LibraryLink Documentation

This information applies to version 4.2 and later

Metadata regarding linked files can be added either through ThumbsPlus or through LibraryLink. Instructions for entering metadata through LibraryLink are given below. For information on entering metadata through ThumbsPlus please see this page.

LibraryLink 4.2 gives you the option to update the Annotation and "User Fields" for catalogued files. Right-click on a file and select "Edit Annotation / User Fields". You will see a screen similar to the image below:

Any existing metadata will be shown here, and can be edited. For example, if a photo contains GPS EXIF information, this will automatically be loaded into the relevant User Fields when the file is catalogued, and the "Original Date/Time" field is usually automatically populated from image metadata.

Please note this a a simple editor with no sophisticated features like drop-down lists, input masks, or validation of suitable data input. Further guidance is given below.

• The Annotation can hold long descriptions of image or document contents.
• The User Fields are set up by an administrator (LibraryLink v4 delivers a default set for new databases). Additional User Fields can be added through ThumbsPlus; as more are added, they will appear in this list.
• When entering User Field information, please remember that some of these may require the data to be entered in a particular format. The details depend on what User Fields are configured in your database, their data types, and intended uses. Some examples include:
  • uf_CompilationDate needs to be a valid date. Depending on how your SQL Server database is set up, it might interpret "15/06/2018" as day/month/year or month/day/year - this is not something that can be controlled from LibraryLink. In this example, if the database tried to interpret that date as month/day/year, it would fail, and the uf_CompilationDate would not be updated (although other fields you changed would be). To avoid confusion, you may want to enter the date as eg "2018-06-15" (ie year-month-day) as this is unambiguous and the database should correcty interpret and save this as 15th June 2018, regardless of the server settings.
  • The GPS Latitude & Longitude need to be in the format shown here: degrees, minutes and decimal seconds, with the direction qualifier.
  • The GPS Direction should be numeric.
  • The OK for Web should be either "Y" or "N".