Adding Custom XMP namespaces

XMP metadata may include properties from one or more namespaces, each of which allows for the same tag name to appear in multiple places with different meanings. (For example, ns.adobe.com:filetype vs. ns.northplains.com:filetype.)

Some organizations have defined their own custom XMP namespaces, outside of the two built into the Xinet database, ns.adobe.com and ns.northplains.com. If that is required for your site, you can introduce the custom namespace to the Xinet database by configuring the Xinet xmp.conf file to include the custom namespace and the particular URI associated with it. Where the xmp.conf file resides depends on your server’s operating system:

Unix: /usr/etc/venture/var/xmp.conf

Windows: C:\Program Files\Xinet\Venture\var\xmp.conf

To add a custom XMP namespace to Xinet:

1.	Open the xmp.conf file with a text editor.

Initially the file includes only two lines:

[XMP DATA]

start_id=56

2.	Mark the beginning of the custom namespace declaration(s) with [CustomNamespaces], as shown in the following example. Then, for each custom namespace, append one line containing the namespace and a second line beneath it containing its URI.

Here’s an example xmp.conf file that includes five custom XML namespaces (in addition to the two default namespaces). In this example, Each custom namespace requires a declaration of the name itself, followed by its corresponding and unique URL.

 

[XMP DATA]

start_id=56

CustomNamespaces]

ns_001=phsa

uri_001=http://ns.poundhill.com/phsa/1.0/

ns_002=rei

uri_002=http://ns.rei.com/rei/

ns_003=specle-at

uri_003=http://specle.net/xmlns/

ns_004=admsml-atcd

uri_004=http://admsml.org/xmlns/

ns_005=gwg-at

uri_005=http://gwg.org/jt/xmlns/

3.	Save the file after you have entered the new information.

Once custom XML namespaces have been defined, they will appear, when specified as part of a Data Field Name, in entries on the Database, Admin, Settings page. But, keep in mind, it is the combination of the namespace with its URI that makes it unique and that this uniqueness is necessary for the namespace to be integrated with Xinet. If, for example, a Photoshop panel were to use the “wrong” URI, one that conflicted with the one on the server, data from the application wouldn’t appear in the Xinet database; it would appear, rather, to have been lost.

4.

To test what you’ve done, using the Database, Data Fields, New Field page, add a new Data Field to the Xinet database, one that is already in use at your site in the custom namespace. To assign the new field to the custom namespace in the Xinet database, use that custom namespace followed by a colon as the prefix to its Name, for example, something like:

rei:Field_Name

Be sure to engage the Save Into XMP Packet option.

5.	Verify that the new custom-namespace Data Field appears on the Database, Data Fields, Summary page. Then, add that Data Field to a Template assigned to a test user.

6.	Using an application which employs that Data Field in File Info panels, enter new metadata and save the file.

7.	Log into Xinet as the test user and verify that the recently added metadata appears in the asset’s Image Info display.