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How do you create INSPIRE Metadata using the new ArcGIS metadata editor? This tutorial provides step-by-step guidance. The new ArcGIS metadata editor, available in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3+, makes creating metadata in compliance with the European Commission's Open Data Directive and INSPIRE Directive easier than ever. UPDATED 8-July 2026 to reflect transition of the INSPIRE infrastructure to EU horizontal services. The section on Additional Distributions has been flagged as optional. The section on INSPIRE validation is retained for historical purposes only. UPDATED 23-Aug 2024 Added that these instructions apply to ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3+ using the new metadata editor. Need the metadata editor classic? Here are instructions using ArcGIS Enterprise 11.9 - 11.2, Create INSPIRE Metadata v2 with ArcGIS Enterprise using Metadata Editor Classic   Before You Begin This lesson assumes that you have content in ArcGIS Enterprise or Online, for example, a hosted Feature Layer, and your organization's administrator has enabled metadata with the European ‘INSPIRE Metadata Directive’ style. Administrators configure the metadata style in the organization settings. Verify that you are signed in, have privileges to create content, and that your organization has enabled metadata. From the 'My Content' tab of the content page, click ‘View Details’ of the item you want to create INSPIRE metadata for. Review Item Settings Review the item Settings and update as needed. Click on the item ‘Settings’ tab. The following are best practices[1] for shared authoritative content: As appropriate, mark the item as ‘’Authoritative’ to recommend the use of this item. Check the box to enable delete protection. Click ‘Save.’ As appropriate, ensure editing is disabled or approve the layer to be shared when editing is enabled.  At the bottom of the dialog, check the ‘Export Data’ box to allow others to export the data. This will enable downloads for your open data in different formats. Click ‘Save,’ then return to the item ‘Overview’ tab. When ready, ‘Share’ the item with everyone (public). Create INSPIRE Metadata Click the ‘Metadata’ button to open the metadata editor. Complete the metadata elements on the Essential tab as described below.[2] The editor has two main tabs: Essential metadata and All metadata. Essential metadata includes all the required elements for the INSPIRE metadata style. When you open the editor for the first time, existing values are populated from the item information: title, tags, snippet, description, accessinformation, licenseinfo, and extent. For your convenience, some INSPIRE-required elements are pre-populated with static values, such as the keyword thesaurus title, INSPIRE specification title and publication date. If you published the item from a layer in ArcGIS Pro that already contained metadata, the metadata flows to ArcGIS Online. Required elements have an asterisk (*) next to them. While not required, suggested metadata elements, such as item thumbnails, are included to improve content discoverability and reuse.   In the Essential metadata tab, complete the required and suggested elements. Steps to Fulfill INSPIRE Metadata Requirements Item Description elements Title* The title is automatically provided from the item information (updating the title in the metadata editor does not change the item title). A clear title conveys the topic, location, and date when relevant. Follow the pattern: "LayerTopic of Jurisdiction" and include time period when relevant. learn more Required Summary (Purpose) Provide a short yet descriptive summary to be displayed when content is shared. Aim for a 7th-9th grade reading level to reach a broad audience. Use a free readability analysis tool to test your text. Include keywords different from those in your title to increase discoverability. learn more Suggested Thumbnail Click 'Edit Thumbnail' to add an image or create thumbnail from map. The standard thumbnail size is 600 x 400 px. The thumbnail image is displayed on layout cards and content views. learn more Suggested Description (Abstract)* Tell visitors about your content. Describe “what, where, when, why, who, and how” about the data. If appropriate, consider including the definition from the INSPIRE theme register http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/theme as part of your abstract. learn more Required Tags Add narrower terms that could be used to search for the resource. Suggested Topic Category(s)* Assign one or more ISO Categories for browsing and discovery. Required Credits (Attribution) Acknowledge the source of the content and other support. Suggested Use Limitation (Terms of Use) Add any general terms of use. For example, enter “CC0” (without quotes). If you add a Creative Commons license by either the name or the URL and share to a Hub catalog, the item’s dataset page will display the Creative Commons license icon and link to the appropriate license details web page. If you add an Open Data Commons license (PDDL, ODbL, ODC-By), the dataset page will display the license name and link to the appropriate license details web page. A public licence is required by the High-Value Dataset Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 Constraints INSPIRE Limitations On Public Access* Choose an ‘Access Constraint’ statement from the dropdown menu, for example, choose “no limitations to public access.” If public access is limited, choose which part of Article 13 of the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC provides the basis for those limitations. If public access is limited, you must describe the reason for the legal constraints. Go to the ALL metadata tab Constraints section. Click ‘Add another section card’ to choose Legal Constraints, then add a free-text description in Other Constraints. See the INSPIRE Registry for definitions of Limitations on public access https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/metadata-codelist/LimitationsOnPublicAccess Required INSPIRE Conditions Applying to Access and Use* Choose a ‘Use Limitation’ statement from the dropdown menu, for example, choose “no conditions to access and use.” If there are known conditions, these must be described. Required Use Limitation Terms of Use appearing in the Item Description also appears here. These values are synced - changes in either update the other. Note, Licence is required by Open Data Directive (EU) 2019/1024 Extents Geographic Extent* If an extent hasn’t already been provided, click the ’Select extent’ button to add a bounding box location, or provide the bounding coordinates in the appropriate text boxes in decimal degrees, based on the WGS84 coordinate reference system. Required Temporal Extent If a time period or set of dates better represents the item's temporal reference than the dates provided in the Citation, click ‘Overview > Extents > Extents’ to jump to this section in All metadata. Click + Add another extent to add either Temporal Extent or Temporal Instant to provide this information. Conditional - as needed, use the All metadata tab to add a temporal extent Keywords Theme Keywords* Click the ’Lookup’ button to open the INSPIRE Keyword Lookup dialog. In the dialog, as needed, choose an appropriate language from the drop-down list then select at least one keyword from the INSPIRE Spatial Data Themes vocabulary. Click ‘Accept.’ Required Thesaurus Title* The INSPIRE GEMET Keyword Thesaurus title is automatically provided. Required Thesaurus Dates* For the GEMET thesaurus, the publication date (“2008-06-01”) is automatically provided. Required Resource Info Details > Spatial Representation Type* Choose an appropriate value, for example, select ‘Vector’ for feature layers. Required Resource Contact Organization Name* Enter the name of the organisation responsible for the dataset. Required Resource Contact Role* Choose an appropriate value from the drop-down list, for example, ‘Point of Contact’. Required Resource Contact Email* Enter an email address for the resource contact. Required Resource Language* Choose one of the official EU languages from the dropdown list. Required Citation Citation Title* The title automatically provided in the Item Description also appears here. These titles are synced - changes in either update the other. Required Citation Identifiers* Enter "publication” (enter exactly as written, without quotes). Required Citation Dates* Choose a citation date type (Created, Published, or Updated) and add an appropriate date. > TIP: Click the clock icon to add the current date. Required Distribution** Digital Transfer Options: Online Distribution* The access link/URL to the item web service is automatically provided. Required Distribution Format Name* Enter a format name, for example, “GeoService” without quotes. Required Distribution Format Version* Enter a format version, for example, “not applicable” without quotes. Required Quality Lineage Statement* Enter a lineage statement, for example, “Data were loaded from source data into INSPIRE GDB template, then published to ArcGIS Online.” Required Report Type* Choose “Domain Consistency” from the dropdown list. Required Conformance Result - Outcome* Describe the outcome of testing. If your dataset is conformant, choose “Pass” from the dropdown list; otherwise, choose “Fail.” Required Conformance Result - Explanation* A citation of the specification against which conformity was tested, for example, enter: “See the referenced specification” (without quotes). Required Report Specification Title* The INSPIRE specification title is automatically provided; as needed, click ‘Lookup’ to choose the report name in a different EU language. Required Report Specification Dates* The required INSPIRE specification date is automatically provided and cannot be edited. Required Scope of Report* As needed, choose "Dataset" or "Series" from the drop-down list. Required Spatial Info Coordinate Reference System - Unique Identifier Code* Enter the spatial reference code “WGS84” (enter exactly as written, without quotes). Required Metadata Details Metadata File Identifier* A globally unique identifier (GUID) for the item is automatically provided. Required Metadata Date* Choose the date when the metadata was last updated. > TIP: Click the clock icon to add the current date. Required Metadata Language* Choose the language in which the metadata elements are expressed; choose the language from the dropdown menu. Required Metadata Character Set* ArcGIS metadata is always encoded in UTF-8 format. The value is pre-populated. Required Metadata Scope (Hierarchy)* If the item you are describing is a layer, "Dataset" should already be selected (if it is not already, select "Dataset" from the drop-down list). If the item you describe is not a dataset, click the drop-down list and choose an appropriate value. Required Metadata Contact  Organization* Enter the name of the organisation responsible for the metadata as free text. Required Metadata Contact Role* Choose an appropriate contact role value in the Role drop-down list. For example, choose “Point of Contact.” Required Metadata Contact Email* Enter an email address for the metadata contact. Required     Optional Additional Distributions** IMPORTANT UPDATE: On 1-July 2026, the INSPIRE Geoportal was decommissioned. INSPIRE-aligned High-Value Dataset (HVD) are now accessed through the EU Open Data Portal (data.europa.eu [data.europa.eu]). Implementation requirements for HVD available in machine-readable formats via APIs and bulk download can be met without adding these additional distributions. Therefore, this section has been updated to "optional."   Users can easily reuse ArcGIS REST services in third-party apps that support the GeoServices REST open specification — consult the documentation provided with the third-party app. The INSPIRE Directive requires data providers to also share “View” and “Download” services based on OGC specifications. In the past, these services required separate metadata documents. Today, INSPIRE allows a more straightforward approach by adding additional distributions in the dataset metadata (no longer requiring separate metadata for the services). INSPIRE technical guidance calls this 'Linked service metadata for datasets and dataset series.' [3] Jill_SaligoeSimmel_1-1709392926927.png Here’s how: Create the View Service – After completing the above metadata on the parent feature layer, publish a Tile Layer[4] as a child service (or use an existing WMS or WMTS). Share the Tile Layer item with everyone (public), then copy the WTMS URL from the bottom of the item overview page. Keep this URL handy; you will use it in step #3. Create the Download Service – Return to the parent layer and publish an OGC Feature Layer as a child service. Share the OGC Feature Layer item with everyone (public), then copy the URL from the bottom of the item overview page. Keep this URL handy; you will use it in the following step. Update the Dataset Metadata – Return to the parent layer and open the metadata editor. Click the ‘All metadata’ tab and choose ‘Distribution’ from the left sidebar. Complete the following information: The first ‘Online Distribution’ > ‘Access Link/URL’ automatically provides the GeoServices REST URL. Click the ‘+’ next to the ‘Online Distribution’ heading to add another distribution. Access Link/URL – paste the URL of the WMTS from the Tile Layer from the previous step. Connection Protocol [5] – enter the label “OGC Web Map Tile Service” exactly as written, without quotes. Application Profile – enter “View Service” exactly as written, without quotes. Protocol Name – enter “INSPIRE View service (WMTS)” Distribution Function – choose “Information” from the drop-down list. Click the ‘+’ next to the ‘Online Distribution’ heading to add another distribution. Access Link/URL – paste the URL of the OGC Feature Layer from the previous step. Connection Protocol – enter the label “OGC API-Features” exactly as written, without quotes. Application Profile – enter “Download Service” exactly as written, without quotes. Protocol Name – enter “INSPIRE Download service (OAPIF)” Distribution Function – choose “Download” from the drop-down list. Click 'Save' Then View Your Metadata Click ‘Save’ to save the metadata. Click the three-dot ellipse button and choose ‘View XML’ to view the standards-based metadata in a separate tab. Jill_SaligoeSimmel_3-1709393660443.png Check Your Metadata Using the INSPIRE Reference Validator IMPORTANT UPDATE: As of 1 April 2026, the European Commission has stopped maintenance of the INSPIRE Validator. This section is retained for historical purposes.   You will use either the metadata URL or download the metadata XML file for testing. For publicly shared items, copy the URL from your browser menu bar up to ?format=default (do not include the &token= ). Jill_SaligoeSimmel_4-1709393705057.png Alternatively, use your browser’s ‘File > Save As’ menu to save the XML file for use with the INSPIRE Reference Validator. Open the official INSPIRE Reference Validator in a web browser and click ’Test your data, services, or metadata’ to start a test. Advanced options include Conformance Class 8: INSPIRE data sets and data set series linked service metadata (for additional distributions described above). Jill_SaligoeSimmel_5-1709393705061.png     Jill_SaligoeSimmel_6-1709393705078.png   Add Your Metadata To Test Choose ‘Remote file’ or ‘File upload’ then follow instructions to provide your metadata to test and click ’Start test’. Jill_SaligoeSimmel_7-1709393705083.png Check the Status of Your Report The validator runs its tests and generates a report. View the results to see your metadata "Passed" inspection. It may fail some tests if you left metadata elements blank or incorrectly filled in elements when creating your metadata. Click the “See report” link to expand sections and view detailed results. Then, return to the ArcGIS metadata editor and update your metadata as needed. Jill_SaligoeSimmel_8-1709393705097.png You're Finished! For your convenience, you can download the example metadata file used in this lesson along with the Validator 'Passed' report (generated 18-May-2021) to assist you in your metadata creation.   [1] Want more best practices? Explore our Best Practices for Authoritative Data Providers. [2] Note, in the ArcGIS Online 2024 Spring release, the metadata editor (Classic) can be accessed from the metadata button drop-down. [3] The distributions are checked in the INSPIRE Validator Conformance Class 8: 'INSPIRE data sets and data set series linked service metadata.’ It is recommended that you use this simplified approach. [4] Note publishing Tile Layers consumes credits. [5] The ‘Connection Protocol’ labels considered valid by the INSPIRE Reference Validator are presented in the table below: Jill_SaligoeSimmel_2-1709393311185.png ... View more

The ArcGIS tutorial, How To Publish and Share Streamlined INSPIRE Data and Services, has been updated to reflect approved protocol values for service level simplification. The values that will be considered as valid in the INSPIRE Reference Validator are presented in the table below: INSPIRE Metadata service linking distribution prototcol values - accepted Nov 2023.png   ... View more

With the Fall ArcGIS Online 2023 release, the new metadata editor is officially out of Beta. Metadata, sometimes referred to as data about data, provides useful context for data. Having good metadata makes it easier to find and use quality data, increases accessibility, and ensures effective content sharing. The new metadata editor provides a streamlined metadata editing experience, with quick visibility of one’s metadata based on the metadata style configured. As highlighted in the Summer 2023 release, the new editor allows you to: Quickly complete what’s needed, creating essential metadata compliant with international open standards Complete more robust documentation, including optional metadata elements Search and find metadata elements Add thumbnails to items View, download, and overwrite metadata records Enable Metadata for your Organization Administrators can enable and configure metadata settings for their organization, allowing item owners to edit metadata for their items based on the metadata style configured. Once metadata is enabled, item owners and administrators will have access to the new and classic metadata editors from the item’s details page. Enable-metadata-1 Enable metadata for your organization   Check out the new Editor Once metadata is enabled, item owners and administrators can navigate to their item’s details page to explore the new metadata editor. What you should know: The new editor is the default option when editing metadata Enabling metadata for an organization provides access to both the new and the classic metadata editor There are two metadata tabs: Essential metadata and All metadata. Essential metadata includes all the required elements for the organization’s metadata style The search feature provides a way to find matching metadata elements The new metadata editor incorporates validation messages, displaying completed metadata elements with a green checkmark The redesigned and streamlined metadata form provides an improved metadata editing and viewing experience Metadata-button-1 Launch the metadata editor   The new metadata editor makes editing great metadata seamless. Once administrators configure the organization’s metadata style, the new editor provides an overall view of the required elements from the Essential metadata tab. Using metadata standards, the new editor has an internal validator that enables you to complete your metadata while navigating through the metadata elements. Additionally, item owners and administrators can now add item thumbnails from the new editor. We are excited to release the new metadata editor and thrilled for you to try it! Untitled-Project8 Edit metadata   The long-term goal is to reduce the complexity, enhance, and unify the metadata editing experience across the ArcGIS platform. As you explore the new editor, look out for future enhancements in the road ahead. Share your feedback on the Metadata, Catalogs and Search Esri Community.   --- This article was originally published by @Laura_B on October 05, 2023 in the ArcGIS Blog ... View more

Save the date! Join us on 28-29 November for the INSPIRE 2023 conference "Green data for all" in Brussels (Borschette Conference Centre) or online. Digital transformation brings in new business models, introducing new digital technologies. In a similar way, INSPIRE is changing the way governments and businesses deal with geospatial data. The 2023 INSPIRE conference provides an excellent opportunity to consult the community of stakeholders on the initial findings of the GreenData4All impact assessment and possible policy options for the evolution of the INSPIRE Directive into a key instrument to populate the Green Deal Data Space with relevant data. https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/events/inspire-conference-2023  ... View more

This is a summary of the original ArcGIS Blog post.   Searching for content is a foundational part of your ArcGIS Hub catalog. A good search empowers users to easily and quickly find the information they’re seeking as well as discover new content. We know how much work you put into curating your content and we are excited to unveil what we’ve been working on over the past several months to make Hub search a great experience. Check out the latest blog post, What’s New on ArcGIS Hub Search to learn more about: Your Thumbnails: Front and Center Enhanced Filters  Keeping Layers Together  You can enable the new experience for all users by clicking on the link in the search catalog. If you’d like to go back to the old version, you can change back to the classic view at any time.   We’re excited to enable your users with more ways to find the content they’re seeking. We encourage you to check out the new search view and share your feedback on ArcGIS Hub Esri Community. ... View more

Congratulations to Geoscience Australia and the AU geospatial community on the launch of the Digital Atlas of Australia beta version. This article is was originally published on Spatial Source. The public-facing Beta version of the Digital Atlas of Australia went live on 30 June 2023, enabling users anywhere to take advantage of the many options it offers. The Atlas brings together a range of ‘trusted national datasets’ from across government and presents them on an interactive online platform. The Atlas, which is based upon an ‘Integrated Geospatial Infrastructure,’ aims to connect data “across borders to transform and streamline how we connect, manage and use data. This infrastructure will move us from data swamps and silos to a digital ecosystem enabling seamless integration, sharing, and analysis of location data.” The initiative was introduced as a result of two strategies outlined in the Federal Budget 2021–22 — the Digital Economy Strategy and Australian Data Strategy, which, together, aim to “transform Australia into a modern and leading digital economy by 2023 and focus on improving the accessibility and discoverability of the wealth of data held by Commonwealth organisations”. In a statement issued in May 2021, Dr James Johnson, CEO of Geoscience Australia, said that the new platform “will embed analysis tools that allow anyone to explore, graph, analyse and compare information that meets their needs in their neighbourhood and across the country”. “For example, a business will be able to explore and download demographic profiles of towns and regions, along with information on infrastructure, to determine the most commercially-viable places to set up new outlets, anywhere in Australia — making virtual design and planning possible without even having to visit the site.” The Atlas has been operating for a few months with access restricted to a limited number of government users. But with the Beta version now live, anyone can jump online and try it out. The Atlas groups data into a number of different themes: Administrative boundaries Buildings and settlements Land cover and land use Physical infrastructure Population distribution Transport and transport infrastructure Water bodies Data will also be discoverable according to specific ‘initiatives,’ the first of which is bushfire intelligence, which brings together a new Historical Bushfires dataset and a range of interactive products to support bushfire research, national emergency management and risk management. Further data will be added to the Atlas over the next two years, with final operating capability due in June 2025. The following video provides a deep dive into the Atlas, how it came about and what it offers. https://youtu.be/tNRTeBbBGds  ... View more

Join us for conversations and bite-sized spotlight talks in the Open Platform Showcase. The Esri User Conference (Esri UC) has many presentations and events with hundreds of topics covered. To help you find your way to the Open Platform (Open Geospatial Standards, Metadata, Catalog, & Search, Geospatial Collaboration, SDI & INSPIRE, and Data Interoperability) related sessions and events, we have prepared a more focused agenda. Get the focused agenda. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego! ... View more

What is the primary goal of the Metadata Editor beta? To improve the quality of metadata for authoritative content used by organizations and shared publicly while simplifying and minimizing the effort required effort by data owners, publishers, and curators. What functionality should I expect in the public beta? Our target for the public beta is functional equivalency with the existing Metadata Editors. It does not include enhancements to publication workflows across products. Functional equivalency is a precursor to our making enhancements in a unified way across the ArcGIS system. Is it only for ArcGIS Online? Eventually, the experience will be unified across the ArcGIS system. Today, the Metadata Editor beta is only available in ArcGIS Online for organizations that have enabled metadata. How do I use the Metadata Editor beta to complete a metadata record? Light-weight guidance is available in this blog post. The ArcGIS Online documentation covers both the current (classic) editor and Metadata Editor beta. We'd like to hear your thoughts on the new interface, its functionality, and any other observations you would like to share. What is the roadmap for the Metadata Editor beta? Unifying the Metadata Editor across our core products is a long-term project. The public beta is part of the ArcGIS Online summer 2023 release. Later phases will move to a public beta in other products and full integration across all products. We will work in a step-wise fashion to ensure the transition is smooth from existing editors. ... View more