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Enter data using the Project tab

Learn how to use the project tab to enter metadata and to use the fill function to enter the same data from one cell to other cells in the Project Client.

Use the Project tab

When entering metadata note that:

  • Items that have required fields are flagged by a red icon until the required fields are not populated with metadata.
  • All fields are displayed in the Project spreadsheet (up to 125 fields, displaying a maximum of 256 characters). You can resize the columns, but you cannot configure which fields are displayed.
  • Administrative fields or fields that are not editable are displayed with a light blue background color, farthest to the right in the spreadsheet.

The Project spreadsheet provides several features to help with entering data.

  • To sort items by field, click the column heading.
  • To enter the same cell data in multiple contiguous rows, you can use the fill functions.
  • To find and replace terms within the spreadsheet, click Find & Replace.
  • To add a text file to a field, select a row and from the Edit menu, click Add Text File or right-click the cell and from the resulting menu, click Add Text File.
  • To add OCR text, select a row and from the Edit menu or the More Actions menu, click Add OCR Text.
  • To edit permissions, select a row and from the More Actions menu, click Set Permissions.
  • To change the thumbnail image, select the thumbnail cell, right-click and select Replace Thumbnail.
  • To add or edit an image right, select a row and from the More Actions menu, click Add/Edit Image Rights. For more information, see About Image Rights.
  • To open the item in a new, item editing tab, double-click the thumbnail image at the beginning of a row in the project spreadsheet. The item editing view is especially useful for entering data for compound objects.

If your project has a Date data type field, see Entering Dates.

Spaces, tabs, carriage returns, and HTML are not generally recognized by the CONTENTdm Server and should not be used in your metadata with two exceptions:

The HTML tag may be used in all metadata fields.

 Note: If you are editing metadata for an item that already has been added to the collection, the tag may display in the Project Client as “
”. You do not need to edit this, and the HTML tag will function properly when the item is uploaded back to the collection and viewed by end users.

Carriage returns can be used only in full text search fields to aid in formatting when page text and page image are displayed side by side.

Keyboard controls

Keyboard shortcuts within the project spreadsheet make it easier to enter metadata and perform common operations without using a mouse.

Action Operation performed
Tab Close the current active cell and move one cell to the right.
Shift + Tab Close the current active cell and move one cell to the left.
Enter Close the current active cell and move down one row.
Ctrl + c Copy text from an outlined cell.
Ctrl + v Insert copied text into an outlined cell.
Ctrl + x Cut text from an outlined cell.
Ctrl + arrow key Move to the farthest cell in that direction.
Ctrl + Enter Insert a carriage return in the text in an active cell. This formatting is displayed only when used in a full text search field and the page text and page image are viewed side by side in the Web interface.

When you are done entering metadata in the project spreadsheet, you may be ready to upload items to a collection.

Use fill functions

When using the project spreadsheet or the Item Editing tab for a compound object in the spreadsheet view, you can use the fill functions to enter the same data from one cell into other cells.

Enter Data into Multiple Contiguous Cells

To enter the same cell data in multiple contiguous rows, use the Fill Down, Fill Up, or Fill All functions when a cell is selected. You can access these functions when a spreadsheet cell is selected by:

  • Selecting Fill from the Edit menu. Then click one of the three functions.
  • Right-clicking on the selected field and choosing one of the three functions.

Use the fill functions:

  1. Select the cell that contains the text that you want to copy.
  2. Select Fill from the Edit menu and then click Fill Down, Fill Up, or Fill All. Or, right-click on the cell and click Fill Up, Fill Down, or Fill All.

 Note:  Compound objects have an additional Fill Compound Object option available. Use this option to fill the same data in the selected field for all pages of the compound object.

Enter Data into Selected Cells

You can copy the contents of a cell and paste it into other cells. You cannot copy more than one cell's contents at a time. You can paste into multiple cells. The same contents will be pasted into each selected cell.

Copy the contents of one cell and paste it into other cells:

  1. Select the cell with the contents you want to copy.
  2. Press Ctrl C.
  3. Select the cells that you want to place the contents into using the mouse or the keyboard arrows and Shift key.
  4. Press Ctrl V.