Creating a thumbnail from the Description tab

For some items such as tables it isn't possible to capture a thumbnail describing it using ArcGIS. For these items, you can enclose a graphic file in the item's metadata that can be used as its thumbnail when you edit the item's metadata in the Description tab. You can also remove or replace an existing thumbnail, if appropriate.

Steps:
  1. In the Catalog window, click the item for which you want to create a thumbnail.

    For items such as tables you can't capture a thumbnail that describes the item in ArcGIS.

  2. Start editing the item's metadata.

    The pages used to edit metadata appear in the Description tab.

  3. Click the Item Description page if a list of pages for editing metadata is provided.
  4. Click the Update button under the thumbnail or the placeholder where the thumbnail should be.

    You can enclose an image file to use as an item's thumbnail when you edit its metadata.

  5. Navigate to and click the graphic file you want to use as the item's thumbnail.

    The recommended image size is 200 pixels wide by 133 pixels high. When the thumbnail is displayed, the image is sized to fit these dimensions. For best resolution, add an image of size 200 x 133.

  6. Click Open.

    A copy of the graphic file is enclosed in the item's metadata and used as its thumbnail. The original image is converted to JPEG format if appropriate.

    A copy of a graphic file can be enclosed in an item's metadata and used as its thumbnail.

  7. Click the Save button Save Metadata Edits to save your changes.
  8. The enclosed graphic file is displayed as the item's thumbnail.

Related Topics


11/14/2011