Browse/Thumbnail Graphic Best Practices

This FGDC conformance check verifies the existence of a browse/thumbnail graphic in an ISO 19115 or 19115-3 metadata record. It also checks the dimensions and size of the graphic/thumbnail following the FGDC best practices.

From the FGDC guidance:

Browse or “thumbnail” graphics are especially valuable for the identification of relevant search results. The adage “a picture tells a thousand words” is true and a quick view of the data can often provide sufficient information for a user to discern its appropriateness. Provide the following Browse Graphic information to enable Data.gov and the GeoPlatform to display the graphic with the search results.

ISO 19115

ISO 19115 does not include a browse graphic linkage element so metadata creators should include the linkage as the Browse Graphic File Name.

//gmd:graphicOverview/gmd:MD_BrowseGraphic/gmd:fileName/gco:CharacterString/text()

Best Practices:

  • If more than one browse graphic is specified, the first browse graphic listed should be the best representation of the resource. For datasets, this is commonly a small map that illustrates the extent and nature of the content.

  • To facilitate efficient machine processing and positive user experiences, browse graphic images should be relatively small, for example, no larger than 800x600 pixels (~1MB) and encoded with compression as JPG or PNG format.

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