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How to update ESRI Feature Class Metadata down at the Resource/Fields/Entity and Attribute Information level?

  • 17 July 2019
  • 8 replies
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We are trying to automate updating the metadata on feature classess, in particular at the level of the Entity and Attribute Information level for the fields in our feature classes.

I have tried both methods of updating from an XML file or directly from the file geodatabase as metadata, but I can't seem to expose the information down to the field level of XML detail.

We are basically trying to update the Definition & Definition Source of all attribute fields in the feature class from an table. see highlighted area below to show help explain.

Is there something simply I am missing

Thanks

 

 

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Best answer by simon_bell 18 July 2019, 04:31

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Hi,

What you are looking for is under "eainfo/detailed/attr"

Definition = attrdef

Definition Source = attrdefs

Attached is a workspace that you can point at your geodatabase. It will return individual features for each attribute, providing all of the attribute information.

Thats the structure, and therefore you can make the changes and apply it back to the geodatabase to update the metadata.

metadata.fmw

 

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Hi Todd,

I'm not sure the feature class I was given is valid, the geodb_metadata_string is being rejected at the XML_Fragmenter. Is there something simple I am overlooking here?

ArcGIS 10.3 is the version this was created in, and ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification is the current Arc Options settings. If I export the metadata to XML none of the attribute fields metadata is included.

Thanks

Simon

2019-07-18_28701-metadata_EDIT.fmwt

Badge +12

Hi Todd,

I'm not sure the feature class I was given is valid, the geodb_metadata_string is being rejected at the XML_Fragmenter. Is there something simple I am overlooking here?

ArcGIS 10.3 is the version this was created in, and ISO 19139 Metadata Implementation Specification is the current Arc Options settings. If I export the metadata to XML none of the attribute fields metadata is included.

Thanks

Simon

2019-07-18_28701-metadata_EDIT.fmwt

This is because the XMLFragmenter (and XMLFlattener) don't like the dash in "G:\\GIS\\Freshwater\\20190416_Aotearoa_Environment_Indicators\\Coastal and estuarine water Quality trends 2006–2017" due to the encoding.

So add an "AttributeEncoder" (prior to XMLFragmenter) and set Destination Encoding to "Unicode 8-bit" and it will work

Badge +1

This is because the XMLFragmenter (and XMLFlattener) don't like the dash in "G:\\GIS\\Freshwater\\20190416_Aotearoa_Environment_Indicators\\Coastal and estuarine water Quality trends 2006–2017" due to the encoding.

So add an "AttributeEncoder" (prior to XMLFragmenter) and set Destination Encoding to "Unicode 8-bit" and it will work

Thanks Todd,

I don't have the knowlegde yet to finish off the problem. This is the first time I have looked at ESRI metadata in FME, and still trying to figure out how you found out the syntax for finding the XML fragment was "eainfo/detailed", and also the Encoding caused the problem, it isn't that obvious in the logs etc.

The original problem I was asked to solve was a simple update of a client supplied XML file which was read in and used to update an ideal XML fomat. This ideal XML file was then going to be imported to the feature class. This was the basic workspace here

2019-06-27_XML.from.MFE_to_XML.to.MPI.fmwt

We were then asked to also read in a simple spreadsheet and update the Definition and Defininition Source attributes resulting in me posting this original question. This is that spreasheet. Coastal water quality attributes.xls

These values never get exported to the XML files when you export from Arc, so thats when I realised that updating an XML file and importing later wasnt going to work. We needed to be reading and writing back to a feature class metadata directly.

How much do you charge to finish off the problem? to read in the spreadsheet and make the updates to Definition and Definition Source back to the feature class?

Thanks

Simon

Badge +12

Thanks Todd,

I don't have the knowlegde yet to finish off the problem. This is the first time I have looked at ESRI metadata in FME, and still trying to figure out how you found out the syntax for finding the XML fragment was "eainfo/detailed", and also the Encoding caused the problem, it isn't that obvious in the logs etc.

The original problem I was asked to solve was a simple update of a client supplied XML file which was read in and used to update an ideal XML fomat. This ideal XML file was then going to be imported to the feature class. This was the basic workspace here

2019-06-27_XML.from.MFE_to_XML.to.MPI.fmwt

We were then asked to also read in a simple spreadsheet and update the Definition and Defininition Source attributes resulting in me posting this original question. This is that spreasheet. Coastal water quality attributes.xls

These values never get exported to the XML files when you export from Arc, so thats when I realised that updating an XML file and importing later wasnt going to work. We needed to be reading and writing back to a feature class metadata directly.

How much do you charge to finish off the problem? to read in the spreadsheet and make the updates to Definition and Definition Source back to the feature class?

Thanks

Simon

Give me a call tomorrow. I can give you a bit extra quickly and that might be all you need to get you going. If not, its not going to be much work based in what you have supplied.

Cheers,

Todd

Hi,

What you are looking for is under "eainfo/detailed/attr"

Definition = attrdef

Definition Source = attrdefs

Attached is a workspace that you can point at your geodatabase. It will return individual features for each attribute, providing all of the attribute information.

Thats the structure, and therefore you can make the changes and apply it back to the geodatabase to update the metadata.

metadata.fmw

 

Hi, I am looking at doing similar things. From where can I look at the metadata.fmw, you have mentioned? Thx

Badge +12

Hi, I am looking at doing similar things. From where can I look at the metadata.fmw, you have mentioned? Thx

Here is what I think it was, but it will just get the idea of getting to it, but it's just a basic example.

Hi, I am looking at doing similar things. From where can I look at the metadata.fmw, you have mentioned? Thx

Many Thanks for sharing the file.

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