FAQ page:

The two main objectives of the HELP page are 1) to provide answers to the many frequently asked questions about the WEEMS project and 2) to provide image screen shot tutorials on how to maintain one's metadata into the WEEMS system.

1. What is metadata and why is it important?
2. What is WEEMS?
3. Why am I creating metadata for my organization and WEEMS?
4. What is ISO 19115?
5. How do I enter data into WEEMS with ArcCatalog?
6. How do I enter data into WEEMS with WEEMS?
7. What do I do with all the generated metadata XML files?
8. How do I edit metadata on WEEMS?
9. What do the different fields within the Metadata Wizard in ArcCatalog signify?

1. What is metadata and why is it important?

   Metadata is 'data' about 'data'. It may be easier to understand what metadata is with the following example. Looking only at EXAMPLE 1, can one tell what this data represents or who created the data? How about the area being represented or its size? What do the different colours represent? Without metadata the map is not very informative. Looking at EXAMPLE 2 however one can see the difference that various pieces of information help in answering the questions posed for example 1. Metadata helps to manage this useful information in way that makes it easy to search and to organize the various bits of data one uses for geospatial data.

   EXAMPLE 1 - No Metadata	EXAMPLE 2 - Containing Metadata

2. What is WEEMS?

   WEEMS stands for the Windsor-Essex Environmental Metadata System. WEEMS is a central metadata database used to store and search for Geospatial and Biological metadata accross the Windsor-Essex region.

3. Why am I creating metadata for my organization and WEEMS?

   There are a number of reasons why metadata is being created for your organization and WEEMS.

   • Making the public and private sectors aware of data that a municipality has available and who to contact to obtain such data. The municipality remains in charge of the IP right to their data.
   • Municipalities can make money from purchases made to acquire data.
   • For the organization this is a standard way to catalogue and manage various data sets that will be created or obtained over a number of years. As shown in FAQ #2, it is very important to know different pieces of information (e.g. costs, creation date, how data was collected, accuracy, etc.) in order to help manage and organize data, especially as more data sets are obtained or created.
   • An efficient and effective way to maintain an inventory of all data sets.
   • A chance to share resources between municipalities. Have more opportunity to have municipalities to work together to create and share data to reduce costs.
   • Centralize information locally.
   • WEEMS uses an Inernational Standard (ISO 19115).
   • A free service available to municipalities, researchers, non-govermental organizations, etc.

4. What is ISO 19115?

   ISO 19115 is an international standard for organizing and managing geographic information. For more information go to the ISO 19115 website. The ISO 19115 standard is what is currently being used in the WEEMS system.

5. How do I enter data into WEEMS with ArcCatalog?
   1. Open ArcCatalog

      ArcCatalog

   
   
   2. Set global preferences for XML data entry to the ISO standard. First, click on Tools in the menu bar and select options (left image). The following screen should appear (right image):

      Setting ArcCatalog Options	Options Window

   
   
   3. Select the metadata tab from the options window.

      Metadata Tab

   
   
   4. Make sure that the Default Stylesheet is set to 'ISO' and that the Metadata Editor is set to 'ISO Wizard'. Click 'OK' once completed.
   
   
   
   5. Enabling the metadata toolbar if not already set. Click on View in the menu bar, then toolbars, and make sure 'Metadata' is checked. If 'Metadata' is not checked, then click on 'Metadata' to add the toolbar to ArcCatalog.

      Adding the Metadata Toolbar

   
   
   6. Set the Stylesheet: on the Metadata toolbar to 'ISO' (make sure the metadata tab is selected).

      Setting the Stylesheet

   
   
   7. Select data you wish to create metadata for (e.g. roads, elevation) and click the 'Edit Metadata' button on the metadata toolbar.

      Edit Metadata Button

   
   
   8. Fill out the ISO Metadata Wizard. Make sure that all the red stars on the menu to the left are cleared before clicking 'Finished'(this will ensure that you are meeting the ISO standard). You can view the metadata in ArcCatalog. Make sure that all red stars in the menu list are removed before clicking the finish button to complete the wizard.

      ISO Metadata Wizard

   
   
   9. After checking to make sure all the metadata is present and correct, the next step is to export the metadata by clicking the 'Export Metadata' button (image left). Select a location to store the file and make sure the Format is set to 'XML' (image right). Click 'OK' when this done (image right).

      Export Metadata Button	Exporting to XML format

6. How do I enter data into WEEMS with WEEMS?
   1. Go to the WEEMS website.
   
   
   
   2. Click on GeoSpatial Metadata and you should come to the following page.

      WEEMS Login Page

   
   
   3. Login in the top right corner.
   
   
   
   4. Click on Administration and get the following:

      Administration Page

   
   
   5. Click 'New Metadata' (ignore 'XML Metadata Insert' option).
   
   
   
   6. Select a template you wish to create (raster or vector data) and the group you are creating the data for. Click 'Create' to create the new template.

      Metadata Creation Page

   
   
   7. Fill out the fields on the form you just created. When finish you can click 'Save and Close'. After the template is created and the appropriate fields are filled out an e-mail should be sent to the Centre for GeoSpatial Analysis with the title of the template.

7. What do I do with all the generated metadata XML files?

   All XML files should be sent to Paul, Alice or Steve so that the XML files can be added to the WEEMS database. Once this is done, an e-mail will be sent back to you to verify that the XML files are indeed setup and running on WEEMS. To make transmission through e-mail easier, it would be useful to zip all XML files up (using WinZip, WinRar, or IZarc, etc) before sending. XML files can be sent without compressing them.

8. How do I edit metadata on WEEMS?

   Find the data you wish to modify and click the edit button (see picture below). You will be brought to a form page where you can edit any of the fields. Remember to 'save and close' after you have made the changes. Changes can only be made to data belonging to your group. Remember that making changes to the metadata in WEEMS does not make changes to your own metadata in ArcCatalog. You must edit your metadata in ArcCatalog separately from WEEMS. If updates are made to ArcCatalog, please remember to send the Centre for GeoSpatial Analysis the new XML data files so that the system can be updated accordingly.

   Edit Metadata in WEEMS

9. What do the different fields within the Metadata Wizard in ArcCatalog signify?

   The TC 211 committee on Geographic Information/Geomatics release the ISO 19115 standard in a .pdf document. This .pdf document contains a full description of all the fields in the ISO stand along with a brief description. In particular, Annex B at the end of the report has a tabulated listing of all these fields along with their definitions. You can click on the following link to access the .pdf document. Since the document is 224 pages long, it is recommend that you go right to Annex B in the back of the document and begin your search from there (search for Annex B first, then search for your keyword).

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