Export Metadata (Conversion)

License Level:BasicStandardAdvanced

Summary

Updates metadata to contain the most current properties of the ArcGIS item before processing the metadata and finally exporting it to an XML file that conforms to a standard metadata format.

Initial processing is performed to produce the best results when exporting information to a standard metadata format. Afterwards, the metadata is exported using the ESRI Metadata Translator.

Usage

Syntax

ExportMetadata_conversion (Source_Metadata, Translator, {Output_File})
ParameterExplanationData Type
Source_Metadata

The item whose metadata will be converted or a stand-alone XML file that will be converted.

Data Element; Layer
Translator

An XML file that defines the conversion that will be performed.

The translator files provided with ArcGIS for Desktop can be found in the <ArcGIS Installation Location>\Metadata\Translator folder. The following translators are provided:

  • ARCGIS2FGDC.xmlTranslates content stored in the ArcGIS metadata format to the FGDC CSDGM XML format. This translator is used by default when you export metadata from the Description tab using the FGDC CSDGM Metadata style. Metadata is converted using an XSLT transformation and won't produce a log file.
  • ARCGIS2ISO19139.xmlTranslates content stored in the ArcGIS metadata format to the ISO 19139 XML format. This translator is used by default when you export metadata from the Description tab using any of the ISO-based metadata styles. It is the preferred translator for exporting metadata to the ISO 19139 XML format. Metadata is converted using an XSLT transformation and won't produce a log file.
  • ESRI_ISO2ISO19139.xmlTranslates content stored in either the ArcGIS metadata format or the ESRI-ISO metadata format to the ISO 19139 XML format. This translator is provided for backwards compatibility to support existing models and Python scripts. It has some known limitations with exporting metadata to the ISO 19139 XML format. Use the ARCGIS2ISO19139.xml translator instead. Metadata is converted using the Esri Metadata Translator tool's translation engine and produces a log file containing messages produced by the translation engine.
  • FGDC2ESRI_ISO.xmlTranslates content stored in the FGDC CSDGM XML format to the ArcGIS metadata format; that is, it translates metadata content that is visible under the FGDC Metadata (read-only) heading in the Description tab. This translator is used when you import FGDC-formatted metadata by running the Import Metadata tool with the FROM_FGDC type and when you upgrade metadata by running the Upgrade Metadata tool with the FGDC_TO_ARCGIS type. Metadata is converted using the Esri Metadata Translator tool's translation engine and produces a log file containing messages produced by the translation engine.
  • FGDC2ISO19139.xmlTranslates content stored in the FGDC CSDGM XML format to the ISO 19139 XML format; that is, it translates metadata content that is visible under the FGDC Metadata (read-only) heading in the Description tab. Metadata is converted using the Esri Metadata Translator tool's translation engine and produces a log file containing messages produced by the translation engine.
  • ISO19139_2ESRI_ISO.xmlTranslates content stored in the ISO 19139 XML format to the ArcGIS metadata format. This translator is used when you import ISO 19139-formatted metadata by running the Import Metadata tool with the FROM_ISO_19139 type. Metadata is converted using the Esri Metadata Translator tool's translation engine and produces a log file containing messages produced by the translation engine.
File
Output_File
(Optional)

A stand-alone XML file that will be created containing the converted metadata.

File

Code Sample

ExportMetadata Example (Python Window)

Updates and exports ArcGIS metadata to an XML file that is formatted correctly for the ISO 19139 metadata standard.

import arcpy
from arcpy import env
env.workspace = "C:/data"
#set local variables
dir = arcpy.GetInstallInfo("desktop")["InstallDir"]
translator = dir + "Metadata/Translator/ESRI_ISO2ISO19139.xml"
arcpy.ExportMetadata_conversion ("data.gdb/roads", translator, 
    "roads_19139.xml")

Environments

Related Topics

Licensing Information

ArcGIS for Desktop Basic: Yes
ArcGIS for Desktop Standard: Yes
ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced: Yes
10/24/2012