To add or load metadata for a custom metadata source, you must first define a model for the source metadata. The model defines the representation of the metadata that Metadata Manager will contain. To define the custom model, you create classes, properties, and relationships. After you define the model, you can add or load the custom metadata.

You can add the metadata to the metadata catalog on the

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tab. Add the metadata through the metadata catalog if the number of custom objects, properties, and relationships is small. You can also add metadata through the metadata catalog when you do not need to sync the metadata in the metadata source and Metadata Manager warehouse on a regular basis.

You can load metadata using a custom XConnect. Create a custom XConnect if you want to keep the metadata in the metadata source and the Metadata Manager warehouse in sync. With a custom XConnect, you can repeatedly load metadata from the custom metadata source to the Metadata Manager warehouse to capture changes in the metadata.

You can use load templates to create a custom XConnect. Load templates contain rules that map the custom metadata to the model that you created. After you apply the load templates to the custom metadata source files, Metadata Manager can extract the metadata from the files and load it into the Metadata Manager warehouse.

You can create load templates to accomplish the following tasks: