METADATA WHITEPAPER JULY 2008
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Metadata–the Key to Protecting Copyright in Digital Imagery
Embedding Metadata in Adobe Creative Suite
AMI Professional Guidelines Committee
Introduction
Metadata is an important key to protecting your illustrations and photography from accidental infringement and
potential orphaning. By embedding all critical ownership and contact information directly into the digital file,
metadata facilitates and encourages respect for the rights of creators and rights holders. Think of metadata as a
digital business card that you attach to the files you create. As your file travels so does your information. Metadata
can be added to files created using any Adobe CS application (PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat). Metadata
Templates can be created to save time and easily add common information to folders of files using Adobe Bridge. In
addition to ownership and contact information, keywords, captions, credit lines and other information can be added
to enhance searching, sorting and organizing in Bridge or other digital asset management (DAM) software.
Metadata provides limited but important protection against orphaning. Creator-applied metadata is not permanent
and can be automatically stripped out by “save for web” functions and many search engines. It is also commonly
removed and/or replaced by publishers and other end users of images. Efforts are underway to enable creators to
permanently embed their metadata in their files. We encourage creators to support these efforts when asked. In the
meantime, to protect your creative assets and help identify your work, the AMI advises medical illustrators to
incorporate the following as standard business practice:
• Embed critical copyright and contact metadata into your digital files
• Place a visible copyright mark on your published work and watermark your online portfolios
• Sign your work legibly with full name (not initials)
• Register your work with the copyright office
• Register yourself with online artist registries and keep your contact information up to date
Start embedding metadata today! Below are instructions on how to create Metadata Templates and how to apply
contact, copyright, and licensing metadata using the File Info in Adobe CS applications.
Create a Metadata Template
By creating a template, you will save
the task of entering COMMON
information every time a new file is
created. Do not enter SPECIFIC
information – it will be added after the
template is applied.
1. Start with a new blank document in
Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign.
2. Select File > File info. The left side
of the File Info window has several
categories.
3. In Description, enter all the
COMMON information applicable
for the majority of your files such as
author name, author title,
copyright info, etc.
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4. In IPTC Contact, enter your
address and contact information.
Because phone, email, address, and
website names can change, provide
secondary numbers if any.
5. In Origin, enter credit and source.
6. After entering all COMMON
information, click the upper right
Flyout menu > Save Metadata
Template. Give the template a
meaningful name so you will
remember its function. Metadata
templates are saved in the
Application Support > Adobe >
XMP > Metadata templates folder,
which is accessed by all CS
applications.
7. Close and discard the blank
document.
Apply a Metadata Template to a Single Image
1. Open an existing file in Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign and select File > File Info. In Acrobat select File >
Document Properties > Description Tab > click Additional Metadata button.
2. Click on the Flyout menu and select the name of the newly created metadata template at the top of the list. The
COMMON information in the metadata template will be appended into the file. Appending will add values to
properties that are empty and add properties and values if they are not present. Use command/control click to
replace existing metadata with the template. Metadata remains with a file even if the file's format changes, for
example if you created a PSD file then later saved it as a JPG. Metadata will even be retained if a file is placed
into another file such as an InDesign layout.
3. After the template is applied, enter image specific information in Description such as Document Title,
Description, and Keywords.
4. In IPTC Status, enter image specific Copyright, Credit and Rights Usage Terms.
5. Click OK.
“Save for Web” Workaround
In Photoshop, the Save for Web function strips metadata out of the file header to reduce file size for fast web
viewing. For those who use the Save for Web function to deliver images to clients, there are a couple of
workarounds to preserve embedded metadata.
• Use the Save As instead of the Save for Web function.
• In Photoshop CS3, metadata can be preserved by changing the default settings: File > Save for Web &
Devices > Optimize Menu Flyout > select Include XMP to prevent metadata from being stripped. Once
selected the option remains checked until changed by the user.
• In Photoshop CS2, only the Description and Copyright Notice are retained during Save for Web (all IPTC
Contact and Rights metadata is erased). After using the File > Save for Web, return to the images in Adobe
Bridge and reapply a metadata template of critical contact and copyright information.
Apply a Metadata Template to Multiple Images (batch) with Adobe Bridge
1. Select multiple files in Photoshop File Browser (CS) or Adobe Bridge (CS2/CS3). To select several contiguous
images, click on the first image, then hold the shift key down before hitting the last in the series. To select images
that are not located next to each other, simply click on the first, and then hold the Apple key/Cloverleaf (Mac), or
Control key (Win) down as you click on each of the other images.
2. For Adobe Photoshop File Browser Select Edit > Append Metadata or Edit > Replace Metadata.
3. For Adobe Bridge, under the Tools menu, Locate the metadata template you wish to apply from either the
Append Metadata, or Replace Metadata sub-menus.
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Append versus Replace
Append adds values to properties that are empty and add properties and values if they are not present without over
writing existing data. Replace will add properties and values if they are not present and will replace values for those
properties that exist. Use caution when replacing metadata so that you don’t inadvertently remove contact and
copyright metadata from images that are not yours. The Append and Replace are also available from the Advanced
panel of the File Info dialog. Delete Properties can be deleted via the Advanced Panel of the File Info dialog.
For More Information
www.iptc.org/IPTC4XMP/
www.adobe.com/products/xmp/
metadatamanifesto.blogspot.com/
www.stockartistsalliance.org/tutorials
www.stockartistsalliance.org/category/topic/metadata-manifesto
www.imagemetadata.com
www.communitymx.com/content/article.cfm?cid=9A2C3
www.useplus.com
www.controlledvocabulary.com
Contributors
This document was prepared by the AMI Professional Guidelines Committee:
Tonya Hines, Chair
Alan Branigan
Amanda Behr
Joanne Haderer Müller
Cynthia Turner
© 2008 Association of Medical Illustrators
