Article

Unique Identifier

• A unique identifier is the most important thing Aprimo will need as part of the metadata in order to properly match up the metadata record with the correct file.  (This field will need to be marked as a unique identifier in the field definition.  Aprimo will take care of this config update)

• File names of the assets must be unique and used as the unique ID. If the file names aren’t unique then the full path of the file will need to be used.
• The file name that is given to us in the metadata must match what the file name actually is. For example, if a file name is SamplePic.jpg the corresponding metadata record must also be SamplePic.jpg.  Another example is if the file name is Jalapeño_cheddar.jpg then and the metadata record shows Jalapeno_cheddar.jpg then the record will fail.
• File name in the metadata must include the file extension

Special Characters

• File names should not contain the following special characters in them: question marks, single quotes, double quotes, or slashes as these can cause issues with processing
• The metadata csv file should be UTF-8 encoded

Metadata record count vs. file count

• There should be a one to one match of files versus metadata records. In other words, if there are 10,000 assets that are to be imported into the application then there should also be 10,000 records of metadata that correspond to the assets.  If there aren’t corresponding metadata records to assets, those assets in the system will not have any metadata applied

Formatting for Specific Data types

• Option List fields, Text List fields, and Classification List fields can use any delimiter. Note that all three field types (if using all three) will need to have the same delimiter.  Please let us know what the delimiter is as we need to input the delimiter into our tooling so our tooling can know what to look for.      

• Please note that commas (,) and forward or back slashes (/) (\) tend to be bad delimiters as often times field values can contain these characters within them.
• Tabs and semicolons (;) tend to make better delimiters.
• Pipes (|) cannot be used.

• Text fields: Everything goes in “as is”.
• Record Links fields – You can link records together using this field type. In the metadata you specify a tilde (~), then the child/children separated by a delimiter.  

• For example: ~Children can look something like this ~1353423E-FD41-4C0B-A9C9-7E409D2EE36B,90DBCBD2-503D-4D3E-AA89-8D693E987B21
• Like all other field types, the record link field must already be set up and configured before applying the link data.

• DateTime fields - For these fields you specify dates in the metadata. Please let us know the specific format using and we can configure that in our tooling (E.g M/d/yyyy OR M/d/yyyy H:mm).
• User List fields – For user lists fields an email address or DAM login ID is necessary in order to apply user list metadata – first name and last name will not work. Also, the users must already exist in DAM before trying to apply any user list metadata.

Name versus Label

• Classification names, option list values, text list values, and any other field that has a value in the application must be referred to in the metadata by the “name” and not the “label”. The name is used in the metadata.

Field Parent/Child Relationships

• Some fields in DAM may be configured to have parent/child relationships. These relationships are such that if a particular value for a parent field is chosen (value1), then a specific set of values will be available for the child field (valueA, valueB, and valueC).  If a different value is chosen for the parent (value2), then a different set of values will be available for the child field (valueD, valueE, and valueF).
• When parent/child relationships are configured in the application, the metadata must reflect the parent/child relationships accurately. Using the example above, in the metadata file if the parent field has the value value1 and the child has the value valueE then stamping that metadata record will fail.

Miscellaneous

• Any field that is checked as read-only in the field definition will need to be unchecked before we run the metadata. If it’s not unchecked then records will fail because the system won’t allow that field to be edited. (Aprimo can handle this config change.)
• If there is a field that needs to have multiple values assigned to it, for example an option list or a classification list, that field should be marked as True for the “Allow Multiple Selection” part of the field definition. (Aprimo can handle this config change.)
• If a field is marked as “This is a required field” then there will need to be values in the metadata for that column. If there are no values then the metadata rows without values will fail.
• Metadata file should be delivered to Aprimo as a .csv file.

Avoid Common Errors

• Misspelling of file names, field names, classification names, option list values, and text list values are by far the most common error when trying to run the metadata. For file names, ensure the name in the metadata is an exact match to the actual file.  For field and values, ensure that the names correspond to the “name” of the field or value, and ensure that the spelling is correct.
• Missing data for a field that is marked as required is the second most common error. Ensure that all fields that are marked as required in DAM have the correct corresponding metadata.
• Inaccurate unique identifier in metadata file is also very common. Please ensure that the unique identifier is exactly accurate.
• Text list and option list values only support 150 characters. Ensure that all values are only 150 characters long.
• Text lists and option lists only support 75 different options. Ensure that there are 75 or less values in the lists.
• Non-ascii characters can cause issues with applying the metadata. Please ensure the metadata is UTF-8 encoded.