Working with Custom Metadata

Final Cut Pro X can incorporate custom metadata described in an FCPXML document. (Refer to the Final Cut Pro X XML Format documentation for more details.) These custom metadata items do not appear in the Info Inspector until you add the respective fields to a metadata view. Refer to the Final Cut Pro X Help for more information.

Final Cut Pro X supports a mechanism for adding metadata definitions and view sets through external metadata definition files. This mechanism allows production facilities and third-party applications to install such definition files on each Final Cut Pro X station where the metadata definitions and view sets are needed.

The definition file is a plist file that Final Cut Pro X reads and uses to augment the interface with facility-specific views. You should put this plist file in one of the following locations so Final Cut Pro X can find it:

• /Library/Application Support/ProApps/Metadata Definitions/

• ~/Library/Application Support/ProApps/Metadata Definitions/

The plist file has the following structure:

• Root (Dictionary)

  • com.apple.proapps.MetadataDefinitions — Definition (Dictionary)

  • com.apple.proapps.MetadataViewSets — View Set (Dictionary)

• Definition (Dictionary)—The key is the Metadata identifier key (for example, com.yourCompany.yourApp.yourCustomMetadata).

  • displayName (String)—The name to be displayed in the Name field of the Final Cut Pro X Inspector and Metadata View Set Editor.

  • displayDescription (String)—The description to be displayed in the Description field of the Final Cut Pro X Metadata View Set Editor.

  • type (String)—The data type of this metadata, for example, string, boolean, integer, float (these are the same Metadata types as are used in FCPXML).

  • source (String)—The source of the metadata (for example, ‘EXIF’, ‘Apple’, ‘BBC’, ‘<your company name>’) to be displayed in the Origin field of the Final Cut Pro X Metadata View Set Editor.

  • editable (Boolean)—Whether the user can modify this metadata.

• View Set (Dictionary)

  • displayName (String)

  • keys (String Array)—An array of metadata identifiers (in reverse DNS style).

Listing 3-1 shows an example metadata definition file.

Listing 3-1  Example metadata definition file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0">

  <dict>

    <key>com.apple.proapps.MetadataDefinitions</key>

    <dict>

      <key>com.yourCompany.yourApp.yourCustomMetadata</key>

      <dict>

        <key>displayDescription</key>

        <string>Description of your custom metadata</string>

        <key>displayName</key>

        <string>Your custom metadata</string>

        <key>source</key>

        <string>custom</string>

        <key>type</key>

        <string>string</string>

      </dict>

    </dict>

    <key>com.apple.proapps.MetadataViewSets</key>

    <array>

      <dict>

        <key>displayName</key>

        <string>Your Application's Set</string>

        <key>keys</key>

        <array>

          <string>com.yourCompany.yourApp.yourCustomMetadata</string>

        </array>

      </dict>

    </array>

  </dict>

</plist>