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Information and settings for items in the Media Center

Information and settings can be entered for each individual media item stored in the Media Center. To do this, open the Media Center and click on the desired media item:
Personal menu > Media Center > "Media item"

A view opens with the tabs described below:

  • Overview
  • Metadata
  • Uses
  • Shares

Tab Overview

The tab "Overview" shows the details Type, Creator, Date and Size. You can also view the activity log and create a new version or replace the image.

Overview tab of an image with Type, Creator, Date and Size, the buttons Create new version and Replace image and the collapsed activity log

Activity log

The activity log can be used to track when the media element was edited and by whom.

Highlighted, expanded activity log with the period tabs Last 7 days to All and one entry Uploaded with date, version and author

"Create new version" and "Replace image"

If you want to save work steps or intermediate stages of a media element, create a new version with "Create new version". You can switch back to an older version at any time.

In contrast, "Replace image" replaces the image in the current version. All other metadata and settings (e.g. shares) remain unchanged.

Highlighted buttons Create new version and Replace image at the top right of the Overview tab of an image

Download or delete

You can download individual media files from the Media Center using the 3-dot menu at the top right. If you are the owner, you can also delete your media element.

Highlighted, opened 3-dot menu with Download and Delete at the top right above the tabs of a media element

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Tab Metadata

The following information can be added to a media element:

  • a title that differs from the file name
  • tags for keyword indexing and a better overview
  • an assignment to subjects (taxonomy)
  • a description
  • an "alt text" for draw.io files or images/graphics. This is particularly relevant for screen readers.
  • a license specification, such as "CC BY-NC-SA"
  • a source reference

The information and options available for metadata vary depending on the type of media. All information can be changed later.

Metadata form of an image with the fields Title, File name, Tags, Subjects, Description, Alt text, License and Source

Generate metadata with AI

The AI suggests metadata for an image in two ways: you trigger the suggestions yourself with a button, or OpenOlat adds them in the background when you upload a new image. Both ways require that the AI feature "Image Description Generator" is switched on in the AI module.

When uploading images and in the metadata dialog, the button "Generate metadata with AI" is available, regardless of your personal AI settings. Clicking it fills title, description, alt text and tags with AI-generated suggestions. If the AI detects what the image is about, it also assigns a subject (taxonomy) to the media item. If the automatic assignment by AI is set up, it finds the subject that matches in content even without an identical wording. Without this setup, the assignment only takes effect for a subject with an identical wording. If the field "Subjects" stays empty after "Generate metadata with AI", the Media Center has no taxonomy to choose from. The AI only selects the subject from the taxonomies that the Media Center uses. These are the taxonomies selected in the configuration of the Media Center under "Linked taxonomies". If none is selected there, the Media Center uses the taxonomies of the learning resources. A notice in the form indicates that the metadata has been generated with AI. Review the suggestions before saving and adjust them if necessary. AI image analysis is not available for SVG images.

Fields that are already filled in are retained during generation; the title is only replaced if it is empty or corresponds to a file name.

Subject Astronomy set by the AI, together with the notice about the AI generation and the triggering button

When you upload a new image, in the Media Center with "Add media file" as well as in the element Image of the Content Editor, OpenOlat additionally adds missing metadata in the background with AI. After saving, OpenOlat reports: "The image metadata is generated with AI in the background and will be added automatically in a few moments." This way only runs if the AI image descriptions are switched on for you, see Tab AI settings. It is skipped if you have already used the button "Generate metadata with AI" in the same form .

During the Markdown import into the Content Editor you decide with the switch "Generate image metadata with AI" in the import dialog whether OpenOlat generates the metadata of the imported images in the background with AI .

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Tab Uses

In the "Uses" tab, you can see where the media element is used.
By clicking on the usage information, you can jump directly to that place in this course.

Table in the Uses tab with one entry: usage Page, resource Obstbau, user, version Latest, status Valid

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Tab Shares

Here you can specify who is allowed to use a media element. Participants can only define groups. Authors have more options and can specify specific OpenOlat users, groups, or courses. By sharing files, they can also be used collaboratively if editing is allowed.

Highlighted button Add share with the targets User, Group, Course and Organisation and highlighted share row with the switch Share editable in the Shares tab

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Further information

Mentioned on this page
External tools: AI module >
Module Taxonomy >
Content Editor >
Personal Configuration: Settings >

Further reading
Media Center Concept >
User tools: Media Center >
Module Media Center >
Working with media files >

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