Input examples

This chapter shows, screen by screen, what to type in each field: one or two realistic examples and, in one line, the expected format or the pitfall to avoid. The other chapters say what each field is for; this one says how to fill it in. At the end of the chapter, CSV files ready to import carry the same examples.

All the examples describe the fictional fonds of the walkthrough: the studio of Nora Vidalenc, a photographer born in 1988, her assistant Malo Ternier, the Galerie de l’Entresol, and a few people, places, publishers and identifiers made up for the occasion. Web addresses are on example.org, a domain reserved for examples; a sample ISBN, ISSN or DOI designates no real publication. The values are in French, as Nora Vidalenc’s catalogue would be; type yours in your own language.

Common formats

What you type	Format	Examples
A structured date (sort dates, provenance, sale, value, intervention, document, expiry, exhibition, birth and death)	`YYYY`, `YYYY-MM` or `YYYY-MM-DD`; the hyphens place themselves	`2019`, `2019-05`, `2019-05-14`
A date as published, a year printed, a publication’s year	free text, printed as written	“c. 2020”, “spring 2019”, “n.d.”
An amount	either convention	`2,400`, `2,400.50`, `2 400,50`
A currency	three-letter code	`EUR`, `USD`, `GBP`, `CHF`
A language (title, records)	language code	`fr`, `en`, `ja`, `en-GB`
A print’s dimensions	millimetres, width then height	`400` × `500`
Coordinates	decimal degrees, WGS 84; a decimal comma is accepted	`47.3286` and `-2.4289`
An inventory no.	free text, unique in the fonds; case and spaces don’t count	`INV-0101` (and `inv 0101` is the same number)

See Typing a date for the mask, the calendar and the checks.

Settings

Settings › Catalogue

To be set before the first work: once a work has a number, numbering is locked (see Setting up numbering).

Field	Example	Good to know
Fonds (Workspace)	“Atelier Nora Vidalenc”	One line, 120 characters at most; the LIDO source and the name of export files.
Prefix	`NV`	Catalog adds the hyphen: `NV` gives `NV-001`.
Include the year	unticked	Ticked, numbers become `NV-2026-001`, and the sequence restarts at 1 each year.
Digits	`3`	From 1 to 12. Three digits are enough for a fonds of fewer than a thousand works.
Propose numbers from a scheme (Inventory numbers)	ticked, Prefix `INV-`, Digits `4`, First number `1`	Here the hyphen is part of the prefix; the Example shows `INV-0042`. The scheme is never locked.
Publication threshold	`60 %`	In steps of 5 %.
New works confidential	unticked	Also applies to works created by a CSV import.
Reassess an insured value after	`3 years`	From 1 to 20 years.
Series introduction (Series defaults)	“Les Salins, 2019–2020: the Guérande salt marshes photographed at low tide.”	Printed at the head of the series in the catalogue raisonné; never copied onto the works.

Settings › Files and Settings › Exports

Field	Example	Good to know
Creator (Default creator and rights)	“Nora Vidalenc”	Given to files that have no creator; never in place of an existing one.
Rights (Default creator and rights)	`© {{year}} Nora Vidalenc`	`{{year}}` becomes the file’s capture year (the current year without a capture date).
Name of the fonds (Record source)	“Atelier Nora Vidalenc”	Empty, it is the workspace name. One line.
Address (Base URI)	`https://data.example.org/vidalenc/`	A full `https://` address, without a space, `?` or `#`; work URIs are formed under it (`…/work/NV-101`).
Language (Record language)	`fr`	A language code (`fr`, `en`, `en-GB`).

Library: a file’s metadata

Library, inspector, Edit… (see Editing a file’s metadata).

Field	Example	Good to know
Title	“Les Salins, marée basse”	The image’s title; the work’s title is set in its record.
Description	“Les bassins vidés au petit matin, la ligne des talus jusqu’à l’horizon.”
Creator	“Nora Vidalenc”
Rights	“© 2019 Nora Vidalenc”
Keywords	`marais salant, Guérande, aube`	Separated by commas, then Return. A thesaurus keyword is marked with a book.
Rating	4 stars	Clicking the chosen star removes the rating.
Capture date	`2019-05-14` or `2019-05-14T06:40:00`	ISO 8601: year, month, day, then the time if you know it.
Latitude, Longitude	`47.3286` and `-2.4289`	Decimal degrees; west and south are negative.

Thesaurus

Field	Example	Good to know
Label (New term…)	“Marais salant”
Broader term	“Paysage”; Top level	The selected term is offered by default.
Synonyms	`Salins, Œillet de sel`	Separated by commas here, by `\|` in a CSV file. A synonym belongs to one term only.

Faces

Field	Example	Good to know
Name (Name…)	“Nora Vidalenc”	A person of this section, not an agent of the directory: naming a face creates no agent.

A work’s record

Works section, a work open. The examples follow work NV-101 “Les Salins, marée basse” and its neighbours.

Identification

Identity

Field	Example	Good to know
Catalogue no.	`NV-101`	Given by Catalog (or taken from a CSV import); not editable, never reassigned.
Variant	`A`, `B`	Two states of the same exposure: `NV-102-A` and `NV-102-B`. Frozen on publication.
Inventory no.	`INV-0101`	Optional; the object’s number in the fonds’ inventory, never the catalogue no. Assign an inventory no. offers the next one of the scheme.
Former numbers (Add a former number)	number `12`, source “Carnet de tirages 2020”	The concordance with an earlier catalogue, inventory or sale; never a catalogue no.
Title	“Les Salins, marée basse”
Subtitle	“premier état”
Other titles (Add a title)	type Translated title, “Salt Pans at Low Tide”, language `en`	Types: Original title, Translated title, Former title, Other title. The language is a code.
Title language	`fr`	Empty, LIDO and CIDOC records take the language of Settings › Exports.
Series	“Les Salins”	Spelled identically on every work of the series: it carries the series defaults.
Genre	“Paysage”, “Portrait”, “Nature morte”	Free text; keep the same words from one work to the next.
Work type	“Photographie”

Technique & support

Field	Example	Good to know
Technique	“Tirage pigmentaire”, “Tirage gélatino-argentique”	The work’s process; each print’s is given in the Prints tab.
Support	“Papier coton 310 g”, “Papier baryté”

Dates

Field	Example	Good to know
Date as published	“14 mai 2019”, “vers 2020”, “années 2020”	Free text, printed as written.
Sort date (from)	`2019-05-14`	Used for sorting and facets. Use as the sort date fills it from the published date when it reads one way only.
Sort date (to)	`2020` (for “2019–2020”)	Only for a range; never before the start date.
Precision	Day, Circa, Range	Follows what you type (day, month, year); Circa, Decade and Range are chosen.
Dating rationale (Scholarly notice)	“Date du négatif, relevée sur la planche-contact n° 7.”	The sources and the reasoning; published with the record.

A sort date is typed year first: 12 March 2019 is 2019-03-12, never 12/03/2019, which can also read as 3 December.

Context and Storage location

Field	Example	Good to know
Place	“Guérande”
Latitude, Longitude	`47.3286` and `-2.4289`	Both or neither; otherwise Catalog refuses to save.
Existence	Extant, Lost	A work known only from a document is Lost or Not traced, not deleted.
Confidential record	unticked	Ticked, the work is left out of every export by default.
Storage location (Add a location)	Box “Boîte 3”; Hard drive “LaCie 4 To — /Salins/2019”	One row per storage place; internal information, never in LIDO, CIDOC, a report or a certificate.

Creation and capture

Field	Example	Good to know
Circumstances of creation	“Séance”, “Commande”, “Reportage”
Artistic project	“Les Salins”	The artist’s project, distinct from the imported folder and the series.
Film / sensor	“Ilford HP5 Plus 400”, “Capteur plein format”
Format	`6×6`, `4×5`, `24×36`

Description and Scholarly notice

Field	Example	Good to know
Description	“Les bassins vidés au petit matin, la ligne des talus jusqu’à l’horizon.”	What the image shows.
Artist’s statement	“À marée basse, le dessin des bassins apparaît comme un plan d’architecte.”	The artist’s own words; quote them if they come from an interview.
Internal notes	“Vérifier la date avec le carnet 2019.”	Never exported or printed.
History	“Premier tirage, fait à l’atelier ; le ciel y est encore blanc.”	Genesis, reception, states.
Analysis, critical commentary	“Le second état déplace le sujet : le bassin devient un miroir sombre.”	Printed under “Critical commentary”.
State rank	I for `NV-102-A`, II for `NV-102-B`	Entered, never inferred; the two works are linked by Other state (Relations tab).
Reproduction exclusion	Holder’s request	The motive is printed in place of the image in reports.

Attribution

Add an attribution

Field	Example	Good to know
Agent	“Nora Vidalenc”	Looked up in the directory; Create “…” creates it on the spot. Empty: an anonymous attribution.
Role	Photographer; Printer for a lab	One accepted attribution per role; only the photographer’s counts for publishing.
Certainty	Certain; Attributed for `NV-103`	Disputed requires another attribution on the same role.
Argument	“Signature au verso et négatif dans les archives de l’atelier (classeur 2).”	Cite the proof: an attribution without an argument is flagged.
Accept as the work’s authorship	ticked

Prints

New edition…

Field	Example	Good to know
Edition type	Limited edition; Artist’s proof	An artist’s proof is numbered “EA”, a hors commerce copy “HC”.
Edition size	`5`	What the edition declares.
Copies to create now	`2`	The copies already printed; Materialise the edition creates the others later.

Each print’s number derives from the work’s (NV-101-P1-1/5, NV-101-P1-EA1/2) and is frozen at creation.

A print, expanded:

Field	Example	Good to know
Inventory no.	`INV-0110`	Unique in the fonds, works and prints alike: not the same as the work’s.
Image (Dimensions)	`400` × `500`	Millimetres, width then height. The image never exceeds the sheet.
Sheet	`430` × `560`
Mount	`600` × `700`
Mounting material	“Carton de conservation sans acide”
Framed, Frame	ticked; `620` × `720` × `30`	The frame’s width, height and depth, in millimetres.
Framing note	“Verre anti-reflet, caisse américaine chêne.”
Process	“Tirage pigmentaire”
Paper	“Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 g”
Toning	“Virage sélénium”	Empty for an untoned print.
Year printed	“2021”, “c. 2021”	Free text.
Printing period	Vintage print; Posthumous print
Printer	“Laboratoire Halde”	An agent of the directory.
Signature	Signed
Signature text	“N. Vidalenc 2021 1/5”	As written on the object.
Signature location	“Verso, en bas à droite, au crayon”
Date signed, Place signed	“mars 2021”, “Paris”	As the object or its papers give them.
Inscriptions	“Tampon du laboratoire au verso”	What is written elsewhere than the signature.
Condition, Condition note	Good; “Légère ondulation de la feuille, angle inférieur gauche.”
Status	In stock; On loan
Current holder	“Galerie de l’Entresol”	Confidential: only leaves in a CSV that includes confidential records.
Location (free text)	“Réserve de la galerie, Paris”	A fallback when the holder is not in the directory.
Certificate no. (More details)	“GE-2021-014”	That of a certificate issued outside Catalog.

Add a value… (the print’s values, hidden by default)

Field	Example	Good to know
Kind	Public price; Insured value	Four kinds, kept apart.
Amount	`2,400`	Either convention: `2,400.50` as well as `2 400,50`.
Currency	`EUR`	Three-letter code.
Date	`2021-03`	Empty, the value counts as the oldest.
Channel (public price)	Gallery
Source, Appraiser (insured, estimated)	Expert; “Cabinet Lemaréchal”
Detail (production value)	“tirage 180, encadrement 320, transport 60”

Values are always confidential.

Conservation

Condition of the work (a work without prints): Condition Fair, Condition note “Rayure sur le négatif, en haut à gauche”.

Add an intervention…

Field	Example	Good to know
Type	Restoration; Condition report
Date	`2022-11-08`	Empty if unknown.
Object of the intervention	print `NV-101-P1-1/5`	The work, or one of its prints.
Conservator	“Atelier Corvisart, restauration de photographies”	An agent of the directory.
Description	“Mise à plat sous presse, consolidation de l’angle inférieur gauche.”
Condition observed	Good	The condition after the intervention; it does not change the current condition.
Reference	“Rapport n° 2022-117”	For a document that is not attached.
Confidential	unticked	Public by default, without its cost or note.
Cost, Currency	`450`, `EUR`	Only leaves in a CSV that includes confidential records.

Provenance

Add an event…

Field	Example	Good to know
Object of the event	The work, no particular print; or print `NV-101-P1-2/5`	A precise print when the event concerns it alone.
Event	Sold / acquired
Transaction	purchase	Only a purchase or an exchange carries an amount.
Date	`2021-04-02`	The precision (year, month, day) follows from it.
From, To	“Galerie de l’Entresol”; “Collection Arnaud Feriel”	Agents of the directory; a living person forces confidentiality.
Place or holder	“Paris, galerie”	Free text; rather link an agent when the party is one.
Amount, Currency	`2,400`, `EUR`	An amount without a valid currency is refused.
Confidential	ticked	Ticked by default; unticked, the event goes into exports and reports.
Reference (Proof)	“Facture de la galerie n° 2021-031”	Or a Citation, or an Attached document.

This event is an auction sale

Field	Example	Good to know
Auction house	“Hôtel des ventes de Bellerive”	An agent of the directory.
Sale title	“Photographie contemporaine”	As printed in the sale catalogue.
Sale date	`2024-11-20`	Empty, it is the event’s date.
Lot	`42`, `42 bis`
Outcome	Sold	An Unsold or Withdrawn lot has no hammer price.
Low estimate, High estimate	`1,500`, `2,000`	The low never exceeds the high.
Hammer price, Buyer’s premium included	`2,600`, unticked
Currency	`EUR`	Required as soon as an amount is entered.
Amounts confidential	ticked	The sale goes out, its amounts don’t.

Exhibitions and Publications (record tabs)

Field	Example	Good to know
Exhibition (Add to an exhibition…)	“Les Salins”, or `Entresol` to search for it	The exhibition must exist first (Exhibitions section).
Number in the exhibition catalogue	`1`
Print exhibited	The work, no particular print, or `NV-101-P1-1/5`	A loan’s paperwork needs the precise print.
Publication (Cite in a publication…)	“Les Salins”	The publication must exist first (Publications section).
Pages	`12`, `14-15`
Kind of reference	Catalogue entry; Reproduction
Reproduced, Cover	ticked, ticked
Print cited	the work
Quoted passage	“Le premier matin, la mer avait tout rendu.”	As the publication prints it.
Note on the citation	“Notice de Bastien Morel.”

Relations

Add a relation…

Field	Example	Good to know
Relation	Other state between `NV-102-A` and `NV-102-B`; Same sitting between `NV-101` and `NV-102-A`	A relation reads from both records.
Other work	`NV-102` or “œillet”	Searched by number or title; never the work itself.
Note on the relation	“Même rouleau HP5, vues 7 et 9.”	A working note, never exported.

Rights

Field	Example	Good to know
Rights statement	“© Nora Vidalenc, 2019”	Saved with the record (⌘S).
Rights holder (Add rights…)	“Nora Vidalenc”	An agent of the directory.
Licence	All rights reserved; CC BY-NC 4.0 (non-commercial)
Licence terms	“Contrat de cession du 12 mars 2021 avec Éditions Halde”	For Other licence or contract, or a version.
Reproduction restrictions	“Ni recadrage ni surimpression de texte.”
Expiry	`2031-03-12`	Once past, the row reads Rights expired.

A rights row gives at least a holder, a licence, restrictions or an expiry.

Files

Field	Example	Good to know
Link a file…	`NV-101_les-salins.tif`	Searched by name in the library.
File role	Scan for the negative’s scan; Master for the printing file	Documentation and Installation view cannot be the reference image.

Documents

Attach a document…

Field	Example	Good to know
Choose a file…	`facture-2021-031.pdf`	Copied into the library with its fingerprint; the original is never changed.
Kind	Invoice; Correspondence	Confidential is ticked by default for an invoice.
Title	“Facture de vente, Galerie de l’Entresol”	The file’s name by default.
Document of	The work; or print `NV-101-P1-2/5`
Date	`2021-04-02`
Reference	“2021-031”	An archive reference, an invoice or certificate number.
Internal note	“Original papier dans le classeur 2.”	Never exported or printed.

Agents

Agents section, New agent…: Name “Nora Vidalenc”, Person; or “Galerie de l’Entresol”, Organisation.

Field	Example	Good to know
Name	“Nora Vidalenc”	The printed name; a record with the same normalised name (case, accents, punctuation ignored) is flagged before creation.
Index name	“Vidalenc, Nora”	For sorting.
Given name, Family name	“Nora”, “Vidalenc”	People only.
Born, Died	`1988`; empty	Structured dates; death never precedes birth. A death date unticks Living person (GDPR).
Nationality	“française”
Place	“Paris”
Usual roles	Artist; Gallery for the Entresol	For filtering; the role in a given fact is carried by the relation.
Living person (GDPR)	ticked for a living collector	Forces confidentiality on their provenance events.
Confidential	ticked for “Collection Arnaud Feriel”	The agent appears in no LIDO or CIDOC export, report or certificate.
VIAF, ULAN, Wikidata, ISNI, ORCID	Wikidata `Q…`; ULAN `500…`; ISNI `0000 0000 0000 0000`; ORCID `0000-0000-0000-0000`	The identifier alone, not the address: for VIAF, ULAN and Wikidata the export forms the URI (`http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q…`). A fictional agent such as Nora Vidalenc has none.
Internal note	“Contact par l’atelier uniquement.”	Never exported or printed.

Exhibitions

Exhibitions section, New exhibition…: Title “Les Salins”, Kind Solo exhibition.

Field	Example	Good to know
Title, Subtitle	“Les Salins”, “Photographies de Nora Vidalenc”
Kind	Solo exhibition; Group exhibition
Venue (directory)	“Galerie de l’Entresol”	An agent of the directory.
Venue (free text)	“Halle aux sels, Guérande”	A fallback when the venue is not in the directory.
Organiser	“Galerie de l’Entresol”	Public; never inferred from the venue.
City, Country	“Paris”, “France”
Start, End	`2021-03-11`, `2021-04-24`	The end never precedes the start.
Dates (as displayed)	“11 March – 24 April 2021”	Printed as written.
URL	`https://example.org/expositions/les-salins`
Note	“Première présentation de la série.”

Works hung, for each work: Room “Salle 1”, Wall “Mur nord”, No. 1, Caption “Les Salins, marée basse, 2019. Tirage pigmentaire.”, Lender “Collection Arnaud Feriel” (always confidential).

Publications

Publications section, New publication….

Field	Example	Good to know
Title, Subtitle	“Les Salins”, “Photographies 2019-2020”
Kind	Monograph; Exhibition catalogue; Periodical	Periodical title, Volume and Issue only show for a periodical or a newspaper.
Authors	“Claire Domergue”; “Claire Domergue; Bastien Morel”	Separated by `;`, as “Given-name Family-name”. The short reference takes the first author’s last word.
Editors	“Inès Corlay; Bastien Morel”	Separated by `;`.
Place of publication	“Paris”
Year	“2021”, “s.d.”	Free text.
Edition	“1re édition”
Language	`fr`
ISBN	`978-2-9581234-0-7`	Two publications never share an ISBN: a new edition has its own.
ISSN	`1234-5679`	For a periodical.
DOI	`10.5555/cil.2022.0312`	The DOI alone; a leading `https://doi.org/` does not change which publication an import designates.
URL	`https://example.org/journal/atelier-la-nuit`
Periodical title, Volume, Issue	“Cahiers de l’image lente”, `12`, `3`

Works cited, for each citation: Pages 12, Fig. 4, Pl. 3, and the Reproduced, Cover, Poster and Online boxes.

Imports › CSV

See Importing a CSV inventory for the steps.

Field	Example	Good to know
The file’s rows	Create new works; Complete existing works	The second mode never creates a work and never replaces a value.
Separator	Detect; Semicolon (;)	Semicolon is what Excel uses in French.
First row is a header	ticked
Mapping name	“Inventaire atelier 2024”	The saved mapping keeps the separator.

In a CSV file, the rules are stricter than on screen:

the Date column only accepts the forms Catalog can read: 2019, vers 2020 (or circa 2020, c. 2020), années 2020 (or 2020s), 2019-2020, 2019-05, 03/2022, 2019-05-14, 25/06/2023. “spring 2019” or “14 May 2019”, which you can type in the record, reject the row (unreadable date), as does 12/03/2019, which reads two ways (ambiguous date);
lists are separated by |: titles, former numbers, storage locations;
a typed title carries its language after a final @: Salt Pans at Low Tide@en;
a former number carries its source in parentheses: 12 (Carnet de tirages 2020);
a storage location carries its kind in parentheses, by its code or its label: Boîte 3 (box) | LaCie 4 To — /Salins/2019 (hardDrive);
list values are written by their code or their label, in French or English: extant or Extant, solo or Solo exhibition, holderRequest or “Holder’s request”.

CSV files ready to import

Five files, UTF-8, separated by semicolons, with the column names the import reads (those of Catalog’s own CSV export): all their columns are recognised by themselves at the Columns step. They carry the examples of this chapter.

File	Where to import it	Contents
oeuvres.csv	Imports › CSV, Works, Create new works	8 works, from `NV-101` to `NV-107` (`NV-102` in two variants, A and B), with every column the import reads: inventory no., typed titles, former numbers, dates in several forms, existence, storage locations, state rank, reproduction exclusion, artist.
oeuvres-complement.csv	Imports › CSV, Works, Complete existing works, after `oeuvres.csv`	3 rows filling 8 fields left empty (technique, support, genre, format, inventory no., rights, dating rationale).
expositions.csv	Imports › CSV, Exhibitions, after `oeuvres.csv`	3 exhibitions, one row per work and exhibition: 5 links, and an online exhibition with no work.
publications.csv	Imports › CSV, Publications, after `oeuvres.csv`	4 publications (monograph, exhibition catalogue, periodical, web page) and 4 citations.
thesaurus.csv	Thesaurus, Import…	20 terms in four branches and 6 synonyms.

To try them:

Open a demonstration library, never your own: imported numbers stay reserved for ever, even if you delete the works. Numbers NV-101 to NV-107 don’t touch those of the walkthrough dataset (NV-001 to NV-023).
Import oeuvres.csv first. In the preview, Nora Vidalenc and Malo Ternier are Unknown agents (unless they are already in the directory): Create all, then Import 8 works.
Then, in any order, oeuvres-complement.csv, expositions.csv and publications.csv: their catalogue numbers designate the works created in step 2. Venues, curators and publishers missing from the directory are kept as written by default.

Each of these files goes through the import preview with every version of Catalog: no row of them is rejected.