Getting started with GeoNetwork
Getting Started
Reference
https://agiorguk.github.io/gemini/1062-gemini-datasets-and-data-series (The official Gemini documentation)
https://docs.geonetwork-opensource.org/stable/ (The official GeoNetwork documentation for the stable version)
First Login
Your Astun consultant will provide you with the URL to your metadata portal. Click on the Sign in button in the top right corner.
In the Sign in pop-up, click the Create an account button
Fill in your details on the following page, choosing the profile type that you require. This will generally be an Editor (if you only need access to create and modify metadata records) or User administrator (if you also need to be able to manage the catalogue, for example, add other users, manage records ownership, etc.). Then click Register.
Please note that full administrative access (Administrator) is not allowed for customer portals so requests for this type of account will be converted to User administrator.
An email notification will then be sent to the portal administrator at Astun, who will verify and enable the account.
Finding metadata
GeoNetwork provides several search options. Once logged in, you will have buttons for Search and Contribute on the top menu. Simply using the search bar on the landing page will automatically redirect you to the Search page.
The Contribute page is only available to users with Editor privileges or higher.
Using the Search tab, you can search by record title or UUID (the unique identifier of the metadata record). You can use the filters in the column on the left to narrow down your results. You can also narrow your search geographically by using the map widget in the bottom right corner.
Similar options are available from the Contribute tab, but with different filter options, aimed more at the editors of the catalogues rather than regular users.
To find dataset-type records select Dataset from the Filter menu. All the dataset-type records for your authority will be listed in the results pane. From there you can select the edit button for each record.
Further Advanced search options can be accessed from the menu next to the search (magnifier) button and they include the option to look for an exact match, search amongst the records owned by the current user only or limit the search to records based on their temporal extent.
Completion and Validation of Metadata
Detailed instructions on editing and validating records can be found onCreate a UK Gemini 2.3 compliant Metadata Record in GeoNetwork. This page also includes information on creating service records and adding resource indicators such as View (WMS) and Download (WFS) links.
Deleting metadata records
This process cannot be easily undone!
Locate the dataset that you wish to delete, using the search facility, and click the title to view the metadata.
On the metadata page, click the Delete button to PERMANENTLY delete the record. You will be asked for confirmation before deleting, so if you have made a mistake, click Cancel on the prompt window.
It is also possible to delete multiple records from the search results by selecting them and choosing Delete from the dropdown action menu. Again, you will be asked for confirmation that you wish to do this.
Importing existing metadata
It is possible to add new metadata to the catalogue by importing it from an existing XML file.
Choose Import new records from the Contribute menu.
Of the available options, choose either Upload a file from your computer if you have the metadata as a file, or Copy/Paste to copy the XML from another system. Assuming you selected Upload a file click the green Choose or drop resource here button and navigate to the location of the file on your computer.
Choose the following options:
Type of record: Metadata
Record identifier processing: Generate UUID for inserted metadata - if you are creating a new resource OR Overwrite metadata with same UUID - if you wish to replace an existing record
Apply XSLT Conversion: Leave this blank if you are importing a Gemini 2.3 metadata record, otherwise, ask your Astun consultant for other options.
Validate: Leave this blank
Publish: Select this if you want the record to be published to non-logged-in users as well, otherwise, leave this unticked.
Assign to group: Choose the correct group to assign your record to (this will be the group your user is also a member of), if unsure, ask your Astun consultant for advice.
Assign to category: Choose INSPIRE or ENTERPRISE depending on your requirements. NOTE: this can be changed later.
Click the blue Import button. GeoNetwork will confirm that the record or records have been successfully added or will show an error. Generally, errors occur if the imported metadata contains broken XML, or if the record has the same UUID as an existing record, but you have NOT chosen to overwrite or generate a new UUID.
You can click the pencil icon next to a record to go straight to its editing page, or the eye icon to view the record page. Alternatively, you can simply return to the Search page from the top menu to view the new records in the catalogue.
Setting access rights to new metadata records
See Metadata Publication: Enterprise or INSPIRE+Enterprise for a more detailed explanation of publishing on Enterprise metadata portals.
The privileges of a record determine whether a record can be viewed by non-logged-in users, which users can edit it, and whether it is available to the Catalogue Service for the Web (CSW) endpoint. To see whether your records are publicly accessible, select the Contribute button. An unlocked padlock icon means that the record is viewable when not logged into the catalogue. A locked padlock icon means it is not.
To unpublish a published record, or vice versa, select the record from the list and choose Unpublish or Publish as appropriate from the dropdown actions menu.
The Publish and Unpublish options are shortcuts for setting the most common privilege options. More granular options are available from the Update privileges menu option- see your Astun Consultant for more information on this.
The Publish/Unpublish (depending on the record’s publication status) and Privileges options are also available when viewing a metadata record if your user has permission to change them, from the Manage record dropdown.
