Editing Metadata tables

CLC Metadata Tables can be edited using functionality under the Edit Table... button at the bottom of the Metadata Table editor (figure 13.17) and by right-clicking on a row or rows and selecting from the options presented (figure 13.18). Information can be added directly, or can be take from another CLC Metadata Table or an Excel, CSV or TSV format file.

Image metadata-edit-table
Figure 13.17: Click on the Edit Table... button to open a menu with options for adding, editing or removing information in a CLC Metadata table.

Image metadata-rightclick-row-menu
Figure 13.18: Right-click on selected rows of a CLC Metadata Table to open a menu actions that can be taken.

Edit existing rows in a CLC Metadata Table

A dialog to edit entries in a CLC Metadata Table can be opened by:

Navigate between entries using the buttons on the right. Modifications made take effect as you navigate to another row, or if you close the dialog using Done.

Right-click on an individual row in the table and select the Edit Entry.. (Image edit) option to edit just that entry. An option to delete rows is also in this menu: Delete Row(s) (figure 13.18).

Import further rows into a CLC Metadata Table

More information can be imported into an existing CLC Metadata table by clicking on the Edit Table... button and selecting Import Metadata... (Image add_to_results_metadata_table_16_n_p).

Information can be supplied in an Excel, CSV or TSV file, by clicking on the standard folder icon (Image folder_closed_flat_16_h_p), or from another CLC Metadata Table, by clicking on the browse folder (Image browse) icon.

For CLC Metadata Tables with a key column, you choose whether new information should be added to existing entries, and whether rows should be added for new entries (figure 13.19). Matching is based on column names.

If there is no key column designated in the original CLC Metadata Table, as is the case in Workflow Result Metadata tables, then data from the new source can only be entered into new rows. A key column can be specified using the Configure Columns functionality described in the Add or edit columns in a CLC Metadata Table section below.

Image metadata-import-more-from-file
Figure 13.19: Additional information can be imported to an existing CLC Metadata table. You can choose whether new information should be added to existing entries, and whether rows should be added for new entries. The columns to import can also be specified.

Add and delete rows manually

Rows can be added to the end of the CLC Metadata table by clicking on the Edit Table... button and selecting Add Entries... (Image add_to_results_metadata_table_16_n_p). This option is also available in the menu that opens when you right-click on a row in the table (figure 13.18).

The option Duplicate Entry, available when you right-click on a row in the table, will duplicate that row and put it at the bottom of the table. When a key column has been designated, you will be prompted for a new value for that column for the new row. Data with an association to the original row will not automatically have an association to the new row. (A given data element can only have one association to a given CLC Metadata Table.)

Individual rows can also be added using the (Image insert_row_after_16_n_p) button, which inserts a new row after the current one.

Rows may be deleted using the (Image delete_row_16_n_p) button.

The (Image undo_16_n_p) and (Image redo_16_n_p) buttons are used to undo and redo changes respectively.

Add or edit columns in a CLC Metadata Table

Existing columns can be edited, and new columns added, by clicking on the Edit Table... button and selecting Configure columns....

A dialog opens with information about the left-most column in the CLC Metadata Table (figure 13.20). Use the buttons on the right to navigate to other columns and to add or delete columns.

Navigate between the columns using the (Image blue_arrow_left_16_n_p) Prev and (Image blue_arrow_right_16_n_p) Next buttons, or by using left/right arrow keys with Alt key held down. Modifications made to a particular column take effect as you navigate to another column, or if you close the dialog using Done.

Individual columns can be added using the (Image insert_column_before_16_n_p) and (Image insert_column_after_16_n_p) buttons, which insert new columns before and after the current column respectively. Columns may be deleted using the (Image delete_column_16_n_p) button.

The (Image undo_16_n_p) and (Image redo_16_n_p) buttons are used to undo and redo changes respectively.

Image metadata_config_column
Figure 13.20: When adding a new column, a name, description and data type is specified. If it should become the key column, the Key column box should be checked. Use the buttons on the right to navigate to other columns or add further new columns.

Image metadata-table-key-column
Figure 13.21: The Name column has been designated as the key column.

For each column, the following can be configured: