For files and datasets, we offer the option for the user to add metadata fields to their resources.
Design Mockups
Current Implementation
Currently, the view appears as a sort of "Activity Stream", showing the history of all metadata entries added in chronological order with newer entries appearing first.
Initially, files that have no metadata attached appear like this:
Once metadata is added, it appears in the "Activity Stream" area below:
Proposed Implementation
The initial view before any metadata is added would likely not need to change at all:
With metadata present, the user is offered two possible methods of visualization, either Cards or Table.
Cards View
With the Cards view selected we see a similar view to the current Clowder, with some minor changes:
- multiple values assigned to a metadata field are aggregated and condensed onto a single card
- the user can edit existing or delete values for each metadata field (individually)
Metadata entries with multiple or complex values can also be expandable, as shown below:
Modification History
This view can also offer the "Last Modified" modal, where appropriate.
Clicking on the "last modified" link can open a modal window showing the history of the metadata field in question.
Hovering or clicking on a highlighted keyword in this modal, such as Edited or Deleted (as shown), will give context into which of the (possibly) multiple value was deleted or edited:
Table View
With the Table view selected, we compresses the list of cards down into a shorter series of entries, with the hopes that (in most cases) all of the metadata would fit on a single screen.
As you can see, this design can fit many more entries into the same space, but may be more difficult for a novice user to digest at first-glance:
Modification History
This view can also offer the "Last Modified" modal, where appropriate.
As before, clicking on the "last modified" link can open a modal window showing the history of the metadata field in question.
Hovering or clicking on a highlighted keyword in this modal, such as Edited or Deleted (as shown), will give context into which of the (possibly) multiple value was deleted or edited:
4 Comments
Jim Myers
Mike, The editable metadata branch does this - alphabetizes current entries, provides a history mechanism to see edits, etc. Is this a further improvement or alternative? (It also provides a way for extractors to send values that can then be edited - another issue I saw go by).
Sara Lambert
Hi, Jim! We are attempting to design out some future improvements for this view, including the changes in the PR you submitted. I just threw these simple mockups together this afternoon as a starting point, but have yet to factor in the specific changes from your branch - this will likely affect only the last mockup shown above.
One of our projects has some very particular goals in mind for this page that may or may not align with the look and feel present in your PR - the intention here is to simply put something on the table for discussion to make sure everybody can work with the new design, and that we don't accidentally miss or remove any functionality.
Indira Gutierrez Polo
I have some questions / things to consider when implementing this:
1) What happens if Mike adds an abstract, and then I go in and add an abstract? Is the idea that once I click Abstract in the dropdown it will pre-populate with what Mike added as an Abstract and I will be able to edit it and that will be marked as an edit, or if someone already has added a field, it prevents anyone else from adding that metadata field again and the user needs to find the metadata for abstract and go there and edit it?
2) Who is able to modify a field? And are we adding an event to the original uploader that the field was uploaded? In the previous case if I update the abstract, will Mike get an event saying I updated his original abstract?
3) Are there cases where you could have multiple values from the same metadata field? I see something like that with the scientific field. If so, is it possible for person A to add light_intensity, and person B to add initial_pressure?
I like the overall design and look.
If Edit and delete are the only two options that will be in the more actions, we can match what wee are doing in the spaces / Edit Metadata page. To be consistent through out the application.
For Cards/Table there are also some icons being used right now in the dataset / spaces/ collections lists.
Sara Lambert
Thank you for the feedback, Indira Gutierrez Polo
1) Based Jim Myers PR, we want to support multiple values for each metadata field. So if I were to add an Abstract, and then you also add one, we would see two values listed beside/beneath Abstract that could each be edited / deleted individually.
2) I hadn't thought of the permissions side of things, but it shouldn't change very much there - if you can see the Add metadata dropdown now, you'd be able to see it then too. I'd assume that whoever has edit permissions on the space/dataset can also edit any files that it contains, and therefore edit the metadata of those files.
3) Yes, that is correct since we now allow for multiple values for each metadata entry, although it may not be well-illustrated in these mockups. For example on the "Last Modified" modal, you would be able to see the historical entries added to each metadata field by each user. So in the case you've presented, we would be able to see who added which values.
I certainly agree that consistency is important. My specific goals/reasoning behind using a dropdown style for the "More Actions" column is that:
In general, I tend to prefer icons over text (where possible) to minimize the need for internationalization / localization.
Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to add icons to Balsamiq's "Button Bar" or "Link Bar", so these are not present in the mockups, but I will be sure to reuse the icons for Cards/Table that you're already using