Edit dataset description

Introduction

Using this document management facility you can describe your collections of geospatial data. You will be guided through the procedure of documenting a dataset using fill-out forms. Dataset descriptions are explained in the document "About dataset descriptions".

Whenever you choose to update your dataset description, your existing details will be presented in a set of HTML forms. Simple interfaces (with pre-defined option lists and error checking) allow you to complete each section of the document at your own pace. The application will ensure that all required fields are present and legitimate.

When you have completed all of the mandatory sections (achieved all stars or green lights) then you will be presented the option to have your dataset description processed by ANZMP. This will validate your dataset description, generate presentation documents, and give you the option to publish. The procedure is explained in the help document "Managing your dataset descriptions with ANZMP".

Content rules

See the ANZLIC guidelines "Core Metadata Elements for Land and Geographic Directories in Australia and New Zealand" for explanation of the allowed content for each element. "GI Connections" has a useful online version of the ANZLIC Guidelines (Version 1) document.

Some fields can contain HTML elements

To give you better control over presentation, many fields can accept either plain text (presented as a single paragraph) or a limited set of HTML elements. The two tables below explain the "Inline text elements" and "Block text elements" that can be used.

• The parser will report errors if you use these presentation elements incorrectly.
• All tags must be closed ... <li> must finish with </li> and <p> must finish with </p>.
• Elements must be specified in lower-case only.
• The hypertext anchor element (<a>) is the only element that can have an attribute
  • e.g. <a href="http://www.anzlic.org.au/">ANZLIC</a>
  • can only use the href attribute
  • attribute value must be surrounded with double-quotation marks
• Use this capability sparingly
• See the example of HTML usage and effect below

Inline text elements

• used for formatting
• can be used in all metadata elements except those with a specific format (e.g. date).

Inline text elements	Description
tt	teletype (fixed width font)
i	italic
b	bold
big	big font
small	small font
em	emphasis (usually italic)
a	anchor, hypertext link to Internet resource
br	forced line break
sub	subscript
sup	superscript

Block text elements

• used for layout
• can only be used in these metadata elements:
  • abstract (Abstract)
  • accconst (Access constraints)
  • lineage (Lineage)
  • posacc (Positional accuracy)
  • attracc (Attribute accuracy)
  • logic (Logical consistency)
  • complete (Completeness)
  • supplinf (Supplementary information)

Block text elements	Description
p	paragraph
pre	pre-formatted (fixed width font)
ul	unordered list
ol	ordered list
li	list item
dl	definition list
dt	definition title
dd	definition data

Examples of HTML fragment usage and effect

This facility then gives you some control over the presentation of those fields. Use it only when needed for emphasis. Here are some examples, adding fragments of HTML to the <abstract> ...

Example 1: using paragraph, bold, hyperlink, and list elements

<p>
The datafile <b>capital.csv</b> has the following format ...
</p>
<ul>
  <li>city_name</li>
  <li>longitude</li>
  <li>latitude</li>
</ul>
<p>
This crude example map
<a href="http://www.indexgeo.com.au/data/capital/capital.gif">capital.gif</a>
was generated from this datafile.
</p>

... will be presented as a paragraph, followed by a list, followed by a paragraph with a hypertext link ...

---

The datafile capital.csv has the following format ...

• city_name
• longitude
• latitude

This crude example map capital.gif was generated from this datafile.

---

Example 2: concise lists or line-breaks

A concise list using the <dl> definition list ...

<dl>
 <dt>Title one</dt>
 <dt>Title two</dt>
 <dt>Title three</dt>
  <dd>with an optional indented definition</dd>
  <dd>and another line</dd>
 <dt>Title four</dt>
</dl>

... will be presented like this ...

---

Title one

Title two

Title three

with an optional indented definition

and another line

Title four

---

Using the line-break element within a paragraph. Remember that every opening tag must have an equivalent closing tag, even empty elements.

<p>
Line one <br></br>
Line two <br></br>
Line three
</p>

... will be presented like this ...

---

Line one
Line two
Line three

---

Example 3: numbered lists and italics

<ol>
 <li>This data processing step</li>
 <li>Another step using
  <i>trademarked procedure</i></li>
 <li>And yet another</li>
</ol>

... will be presented like this ...

---

1. This data processing step
2. Another step using trademarked procedure
3. And yet another

---

Here are some Internet starting points

These resources will help you to better understand HTML:

• The Bare Bones Guide to HTML
• HTML Reference Manual
• Working and Background Materials at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

See notes about known problems if you are using MS Internet Explorer version 3.

Publish the document

The documents that you generate will remain in your preparation folders while you edit them, view them, and perhaps edit them again. When you are satisfied with the presentation of your dataset description you can then choose to publish it.

Publishing happens overnight (around dawn Australian Eastern Time). Your documents will be available the next working day for public viewing and searching. This procedure also gives the editors a chance to investigate any documents that are scheduled for publication.

URL:http://www.indexgeo.com.au/ec/help/edit_dataset.html
Last Modified: 18 October 2001