Include

A reference to a prior metadata version. This version must be present earlier in the same ODM file or in a previous file in the series. See the PriorFileOID attribute of the ODM element.

When a metadata element such as an ItemDef is re-defined in a MetaDataVersion that includes a previous MetaDataVersion, any metadata element of the same type and with the same OID in a preceding MetaDataVersion is completely replaced. This includes all attributes and child elements. It also means that all attributes and child elements not present in the new definition are effectively deleted from the previous version.

The href attribute allows to provide the location (as a URL) to the ODM where the to-be-included elements can be retrieved from, in the case that the combination of the referenced study and metadataversion is not present in the same file. The reference can be to a file, e.g. "file:///d:/MyStudies/MyStudy/PriorVersionODM.xml" or e.g. be an API call, like "https://www.MyCompany.com/MyStudies?StudyOID=MyStudy&MetaDataVersionOID=MV.001".

In the following example, question "I.003" has been added to the ItemGroup "IG.001" by adding an ItemRef element to the ItemGroupDef. The new version of the ItemGroupDef now contains only one of the Aliases, and the other Alias defined in MetaDataVersion "MDV.001" has been removed. This same mechanism is used to remove ItemRefs from an ItemGroupDef, or to re-order them.

<Study OID="S.001">
  <MetaDataVersion OID="MDV.001" Name="First Metadata version"> 
    <ItemGroupDef OID="IG.001" Name="First ItemGroup" Type="Section"> 
      <ItemRef ItemOID="I.001" Mandatory="Yes" OrderNumber="1"/> 
      <ItemRef ItemOID="I.002" Mandatory="Yes" OrderNumber="2"/> 
      <Alias Context="Context1" Name="IG1"/> 
      <Alias Context="Context2" Name="FIRST"/> 
    </ItemGroupDef> 
  </MetaDataVersion> 
  
  <MetaDataVersion OID="MDV.002" Name="Second Metadata version"> 
    <Include StudyOID="S.001" MetaDataVersionOID="MDV.001"/>
    <ItemGroupDef OID="IG.001" Name="First ItemGroup (modified)" Type="Section"> 
      <ItemRef ItemOID="I.001" Mandatory="Yes" OrderNumber="1"/> 
      <ItemRef ItemOID="I.003" Mandatory="Yes" OrderNumber="2"/> 
      <ItemRef ItemOID="I.002" Mandatory="Yes" OrderNumber="3"/> 
      <Alias Context="Context1" Name="IG1"/> 
    </ItemGroupDef> 
  </MetaDataVersion> 
</Study>

Note: Definitions (e.g. ItemDef) that have been defined in a previous included MetaDataVersion cannot be removed in later MetaDataVersions, only references to those Items can be removed. Referenced Items are removed by redefining the parent definition (e.g. ItemGroupDef) and omitting the undesired reference.

Note: The StudyOID attribute allows an Include element to reference a metadata version in another study. Thus, it is possible for many studies to share a set of common metadata definitions. In fact, a study that contains nothing but metadata can serve as a metadata library.

Note: By placing this information in a subelement of MetaDataVersion (rather than in attributes) we allow for future evolution of this capability. For example, it might be useful to allow inclusion of two common metadata dictionaries, or to add new common metadata into a previous study-specific metadata version.