Managing and Editing Your Items – A Basic Guide

What is archive.org’s metadata schema?

The schema is based on Dublin Core.

Can I edit any item on the site?

You can only edit items that you have created.

Can I add, edit or delete the metadata?

Yes, you can.

1.  Navigate to the item details page of the item with the metadata you would like to edit.

You will know you are at the details page of the item you would like to edit because

https://archive.org/details will precede the item’s name.

2.  Select the Edit option

3.  Select the change the information option.

4.  The Metadata editor will allow you to change the relevant metadata. Simply scroll down the form to find the correct option and enter the desired value or change the existing value to the new desired value.

5.  When you are finished entering or changing all the metadata you want to, scroll right to the bottom of the page. There will be a blue Submit button. Click this button and your changes will be submitted.

Can I add, edit or my delete files?

Please note that not all metadata can be modified. For instance, media type, collection, uploader, identifier, and some other fields can only be modified by admins at Internet Archive.

Yes, you can only add, edit or delete your own files.

To edit an item by adding an additional file to the item page, do the following:

  1. Navigate to the item details page.
  2. Select the Edit option
  3. Select the change the files option.

3. Select the change the files option.

4. Select the Add a file button.

5. Drag and drop or select the file you would like to upload.

To delete a file on an item’s page

1. Right click on the file you would like to delete. Select the X Delete option. You can also rename a file as well.

2. Then select the Yes button, to confirm your deletion.

3. You will see the file and its derivative files disappear from your directory structure.

4. Once you have completed all your changes, select the Done Editing at the bottom of the page to finish your changes. You will then be redirected to the item details page

5. The system will automatically start a derive task in 15 minutes to update the files in your item.

6.  You are now finished.

Can I add custom metadata to my item?

Yes, you can.

  1. Navigate to the item details page.
  2. Select the Edit option.
  3. Select the change the information option.
  4. Scroll down the page to about between halfway and three quarters. Select the Add another field option.
  1. Name the field or the Metadata key, its the same thing, as well as enter the value of the metadata.
  1. When you are finished entering or changing all the metadata you wanted to. Scroll right to the bottom of the page. There will be a blue Submit button. Click this button and your changes will be submitted.

How do I remove my uploaded items?

1. First, be sure you are logged in to the account that uploaded the materials.

2. On https://archive.org click your screen name to show the dropdown account menu. Select “My library”. This takes you to your user page.

3. On your user page select “Remove items”

4. You should now see a “Remove selected items” button as well as check boxes on each item tile below. Select the items you will to remove. If you want to select all just click the “Toggle all” link.

When you have selected all the items to remove, click the “Remove selected items” button. 

You can also cancel if you wish.

5. You will now see a popup with the items listed that you selected for removal. If they are correct click the “Remove items” button. If not, click the “X” tp close the popup and change your item selection. The items should then be removed from the site within a few minutes.