Scrivener For Dummies

Creating Custom Metadata

Custom metadata provides a way to tag items with a piece of information. But how is it different from the Label and Status fields (Chapter 4), or keywords (see the section “Assigning Keywords,” earlier in this chapter)? Custom metadata works best when the field value might be different for every document but corresponds to a theme.

Here are some example uses of metadata:

Say you want to keep track of the setting for each scene in your manuscript, but you want to be more specific than London, France, or Ladies’ Underpants, and every scene takes place somewhere new. With custom metadata, you can create a Setting field and populate it with values such as John’s Living Room Floor or Front Seat of Kerry’s Car.

An anthology editor might find value in tracking the author for each section via custom metadata, thus freeing up Label and Status for other things.

Depending on how specific you want to be, a timeline can also fit nicely into custom metadata. For every scene or section, you mark it with something as high-level as the year or as detailed as the minute of the day.

If you’re writing book reviews, you can attach custom metadata for the ISBN, price, or even ...