[Zope-CMF] Configuring Metadata Tool (was "There is no...")

Tres Seaver tseaver@palladion.com
Wed, 06 Jun 2001 08:35:43 -0400


Norman Khine wrote:

> Originally the site was built using CMF-1.0, but then I recreated it using
> the yesterdays' CSV check-out.
> 
> Can you tell me what the options for Element:  Description   Format
> Language   Rights   Subject   Title  are and how each Type needs to be
> filled out.
> 
> Sorry, I don't understand the 'logic' behind this ;^o


First, you are free to leave the tool unpopulated, with no ill effects.

Second, the tool provides a "configuration point" for setting site-wide
policies about the metadata associated with content in general;  it
also allows specialization of these policies based on the content type.

The "editable" elements of the Dublin Core (at present, Title, Description,
Subject, Format, Language, Rights) each have a "default" policy, plus
zero or more content-type-specific policies.  Each policy specifies:

  - Whether the element is "required"

  - Whether to supply a default value when a new content object
    is created, and if so, that value (currently, only allows
    "literal" values for the defaults).

  - Whether to enforce a "vocabulary" for the element (i.e., must
    its values be drawn from a controlled set of values).

  - The "vocabulary" (which may be "suggested values" if the
    "enforce" flag is not set).

So, for instance, you could require that Title, Description, and
Subject be supplied (your skins and/or workflow would need to use
the tool to validate this), and supply default values for Language
('en-US', or 'es-ES', or whatever) and Rights ('Copyright (c) 2001,
MyCompany, Ltd.;  all rights reserved').

I've created a how-to with this information, and a more detailed
recipe for implementing these policies, at:

  http://cmf.zope.org/Members/tseaver/how_tos/configuring_metadata_tool


Tres.
--
===============================================================
Tres Seaver                                tseaver@digicool.com
Digital Creations     "Zope Dealers"       http://www.zope.org