Copy information from one metadata record to another

Summary

ArcCatalog doesn't have built-in tools that allow copying information from one metadata record to another. There are, however, ways to work around this situation.

Procedure

• To copy several pieces of information to many different metadata records, create and use a template XML file. This solution only applies if it is OK to delete any existing metadata before importing the template information. Otherwise, to copy the information manually following the instructions below, or create a VBA macro to copy the information programmatically.
• To copy several pieces of information from one metadata record to another:
  1. Export the metadata to an HTML file using the HTML exporter.
  2. Open the exported file in a Web browser.
  3. Select the dataset to which you want to copy the information.
  4. Open the metadata editor.
  5. Copy the appropriate text from the browser.
  6. Paste it into the metadata editor.
• To copy one piece of information from one metadata record to another:
  1. Highlight the appropriate text in the Metadata tab, right-click the selected text and click Copy. If the context menu isn't enabled, open the metadata editor and copy the appropriate text.
  2. Select the dataset to which to copy the information.
  3. Open the metadata editor.
  4. Paste the text into the metadata editor.