If you use a modern computer of any kind - including a cell phone- you use metadata regularly. If you check the properties of almost any file on your PC - irrespective of the file type - you’ll see information about where the file is stored, when it was created, when it was accessed, when it was modified, and when it was created. Most files have metadata that is fairly specific to the file type, however, there is certain metadata that is basically universal. RELATED: What Is A File Extension? Note: Not all operating systems use file extensions to store file format metadata. Without it, Windows won’t be able to automatically know how to open it, and you’ll have to manually tell it to open the file using a specific program. The file extension lets Windows know what kind of data to expect and how to open the file. File extensions are things like PNG, TXT, DOCX, JPGs, MP3, and so on. File ExtensionsĪ particularly important kind of metadata is the file extension. Some messaging apps may embed additional metadata in their messages as well, like the receipt time and emoji reactions. Typical examples of metadata attached to messages are the time sent, the recipient, and information about any attachments the message might have. The messages you send to other people also have associated metadata. Metadata for audio files usually contains information about the artist, the album, the track number and name, as well as information about the audio itself, like the bit rate, bit depth, and sample rate. Here’s an example of a picture that was taken with a phone’s GPS enabled:Īudio metadata will include the usual things, like when the file was created, but it also saves information specific to audio files. That is what enables you to search for images on your phone based on their content. Modern photo gallery apps might even attach additional data that describes the content of an image, like “Food,” “Pets,” or a specific person’s name. The photo gallery app on your phone is a good example - you can sort your images by date, and, if you had geotagging enabled, even location. Once that data has been saved, it can be used to sort and categorize the images. As soon as you take the picture, there is information attached to it: the camera settings, including the exposure length, ISO, F-stop, the manufacturer of the camera, the time the image was taken, and possibly the GPS coordinates of the camera when the image was captured. While on your trip, you pulled out your phone and snapped a picture of an animal, weird fungus, or scenic vista. Say you’ve been on a hiking trip using your phone’s GPS to guide you. As you might imagine, pictures or images need different metadata from, say, a text document. The information stored as metadata varies significantly between file types. Here are some specific examples of metadata that you might find attached to common files. RELATED: How to Easily View Recently Modified Files in Windowsĭifferent kinds of files will often have different metadata. Metadata will usually describe when a file or folder was created, when it was last modified, and other important attributes about it. Metadata fulfills a similar role for digital files found on computers. An official ID will usually have your date of birth, height, eye color, a picture, and other information about you. In many ways, metadata is a lot like a driver’s license or another kind of ID you’re familiar with. Metadata sounds like an intimidating term, but it isn’t - metadata is just data that describes other data. Metadata is one of those essential things that manages to hide in plain sight. Even if you’ve never heard the term metadata, you’re definitely familiar with it - you probably use it every single day without even realizing it.
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