Batch Metadata Editing

bin/dspace metadata-export -f myExport.csv bin/dspace metadata-import -f myExport.csv
 * Login to the Dryad server (via SSH)
 * Export the metadata (note there is the option to export a single item or collection)
 * Copy the metadata to a local machine
 * Edit the exported metadata in a spreadsheet (MS Excel 2011 does not work! see below)
 * in Data tab, select "from text"
 * ensure the "File origin" is set to UTF-8
 * comma delimited
 * set all columns to import as text so the date format isn't changed by Excel
 * Note: you can move an item to a new collection by just changing the collection field
 * Note: you can map an item into a multiple collections by adding "||collection2ID" to the collection value
 * Note: If you're deleting information from the column, leave the column header there. Otherwise, the batch import will assume you don't want to change that column.
 * save the file as CSV
 * Copy back to the Dryad server
 * Login to the appropriate Dryad server (via SSH)
 * Import the metadata

Notes and Caveats

 * 1) A general rule of thumb is to break the items up into groups of 1000 for importing, otherwise there is a potential for errors.
 * 2) If you are using the GUI, there is a limit (set in dspace.cfg) for the number of items processed at a time
 * 3) MS Excel 2011 does not work! It will mangle accented characters, regardless of the encoding used when the CSV is imported. Possible alternatives:
 * 4) Other versions of Excel. The process seemed to work using Excel 2008.
 * 5) Open Office 3.3 for Mac definitely works.
 * 6) If you're deleting information from the column, leave the column header there. Otherwise, the batch import will assume you don't want to change that column.