Metadata Mapping for Bulk Upload
Your artwork information helps tell the story behind each piece. With Bulk Upload, My Art Registry can import supported metadata you have already added to your Thumbnail files, reducing the information you need to enter again.
Metadata mapping connects information embedded in a file to the corresponding MAR fields. It is optional: you can upload artworks with complete, partial, or no supported metadata and complete the remaining information later.
Where MAR Reads Your Metadata
MAR reads XMP metadata from the Thumbnail only. Metadata embedded in a Print file or Image file is ignored.
You can use the MAR custom template in Adobe Bridge or another tool that writes the supported XMP properties. Standard metadata is imported through the XMP properties listed below; EXIF or legacy IPTC entries alone are not a substitute for those properties.
How Your Fields Are Mapped
| MAR field | XMP property | Artwork type |
|---|---|---|
| Category | mar:Category | Print and Digital |
| Title | dc:title | Print and Digital |
| Description | dc:description | Print and Digital |
| Created | photoshop:DateCreated | Print and Digital |
| Artwork size unit | mar:SizeUnit | Print only |
| Artwork width | mar:Width | Print only |
| Artwork height | mar:Height | Print only |
| Media type | mar:MediaType | Print only |
If you use another metadata tool, the namespace and property name must identify the same XMP field. The prefixes above are shorthand for these namespaces:
mar:http://myartregistry.com/ns/1.0/dc:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/photoshop:http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/
Other XMP properties are ignored. For Digital artworks, Artwork size and Media type metadata are also ignored.
Category
Category must match a supported value for your artwork type. The MAR custom template shows readable names and stores the corresponding values for you.
| Category | Stored XMP value | Digital | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photography | Photography | Yes | Yes |
| Paintings | Paintings | Yes | Yes |
| Drawings and Illustrations | DrawingsAndIllustrations | Yes | Yes |
| Mixed techniques | MixedTechniques | Yes | No |
| AI art | AiArt | No | Yes |
Stored values must match exactly, including capitalisation and spacing. For example, photography does not match Photography. MAR does not correct spelling, remove extra spaces, or match a display label in place of the stored value.
If Category is missing, unreadable, unrecognised, or unavailable for the selected artwork type, MAR assigns Uncategorized. This is a valid Category and does not by itself prevent conversion to Draft or publishing.
Title and Description
A Title of 1-80 characters is imported as supplied. Longer Titles are shortened to the first 80 characters.
If Title is missing, empty, or unreadable, MAR creates one from the Thumbnail filename. It removes the extension and recognised Thumbnail suffix, normalises the name, and makes it readable. For example, blue_mountain@thumb.jpg becomes Blue mountain. The generated Title is also limited to 80 characters.
If the filename produces no usable Title, MAR uses Title is missing. You can replace this with a more suitable Title later; the fallback itself does not block conversion to Draft or publishing.
Description is handled according to its length:
| Description in XMP | Import result |
|---|---|
| Missing, empty, unreadable, or fewer than 50 characters | Description remains empty |
| 50-500 characters | Imported as supplied |
| More than 500 characters | First 500 characters are imported |
For Title and Description containing language alternatives, MAR uses the readable x-default value when available. Otherwise, it uses the first readable language alternative and applies the same length rules.
Created
Enter a valid creation date in photoshop:DateCreated. MAR reads the date and stores only the year. For example, 2024-06-15 becomes 2024.
The current year and past years are accepted. Missing, empty, unreadable dates or dates with a year later than the current year leave Created empty.
Artwork Size for Print Artworks
Artwork size describes the physical dimensions of a Print artwork. It is separate from the pixel dimensions used to validate image files.
The unit, width, and height are imported together only when all three are valid:
| Stored unit | Permitted width and height |
|---|---|
mm | 100-10000 millimetres for each dimension |
in | 4-393 inches for each dimension |
Use whole numbers without a unit suffix in the width and height fields. Unit values must be exactly mm or in.
For example, mm, 500, and 700 describe a 500 x 700 mm artwork. If any of the three values is missing or invalid, MAR leaves the entire Artwork size group empty.
Media Type for Print Artworks
Choose Media type from the MAR custom template's dropdown. MAR imports the exact stored integration value when it matches a supported Media Type.
For example, Photo Rag 308 is displayed in the form, while PhotoRag308 is stored in XMP. Entering Photo Rag 308 directly as the stored value does not produce a match.
Other media (non Hahnemühle) is supported through the stored value OtherMedia. Missing, unreadable, or unrecognised values leave Media Type empty.
Review Your Artwork Information
A missing or invalid metadata value does not prevent other valid fields from being imported. Even if XMP cannot be read, an otherwise successful upload can still create a Temp artwork.
After the task ends, review your artworks in Temporary Artworks. Bulk conversion to Draft retains imported information and allows you to complete missing required details later. Individual conversion opens the Step Guide, where the required Draft information must be completed before saving. Publishing requires all applicable validation rules to be satisfied.