ArcGIS Online: Metadata XML file not valid?

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03-02-2016 11:38 PM
RonKaden
New Contributor II

Hi everyone.

When downloading a dataset from the ArcGIS Online Open Data portal as Shapefile, there is a metadata file as XML included. Taking this file and trying to upload it in the meta data editor in ArcGIS Online, the error "The chosen file does not seem to be an ArcGIS format" occurs.

So ArcGIS Online does not create ISO 19139 valid metadata files? Does anyone encounters the same problem or have a solution?

( ArcGIS Open Data community, ArcGIS Online )

Best regards,

Ron

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curtvprice
MVP Esteemed Contributor

Fortunately, Arc 10 includes geoprocessing tools to handle metadata. So you can create a model tool to process your xml files.

UpgradeMetadataModel.png

Better than that, you could fill a folder full of your "pure-ISO" metadata files and use an iterator to runyour model tool copy and upgrade them all before you want to upload to AGOL. You could tweak the model to add a validate step too, rerunning the whole folder until all your files are ready to go. With no coding!

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12 Replies
RebeccaStrauch__GISP
MVP Emeritus

duplicate of ArcGIS Online: Metadata XML file not valid?

Ron, for future reference, you don't need to submit a question twice. Instead just tag the other space like ArcGIS Open Data​  and it will show in both.  You will tend to have many of the same users in the community looking at both threads, and it's best to keep it contained in one (or it gets confusing).

You can actually delete this one if you want I think.

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RonKaden
New Contributor II

Hi Rebecca,

I didn't know I could do that. Could you please describe exactly where I can tag the other spaces?

Best regards,

Ron

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RebeccaStrauch__GISP
MVP Emeritus

Ron, typically what I do is what I did in the previous reply.  if you start typing with the @   then pause a few seconds so it can populate the list, start typing the name of the place you want, like I did with the ArcGIS Open Data site above.  The list changes (filters) as you type, but sometimes it has a slight delay, so check what you are typing.

My mention of the "duplicate" seems to have been deleted already.  If that is the case, you probably want to keep this one (I can modify my comment about the dupe).  This thread still may be better in the open data group, and check out Moving Content​ on how to move a thread.  If it is still there, you can delete this thread.

It does take a while to get comfortable with geonet. To see the full structure, GeoNet Community Structure   (which can always be found on the main page.  My attempt to help users get started  on geonet (big old, but might be helpful) Tips for Getting Started on GeoNet (general and Alaska User Group specific)​ 

I hope this helps with the geonet side. I wish I could answer your question about the metadata, but I'm  just getting started with OpenData, so haven't had a chance to test metadata.

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RonKaden
New Contributor II

Thank you. I will try that.

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AdrianWelsh
MVP Honored Contributor

Ron,

Have you tried a different dataset to convert into a shapefile from the Open Data site in order to test its metadata? I am curious to know if this is a local occurrence or if it is happening across all datasets from that Open Data site.

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RonKaden
New Contributor II

Hi Adrian,

yes I have tried different datasets. The bug (if I may call it so) seems to be independent from the shapefiles.

A possible workaround I have discovered is that you can import the metadata xml file from the OpenData Site download into ArcGIS Desktop ("import method: from_iso_19139"). A <dataset_name>.shp.xml will be created. Now you can import this new xml file into the metadata editor from ArgGIS Online. But that's time-consuming.

The reason I am asking this question is because I have to handle ~150 datasets in our administration and we want to upload them to different platforms for open data (ArcGIS Online OpenData Site, OpenData Saxony, OpenData Germany,...). But every platform seems to expect a different standard of xml file (ISO 19115, ISO 19139, INSPIRE, ...). That's very hard to comply with because there is no clear "construction manual" and I have to build the xml files by myself.

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curtvprice
MVP Esteemed Contributor

My guess is that these metadata were edited using the Arc 9.x ISO editor or the .xml file are "raw" non-ArcGIS ISO metadata. The fix is to run the Upgrade Metadata tool on the datasets. They should then be in ArcGIS (10) format and will be recognized by ArcGIS Online.

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RonKaden
New Contributor II

Hi Curtis,

thanks. This works, too - but it's also just a time-consuming work-around. By now, I am building XML metadata files, reverse engineered from examples by myself and importing them to the arcgis online metadata editor.

Best Regards,

Ron

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curtvprice
MVP Esteemed Contributor

Fortunately, Arc 10 includes geoprocessing tools to handle metadata. So you can create a model tool to process your xml files.

UpgradeMetadataModel.png

Better than that, you could fill a folder full of your "pure-ISO" metadata files and use an iterator to runyour model tool copy and upgrade them all before you want to upload to AGOL. You could tweak the model to add a validate step too, rerunning the whole folder until all your files are ready to go. With no coding!