Show Metadata
=============

The **Show Metadata** form launches the GONet Wizard metadata inspection tool
from the graphical interface.

.. note::

   This page explains how to launch metadata inspection from the GUI.

   To learn what the metadata inspection tool displays and why those fields
   matter, see :doc:`metadata inspection tool guide <../tools/inspect_metadata>`.

.. figure:: ../_static/GUI/show_meta_screenshot.png
   :align: center
   :width: 100%
   :alt: Show Metadata GUI form

   Show Metadata form in the GONet Wizard graphical interface.

Overview
--------

The Show Metadata form is used to select one or more GONet files and open a
metadata viewer.

The metadata viewer displays information such as camera configuration,
acquisition parameters, timestamps, image geometry, and other metadata stored
or derived from the selected observations.

Selecting Files
---------------

The **GONet files or folders** field defines the input images.

Files can be selected in two ways.

Typing Paths
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paths may be typed directly into the text field.

The field supports:

* Single file paths.
* Folder paths.
* Comma-separated entries.
* Wildcards.

This makes it possible to inspect metadata for several files or groups of
files without using the file browser.

Browsing for Files
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The **Browse...** button opens a file picker.

Multiple files may be selected at once. When the selection is confirmed, the
selected paths are inserted into the input field automatically.

Running the Metadata Viewer
---------------------------

To launch the metadata inspection viewer:

#. Select one or more files or folders.
#. Click **Run show meta**.

The metadata viewer opens in a separate window. The form page also shows a
terminal-style feedback panel so save and exit actions remain visible after the
viewer window closes.

Multiple Files
--------------

When multiple files are selected, metadata for each file is displayed in the
viewer.

The results can be inspected by scrolling through the output window.

Saving Metadata to PDF
----------------------

The metadata viewer includes a **Save PDF** button at the bottom of the window.
Clicking this button opens the operating system save dialog so you can choose both the folder and filename. After a path is
selected, the metadata viewer closes and the PDF is written in the background.
Progress and the final saved path are shown in the Show Metadata feedback panel.

The PDF contains the same metadata content shown in the viewer, organized as
file-level tables.

Navigation Buttons
------------------

The buttons at the bottom of the metadata viewer control the viewer window.

**Save PDF**
   Opens a native save dialog, closes the viewer, and saves the displayed
   metadata tables to a PDF file.

**Exit**
   Closes the metadata viewer without saving.

The launcher form itself still provides the standard navigation controls for
returning to the main menu or closing the graphical interface.

Relationship to the CLI
-----------------------

The Show Metadata form is the graphical frontend for the ``show_meta``
command.

Both interfaces use the same processing engine and produce the same metadata
inspection output.

See Also
--------

* :doc:`metadata inspection tool guide <../tools/inspect_metadata>`
* :doc:`GONet images user guide <../user_guide/gonet_images>`
* :doc:`GONetFile user guide <../user_guide/gonetfile>`
* :doc:`show_meta CLI reference <../cli_reference/show_meta>`
* :doc:`GUI launcher guide <launcher>`