Topic: Archive.org upload problem: waiting for user to enter metadata?

[Brian Skalinder]

Having trouble completing the upload process at archive.org?  Receiving a message like:

"No metadata describing files found. Waiting for user to enter metadata."

Ripped off from a Thoman8r post:

Archive.org is now using an XML interface to enter metadata for each file.  It's supposed to be "smart" and try to grab it from your info file, but sometimes it's not successful if the file is absent or in a non-standard format.

To add your own metadata when the website fails to complete the process for you:

[1] Go to the Contribution Center for the show you uploaded
[2] In the upper right you'll see a File Options link that opens the metadata interface.
[3] Enter metadata

• file type *
• title
• creator

* For FLAC fingerprints, I set the type to MD5; for info files, TXT.

[greenone]

This isn't quite right...none of the metadata is collected ahead of time - though I guess you could actually upload a properly-formatted xml file with the rest of the files, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

After you upload the files and import them, you'll see a red link that says something like "This import will not be complete until you enter metadata by clicking here". Lots of folks miss this step and close their windows, assuming all is good. You have to click that link, the metadata window will pop up, and THEN it will try to automatically populate that form with info it's gleaned from your info file. As long as your info file follows something close to a standard format, all you should have to do is verify that the metadata was grabbed correctly (make sure you take out information and markings about encores, segues, special guests, and whatnot - the metadata should be song titles ONLY, for purposes of future searchability, as well as file tag creation), click "Update", and then the importing process will begin.

--Dave

[ford prefect]

Archive.org is now using an XML interface to enter metadata for each file. It's supposed to be "smart" and try to grab it from your info file, but sometimes it's not successful if the file is absent or in a non-standard format.

This isn't quite right...none of the metadata is collected ahead of time -

Well, Brian is correct that it does try to pull some of it.

currently there are 2 metadata files that matter during your import process.

• [show_id]_files.xml - information about the files you uploaded. This file is used to ID Tag the MP3 and Ogg files if you allow the Contribution Engine to make them.  It is also used to generate the table of download options seen on the details page.
• [show_id]_meta.xml - information about the performance and source information.  This file is used to generate the information on the recording details page like Source, Lineage, Setlist, Notes etc...

The Contribution Engine will try to mine the information used in both forms from your info file.  If it has tracknames in this format:

01. Song 1
02. Song 2
03. Song 3

The "File Options" window should successfully pull those songs and the "Title" field should have been populated automatically with the correct names in it.  There are still little bugs in its ability to do this, so it's not 100% correct - like having a song that begins with a number usually throws it off (Percy Hill has a song called "313")  You should always read through and confirm this form before clicking submit.

If either of those files are missing when the recording is ready for the next step of the process, you will get the "waiting for user to enter metadata" error message.  Filling out and resubmitting either of the 2 forms (File Options, or the Details Page) will re-write those XML files for you.

though I guess you could actually upload a properly-formatted xml file with the rest of the files, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

It's possible, but involves a lot more work to get it right.  I would recommend sticking with the forms.   

-Brad