Defining Metadata


If you've been working through the lessons in order, you will have come across the term metadata a number of times and already have a basic understanding of what it is and why it's important in a SharePoint environment. If this topic is a complete mystery to you, and you have come to this lesson to specifically learn more about it, this lesson gives an overview that will help clarify the topic.

The SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator's Guide provides the following definition for metadata:

"Data about data. For example, the title, subject, author, and size of a file constitute metadata about the file."

All documents have metadata attached to them, regardless of whether SharePoint is in use, that most network users will be familiar with. Of vital importance are certain items such as the title and size of the file as well as the last modified date, which many people use to figure out the latest file in a directory. Essentially, this information helps users to find the file they are looking for and to learn something about the contents of the file without having to open it.

A Microsoft Word 2003 document also has some additional default information that you can attach to the file and view without actually opening the file. From within Microsoft Word 2003, follow these steps:

1.

Open an existing document you have ownership of, or create a new one. Access the File menu and click Properties.

2.

From the Properties window, choose the Summary tab, and you will see several fields where information can be entered, such as title, subject, author, manager, company, category, keywords, comments, and hyperlink base. There may well be information here that has nothing to do with the document if you used a template created by someone else. The Custom tab also contains a number of properties that can have values entered.



    Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SharePoint 2003 in 10 Minutes
    Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SharePoint 2003 in 10 Minutes
    ISBN: 672327236
    EAN: N/A
    Year: 2004
    Pages: 181

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