Metadata in ArcGIS10

The metadata file is embedded in the shapefile and can be accessed through ArcCatalog.

Open ArcCatalog 10 (not the shortcut through ArcMap10). Find your shapefile of interest in the table of contents on the left side of the screen. Click on the shapefile to open it. The main window on the right has 3 tabs, "Contents", "Preview", and "Description". Click on the "Description" tab (it may take a minute to load). Scroll down to the bottom of the screen to see if "ArcGIS Metadata" and "FGDC Metadata" is available. If they are, click on these titles to open the metadata. If they are not, or if you are looking for a particular style of metadata, you can change the metadata style by clicking on "Customize" on the very top of the page. Choose "Arc Catalog Options" and open the "Metadata" tab. You can choose the metadata style from the dropdown menu options here.