Metadata Management

Managing metadata in Constellio

1. Metadata schemas

1.1 Default Schemas

The default schema is the basic one in Constellio. It is applied to all records created without assigning a specific type. The metadata created in the default folders will be found in the custom schemas of the same type. 

Benefits of Creating Metadata in the Default Schema

• Create metadata once that could be found in multiple schemas;
• Use copied metadata;
• For documents, allows you to use the metadata extractor during the "Drag 'n Drop".

1.2 Custom Schematics

Custom metadata schemas allow you to define a record type within a given schema. Creating a metadata schema is useful when you want to customize metadata to a schema type, as it is possible to assign metadata specific to the record type. 

Custom schemas make it easier to identify different types of records, as well as add information tailored to your organization's needs. 

2. Metadata

2.1 System metadata

System metadata in Constellio is information that is intrinsic to an item, automatically generated and managed by the system. They play a crucial role in organizing, searching, and managing content. This metadata is not directly edited by the user but is calculated according to rules predefined by the system. 

2.2 Manual metadata

Manual metadata is metadata created by the user to add custom information to record cards in Constellio. Several formats are available such as date, reference, content, string, text and more. 

2.3 Copied metadata

Copied metadata is metadata whose values come from another entity (e.g., the code of a container in a folder). The goal is to pass information from one record to another, such as with the folder and the document or from the parent folder to the child folder, in order to avoid manually filling in the same information. The copied metadata populates automatically by taking its values from a parameterized source. 

2.4 Calculated metadata

Calculated metadata is used to calculate a value automatically from other metadata. When any of the referenced metadata is changed, the calculated metadata is automatically recalculated. For more details on this type of metadata, see theMétadonnées calculéesdocumentation . 

2.5 Secure metadata

Secure metadata management allows you to control the display of metadata according to the types of users. In this way, the feature allows the addition of role-based security for each metadata. By default, no security is applied to metadata management. The feature is therefore to hide metadata and prevent it from being used in simple or advanced search for the users concerned. It is essentially an access control over the reading of the metadata.

3. Metadata display

3.1 Enable/Disable

The metadata enable/disable feature allows you to manage its display in a specific schema. When enabled, the metadata becomes visible and usable in the relevant schema. However, when it is disabled, it is hidden while remaining available for future reactivation. This management can be done directly from the creation form or via the action menu associated with the metadata, accessible by an arrow in the interface.

3.2 Configure Views

The method for managing the different modes of displaying metadata is the same for all views. In order to easily manage the different modes of metadata displays, it is sufficient to understand the following elements:

1. The left column represents active metadata that is not displayed.
2. The right-hand column represents the active metadata that is considered by the view mode.
3. Left and right pointing arrows to remove or add metadata in the view mode.
4. The up and down arrows to manage the positions of metadata in the view mode. 

When you're done setting up a view mode, all you have to do is save the changes. 

4. Value Domains

Value domains are sets of values that allow you to define all the possibilities available when entering metadata for an item, such as a folder, a document, a location, a task, etc. For example, this allows the creation of multiple values for the "Document Types" value domain.