Creating metadata

Service metadata

The metadata fields in an image service definition file are defined within XPath\metadata.

Additional tags can be added to an existing image service definition file. For these to be displayed and validated with the Image Service Editor, the associated \metadataXDefs\XFDef and \metadataXDefs\XADef also need to be updated. For more information on these, see An overview of ArcGIS Image Server XML.

When a new service is created, definition of the image service is obtained from C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Image Server\XADefs\ISDef.XFDef. In theory, changing this file would result in all new services having revised metadata structures. It is strongly advised not to change any structure of any file in the C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Image Server\XADefs directory, since  this may create problems within the image services.

Raster metadata

The metadata fields for a raster are defined within XPath\metadata in the associated raster process definition file. The raster process definition generators add the required metadata tags. If required additional tags can be added to this node from external sources. The content of this node will be compiled into the compiled image service definition.

When metadata is displayed within the Raster Properties dialog box and in the client interface, it is displayed as a simple list in the same order as it is defined in the XML, with no specific sections, formatting, or validation performed. It is possible to have the details sorted and include specific formatting and section heading, as well as have the entered data validated by defining a \metadataXDefs\XADef section within the raster process definition. For more information on these, see An overview of ArcGIS Image Server XML.