A Metadata Messenger displays a set of assets shared from a DF Studio account, with tools to modify the metadata fields associated with those assets. Metadata can be edited individually, or for multiple assets at once.

When accessing a Metadata Messenger on a mobile device, it appears in a unique interface customized for touch input and smaller displays. For guidelines specific to this layout, see Mobile Metadata Messenger.

Select a Single Asset for Metadata Editing

Click once to select an asset. Double-click to enter the Single (1-Up) viewing mode, or click “Single” in the left menu panel.

Select a Batch of Assets for Metadata Editing

To select consecutive assets, click on the first asset, then hold the Shift key while clicking the last asset to select everything in between.

To add non-consecutive assets, or remove assets from an existing selection, toggle an asset’s selection by holding down the Command key (macOS) or Ctrl key (Windows/Linux) while clicking its preview.

To select all assets included in the Messenger, click “Select all” in the menu bar at the top of the workspace.

The asset counter in the menu bar will increase with each selection to display the total number of assets currently selected. All metadata fields associated with the selected assets will appear in the editing panel.

Metadata Editing Panel

Metadata for the selected asset(s) can be edited in the metadata panel on the right side of the workspace.

Use the filters above the metadata fields to narrow down the displayed metadata fields according to the status of their data.

Filters represent a convenient way to prepare the metadata panel by placing focus only on the fields required to perform the current editing operation.

Varied (Only enabled when multiple images are selected): Displays metadata fields in which the information differs from image to image within the selection. For example, activating the “Varied” filter will show the “Keywords” field if multiple images are selected that contain different keywords.

Uniform (Only enabled when multiple images are selected): Displays metadata fields in which the information is identical for all currently selected images.

Filled (Only enabled when a single image is selected): Displays all fields in which metadata has been written.

Empty: Displays all fields without written metadata.

Editable: Displays fields that the recipient may edit, hiding all read-only fields.

Pinned: Displays fields that have been pinned.

Pinning fields allows for easy filtering, so an editor can access a select group of fields easily when editing metadata for subsequent images. Click the pin icon next to a metadata field to pin that field. Then use the “Pinned” filter to display only those fields which were pinned.

Edit Image Metadata

Once viewable fields are filtered as necessary, click any field to edit its metadata. The selected field will appear highlighted to indicate that it is ready for editing.

Edit metadata fields as desired. When information is changed, the field will turn blue to indicate the presence of unsaved changes. The “Undo” button reverts to the unedited version of that field, and the “Clear” button empties information from that field.

Once metadata editing is complete, click the “Save” button to save edited fields; click the “Save + Next” button (for single image edits only) to advance to the next image in the Messenger; or “Undo” to revert to the unedited versions of the fields. For batch edits, clicking “Save” will write the edits to all the selected images.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts are available in the Metadata Messenger:

• Ctrl+S (Windows/Linux) or Command+S (macOS) activates the “Save” button, for single or batch edits.
• Ctrl+Shift+S or Command+Shift+S activates the “Save + Next” button, for single edits.
• Ctrl+Z or Command+Z reverts unsaved changes to the current field.
• Ctrl+Shift+Z or Command+Shift+Z activates the “Undo” button to revert all unsaved changes.
• Ctrl+A or Command+A to select all assets in the messenger.