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A controlled vocabulary allows the Collection Administrator to restrict metadata in selected fields to specific words or phrases. The Collection Administrator establishes which fields will have a controlled vocabulary. For information on enabling a controlled vocabulary see Collection Field Properties.

If a controlled vocabulary is enabled for a collection, entering terms that are not part of the controlled vocabulary into the project generates a prompt to either edit or submit terms to the pending queue for Collection Administrator approval. Items may not be saved in a project until the unapproved term is edited or submitted for approval.

Clicking No opens the item in the Media Editor if it is not already opened.

1. The unapproved term is highlighted in the left pane and the closest match in the controlled vocabulary is highlighted in the right pane.
2. Browse the approved controlled vocabulary list and select the appropriate term by double clicking on it or type terms in the appropriate metadata field.
3. When you have finished editing the term, click Save to close the Media Editor and save your changes.

Clicking Yes submits the term to the pending queue for approval when you upload items from your project. The term will be ignored for the rest of your session in the current project.

Note: If the controlled vocabulary alerts are ignored by a user and the item is closed and uploaded without adding or editing terms, the unapproved terms will still be submitted to the pending queue for Collection Administrator approval.

See the Controlled Vocabulary online tutorial for additional details on controlled vocabularies.

Tip: Users with slower server connections, may control the number of terms downloaded into the controlled vocabulary at any one time.

To limit the number of terms that are downloaded:

1. From the Edit menu select Options.

2. Click the General tab.

3. A dropdown list allows you to limit the number of terms that can be downloaded at one time. When you type text into the controlled vocabulary field of the Media Editor, the available terms displayed will bracket the letters you type as a midpoint. So for example, if you limit the downloaded terms to 1000 and begin typing Lifesaving, CONTENTdm will make available the 499 terms within the controlled vocabulary that come before the word Lifesaving and 500 terms after the word Lifesaving.

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