In academic, editorial, or research workflows, accurate documentation is essential. That's where metadata comes in.

With this guide, you'll learn how to manage metadata in your Critical Edition Document using Criterion. Whether you're adding an author name, tracking revisions, or inserting dynamic titles into headers, Criterion gives you full control over your document's background information.

You can:

• View and edit standard metadata (like title, author, license)
• Add custom fields (e.g., project name, deadline)
• Remove optional fields
• Use metadata dynamically in headers and footers

All metadata follows a predefined structure, ensuring consistency across projects.

To begin managing metadata:

1. Open your document in Criterion
2. Go to the top menu bar and click: **File → Metadata**

This opens the Metadata Management Panel, where all current metadata is listed in a structured format.

Once inside the panel, you'll see a complete list of metadata associated with your document.

It includes:

• Predefined fields (standardized by Criterion)
• Custom fields (added by you)
• Both mandatory and optional entries

Each field displays:

• Its label (e.g., Title, Author)
• Its current value
• Whether it's editable or read-only

How to Edit a Field:

1. In the Metadata Panel, click the **Edit** button
2. A pop-up window appears showing all editable fields
3. Change any value in a text box
4. Click **Save** to confirm

All changes are applied instantly.

	Warning: Some fields cannot be edited: auto-generated ones like Creation date, Last saved date, Template. These appear grayed out or marked as “Read Only”.

Criterion lets you add new metadata in two ways:

Option A: Choose from Optional Predefined Fields

1. Click **Add Metadata**
2. Select: **Choose from Criterion optional metadata**
3. A list appears with available optional fields (e.g., Persistent Identifier, Manager, Company, Publisher, License Information, Category)
4. Check the boxes next to the ones you want
5. Click **Insert**

These fields are now part of your document and can be edited normally.

Option B: Create a Custom Metadata Field

1. Click **Add Metadata**
2. Select: **Create custom metadata**
3. Fill in:
  * **Field Name **(Label): e.g., "Lead Researcher"
  * **Value Type**: Choose from Text String, List, Number, Date
  * **Value**: Enter the actual data (e.g., "Dr. Anna Rossi")
4. Click **Insert**

Your custom field appears in the metadata list under Custom Metadata Fields.

	Note: All custom fields are: always optional, always editable, always removable.

You can remove only optional metadata fields — mandatory ones (like Title, License, Created Date) cannot be deleted.

How to Remove a Field:

1. Find the field you want to delete
2. Make sure it's not mandatory
3. Click the **Remove** icon next to it
4. Confirm deletion

The field disappears, but your document remains intact.

	Warning: Once removed, custom data is gone unless manually re-added.

Not all metadata behaves the same. Here's what determines how each field works:

Full List of Standard Metadata Fields: