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this property is set to true for all nodes. This property is not visible in the Metadata file, but it can be
used in a Run Script task via the Metadata API.
Metadata Tools in PlanetPress Design
PlanetPress Suite includes a complete set of Metadata-related functionality, which can be referred to
as Metadata Tools. These tools can be used to generate Metadata, retrieve or define Metadata ele-
ments, and build the Metadata structure of a PlanetPress Design document. For information about
these tools see the Design user guide: PlanetPress Design 7.6 User Guide.
Working with Metadata
A set of special Workflow plugins allows to edit the Metadata during a Workflow process (see
"Metadata" on page66 and "Metadata tasks" on page467). This topic describes what you have to know
about Metadata in order to be able to use these plugins effectively.
How data and Metadata influence each other
When Metadata are created, they are based upon a data file. However, modifying one file doesn't auto-
matically change the other, and Metadata aren't reset by default in a Branch, Condition or Loop.
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Modifying Metadata does not immediately modify the data. This is one of the benefits of
Metadata because you can sort it, filter it, sequence it, add data to it, without ever modifying the
data file itself. This is important because if you, for instance, filter out certain data pages from the
Metadata and then save your data file with the Send to Folder task, the full data file is saved, not
the filtered one. However in some cases Metadata does affect your output directly (see "How
Metadata affects the output" on the next page).
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Modifying data does not immediately modify the Metadata. So, if you have a PDF file with
Metadata and you use a PDF splitter, the Metadata information would still reflect the original
data, not the split. This can generally be resolved by using the Create Metadata plugin (again).
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Branches, Conditions and Loops (such as the "PDF Splitter" on page412) do not reset the
Metadata. This is important to know in cases where Metadata does affect your output (see "How
Metadata affects the output" on the next page). Not handling the Metadata properly in such cases
can cause confusing issues because the Metadata and the Data may become out of sync.
How tasks influence Metadata
As a general rule, only Input tasks and Metadata related tasks modify Metadata. There are, however, a
few notable exceptions:
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"Run Script" on page426 tasks can modify Metadata using the "Metadata API" on page162 (see
"Using Scripts" on page117).
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"Create PDF" on page364 has the option to reset your Metadata according to the new PDF file.
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