Some Concepts That Underpin GIS - Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS - page 60

FIGURE 1-29
To expand or contract metadata click the text heading. It works somewhat like the Catalog Tree expansion
and contraction. A down-pointing triangle is like a plus sign; it means that there is hidden material below.
A right pointing triangle is like a minus sign; it means that the entry has been expended.
33. Expand the ArcGIS Metadata section (scroll down to find it) and expand any sections that aren't
already expanded. Explore. Look specifically for Extents, which are coordinates that Esri derives
automatically. Also automatically generated is information about attributes such as data type,
precision and so on.
34. Now look again at the ArcGIS Metadata and the Resource Identification information. Spend a bit
of time exploring. This metadata is incomplete. Because of that you can get an idea of what is
desired for complete metadata.
35. Continue to explore the metadata by expanding all the triangles under ArcGIS Metadata as well
as FGDC Metadata. When they are expanded, they point to the right instead of pointing down.
Also continue to compare metadata as best as you can and decide for yourself which set is
more useful.
36. Check out the description by expanding the various sections. Compare the two types of
metadata. What is the size of the data set? __________MB. (Hint: It's under Distribution
Information.)