19139-format XML file.