Making metadata input required in Elvis 6

Some metadata fields store information that is important or even vital to track, such as copyright information. For such fields, users should at least be made aware of the field or even be required to enter that information.

This awareness or requirement can be configured in Elvis for assets that are imported or for assets that already exist in Elvis:

• For assets that are imported, users can be notified or required to add metadata
• For assets that already exist, users can be notified to add metadata

Figure: An example of a required metadata field. Here, the user is notified by a metadata flag below the thumbnail and a message and colored field in the Metadata panel that Category information needs to be added.

How it works

First, a system-wide rule is defined which determines how strict the required data input should be, ranging from 'loose' to 'enforced'.

Next, each metadata field that should have required data input is configured by enabling a setting.

This setting does 2 things:

1. It tells the system that the system-wide rule of required data input should be applied to this field.
2. It defines for which type of assets the rule should apply: ranging from all types to only specific types (such as only videos, only JPEGs, or a combination of types).

Levels of requirement

Making metadata input required can be done on 3 levels:

1. Loose (default): Users are notified and encouraged to add a value but they are not forced to do so (meaning that they can continue without entering the 'required' data).

2. Strict: Users cannot import assets manually unless they add a value. When users remove the value for an existing asset, they are notified. When users leave the field blank, the original value is automatically put back when they exit the asset.

Note: This restriction does not apply to import modules such as the Hot Folder import.

3. Enforced: Assets are not allowed to be imported without the required metadata. When users remove the value for an existing asset, they are notified. When users leave the field blank, the original value is automatically put back when they exit the asset.

Configuration

The configuration is done in the cluster-config.properties.txt file of Elvis Server by setting the requiredMetadataHandling value.

For information about modifying this file, see Changing the Elvis 6 Server configuration for a running cluster.

Add the following line:

requiredMetadataHandling=value

requiredMetadataHandling=loose

Setting a field to required

Setting metadata fields to required is done in the custom-assetinfo.xml file of Elvis Server.

For information about modifying this file, see Changing the Elvis 6 Server configuration for a running cluster.

To make a field required, add a requiredFor attribute and define for which type of assets the requirement should apply:

Note: To do this for default metadata fields, see Changing the default metadata field options in Elvis 6 Server. To do this for custom metadata fields, see Creating a custom metadata field in Elvis 6.)

• Using an asterisk (*) makes the field required for all asset types.

<fieldExt name="status" group="General" requiredFor="*" />

• Using a comma-separated list of assetTypes and/or assetDomains makes the field required for a range of assets.

<fieldExt name="status" group="General" requiredFor="assetType:doc, assetDomain:image" />

<fieldExt name="copyright" group="Rights" requiredFor="assetType:jpg, assetType:psd" />

<fieldExt name="description" group="General" requiredFor="assetDomain:image, assetDomain:video" />

<field name="cf_photographer" group="CompanyData" requiredFor="assetDomain:image" />

Document history

• 22 March 2018: Updated section 'Levels of requirement' by removing the note that the 'Strict' setting is not supported by the Pro client.
• 22 March 2018: Updated section 'Levels of requirement' by updating the note that states that the 'Enforced' setting is not supported by the Pro client.