2024 December Release

AssetsPermanent link for this heading

Assets are digital content such as images, documents or videos. You can create them media-neutrally in asset shelves, edit and manage them collaboratively, and enrich them semantically with metadata.

MetadataPermanent link for this heading

Each cloud object has metadata like e.g. name, size etc. The metadata of a cloud object can be found in its properties. Metadata can be determined automatically by the system (e.g. file size, modification date) or maintained manually (e.g. category, subject). Depending on the object class (or file type) of their asset, the (metadata) fields available in the properties differ. For example, Xeditor documents are described by the XML schema, while images are described by typical image properties such as Exif properties.

Embedded image metadata is read out when the images are uploaded and displayed on the assets. You can also change these via the "Edit image properties" action.  

For assets that are located in an asset shelf in the DAM, you will find the additional tab "Digital Asset" in the asset's properties. Which of the following (metadata) fields are displayed there is defined in the DAM configuration.

  • Name
    The name of the asset.
  • Alternate name
    Specifies another name for the asset.
  • Subject
    Sets a free text as the subject for the asset.
  • Tags
    The tags are used to index the asset.
  • Terms
    The terms are used to index the asset.
  • Description
    The description of the asset as free text.
  • Location
    The location of the asset (for example, the location where an image was taken).
  • Date
    The date of the asset (for example, the date an image was taken).
  • Location
    Displays the location information determined from the GPS coordinates.
  • Licensed From
    The asset is licensed as of the specified date. Assets without a valid license cannot be downloaded (except by app administrators).
  • Licensed Until
    The asset is licensed up to the specified date. Assets with an expired license cannot be downloaded (except by app administrators).
    Note: If neither Licensed From nor Licensed Until is specified, all use cases can be executed as if the asset had a valid license. If only Licensed From is specified, the asset is licensed as of that date (with no expiration date). If only Licensed Until is specified, the asset is licensed until this time (without a start date).
  • License Type
    Defines the license type of the asset. The available license types are defined in the DAM configuration. Usage types can be stored with the license type. These are pre-filled when the license is selected.
  • Contract/License Document
    Defines the contract or license document of the asset.
  • License Text
    The license text as free text.
  • Usable for
    Defines the context in which the asset may be used. The available usage types are defined in the DAM configuration.
  • Right of use
    The right of use of the asset as free text.
  • Copyright/Originator
    The copyright or originator of the asset as free text.
  • Creator
    The creator of the asset.
  • Provider
    The provider of the asset.
  • E-mail Address
    The email address of the provider.
  • Address
    The address of the provider.
  • Source
    The source of the asset.
  • Responsible for the registration
    This field can be evaluated in the registration workflow to determine the user responsible for registration.
  • Registered by
    User who executed the last-actual registration.
  • Note: This field is displayed only if the asset has already been registered.

Note:

  • For videos, the Generate Preview Image at Second field on the Content tab lets you specify at which second the preview image is generated.
  • Image properties (Exif, IPTC, XMP) of JPG and PNG images can be modified using the Edit Image Properties action (if defined accordingly in the DAM configuration).
  • Beyond the metadata fields available per default, administrators can create individual metadata forms in the configuration. More information on this can be found in the general Fabasoft Cloud user help in the chapter "Creating a form: new window".

Indexing AssetsPermanent link for this heading

Digital Asset Management from Xpublisher offers two options for indexing: terms, and tags.

TermsPermanent link for this heading

To index your assets using terms, follow these steps:

  1. Select the assets to be indexed and open the context menu by clicking the right mouse button.
  2. Select the "Properties" action for only one selected asset or "Edit properties" for multiple selection.
  3. Navigate to the "General" tab.
  4. Type in the "Terms" field to search for terms or create new ones. Alternatively, you can use the "Select terms" field to select your terms from a thesaurus from the hierarchy tree.

Note: Terms are preconfigured in the DAM configuration in the Thesaurus section. Administrators can define here if the feature is available for users, import and extend existing thesauri, create their own keyword trees and define if users are allowed to add their own terms - in addition to already existing terms. More information on this can be found in chapter 9.8 "Thesauri".

Tags/TaggingPermanent link for this heading

To index your assets using tags, follow these steps:

  1. Select the assets you want to index.
  2. In the context menu, select the “Properties” command (for only one selected asset) or “Edit Properties” (for multiple selection).
  3. Navigate to the "General" tab.
  4. Type in the "Tags" field to search for and select tags.
  5. Note: Tags are fully preconfigured in the DAM configuration in the Tags section by administrators. For more information, see chapter 9.9 "Tags". Unlike terms, users can only use existing tags created by administrators and cannot add new ones.

(Re)register AssetsPermanent link for this heading

Assets that have not been assigned to an asset shelf can be registered to an asset shelf. To do this, navigate to the desired asset and execute the context menu command "Register as Digital Asset". Specify an asset shelf as the destination. In the registration dialog, you will be prompted to maintain metadata. Metadata that can be extracted from the asset (such as Exif) is automatically taken over. The corresponding fields are highlighted in color and can be modified if necessary. For a successful registration, all metadata defined as mandatory fields must have been maintained. This also includes mandatory fields of individually created metadata forms. The registration process is designed to ensure that important metadata is captured consistently. This improves the discoverability of your assets and ensures media-neutral management via metadata.

Note:

  • To assign an asset to an asset shelf, you can alternatively cut the asset and insert it into the asset shelf.
  • The registration of new assets can be activated and configured in the DAM configuration settings. It is also possible to define which metadata fields are displayed and which are mandatory fields. More information on this can be found in chapter 9.4 "Registering Assets".
  • You can also register multiple assets or entire folders of assets at once.
    • The specified values can be applied to all assets ("Apply Values for All Digital Assets" button).
    • The name prefix is added to all asset names.
    • In the Digital Assets field, the values of individual assets can also be changed. If you want to set common values and also change individual assets, always apply the common values first (“Apply Values for All Digital Assets” button) before changing the values of individual assets.
  • If you register assets via an inbox, you can use the “Define Property value” action to store the desired destination shelf in the Preferred Registration Target property. This means that when you register, not the recently used shelf is suggested, but the shelf stored in the property.

Assets that are already assigned to an asset shelf can be re-registered to another asset shelf. In the course of re-registration, entering metadata is possible. To do so, navigate to the desired asset and execute the “Re-Register” context menu command. Define an asset shelf as target.

License StatusPermanent link for this heading

Assets can have the following symbols:

  • Yellow warning triangle (license information incomplete)
    Not all mandatory fields with regard to license contain a value.
  • Red callsign (no valid license)
    Current date is before Licensed From or after Licensed Until.

Note: The license status icons are only displayed if licensing has been enabled by administrators in the DAM configuration settings. For more details please refer to chapter 9.5 "Licensing".

StatusPermanent link for this heading

Assets can have a status (e.g. "In Progress" or "Approved"). Status cannot be set manually by users, but are set automatically by completing tasks as part of assigned processes. Only if an asset has a status, it is displayed in the "Processing status" field in the asset's properties in the "General" tab.

Note: Status are managed entirely by administrators in the configuration. This includes both the creation of status and the linking of status changes to the completion of tasks as part of default processes. More details can be found in chapter "Status”.

Convert AssetsPermanent link for this heading

You can convert video files to MP4, OGV or WEBM. For audio files, MP3 and OGG are available. To do so, the “Save as <format>” context menu commands are available. The conversion runs in the background and may take longer depending on the size of the source file. The result of the conversion can be found in the properties of the multimedia file, on the “Content” tab in the File in Different Formats field.

Downloading AssetsPermanent link for this heading

When you download an asset, you can select the download format. The download formats offered are those defined in the DAM configuration that are appropriate for the type of asset and have been approved for you to use.

Note:

  • If you selected multiple assets, they will be downloaded as a ZIP file.
  • If you download a single image, the "Copy to clipboard" button is also available.
  • If you select an image download format that allows you to customize the image as you download it, you can use the Edit button to scale the image and specify a crop.
  • When you select different types of assets to download, download formats are offered according to the selected types. Only those assets that can be converted to the selected download format are downloaded.
  • If videos or audios are not yet available in the desired download format, a corresponding message is displayed and the conversion is started in the background. After the conversion is complete, you can start the download again.

Public Links to AssetsPermanent link for this heading

When you create a public link to an asset (“Create Public Link” context menu command), you can also define the download format.

Note: When creating a public link to a folder with different types of assets, download formats are offered according to the contained types. Only those assets are included in the public link that can be converted to the selected download format.