Adding metadata into the mosaic dataset's attribute table

Basic metadata from specific raster types are added as fields in the mosaic dataset's attribute table when data is added to the mosaic dataset. These include fields, such as Product Name, Sun Azimuth, and Cloud Cover. Adding these fields allows you to query the mosaic dataset for specific data, and some fields are used as the input to some functions.

You may have a need to add additional fields to the attribute table, either information you have created, or information that already exists within the metadata for each dataset added to the mosaic dataset. There are several ways to add and populate the fields in an attribute table, such as:

• Open the attribute table, add new fields, and populate these fields with values.

  Learn how to add new fields and to edit values in a table

• Use a join or relate to add new fields to the attribute table.

  Learn about joining and relating tables

• Populate chosen metadata items when the data is added to the mosaic dataset (see the steps below).

  If items exist in the metadata for the raster data that you are adding to a mosaic dataset, which you want added as fields in the attribute table, you can add it by first adding the field to the attribute table with the same name as the item in the metadata file and then adding the raster data to the mosaic dataset.

1. Examine the metadata to find the items you want added to the attribute table.

   You can do this by opening the Item Description or by opening the metadata file directly.

   Note:

   You can only add metadata from raster data added to the mosaic dataset using raster types with known metadata files, such as WorldView 2 or QuickBird (this excludes raster types such as Raster Dataset and Table).

2. Add the mosaic dataset to ArcMap.
3. Right-click the Footprint layer and click Open Attribute Table.
4. Click the Table Options button and click Add Field.
5. Enter the name of the metadata tag in the Name field, edit the Type to Text, then click OK. Do this for each metadata item you want to add.

   There are several examples that exist for your metadata:

   • One-to-one mapping: /metadata/dataIdInfo/idCitation/resTitle

   • Unique index when multiple tags of the same name exist: /metadata/dataIdInfo/searchKeys/keyword[0]

   • One unique searchKeys tag that contains multiple keyword XML elements: /metadata/dataIdInfo/searchKeys

   • Multiple themeKeys, where each themeKey may have multiple keywords: /metadata/dataIdInfo/themeKeys[0]

6. Close the table.
7. Right-click the mosaic dataset in the Catalog window and click Add Rasters.
8. Choose the correct Raster Type and modify any additional parameters, then click OK to add the data to the mosaic dataset.

   Once the data has been added you can examine the attribute table to see the fields you added and the values that were populated from each item's metadata.