Embedded Files
WHAT IS METADATA?
WHAT IS METADATA?
Metadata is commonly known as data about data. It is how we describe our files, documents, books, art, or any kind of material. The type of metadata fields (i.e. how you describe your files) you use will depend on your project, the formats you are working with, and the amount of time you have to describe your files.
Below you'll find a metadata template that uses basic metadata fields at a folder and file level. If you've decided to organize your project files by thesis component, you may choose to describe each folder and not create any metadata for each file (other than the metadata automatically embedded in your files such as date created, format, or resolution) . On the other hand, you may find that recording large amounts of descriptive metadata for every one of your folder takes too much time so you decide to only describe your files at a project level. Conversely, you can also embed metadata directly onto your files using Adobe Bridge. Use this Batch Embed Metadata in Adobe Bridge Cheat Sheet created our Digital Initiates Unit to learn how to do so.
You can decide to use more or less fields than the ones on the template but at a minimum you should strive to note Who, What, and Where, at a project level and develop a descriptive and practical naming convention for your files.
Whatever approach you decide to take, state what should be included in each metadata field and be consistent when inputing information.
FILE NAMING
FILE NAMING
Do yourself a favor: develop a file naming convention.
Do yourself a favor: develop a file naming convention.
Use short but descriptive files names.
Name your files in a way that will communicate the file's general content. If you're working on a collaborative project, make sure that your file names are meaningful for everybody accessing the files.
Don't: photobuilding.tif
Do: LazarusBuilding_evening_12-2017.tif
Include information on how works relate to each other.
Use an acronym for your project and include it at the beginning of all the files pertaining to the same project.
Example: Master's Thesis Project (MTP)
MTP_Proposal_finaldraft.doc
MTP_Reasearchpaper_firstdraft.doc
MTP_LazarusBuilding_001.tif
Avoid using periods and special characters (!@#$%^&*()+=)
Be consistent
If you decide to include the date on the file, decide how you will format the date (Ex. MMYY, MMDDYY, DDMMYY) and stick to it. Use the same rules for identifiers across all files.
Don't: 21-11-2017_Interview_Smith.wav
12_2017_ Interview_Smith.wav
Jan2017_Interview_Smith.wav
Do: 21-11-2017_Interview_Smith.wav
01-12-2017_Interview_Smith.wav
14-03-2017_Interview_Smith.wav
Pad sequence numbers by adding zeroes.
Don't: Interview_Smith_1.wav
Interview_Smith_2.wav
Interview_Smith_101.wav
Do: Interview_Smith_001.wav
Interview_Smith_002.wav
Interview_Smith_101.wav
Develop version control
Decide how you will label different versions of your work and apply the same rules to all your files. You can do this by adding accronyms at the end of the file name. Including a version identifier in your naming convention will help you track your progress, retrieve files pertaining to a specific step in your process, or identify versions meant for a particular audience or platform. In the examples below, 'v' stands for version while 'FB' and 'WP' stand for Facebook and Wordpress respectively.
Ex. MTP_LazarusBuilding_001_v1.jgp OR MTP_LazarusBuilding_001_FB.jpg
MTP_LazarusBuilding_001_v2.jgp OR MTP_LazarusBuilding_001_WP.jpg
A file naming convention will help you easily store, locate, identify, and retrieve your files. As stated above, including certain information, such as dates or content type, will allow you reduce the time you spend filling out metadata fields at a file or folder level. Below are examples of information you can include in your file names:
Project name or abbreviation (Be consistent with your abbreviations.)
Location
Creator Name
Date or date range
Content Type
Version
Format (file extension)
An easy way of applying a new file-naming convention to existing files is by using Adobe Bridge's batch rename function. Consult our Batch Rename in Adobe Bridge Cheat Sheet to learn how to do so.
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