Book page

ESSMH-Cross-referencing within Metadata file

Default profile image
Fernando MORENTE-ORIA • 27 October 2025

There are some ways, to predict the URLs to such places and works well to navigate within the “Full metadata” view.

  1. The published Metadata file is stored as htm file with a specific URL in the Eurostat cache, and it is generated and structured as follows:

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/publication_name.htm 

The publication_name is a composition of:

  • The code of the node in the DataNavTree where the file is attached, plus
  • The typology
  • And in case of national file, plus the country code.
    As long as the individual metadata file is not unpublished and detached from a node, the URL will remain the same for any further reference years.

The publication_name can be figured out in the Homepage:

  • As a dedicated column
Publication name
  • In the Metadata info

    Metadata info box

  • In the Metadata file download, as soon as attached to a node.

       2. The published Annexes attached to a Metadata file are also stored in the Eurostat cache in a dedicated folder and always compose in the following way:

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/Annexes/publication_name_an_name_suffix.extension 

The publication_name (see also above) is a composition of:

  • The code of the node in the DataNavTree where the file is attached, plus
  • The typology
  • And in case of national file, plus the country code.

The name_suffix is either:

  • A number (1, 2, 3 etc..) generated by ESS-MH based on the sequence it is uploaded
  • Or a descriptive label (prefilled by the file name of the uploaded annex) added by the editing user.

    Name suffix

     

The extension is the extension of the file type attached as Annex, e.g.

  • .pdf
  • .xlsx
  • .docx
    etc....

Quite user friendly overviews of the Annexes attached to a Metadata file, which might be used for preparing the hyperlinks within the running text can also be found in the Download of the Metadata file, in the .xlsx - Annexes sheet:

Annex Name

     3. Images might also be cross-referenced, but the use case might be very limited, and it is a little more complicated to identify the concerned images correctly, and thus may be added later on after the publication. The published Images embedded in a Metadata file are also stored in the Eurostat cache in a dedicated folder and always compose in the following way:

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/Images/publication_name_imgnumber.extension 

The publication_name (see also above) is a composition of:

  • The code of the node in the DataNavTree where the file is attached, plus
  • The typology
  • And in case of national file, plus the country code.

The number is generated by ESS-MH based on the sequence it is uploaded. The easiest way to find out the number of an image is to

  • Either download the Metadata file from ESS-MH and look in the respective Images directory:
Images folder

 >

Images files

  • To publish the Metadata file first, and retrieve the URL from the published version via right click > Copy the image address > Recalling the Metadata file to editing mode and inserting the copied URL into the place of the Metadata file, where you need it.

The extension can be retrieved either from the Download of the Metadata file, as described above, or from copying the image address from the published version.

      4. The single concepts, Annexes and, if applicable, Footnotes area of the Metadata file can also be cross-referenced in a Metadata file using hashtags and bookmarks added to the Metadata file URL.

This can be achieved by adding to the URL of the Metadata file # and the bookmarked concept name, and for first level headers add "Disseminated"

To find out which is the concept name to choose, you can use two ways:

  • Download the Metadata file > Open the .xlsx version > Parameter sheet > column "Element code"

    Download metadata file

    >

    Contact organisation example

  • Preview of the Metadata file > Select the concept / area, you want to reference to > right click > Inspect
Contact organisation concept example

For standard SIMS structure, see below the tags to use. Additional concept names are to be chosen for customised sub-concepts respectively:

 

Element name

Element code

Full Metadata bookmarks #...

1. Contact

CONTACT

contactDisseminated

1.1. Contact organisation

CONTACT_ORGANISATION

contact_organisation

1.2. Contact organisation unit

ORGANISATION_UNIT

organisation_unit

1.3. Contact name

CONTACT_NAME

contact_name

1.4. Contact person function

CONTACT_FUNCT

contact_funct

1.5. Contact mail address

CONTACT_MAIL

contact_mail

1.6. Contact email address

CONTACT_EMAIL

contact_email

1.7. Contact phone number

CONTACT_PHONE

contact_phone

1.8. Contact fax number

CONTACT_FAX

contact_fax

2. Metadata update

META_UPDATE

meta_updateDisseminated

2.1. Metadata last certified

META_CERTIFIED

meta_certified

2.2. Metadata last posted

META_POSTED

meta_posted

2.3. Metadata last update

META_LAST_UPDATE

meta_last_update

3. Statistical presentation

STAT_PRES

stat_presDisseminated

3.1. Data description

DATA_DESCR

data_descr

3.2. Classification system

CLASS_SYSTEM

class_system

3.3. Coverage - sector

COVERAGE_SECTOR

coverage_sector

3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

STAT_CONC_DEF

stat_conc_def

3.5. Statistical unit

STAT_UNIT

stat_unit

3.6. Statistical population

STAT_POP

stat_pop

3.7. Reference area

REF_AREA

ref_area

3.8. Coverage - Time

COVERAGE_TIME

coverage_time

3.9. Base period

BASE_PER

base_per

4. Unit of measure

UNIT_MEASURE

unit_measureDisseminated

5. Reference Period

REF_PERIOD

ref_periodDisseminated

6. Institutional Mandate

INST_MANDATE

inst_mandateDisseminated

6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts 

and other agreements

INST_MAN_LA_OA

inst_man_la_oa

6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing

INST_MAN_SHAR

inst_man_shar

7. Confidentiality

CONF

confDisseminated

7.1. Confidentiality - policy

CONF_POLICY

conf_policy

7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

CONF_DATA_TR

conf_data_tr

8. Release policy

REL_POLICY

rel_policyDisseminated

8.1. Release calendar

REL_CAL_POLICY

rel_cal_policy

8.2. Release calendar access

REL_CAL_ACCESS

rel_cal_access

8.3. Release policy - user access

REL_POL_US_AC

rel_pol_us_ac

9. Frequency of dissemination

FREQ_DISS

freq_dissDisseminated

10. Accessibility and clarity

ACCESSIBILITY_CLARITY

accessibility_clarityDisseminated

10.1. Dissemination format 

- News release

NEWS_REL

news_rel

10.2. Dissemination format 

- Publications

PUBLICATIONS

publications

10.3. Dissemination format 

- online database

ONLINE_DB

online_db

10.3.1. Data tables - consultations

DATATABLE_CONSULT

datatable_consult

10.4. Dissemination format 

- microdata access

MICRO_DAT_ACC

micro_dat_acc

10.5. Dissemination format - other

DISS_OTHER

diss_other

10.5.1. Metadata - consultations

METADATA_CONSULT

metadata_consult

10.6. Documentation on methodology

DOC_METHOD

doc_method

10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate

METADATA_COMPLETE

metadata_complete

10.7. Quality management 

- documentation

QUALITY_DOC

quality_doc

11. Quality management

QUALITY_MGMNT

quality_mgmntDisseminated

11.1. Quality assurance

QUALITY_ASSURE

quality_assure

11.2. Quality management 

- assessment

QUALITY_ASSMNT

quality_assmnt

12. Relevance

RELEVANCE

relevanceDisseminated

12.1. Relevance 

- User Needs

USER_NEEDS

user_needs

12.2. Relevance 

- User Satisfaction

USER_SAT

user_sat

12.3. Completeness

COMPLETENESS

completeness

12.3.1. Data completeness - rate

COMPLETENESS_RATE

completeness_rate

13. Accuracy

ACCURACY

accuracyDisseminated

13.1. Accuracy - overall

ACCURACY_OVERALL

accuracy_overall

13.2. Sampling error

SAMPLING_ERR

sampling_err

13.2.1. Sampling error 

- indicators

SAMPLING_ERR_IND

sampling_err_ind

13.3. Non-sampling error

NONSAMPLING_ERR

nonsampling_err

13.3.1. Coverage error

COVERAGRE_ERR

coveragre_err

13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate

OVERCOVERAGE_RATE

overcoverage_rate

13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion

COMMON_UNIT_SHARE

common_unit_share

13.3.2. Measurement error

MEASUREMENT_ERR

measurement_err

13.3.3. Non response error

NONRESPONSE_ERR

nonresponse_err

13.3.3.1. Unit non-response 

- rate

UNIT_NONRESPONSE_RATE

unit_nonresponse_rate

13.3.3.2. Item non-response 

- rate

ITEM_NONRESPONSE_RATE

item_nonresponse_rate

13.3.4. Processing error

PROCESSING_ERR

processing_err

13.3.5. Model assumption error

MODEL_ASSUMP_ERR

model_assump_err

14. Timeliness and punctuality

TIMELINESS_PUNCT

timeliness_punctDisseminated

14.1. Timeliness

TIMELINESS

timeliness

14.1.1. Time lag 

- first result

TIMELAG_FIRST

timelag_first

14.1.2. Time lag 

- final result

TIMELAG_FINAL

timelag_final

14.2. Punctuality

PUNCTUALITY

punctuality

14.2.1. Punctuality 

- delivery and publication

PUNCTUALITY_RELEASE

punctuality_release

15. Coherence and comparability

COHER_COMPAR

coher_comparDisseminated

15.1. Comparability 

- geographical

COMPAR_GEO

compar_geo

15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics 

- coefficient

ASYMMETRY_COEFF

asymmetry_coeff

15.2. Comparability - over time

COMPAR_TIME

compar_time

15.2.1. Length of comparable time series

COMPAR_LENGTH

compar_length

15.3. Coherence 

- cross domain

COHER_X_DOM

coher_x_dom

15.3.1. Coherence 

- sub annual and annual statistics

COHER_FREQSTAT

coher_freqstat

15.3.2. Coherence 

- National Accounts

COHER_NATACCOUNTS

coher_nataccounts

15.4. Coherence - internal

COHER_INTERNAL

coher_internal

16. Cost and Burden

COST_BURDEN

cost_burdenDisseminated

17. Data revision

DATA_REV

data_revDisseminated

17.1. Data revision 

- policy

REV_POLICY

rev_policy

17.2. Data revision 

- practice

REV_PRACTICE

rev_practice

17.2.1. Data revision 

- average size

DATA_REV_AVGSIZE

data_rev_avgsize

18. Statistical processing

STAT_PROCESS

stat_processDisseminated

18.1. Source data

SOURCE_TYPE

source_type

18.2. Frequency of data collection

FREQ_COLL

freq_coll

18.3. Data collection

COLL_METHOD

coll_method

18.4. Data validation

DATA_VALIDATION

data_validation

18.5. Data compilation

DATA_COMP

data_comp

18.5.1. Imputation 

- rate

IMPUTATION_RATE

imputation_rate

18.6. Adjustment

ADJUSTMENT

adjustment

18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment

SEASONAL_ADJ

seasonal_adj

19. Comment

COMMENT_DSET

comment_dsetDisseminated

Related Metadata

 

relatedMdDisseminated

Annexes

 

annexDisseminated

Footnotes

 

footnoteDisseminated