Metadata contacts - streamline process

[AndyCameron]

The metadata editor (at least for ESRI INSPIRE template) functionality for saving/reusing contacts in 10.1 needs to be streamlined (or failing that the online help needs to be more explicit).

The process as far as I can tell (if there's something I'm missing I'd love to know) is as follows:
 
1. Click on Metadata>Contacts (once in an edit session for the Description tab)
2. Fill out contact info to whatever degree you want it to be made available to other items
3. Click on Overview>Contacts Manager
4. Tick the contact(s) you have just entered that you would like to save
5. Save the metadata edit session
 
Only then will your metadata contact info be available for edit sessions on other items. The step that's strange is that you fill out the info under Metadata>Contacts and then have to decide on whether you save it or not under the Overview>Contacts Manager - you would expect either to be able to do it all under the same tab or at the very least be able to enter, edit AND save under the Contacts Manager tab and then SELECT which one you want under the Contacts tab. I'm sure the ISO Metadata editor in 9.2 was a lot more intuitive in this respect.

[GregPayne1]

It would be great if the contacts saved could be shared within an organisation without copying the contacts.xml file to every PC and every user.  Please let me know if I have missed how.

[cathieharper]

there is more than just this as a problem.  Here is the link to the problem(s) that I and others have had and the work around that ESRI Canada gave me in 2012.

https://community.esri.com/thread/57856

[cathieharper]

it was listed as a bug in 2012  NIM086273  but it has been closed and considered non-reproducible/by design.  And the ESRI INC ANALYST back in 2012 stated " The behaviour with the contacts metadata you have inquired about, is as designed. Metadata must be created for individual items and is not interconnected with other ArcGIS items."

this to me it a totally ridiculous response as

1.  why is there a Contacts manager then if 'metadata must be created for individual items and is not interconnected with other ARrcGIS items'

2.  why would you not want to be able to update contact information? one very simple possible update is a telephone number change (which mine has TWICE since 2012)  since I created the original metadata.  I need to create FROM SCRATCH and new record for EACH of the FIVE different roles that I can have in a metadata record.  That is totally ridiculous and results in a lot of time consuming efforts by metadata editors.

3.  why would there not AUTOMATICALLY be a link between the Contacts Manager and the Load Contact list function so that if you change the name of the contact that it would then be updated in the Pick List.