Scope of Services – User Perspective
Xpublisher offers a variety of solution areas. Depending on the license your organization has purchased, you may have access to one or more of these areas.
The Home Dashboard serves as the entry point to the system for end users. As soon as a user is granted the appropriate permissions, the "Digital Asset Management," "Media Edition," and "Publishing" widgets appear there. If a user's permissions are revoked, the corresponding widgets are removed.
Digital Asset Management
Clicking on the "Digital Asset Management" widget opens the end user's personal DAM dashboard.
The functionality described below is available to end users.
Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
Asset shelf | Asset shelves are used to manage the digital content and to define the access rights. Folders can be used to sub-structure the asset shelf. |
External area | External areas can be defined in asset shelves. The access rights are taken over from the superordinate asset shelf and can be extended. This makes it easy to collaborate closely, for example, with external graphic design agencies. |
Asset | Assets are types of digital content such as documents, images or videos. In addition to the content, metadata is also stored for the asset. In particular, license information can be stored. |
Registering or re-registering assets | Assets that have not yet been assigned to an asset shelf can be registered to an asset shelf. During the registration, metadata can be defined. Metadata that can be extracted from the asset (e.g. Exif) is automatically taken over. |
Converting assets | You can convert video files to MP4, OGV or WEBM. For audio files, MP3 and OGG are available. The conversion runs in the background. |
Downloading assets | When downloading an asset, the download format needed can be selected. Different download formats can be defined in the DAM configuration that are suitable and allowed for use. |
Tags/Tagging | Tagging is used to index assets. Tags are predefined by administrators. End users can only use existing tags and cannot create new ones. |
Term | Terms also can be used to index assets and are predefined by administrators within the configuration. However, end users are also allowed to create new terms for use themselves. |
Public link | Download formats can also be defined for public links on assets (access without login possible). |
Transfer collection | Transfer collections are used to collect assets from different folders and shelves and make them available as a public link. |
Xeditor | Xeditor enables the users to edit and create structured content directly in the web browser. XML content managed in Digital Asset Management can thus be prepared for the use in products. |
Publishing
Clicking on the corresponding widget opens the end user's personal Publishing dashboard.
The functionality described below is available to end users.
Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
Projects | Projects are based on the publishing configuration, are specified by project types and are used to manage the different products contained within a project. Users can create projects and sub-projects and switch to project view for all projects they have access rights to. Subordinate projects, assigned products, assigned content/assets, external areas, project news and the project history are displayed here. Project settings can be defined, external areas, products and follow-ups can be created and managed. |
Products | Products are the core element in publishing and are used for collaborative planning, creation and generation of publications. They describe the structure of content and consist hierarchically of individual components, layout templates, and assigned assets/content. Their metadata includes name, product type, publication date, issue, and tags. Products can be viewed and edited in the Layout and Structure Plan view. |
Components | A product consists of one or more components. These in turn contain layout templates. |
Layout templates | Layout templates define the representation of the content of products. |
Production services | Xpublisher provides a range of production services that can be configured in the admin area. These form the basis for the creation of various publications for use in digital channels and print. These are currently:
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Deployment formats | Deployment formats allow the creation of specific publications from a product. They essentially define how a usable PDF, EPUB, HTML etc. is created from a specific product via a defined production service. To enable the app administrator to develop and test a new delivery format step by step, these are subject to an approval process. Users can only work with delivery formats in the released state, whereas administrators can also view and edit the draft of a delivery format. They can both grant and withdraw approval. |
Content/Assets | Content that can be used and reused in publishing is managed as assets in the DAM. Assets from the DAM can be assigned to both projects and products. This also applies to structured XML content that have been created and edited with the Xeditor. |
External areas | Similar to the DAM, it is likewise possible to work with external areas in the publishing solution. External areas allow collaboration on the basis of individual layouts. For users who are not supposed to have access to the entire product, external areas can be created at product level. |
PDF-preview | A PDF preview of the product, based on the content according to the layout or structure plan, is displayed here. Which means that it can also be an empty PDF document at the beginning. |
Layout plan | The layout plan is used to display, create and edit layout-oriented products. Layout planning enables both the assignment of layout templates and assets/content from the DAM to publications as well as their arrangement. By default, products are displayed in the layout plan when opened. |
Structure plan | The structure plan is used to display, create and edit structure-intensive products by means of a hierarchical tree structure. Structure planning enables both the assignment of layout templates and assets/content from the DAM to publications as well as their arrangement. |
Tags/Tagging | Tagging is used to index objects, meaning not only assets but also projects and products. Tags are predefined by administrators. End users can only use existing tags and cannot create new ones. |
Terms | Terms are also used to index objects, meaning not only assets but also projects and products. They are also managed by administrators in the configuration of the solution. However, end users are allowed to create new terms for use themselves. |
Media Edition
Clicking on the "Media Edition" widget opens the end user's personal dashboard.
The functionality described below is available to end users there.
Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
Workrooms | Workrooms are designed to facilitate the structured management of digital content and to define access rights for effective collaboration. You can organize your content within workrooms and use multiple, parallel workrooms to control access rights at a granular level. Each workroom has its own dashboard that gives you access to all magazines, topics, articles, and assets stored within that workroom. |
Magazines | Magazines can be created within workrooms. These are also considered “rooms” in the context of the Fabasphere AI Core and allow for different permissions than the Workrooms in which they are contained. Each magazine within a workrooms has its own dashboard. Here you will find a calendar, as well as entry points to topics, articles, and assets for that magazine. Issues can be created and edited here. Each magazine also has an archive for past issues. |
Issues | In a magazine, you can create specific issues of that magazine, where you can plan and organize the layouts, content, and media assets for each issue using a page plan and a structure tree. |
Layout Templates | Layout templates determine how content is displayed in issues. |
Publications | Issues can be published as PDFs via the InDesign server. |
Content and Assets | Content and assets that can be used and reused in the Media Edition can be managed in workspaces, magazines, or, optionally, the DAM. |
Contents | Articles can be created in the Media Edition with or without the context of a topic. They contain the textual content and can be edited using the Xeditor. Articles can be either print or online articles. |
Topics | Topics can be created within workrooms or magazines. Topics are objects that are particularly relevant for multi-channel publishing. They allow you to organize a series of articles and tasks that are thematically related under the umbrella of a common topic. |
Layout Planning | The layout plan is used to display, create, and edit issues. Layout planning allows you to assign layout templates, assets, and articles to publications, as well as arrange them. By default, issues are displayed in the layout plan when opened. |
Structure Planning | The structure plan is used to display, create, and edit content using a hierarchical tree structure. Structure planning allows you to assign layout templates, assets, and articles to publications, as well as organize them. |
Tags/Tagging | Tags are used to categorize objects. They are predefined by administrators. End users can only use existing tags and cannot create new ones. |
Terms | Terms are used to tag objects. They are also managed by administrators during the solution's configuration. However, end users may also create new terms for their own use. |