How to use this guide

This is a complete list of metadata fields for Places.

You can use these tables to guide your data entry. We've listed fields in the order they appear in the editor. Each section in the editor has its own table. 

For certain fields, you have a restricted list of options called controlled vocabulariesWe've listed the controlled vocabularies for those fields at the bottom of the page.

You can add notes, citations, and dates to most of these fields. Learn more at Using Notes, Using Dates, Using Citations.

General Information

This contains the identifier for the Knowledge Map, and lets you make the place private or public.

Field label

Definition

Type
Place IDA unique identifier assigned to the place. The place ID can't be changed: it helps you distinguish the place from others with the same name.short text (cannot be changed)
Public?Sets whether the places is visible to the public. You can check this box if you aren't ready to share the place.checkbox


Names

Names for the Knowledge Map. The name of a place can change across languages or time: you can track those changes here. You can also list popular names for a place, like "C'ville" for "Charlottesville." Learn more about this feature with Add Alternate KMap Names

Field label

Definition

Type

Place

An alternate name for the place.

short text
Name TypeThis sets whether the name is official or popular.checkbox
LanguageThe language of the name. This is independent from the 'writing system,' which you can learn more about below.controlled vocabulary
Writing SystemThe alphabet or symbol system used to represent the language. For example, English uses the Latin script. controlled vocabulary
EtymologyThe etymological origin of the alternate name. WYSIWYG
Primary for Popular Romanization View?Popular romanization is an easy-to-pronounce version of names in roman script, which is intended for audiences around the world.checkbox

Caption

A brief, "tweet-sized" description for the KMap. This appears in KMap previews throughout Mandala. The caption should be under 140 characters. Make sure it's general and clear enough to identify the feature from a list.

Field label

Definition

Type

Language

The language of the caption. Each caption should only have one language. If you need to include a translation, add a new caption.

controlled vocabulary 
CaptionThe text of the caption. This should be shorter than 140 characters. Make sure it's general and clear enough to identify the feature from a list.checkbox
AuthorThe author of the summary. By default, this is set to your username.controlled vocabulary

Summaries

A summary of the important aspects of the place. This should be less than 750 characters long. If you want to translate your summary into multiple languages, each language needs its own summary. You can add more than one summary.

Field label

Definition

Type

Language

The language of the summary. Each summary should only have one language. If you need to include a translation, add a new summary.

controlled vocabulary 
CaptionThe text of the summary. This should be shorter than 750 characters.checkbox
AuthorThe author of the summary. By default, this is set to your username.controlled vocabulary

Illustration

A single image that is representative of the subject or place. It appears next to the summary on the main page for the Knowledge Map. Other images, including those that relate to the subject or place but do not illustrate it, can be added using Images in Mandala. Learn more about this feature with Add Illustrations to KMaps.

Field label

Definition

Type

Language

The language of the caption. Each caption should only have one language. If you need to include a translation, add a new caption.

controlled vocabulary 
CaptionThe text of the caption. This should be shorter than 140 characters. Make sure it's general and clear enough to identify the feature from a list.checkbox
AuthorThe author of the summary. By default, this is set to your username.controlled vocabulary

Feature Types

This section lets you define the type of place you're creating -- for example, a village, a mountain, etc.

Field labelDefinitionType
CategoryThe feature type. This is a subject Knowledge Map. For example, "street" (subject id: S3501)kmap
Numeric ValueA number associated with the feature type. short text
Show master subjectThis option lets you display the topmost ancestor of the feature type. For example, for 'Street' this would be 'Geographical Feature'checkbox
Show subject's immediate parentThis option lets you display the parent of the feature type. For example, for 'Street' this would be 'Transportation Routes'checkbox
Text ValueShort text associated with the feature type.short text

Subjects

Assigns related subjects to a place. Each subject can also have a value. 

Field labelDefinitionType
CategoryThe subject you want to connect to the Knowledge Map. kmap
Numeric Value A number associated with the subject. For example, 'Population' could be associated with the actual population of the place.short text
Show master subjectThis option lets you display the topmost ancestor of the related subject. checkbox
Show subject's immediate parentThis option lets you display the parent of the feature type. For example, you could display Population > Children, then enter the child population for the place in the 'numeric value' field.checkbox
Text Value Short text associated with the subject. short text


Geocode

Codes or identifiers that refer to this place.

Field labelDefinitionType
Geocode TypeThe type of geocode. For example, 'Zip Code.' controlled vocabulary
ValueThe value of the geocode. For example, for Zip Code the value might be '22903.'short text


Locations

The latitude and longitude of the place. This is a single point which represents your Place on a map. If you have a GIS shapefile which represents your place, contact mandala@virginia.edu.

Field labelDefinitionType
Latitude

The longitude of the place. Use decimal degrees for this field: for example, 36.134. You can convert degrees, minutes, and seconds to decimal degrees here.

short text
Longitude

The longitude of the place. Use decimal degrees for this field: for example, 36.134. You can convert degrees, minutes, and seconds to decimal degrees here.

short text
AltitudeThe altitude of the place. This is the altitude of a single point to mark the altitude correctly on Google Maps. For more general altitudes, see the Altitude section. short text

Altitudes

The general elevation of the place.

Field labelDefinitionType
AverageThe average altitude for the place. Don't include units, which you should choose in the "Unit" field. short text
EstimateAn estimated altitude for the place. Don't include the unit, which you can define using the "Unit" field.short text
MinimumA minimum altitude for the place. Don't include the unit, which you can define using the "Unit" field. short text
MaximumThe maximum altitude for the place. Don't include the unit, which you can define using the "Unit" field.short text
UnitThe unit for the average altitude, estimate altitude, minimum altitude, and/or maximum altitude of the place. You should enter these numbers in this section's corresponding fields.controlled vocabulary

Feature Relations

You can assign related places here. This is also used to create child KMaps for a place. Learn more about adding children at Add a New KMap.

To assign an existing related place: 

  1. In the "Feature Relations" metadata section, click New Place Relation
    • A list of places will appear
  2. Click Select next to the place you want to connect to the original place
    • New fields will open
  3. Fill out the form using the table below to guide you
  4. Click Create
Field labelDefinitionType
PlaceThe name of the new place you're creating, or the existing place you're relating to the current place.
Feature relation typeThe type of relationship between the original place and the related place. controlled vocabulary
PerspectiveThe perspective for the relationship. Perspectives let you display faceted understandings of a place. They let you switch between different place trees, each with a different "perspective" or focus. You can learn more at Perspectives. controlled vocabulary

Essay

This is a legacy option. You should use Texts in Mandala if you want to add a longer essay to your Knowledge Map.

Homepage Texts

Homepage Texts are featured on the overview page for your place. This lets you add longer content than summaries or captions. To add a homepage text, you'll first work in Mandala Texts: 

  1. Create your content in Mandala Texts: use this guide for help. You can also use an existing Mandala Text. 
  2. Tag your text with the place: use this guide for help. For example, if I wanted the text to appear on the Lhasa overview page, I would tag it with Lhasa
  3. Return to the Places editorial interface to add your Homepage Text

In the Homepage Texts section: 

  1. Click New Homepage Text
  2. Choose your text
    1. If you don't see the text, make sure you tagged it with the appropriate place (see above)
  3. Choose the language of the text
  4. Click Create

Controlled Vocabularies

Name Type

ValueDefinition

Official

The government name for the place. For example, "New York." 
PopularA popular name for the place, used in speech or non-official documents. For example. "The Big Apple."

Language

  • Arabic
  • Burmese
  • Chinese
  • Dzongkha
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Hindi
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Latin
  • Mongolian
  • Nepali
  • Pali
  • Polish
  • Prakrit
  • Russian
  • Sanskrit
  • Sinhalese
  • Spanish
  • Thai
  • Tibetan
  • Unknown
  • Urdu
  • Vietnamese

Writing System

  • Cyrillic
  • Devanagari Script
  • Latin Script
  • Simplified Chinese Characters
  • Tibetan Script
  • Traditional Chinese Characters

Unit

  • Feet
  • Meters

Feature Relation Type

RelationshipDefinitionCategory



has the same location as 

Two features that are located in the same place.location-based



is entirely located in
has entirely located within it

A geographical relationship where one feature contains the other feature in its entirety.location-based



is partially located in
is the partial location of

  • Places partially located in several places, or
  • Places that contain parts of other places.

If a place is entirely contained by another feature, use the is entirely located in relationship. You might be unsure if the place is wholly contained in another place. This might happen for historical units, where you're uncertain about boundaries. In this case, use 'partially located in' to show this uncertainty.

Example: 

A historical polity covers a geographical area within part of four contemporary counties. This historical polity's area doesn't completely cover any of the counties. The historical polity is partially located in each of these four counties.

location-based

intersects with

Two features that overlap.

You may not be sure about the exact relationship between two regions, but know that they overlap in geographical territory at least partially. In this case, we recommend is the partial location of, not intersects with. If you think intersects with is preferable in your case, let us know. We'll include your case as an example in this documentation.

Example:  

A natural area, river, or mountain which spans multiple administrative units, all of which it intersects with.

location-based

is adjacent to

Two places which share a border. If they're close to each other but don't share an edge, use is near.location-based

is near

Two features near to each other.

Example: 

A tourist site may be near to another tourist site. By including this relationship, you can help viewers plan trips.

location-based

is centered in has centered in it

A place centrally located in another place. This is independent of whether or not a place is partially located in another place.

Example:

  • The contemporary Degé County was historically Degé Kingdom. The full extent of the historical Dege Kingdom, however, is not covered by the county and includes other contemporary administrative units. Since Dege County covers the core geographical area of the Kingdom, Degé Kingdom is centered in the modern administrative unit Degé County.

    To properly record the relationship, note that Degé Kingdom also is partially located in Degé County. This makes it clear that the contemporary county doesn't contain the full extent of the kingdom.

location-based

has as an instantiation

is an instantiation of

An instantiation of a metaphysical feature.

Examples: 

  • Padmasambhava’s Copper Colored mountain is a pure land located outside of our ordinary geography, but there are many temples across the plateau understood to exemplify that pure land. Each temple is an instantiation of Padmasambhava’s Copper Colored mountain.

  • Many of the great Buddhist cult mountains are considered instantiations of the great mandala of the Buddhist deity Cakrasa?vara.

  • A McDonald's restaurant is an instantiation of McDonald's as a corporate entity.

cultural

has as a part

is part of

A relationship where one place is part of another, but not hierarchically or administratively. Places with this relationship usually (but not always) have the same feature type. If one place is part of another hierarchically or administratively, use has entirely located within it/is entirely located in.

Example: 

  • Cultural regions can have one large cultural region and many smaller cultural regions that are "part of" it. The Degé cultural region is part of the Kham cultural region.

  • A mountain is part of a mountain range.

  • An individual field is part of a farm or estate (whether the field is contiguous with the farm/estate or not)

  • Use has entirely located within it/is entirely located in to specify a village is part of a township, NOT has as a part/is part of.

cultural

administers

is administered by

An administrative relationship between two places.

Examples:

  • A contemporary township within a county. Albermarle County "administers" Charlottesville. In this case, the authority of the county over the city is more important than the fact that Albermarle County contains Charlottesville geographically.

  • Don't use: for a village located inside a township. Instead, use "is entirely located in" or "is contained by."

  • Don't use: for a mountain (or other geographical feature) located inside a town. The town does not actively administer the mountain; this is different from a county that administers the town.

cultural

has as an administrative seat is the administrative seat of

The relationship a nation, historical polity, or political administrative unit has with its capitals or seats.

cultural

administrative headquarters of

has as an administrative headquarters

The relationship between an entity (corporation, school district, or other) and its headquarters.cultural

is mother of

is child of

A generic, hierarchical relationship between places.

cultural

is succeeded by

succeeds

Use this relationship when a place succeeds another place. Succession implies both a fundamental difference and a fundamental continuity. Succession also implies that the one feature has supplanted the previous feature. In many cases:

  • both places (the original and the suceeding place) have the same name

  • one place succeeds the other immediately in time

The 'is succeeded by/succeeds' relationship is independant of location. This means the geographical areacoveredbythe two places can vary. Here are some possibilities :

  • both places cover roughly the same geographical area

  • the original place is larger than the successor

  • the original place is larger than the successor, and the successor covers the core area of the preceding feature

You can use other relationships to describe the geographical location relation between the original place and the successor.

Example: 

  • A kingdom is reduced to a county in a new political formation. The county "succeeds" the kingdom.

cultural

is owner of

owned by

A relationship of ownership or property

Example:

  • a monastery owns a city residence

  • an estate owns a field

cultural

is affiliated with

A non-hierarchal relationship between two places. In this relationship, neither place is 'subordonate' to the other.

Example:

  • Political allies are affiliated with each other.

  • Sacred sites can be linked non-hierarchically.

  • Poggio a Caiano in Italy is a 'sister city' of Charlottesville in the USA. Poggio a Caiano is affiliated to Charlottesville.

cultural

is in conflict with

A relationship of conflict.

Example:

  • Two polities at war, or in more low-level conflict
cultural

is related to

This is a generic expression of the relationship between two places. Use this when none of the other more specific relationship types apply.cultural

Geocode Types

Geocodes are identifiers for a place. This table lists each geocode available for Places. If you need a type that isn't on this list, contact mandala@virginia.edu so we can add the code type you need. 

You can find codes for your area by sorting the table by Region

ValueDefinitionRegion
Postal CodeA postal code (as assigned by a government) for an area. Use this regardless of the terminology used by the government. Use the specific "zip code" geocode type for US postal codes.Global
Zip CodeThe official postal code assigned to districts by the US government. Zip Codes are included in addresses for mail delivery. They are all numerical and five digits in length.United States
ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2

Two-letter country codes published by the International Organization of Standardization. Learn more about this code.

Find a code.

Global
ISO 3166-1 Alpha-3

Three-letter country codes published by the International Organization of Standardization. Learn more about this code.

Find a code.  

Global
ISO 3166-1 Numeric

Three-digit country codes published by the International Organization of Standardization. Learn more about this code.

Find a code.

Global
GB Code

Guobiao codes are official geocodes assigned to administrative units in contemporary China by the Chinese government. Learn more about this code.

Find a code.

China
TBRC GeocodeCodes used by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (formerly Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center) for places.Global
Bellezza Site IDThe Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) uses this code. 
Royal Government Of Bhutan CodeThe Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) uses this code.Bhutan
THL Extended GB CodeThe Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) uses these codes. They are based upon the Chinese government GB codes, but have four additional digits at the end, for ten digits total. THL has added these additional digits.China
GB Code - Ryavec

The Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) uses this code. There are two types, both developed by Karl Ryavec:

  • 8-digit extended IDs for townships. These are made up of the 6-digit Guobiao county code, followed by a 2-digit code for townships in that county. (Karl Ryavec assigned numbers from 01-99 to township-level features in counties. These apply to the GIS coverages he provided to THL in September 2000).
  • 9-digit extended ID for monasteries. These are made up of a 6-digit GB county code, followed by a 3-digit code for each monastery in that county. (Karl Ryavec assigned a number from 001-999 to monasteries in each county. These were in data he provided to THL in 2009.)
China (Tibet)
Aufschnaiter Lhasa Map IDThe Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) uses this code.Lhasa
Tibet Heritage Fund Lhasa Building IDCodes used by the Tibetan Heritage Fund to identify important buildings in Lhasa. Learn more about the code. Find a code.Lhasa
Lhasa Atlas IDThe Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL) uses this code.Lhasa
FlashMap IDProject-specific geocode. This code stores the FlashMap ID from Sera, Drepung, Meru Nyingpa, Barkhor, Lhasa Neighborhoods, TU map, and UVa map (and any other FlashMaps). This data doesn't show up in public view.-
US 2-Character State FIPS CodeTwo-letter alphabetical and numerical codes to identify US states. The US government no longer uses it. Learn more about this code. Find a code.United States
US 8-Character National Standard ANSI CodeLearn more about this code.United States
Official United States Postal Service State AbbreviationsAbbreviations used by USPS for states. These codes are used in mailing addresses. Find a code.United States
US 2-Character 113th Congressional District FIPS CodeFind a code.United States
US Geographic IDLearn more about this code.United States
US AFF Summary Level CodeCodes used by American FactFinder, the United States Census Bureau website for data distribution. Learn more about this code.United States
US 3-Character County FIPS CodeLearn more about this code. United States
US 8-Character National Standard ANSI CodeLearn more about this code. United States

Perspectives

Get the full list at Using Perspectives

  • No labels