Defining a Controlled
Metadata Vocabulary FAQ
Creating the schema’s and the custom fields / menus
within each schema is quick and easy and does not require technical knowledge.
The following FAQ is designed to answer the basic questions about how
to define a controlled metadata vocabulary using document schemas and
metadata fields.
What is a controlled metadata vocabulary and why
is it important?
The controlled metadata vocabulary is a means by library administrators
can centrally control the language (or vocabulary) that users use to tag
(classify) - when adding or editing documents - or search for documents.
When centrally controlled the library administrator can ensure that the
minimum amount of data is captured for each document. Centrally managed
vocabularies are different then 'Folksonomies' where the end users are
free to tag or classify documents with any kind of metadata.
Where do I setup and manage the controlled metadata vocabulary?
All of the functionality referenced in this FAQ is available
to library administrator users by clicking on the Library Admin link on
the top right corner of the FileHold menu bar when logged using the web
browser. The document schemas and metadata fields options under the manage
schemas section allow for the creation and management of the controlled
vocabulary in FileHold.
What are document schemas?
Document schemas frequently map to a specific class of documents (Engineering,
Quality Assurance, Finance, Legal Contract Management, Human Resources)
or individual documents types like Invoices, Purchase Orders, or Legal
Contracts. Adding a document to the library the user will select the schema
they want to associate with the document by using the Document type pick
list from the add document form.
What are metadata fields and how do they relate
to schemas?
Metadata fields are associated with one or more document schemas. Users
add values to each field when adding a document. For example the library
administrator may define the purchase order schema to have purchase order
amount, purchase order number and sales rep metadata fields associated
with the Purchase Order document schema. When users add a document to
the filehold library they will be prompted to select the type (schema)
of document they are adding. If they select the purchase order type they
will be prompted to add values for the PO Amount, PO Number and Sales
rep metadata fields.
Where do I associate Metadata fields with a document
schema?
Go to the master list of document schemas by clicking on the
Library Admin > Manage Schemas > Document Schemas menu
option. Click on the name of the schema that you want to set the metadata
standard for. Click on the edit link to the right of the Metadata
Fields Associated with this Schema heading. The document naming
settings page will appear for this schema.
On this page you are able to select which metadata fields from the master
list of metadata fields you want to associate with this document schema,
the order that these fields will appear when users are adding or checking
in documents and if the fields are visible and required to be completed
when adding or checking in a document. Note: documents that are flagged
as not visible will not be available to users
What are the different metadata field types supported
by FileHold?
Metadata data fields can be of various types. Each type has a unique set
of properties associated with it. The different types of metadata fields
supported by FileHold are as follows;
- Text fields of various lengths from 20 to 4000 characters
- Drop Down Menu’s - FileHold Managed Menu Items provide the ability
to have users select (single or multi-select) from a pre-defined list
of items managed by FileHold.
- Drop Down Menu’s - Database Lookup Menu Items provide the ability
to have users select (single or multi-select) from a list of items pulled
from a 3rd party database.
- Date Fields that provide a convenient Calendar control to easily select
a date / time
- Numeric fields of various formats
- Currency fields of various formats, styles and types
- Checkbox field (Yes/No)
Can Metadata Fields belong to more than one document
Schema?
Where appropriate, the same metadata fields may be used in more than one
document type. In this example the customer name metadata field is associated
with the Purchase Order, Contract and Bill of Lading documents types.
This will allow users to search for all types of documents that relate
to a given customer.
Can I search for documents using the metadata values associated
with a document?
Yes. The FileHold search engine will allow users to search against
these custom index / metadata fields to more easily find documents. For
a more detailed review of system searching see the article on document
searching.
How do I ensure that users add metadata when adding
documents to the library?
Setting the metadata fields as required will ensure that the
user must add a value to the field when adding or checking in a document
using this schema. .
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