Creating or Editing a Geospatial File

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Last updated: Sept 19, 2013 by Former user (Deleted)Version comment

What is a Geospatial File?

Geospatial files include GIS files, shape files, personal geodatabases, and geo-rectified images.  tDAR accepts a range of geospatial files at this point. Unlike documents, images, and other resource types, due to the complexity of geospatial files, one complete geospatial object (e.g., shapefile, or geotiff with associated world file, and project file) is associated with one resource within tDAR, this helps tDAR capture appropriate metadata for each file.

Geo-rectified Images:

tDAR accepts georectified TIFFs and JPGs. When providing a geo-rectified image, it is suggested that you store any point data in the header of the image.  Optionally, You may upload any of the following additional files, with the same filename, but different extension along with your GeoTIF or GeoJPG:

  • "jpw" or "tfw"
  • project files: "aux" and "aux.xml"
  • pyramid layer data files: "ovr" or "rrd" 

Shape Files:

tDAR accepts shapefiles from ArcGIS and other sources.  All shape files must have at least these three parts:

  • the main shape file "shp"
  • the index file: "shx"
  • the data file:"dbf"

Alternately, shapefiles may include additional, optional files:

  • projection format file: "prj"
  • index files: "sbn", "sbx"
  • read-only index files: "fbn", "fbx"
  • attribute index files: "ain", "aih"
  • attribute index of the DBF file: "atx"
  • geocoding index file: "ixs", "mxs"
  • code-page file (charset) for DBF file: "cpg"

More information is available here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapefile)

Personal Geodatabases:

tDAR does accept personal geodatabase ("mdb" and "gdb" files).  

Pricing Info

Shapefiles, and geo-rectified images often require more than one actual file to work properly. Pricing for these files works as follows: each image, or Shapefile is treated as a single file within tDAR. Thus, if a user uploaded "untitled.shp", "untitled.dbf", "untitled.prj", and "untitled.shp.xml" the combination of these four files would be treated as a single file for pricing.


 


Shape files vs personal geodatabases

 If possible, Digital Antiquity recommends the uploading and submission of shapefiles over personal geodatabases at this point due to the complexity of the format, and the wide range of applications that can read shape files as opposed to personal geodatabases. Also, tDAR can provide better checks and documentation of shape files at this point.


Creating a Geospatial File (info) (tick)

 

To create a new information resource, you can use the "Upload" button on the tDAR toolbar (You are able to access this toolbar and button on any page within tDAR).  You must first create a new information resource to ingest a geospatial file into tDAR. (info)

You will then be presented with a screen that asks you to select the resource type you wish to add. Choose "Geospatial" from the options presented.

 

 

Log in!

You will have to be registered and logged into tDAR before uploading a new resource (see /wiki/spaces/TDAR/pages/557080).

Is the file you're uploading part of a larger project or collection?

 If so, you may want to also view the tutorials on Organizing Your Data.

Adding a Resource

To create a digital resource in tDAR, you will complete two steps:

  1. enter available metadata, which identifies your file and that describes it to other users
  2. upload the file(s)

 

Entering Metadata for Your Resource (info)

 

Basic Information

Status (required)

 In the "Status" field, select the status that describes the state of this information resource. When first creating a file, you will likely choose between:

 "Draft"

Indicates that metadata is NOT complete and that the resource is NOT ready to be published. Use the "draft" status to save your work (remember to click the submit button at the bottom of the file entry page, though, to save your metadata in tDAR).  

OR

 "Active"

Indicates that metadata entry is complete and that the resource is ready to be published once it is submitted. The status "active" means that the metadata is visible to all users through searching and browsing.

There are two other statuses available:

 "Flagged"
This resource has been flagged for deletion or requires attention.
 "Deleted"
 The item has been deleted from tDAR workspaces and search results and is considered deprecated.

Title (required)

Title of the file

Year (required)

 The "Year" field documents the year in which the file was created and/or "published" in its current state. Use the textbox to enter the year the file(s) you are uploading was created.

Currentness & Update Information (required)

Describe how current the file(s) being uploaded are. (info)

Spatial Reference System & Projection (required)

Enter the spacial reference system and/or the projection data for the geospatial files (ex: EPSG: 3857). 

Map Source

Describe the source of the map. Include a citation, if possible.

Scale

Provide the scale for the map (ex: 1:1600).

 

 

 

 

Editing Metadata

You can come back at a later time and edit the metadata for a resource, as can anyone who has access to edit the resource (see Access Rights in tDAR).

 

 

Currentess & Up to date Information

You may want to put when the original map was produced, when the image was geo-rectified or how often this file will be updated. Any information that will help other researchers know whether the file is current and up to date. this is a required field.

 

 

 

 

Choose an account to bill from

If you only have one billing account, this account will already be selected.

It you have access to more than one billing account, elect the drop down menu for "Account". A list of Billing Accounts that you have access will be visible. Select which account you would like to use the fund from to pay for this resource.

 

 

 

GIS Creators (info)

 
Begin entering the name of a creator in one of the name fields in the "Person" data entry section. tDAR will make suggestions from a list of tDAR users and other entered persons (i.e., other creators, authors, editors, etc.).

 

 

 

 

 

 

If one of the suggested persons matches the person you wish to identify as a creator, select that person.

If the suggested persons do not include the person you want to identify, then enter that person's name, email address, and institutional affiliation as accurately as possible. Enter a current email address and institutional affiliation ONLY if you are confident it is accurate. 

To add additional creators, click on the "add another" button. Enter the appropriate information for that person and select the appropriate role. 
In some cases, an individual person may not be credited with creation. Rather, an institution may be identified as creator. To add an institution as a creator, click on the "add another" button and select "Institution".  

Who is a Creator?

The "GIS Creator" data entry section asks you to list the persons who contributed to the construction of the file you are uploading to tDAR. A person who contributed to the creation of the file may have originally created the map or images or created the GIS files. Other contributors can be listed under Individual and Institutional Roles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Citation Information

If the resource you are uploading to tDAR has been published else where, include that information in the "Additional Citation Information" fields.


Publisher

In the "publisher" field, enter the publisher of the document that you are uploading to tDAR.

Publisher Loc(ation)

City where the publisher is located

URL

If this resource is published online, enter the URL

 

 

 

Abstract / Description

This text field allows you to provide a narrative about the content of the document. 

 

 

 

Attach GIS Files

Click on the "Add files" button to open up a file window.Select all the files required for your GIS resource, and choose "Open". More than one file can be uploaded at once, and up to 50 files can be uploaded for each GIS resource. If you receive an error, make sure you are uploading the accepted file types. (tick)

File Names

Makes sure each file name (ex: ruins-map-v11) is the same. Only the extension should change with each file type.



To delete a file, select the "Delete" button to the right of the file you want to delete. If you accidentally delete a file, don't worry: an "Undelete" button will appear next to a deleted file.

Restriction

The default restriction is "Public". Public files are accessible to all registered tDAR users. Select the drop-down box to change the restrictions to "Embargoed" or "Confidential". (warning)

Date Created

The date this specific file was created.

Description

Additional information specific to this file.

 

 

 

Restricting Access to Files

tDAR provides two different ways to restrict access to files you upload to tDAR: 

  • Mark the file as containing confidential information:

    • When you mark a file as containing confidential information, the file itself will never be accessible to the public.
    • The file's metadata remains visible, but the file itself is not visible and cannot be downloaded (unless you give access rights to a specific tDAR user).
  • Mark the file as an embargoed resource:
    • When you mark a file as embargoed, you are restricting access to the file for 5 years.
    • The file's metadata will be visible during that period, but the file itself is not visible and cannot be downloaded.
    • After the embargo period has ended, the file will become accessible to the public. 

To permit other registered tDAR users to download confidential/embargoed files, you must enter their names into the "Access Rights" fields at the bottom of the metadata entry page. You can grant ONLY registered tDAR users the access rights to download these files. 

 

For further information on marking a resource as confidential or placing an embargo, see Managing Security and Access.

 

 

tDAR Collections & Project

Add to a Collection (or Collections)

Here you may enter the name of the collection that this document is associated with. As you enter the name of the Collection, choices will appear in the drop-down box, select the appropriate Collection  See Creating or Editing Collections to learn more about how collections are useful in organizing and displaying your resources.  

Choose a Project

In the "Project" field, use the drop-down box to select the project with which the file is associated. If you used the project toolbar "add new resource to project" button to create the file, the project is already selected for you (see description of creating a file above).

If your document is not associated with a project, select "No Associated Project" from the drop-down menu. tDAR will associate your document with your personal information resources. (tick)

 

 

 

Associating a Resource with a Project

When you associate a document with a project, you are accomplishing two things in tDAR:

  1. You are displaying the resource on the project page;
  2. You are also enabling "inheritance" of metadata values from the project down to the resource.  You will see checkboxes throughout the metadata entry page that enable you to inherit values from the project level.

Inheriting Values

tDAR allows you to "inherit" the metadata that you entered at the project level to describe the documents or other resources associated with that project. Inheriting metadata from the project to the document helps you to simplify your data entry.

You will see a checkbox labeled "Inherit values from parent project" in many of the data entry sections on the document page (and on other resource entry pages). Use this checkbox to inherit the relevant values from the associated project to the individual resource. 

To "inherit" values from the parent project to the document here, check the box labeled "Inherit values from parent project".

What if I change the values in my project?

If you change any metadata values at the project level, tDAR will update those "inherited" values at the resource level. 

For example, if you change "Investigation Types" for your project, any resource that inherited "Investigation Types" from that project will be automatically updated.

What if I only want to inherit "some" of the values in my project?

You can inherit values by clicking on the "inherit values..." box, and then un-select the box to make additional changes that are particular to that resource. For example, you can inherit the spatial information from a project to a related resource. You can then un-select the "inherit values..." box to add or subtract location keyword terms particular to that individual resource. 

You can also use the project as a template for your resource entry. You can simply enable inheritance to "copy" the values from the project, and then turn inheritance off to make specific changes.

For more information on inheritance, please see the section "Inheriting Project Metadata" on the "Creating or Editing a Project" page. 

 

Authorizing Institution (info)

Begin typing the authorizing institution into the "Institution" field. Options already in tDAR will appear in the drop-down list. Select the one that matches the one you want to enter. If it is not available, complete the institution's name and select the "(Create new institution: name)" option.

What is the Authorizing Institution?

The "Institution Authorizing Upload of this Document" section records the institution that "owns" the resource (i.e., sponsored the production or publication of the document) and/or that gave you permission to upload the resource to tDAR. For example, if the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sponsored a report and they provided you permission to upload that report to tDAR, the BLM should be entered in the "Institution Authorizing Upload of this Document" section.

 

 

Individual & Institutional Credit (info)

Begin typing the information of individual being credited into any of the available fields. Options already in tDAR will appear in the drop-down list. Select the one that matches the one you want to enter. If it is not available, complete the person's name and current information (info) and select the "(Create a new person record)" option. 

Select the role that this person played in your project (e.g., Contact).

To assign institutional roles, select "Institution" .Begin entering text in the "Institution Name" field to obtain a drop-down list of institutions currently entered into tDAR. Select the institution that matches the one you would like to enter. If you do not find that institution in the drop-down list, enter the full name manually. 

Select the role that this institution played in your project (e.g., Contact).

 To add additional persons and/or institutions, click on the "add another" button. If a person or an institution played more than one role in your project, you will need to a separate record for that person or institution to record that role. 

Individual & Institutional Credit

Individual and institutional credit fields allow you to record the roles that various people and institutions played in the creation of your resource.

The "Person" field captures the names, contact information, and roles of the different people that contributed to your resource.

The "Institution" field captures the names and roles of institutions that contributed to your project.

 

Keeping Contact Information Current

It is best to input current the email address and current institutional affiliation as accurately as you can. If you are unsure of a person's email address and their current institutional affiliation, please leave those record boxes blank.  

 

 

Adding Identifiers

Begin typing the information of individual being credited into any of the available fields. Options already in tDAR will appear in the drop-down list. If an existing value matches, select it. If not, enter the name manually. Enter the identifier value in the "Value" field.

Choose whether or not you want identifiers inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

What is an Identifier?

Identifiers in tDAR can include a wide range of values:

  • contract numbers
  • internal project numbers
  • permit numbers
  • Accession Number
  • TNF Project Code

Identifier "Name" will include the type of identifier, for example "State of California Contract Number" or "BLM Permit Number".

 "Value" will be the number or code for that Identifier, for example 2011.045.335 or AZ-123-45-10.

 

 

Spatial Terms (warning)

 

Choose whether or not you want spatial terms inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

Enter as many or as few geographic terms as you would like to describe your resource. Use the "add another keyword" box to add additional terms. Use the trashcan icon to delete a term that you entered in error or that you would like to remove. 

 

Bounding Box

Use the Google Map display to navigate to your site location.

Click the "Select Region" button.

Craw a box that best approximates the area that your project investigated, or the area that is associated with your resource.

If you draw a project location box that is 1 square mile or less in area, tDAR will display a wider box to other users to protect your project area/site location.  

Coordinates

If you know the exact coordinates of your project or study area, you can enter them manually into tDAR. Click on the checkbox next to "Enter / View Coordinates". Coordinates can be entered in several different formats. For example:

  • 36°35′55″N
  • 53 08 50N
  • Decimal: -73.9864

 

 

 

How tDAR Helps Protect Your Site's Location

Spatial information describes the location of your project area and/or the location associated with a particular project resource (document, image, etc).  The spatial information entry section includes two separate components:

  1. general location keywords, including named regions, geographic features, states, towns, etc.
  2. a map that allows you to draw a box around your project area

tDAR provides a number of options to protect the exact location of your project area and/or sites.  If your bounding box is less than 1 mile square, tDAR will alter that box when it is displayed to users to obfuscate or hide the exact location.  Alternately, you may simply draw a wider box.

 

 

What if I Entered My Site Location Incorrectly?

Simply click the "Clear Region" button. You may also click on the "Enter / View Coordinates" option and adjust the spatial information manually.

 

 

 

 

Temporal Coverage (info)

 Choose whether or not you want temporal coverage inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

Enter as many or as few geographic terms as you would like to describe your resource. Use the "+ add another keyword" box to add additional terms. Use the trashcan icon to delete a term that you entered in error or that you would like to remove. 

To enter a calendar date range select "Calendar Date" from the "Date Type" drop down menu. Enter a calendar start date and a calendar end date for the sites or other archaeological/cultural resources that your project investigated. (warning)

Dates

 Use only numeric values in the calendar date text boxes (Do not enter calendar era designations such as "B.C.E" or "A.D."). To denote a date in the "B.C.E." designation, simply place a " - " before the date's numeric value. Thus, " - 200 " is equivalent to " 200 B. C. E."

If a radio carbon date range is available, click on the button "+ add another coverage date" and then select "Radiocarbon Date" from the "Date Type" drop down menu. Enter a start date and an end date for your project's archaeological resources. 

 

What is Temporal Coverage?

Temporal coverage includes temporal keyword terms, calendar date ranges, and radio carbon date ranges (if available) for the archaeological/cultural resources associated with this resource.

 

 

Investigation Types

Choose whether or not you want investigation types inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above. 

 Investigation types describe the various types of activities performed during the creation of your resource.  Select as many or as few types that apply. (tick)

 

Hold your cursor over any of the investigation types to obtain a detailed description of the activities that an investigation type includes. 

 

 

Material Types

Choose whether or not you want the material types inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

 The material types section describes the types of materials that were collected, analyzed, or discussed in association with your resource. Select as many or as few that apply to your project.

 

 

 

What is My Material Type is not Listed?

If a material type you're expecting is not listed above, you have two options:

  1. enter the material type in the "General Keywords" section
  2. contact tDAR and ask for it to be added 

 

 

Cultural Terms (info)

Choose whether or not you want cultural terms inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

Click on the " + " box next to a cultural term to open a list of more specific cultural terms.

 

 

 

 

What are Cultural Terms?

Cultural terms describe the archaeological cultures and/or historic population groups who are affiliated with the cultural resources described, presented, or displayed in your resource. Select as many or as few cultural terms as you would like to describe the groups of people affiliated with this resource.

Within tDAR, cultural terms can be specific or general. tDAR will mark specific cultural terms with their generalized equivalents (e.g., "Early Woodland" is also marked as "Woodland"). Thus, if you select  the specific cultural term "Early Woodland", your record will also be found by a user who searches for the more general term "Woodland".

What if the Cultural Term I want is not Listed?

If a cultural term you'd like to use is not listed, please add it to the "Other" section at the bottom of the cultural terms section.  Data curators review these terms regularly and update the list of cultural terms to reflect commonly entered values.

 

 

Site Information (info)

Choose whether or not you want the site information inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

 Select the "Site Type" descriptors that best describe the archaeological/cultural resources that occur at the sites you listed in the "Site Name" text boxes.

Click on the " +  " box next to a site type to open a more detailed list of descriptions for that particular site type. Select all the type descriptions that apply to the the sites you listed above in the "Site Name" text boxes.

 

 

Site Information

The site information section includes the names of the sites associated with your resource and a summary of the types of archaeological resources found at those sites.

Enter as many or as few site names as you would like to describe the work completed in the creation of your resource. Use the "add another keyword" to add more sites. Click the trashcan icon to delete site names that you entered in error or that you no longer want to associate with the project. 

 

 

General Keywords

General keywords allow you to add any additional terms that are not included in the other resource metadata.  This may include specific types of investigations undertaken as part of resource creation (e.g., "material sourcing","ceramic petrography","experimental archaeology"), specific site types ("rock gardens", "ground stone production area","shrine"), etc.

Enter these keywords into the text box provided. If you decide to enter additional keywords, enter succinct keyword terms that accurately describe your project. Also, enter succinct terms that researchers in your area use commonly.

 Choose whether or not you want general keywords inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

 

 

 

Resource Notes

The resource notes field allows you to enter any additional information about your resource that is not captured in the resource metadata fields. This field acts as a comments section, where you can enter a small narrative that might help other users better understand some important aspect of the resource you are uploading to tDAR. 

Select the type of note you wish to create from the "Type" drop-down box. Enter your note in the text field provided. 

 Choose whether or not you want any notes inherited from the parent project. For more information on inheritance, please the section on "Inheriting Values" above.

 

 

 

 

 

Access Rights

At the resource (e.g., document) level, access rights allow you (the project creator) to specify two kinds of users: 

  1. read-only users -- users who can view and download the resource file
  2. metadata only users - users who can modify the resource's metadata but CANNOT manage/download resource files
  3. full-rights users -- users who can modify the resource's metadata AND manage/download resource files

Note that access rights allow you to control ONLY who can EDIT the resource metadata and who can VIEW and DOWNLOAD the resource file. Access rights do NOT allow you to control who can view the resource metadata. 

To specify read-only users, select "View All" from the drop down menu to the right. Enter the names of persons who have the right to view and download resource files. You can grant these rights ONLY to registered tDAR users. When you begin to type in any of the text boxes provided, tDAR will provide suggestions to you from among its registered users. Select the tDAR user(s) that have the right to download attached files.

To specify metadata only users, select "Modify Metadata" from the drop down menu to the right. Enter the names of the persons who have the right to edit resource metadata only. You can grant access rights ONLY to registered tDAR users. When you begin to type in any of the text boxes provided, tDAR will provide suggestions to you from among its registered users. Select the tDAR user(s) that have the right to edit this resource. 

To specify full-right's users, select "Modify Files & Metadata" from the drop down menu to the right. Enter the names of persons who have the right to edit resource metadata and manage/download resource files. You can grant access rights ONLY to registered tDAR users. 

 

Why don't I see the "Users who can view/download the attached file(s)" section?

This access rights section is only visible when you mark a resource as confidential or as embargoed. 

If you did not mark your resource as confidential or as embargoed, then your resource file(s) are available to all tDAR users. You cannot control the access rights to the file(s). You will need to mark these resources as confidential or embargoed if you would like to control access.

 

 

 

Done? Time to Save

Once you've completed your resource entry, click the "Save" button at the bottom of the project page or on the toolbar at the top of the page to save your metadata.