Metadata works best when developers coordinate on the type of metadata they plan to share for a given type of asset. For example, programs that play MP3 or similar types of files should all use similar keys. Spotlight defines many standard attribute keys that you can use to categorize metadata extracted from your documents.
You should read this document if you are developing a Spotlight metadata importer. All applications that support saving documents to disk should consider providing metadata support by implementing a metadata importer.
It is important to use existing keys whenever possible. Avoid creating new metadata keys if an existing key would be appropriate. For example, if your document tracks the photographer of an image, use the kMDItemAuthors key rather than defining a custom photographer key.
This article contains descriptions of the metadata attribute keys that Apple provides:
“Spotlight Metadata Attributes” describes Spotlight’s metadata attribute keys.
This document is primarily a reference. You may want to read these additional topics for a better understanding of the concepts required to effectively use Spotlight and metadata.
Spotlight Overview covers the conceptual details surrounding Spotlight’s metadata usage.
Spotlight Importer Programming Guide describes how to write and troubleshoot Spotlight importers.
Last updated: 2009-08-28