What is Metadata?
Metadata is information about your assets. Metadata comes in many categories, including descriptive tags, captions, usage rights, and more. It can be created at the same time as the asset, during the creative process in an application such as PhotoShop, and inside Tandem Vault itself. Some metadata has to be added manually, while other data is generated automatically. Common examples of auto-generated metadata are file type, when the file was created, and its orientation (landscape or portrait). Examples of manual metadata are tags and captions.
Metadata helps you keep better records, comply with copyright law, and locate the right assets at the right time. The more metadata, the easier your photos and documents are to find and organize later on.
You can add metadata at any time, including during the upload process, and can always edit it later if you need to correct an error or make an update. All relevant metadata created in Vault is embedded in the asset and retained upon download.
Vault Metadata Tabs
An asset's metadata can be viewed any time in Vault by clicking on it and viewing the general metadata as well as the contents of the metadata tabs. General metadata includes the tags, caption, ratings, curation status, and more.
The five tabs metadata tabs contain more in-depth information.
- Overview: Which Collection(s) the asset is in, whether it is a parent or child in an Asset Family, and any License Group information.
- Info: Most information about the asset is here, including Raw EXIF data. Look here to see when it was uploaded, who created it, copyright information, and more.
- Custom Meta: If you are on the Enterprise plan, you have the ability to generate custom metadata fields unique to your account.
- Taxonomy: If you have created a Taxonomy, or controlled vocabulary, this will show which tags are checked.
- Permissions: Which Vault Permission Levels, or user groups, are able to view and/or download the asset.
- History: A record of all changes made in Vault, including a history of different Versions.
The Info tab is the richest in information, and contains options ranging from the asset's creator to whether it is sublicenseable. Depending on your plan and your Permission Level, you may or may not see all tabs or their full contents.
Full Metadata Breakdown
See the tables below for a complete list of the metadata categories in Vault visible in the Asset Detail View and how they correspond to IPTC, EXIF, and XMP metadata categories. Note that many of these categories are specific to Vault and were created to make it easier to organize, locate, and track usage of your assets.
General | |
Rating | This feature allows you to assign ratings from one to ten stars. |
Curate | A quality-control feature used to mark assets as accepted, pending, or rejected in Vault. General users are unable to see assets that are not accepted. |
Tags | Tags correspond to the IPTC Keywords field |
Caption | The caption corresponds to the IPTC Description field |
Notes | This field is used to leave notes for fellow users and is not searchable. |
Usage Terms | A feature specific to Vault that allows you to indicate how you would like the asset to be used. This field is searchable, and can be found under the Metadata search filter. |
Similar Images | A feature that displays images with similar metadata or characteristics. |
Overview Tab | |
Create Family as Parent | This feature allows you to create an Asset Family. You can use this feature to mark a file as the original and attach related assets to it, or otherwise group assets in a non-Collection structure. |
License Group | If the asset has been assigned to a License Group, the summary, expiration date, and paperwork will appear here. |
Collections | If the asset has been added to any Collections, including sub-collections, they will appear here as hyperlinks. |
Info Tab | |
Uploaded | The date it was uploaded to Tandem Vault. |
Taken | Corresponds to IPTC Date Created field. |
Catalogue number | The catalogue number attached to the asset upon upload. Unless otherwise indicated in your settings, this will become part of the asset’s filename when downloaded. This is also the number used in Reports. |
Upload Set | A hyperlink to the Upload Set where the asset is stored in Vault. |
File Information | The original filename, size, dimensions, orientation, and a link to its raw EXIF metadata. |
External Link | Vault feature that allows users to add a link to the asset if it is also backed up on internal servers. |
Creator | Matches IPTC Credit Line field. |
Copyright | Matches IPTC Copyright Notice field. |
Location | Corresponds to IPTC Sublocation, City, State/Province, and Country fields. |
Model/Property Release | Searchable Vault-specific option for indicating whether the model has signed a release form. |
Sublicensable | Searchable Vault-specific option for indicating whether the asset is sublicensable. |
Has people | Searchable Vault-specific option for indicating whether the asset contains people. |
Manipulated | Searchable Vault-specific option for indicating whether the asset has been significantly altered. Definitions for ‘manipulated’ vary by organization, and can include anything from heavy color-correcting to Photoshopped elements. |
Disable Download | Option to prevent all users without Manage Assets permission from downloading the asset. |
Permanently delete asset | This button will remove the asset from everywhere in Vault. If you reupload it, it will not be restored to its previous collections, and it will be assigned a new catalogue number. |
Taxonomy Tab | |
Taxonomy Tags | The Taxonomy is an account-specific controlled vocabulary generated and maintained by a designated member of the organization. This tab allows you to view all checked Taxonomy tags as well as the Taxonomy as a whole. |
Permissions Tab | |
Permission Level | This breaks down a list of the permission levels in the account and shows which user groups have the ability to view and/or download the original file. |
History Tab | |
Log | Shows a history of changes made to the asset in Vault, including when they were made, the user responsible, and the change itself. Clicking the eye icon will take you to a more detailed summary of the changes. |
Upload New Version | This option allows you to upload a new version of the asset, such as a color-corrected or spell-checked version of the asset, without losing the metadata or needing to replicate organization such as Collection structure. If the file has been replaced before, the previous versions will appear, along with the date and an option to revert. |