Metadata Tools for Geospatial Data

This page leads to summaries of most of the known metadata tools used for documenting geospatial data and serving geospatial metadata. It includes tools for entering and editing metadata and utilities for preprocessing, extracting, postprocessing, validating, and viewing metadata. Most of these tools were designed to help complete Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) metadata, but several have been tuned to produce specific local metadata profiles.

10/14/2006 Version 4.0 of the ISO Metadata Editor (IME) has been released.
10/11/2006 A Microsoft Access application to extract entity attribute information from Access databases and export as CSDGM compliant XML was released by the National Park Service. Eventually this application will be incorporated into the NPS Metadata Tools and Editor.
10/6/2006 Brian Turcotte of South Florida Water Management District described some interesting finds at the ecoinformatics.org web site- including the Morpho editor for Ecological Metadata Language (EML) information.
8/31/2006 Chris Dietrich, National Park Service Natural Resource GIS Program advised that the NPS Metadata Tools Extension for ArcGIS developed by Eric Compas has evolved into the NPS Metadata Tools and Editor (MTE). This new tool incorporates the functions of the earlier tool with further capabilities to edit metadata based on the NPS Metadata Profile prior to upload to the NR-GIS Data Store. The tool achieves highest functionality when used as an ESRI ArcView/ArcGIS extension, but can also be used at lower functionality in standalone mode without requiring the ESRI software.
6/8/2006 Marco Boeringa (Nieuwland Automatisering) announced the availability of Theme Browser 4.1 to the metadata listserver. Theme Browser is an ArcCatalog-like metadata viewer for Arcview 3.x.
5/3/2006 David Rugg, USDA Forest Service posted an announcement of the release Metavist version 1.2 to the metadata list. Metavist is a standalone program to create CSDGM and NBII Profile metadata.
> 6 months ago... Old News; News, Old; News News; Old, Old.

Leftovers

• Explanation about the reviews listed in the Metadata Toolbox
• Other listings, summaries, and reviews of CSDGM metadata tools
• So which metadata tool is the one for you?
• Golden (and bronze) oldies: metadata tools which appear to be in retirement - ArcView Metadata Collector, ASCII templates, BIC Metadata Form, blmdoc, Corpsmet (DOS), Data Dictionary, Dataset Catalog, document (AML), FGDC Metadata Entry System, findarc, kmdd, Metadata Collector, Metadata Management System (LCRA), Metadata Validation Service, Metagen32, MetaLite AML, Metamaker, Metamorph, MetaViewer, NJMetalite, (NOAA) FGDC Metadata Toolkit, (Oklahoma) Metadata Creator.
• Threaded metadata discussions and Q&A
• Grand Central Station for CSDGM metadata information, the FGDC metadata web pages.
• Tools for other metadata standards: Dublin Core

This work has was begun as part of Wisconsin NSDI Clearinghouse activities (a 1994 CCAP project), was extended in support of the 'Metadata Primer' portion of the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) 'Educational and Research Program in Support of Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata' (a 1995 CCAP project), and continues with irregular updates and additions as time is available.

WiscLINC	Wisconsin SCO	NSGIC	FGDC