This is a basic user guide for making IMDI files using the IMDI Editor, and a brief overview of creating metadata; it is not in any way to be used as a reference manual. For the detailed IMDI Editor Reference manual please download it from here: http://www.mpi.nl/corpus/manuals/manual-imdi-editor.pdf.

The IMDI Editor has somehow got the reputation for being very user-unfriendly. This reputation probably came from users struggling with the very detailed reference manual, as opposed to the application itself being difficult to use - hence this basic user guide.

The difference between the existing reference and this user guide is that this guide is to get you started and talk you through the more commonly used fields you are most likely going to want to populate with data. It is also designed to be read right through. Once you are more used to the IMDI editor, the IMDI reference manual might be of more use to you as by then you will have become a more advanced user.

The editor is a very commonsense application, so you will only be limited by your own imagination. Once you have played with it and made some IMDI templates and IMDI files you will realize its bad reputation is totally unfounded and you will immediately want to furnish your corpus with layers upon layers of rich metadata.