Overview

Metadata is the information that describes an item. Metadata can be included for all items in a portal including web maps, web scenes, and web apps. Once enabled in the organization, metadata can be added to an item by uploading an xml file using add item operation. Existing metadata can be updated using update (item) operation.

Example URL for metadata:

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/[itemId]/info/metadata/metadata.xml

Enable metadata for the organization

In lieu of using the front-end interface, administrators can also enable or disable metadata for the organization using update (org) operation in the Sharing API.

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/portals/[portalID]/update

If metadataEditable=true, all members of the organization can view the metadata. Only item owners and administrators can update metadata.

If metadataEditable=false, no one in the organization can access the metadata.

Metadata styles

To add or edit metadata style for an organization, use the following URL:

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/portals/[portalID]/update

The full name of each metadata style is shown here:

See Metadata in ArcGIS Online help for more information about each metadata style.

Add or update metadata

In lieu of using the front-end interface, a user can also add metadata using add item operation to go along with the new item. A metadata file in .xml format must be uploaded.

A user can also update existing metadata of an item using update operation. A metadata file in .xml format must be provided here also.

View metadata

Once metadata is added to an item, the metadata can be viewed using the following URL:

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/<itemId>/info/metadata/metadata.xml

A user can also view metadata in different formats and outputs.

Example URL to view metadata in the format that was setup in the organization:

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/<itemId>/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=default

Example URL to view metadata in FGDC format:

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/<itemId>/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=fgdc

A user can also specify how to render the chosen metadata format. For example, a user can specify metadata of an item to be shown in FGDC format but to be displayed as html output.

https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/<itemId>/info/metadata/metadata.xml?format=fgdc&output=html

Field mapping

An itemInfo.xml is generated for each item once the user adds values like title, tags, description etc. A user can also upload an itemInfo.xml. Please see itemInfo for more information.

The following table show the field mapping between itemInfo.xml and metadata.xml files. The data is synchronized bi-directionally.