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# CGImageMetadataType

Constants that indicate the XMP type for a metadata tag.

```
enum CGImageMetadataType
```

## Overview

Use these constants to identify the type of metadata in a [`CGImageMetadataTag`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataTag) opaque type. The type tells you how to interpret the value of the metadata tag. When creating a new [`CGImageMetadataTag`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataTag), specify a type so the system knows how to serialize the data to the XMP format.

## Topics

### Metadata Types

[`CGImageMetadataType.invalid`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/invalid)

An invalid metadata type.

[`CGImageMetadataType.default`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/default)

The default type for new tags.

[`CGImageMetadataType.string`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/string)

A string value.

[`CGImageMetadataType.arrayUnordered`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/arrayUnordered)

An array that doesn’t preserve the order of items.

[`CGImageMetadataType.arrayOrdered`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/arrayOrdered)

An array that preserves the order of items.

[`CGImageMetadataType.alternateArray`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/alternateArray)

An ordered array, in which all elements are alternates for the same value.

[`CGImageMetadataType.alternateText`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/alternateText)

An alternate array, in which all elements are localized strings for the same value.

[`CGImageMetadataType.structure`](/documentation/ImageIO/CGImageMetadataType/structure)

A collection of keys and values.


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