MAM

imperia manages assets as it does documents in the Media Asset Management (MAM):

• In this way, the media data is enriched by structured imperia-usable data.
• Furthermore, imperia is versioning and archiving all assets, so you can find older versions in the Archive and import them any time you want. Also, you can track whether and where an asset is used in documents.
• The upload of new assets is processed in a defined workflow.
• Assets are stored in the same directories that correspond to the categories of the imperia documents. Here, the categories are also stored in the familiar tree structure, and you can navigate as in the categories tree.

The Media Asset Management, therefore, is a process-oriented document management solution.

Definition

The financial term Asset is used in the Content Management to define any digital content, especially media files such as images, videos, music files and texts.

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User interface of the MAM

You call the MAM from Menu -> MAM.

The page of the MAM opens either in the icon view or in the list view (default), see following figure.

Tree structure

For both views you have a navigation on the left side of the page where the asset categories are displayed in a tree structure.

Note

The heading of the categories tree is configurable and may have a different name on your system.

• Click a category name and the content of this category will be displayed on the right.
• If a category has subcategories, there is a plus sign in front of the category name.
• Click it to expand the category and display its subcategories; the plus sign turns into a minus sign.
• Click this minus sign to collapse the category.

Configuring the User Interface

You can adapt the user interface of the Media Asset Management to your individual needs. imperia stores your preferences, and they are active on the next call.

Switching View Modes

There are two modes for viewing assets in Media Asset Management - the list view and the IconBox view.

In order to change the view, proceed as follows:

1. In the menu bar go to View. The sub menu opens.
2. Select the desired view.

The system directly applies the selected view.

The differences of the views will be explained in the following:

List view

The list view offers you more functions for managing existing assets than the IconBox view so it is suitable for uploading, editing or deleting assets:

There you can also add columns, see Showing and Hiding Columns and sort after certain columns by clicking the title of a column (not all columns can be defined as sort criteria).

Note

The columns displayed in the list view mode can be configured by both the user and imperia's administrator.

Iconbox view

The IconBox view offers you a compact overview of the assets in a category, showing only the most necessary information. Thus, it is suitable when you want to insert assets into a document:

Showing and Hiding Columns (List View only)

You can set which columns should be displayed in the list view of the Media Asset Management.

1. In the menu bar go to Columns.
2. Select the columns you want to be shown or hidden in the list view by activating the check boxes. The columns will be inserted directly.
3. You can also change the sequence of the columns by drag&drop or go to Columns-> Customize...

Note

imperia's administrator can provide new columns to choose from, or delete existing ones.

Recursive function

We lately added a recursive function to the Media Asset Management as you know it from the Document Browser.

With the checkbox "recursive" being activated (in the menu bar, see above), the categories on a lower level than the selected one will be also displayed.

MAM pop-up window

When you insert an asset into a document, the Media Asset Management opens in a popup window, see Inserting an Image with the Media Asset Management.

You can control the pop-up's behavior after an asset is selected in the menu bar under Edit -> Settings. The following options are available:

• Close the Asset Management window.
  If you choose this option, the popup closes automatically after an asset is selected.

• Keep the focus in the Media Manager.
  The popup window stays on top after an asset is selected.

• Switch the focus to the template.
  The popup window is still open but the window for editing the document comes on top.
  Because of the security settings of some browsers, switching the focus may not be possible.

Note

imperia stores this setting for each user individually.

Resetting to Default

Using the Edit -> Reset to defaults function, you restore all the UI default settings of the Media Asset Management. All your settings reset to their default values.

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Working with Assets

Prerequisites

The functions described below are only available to you if you have write permission for the target category in the Media Asset Management.

Adding Asset(s)

You have four possibilities to add assets.

But they all underly following naming convention:

Voraussetzung

If your target system runs on Windows^®, set the variable "DISABLE_8BIT_FILENAMES" = "1". Refer to the Admin Documentation.

• imperia replaces special characters in the filename with two underscores.
• imperia converts uppercase to lowercase.
• Also white spaces in the file name are replaced with a single underscore. But in the title the white space remains. For example, the file that is about to be uploaded is named:
  hüsker_dü_-_eiffel_tower_high.mp3 would be translated into:
  • Filename: h__sker_d___-_eiffel_tower_high.mp3
  • Title: Hüsker Dü - Eiffel Tower High. This automatically proposed title can be modified.
• Information on assets (directories) are added via variable templates that are configured by the administrator.

1. Uploading single asset

With this possibility the assigned workflow for the asset category is always started when uploading.

1. In the tree structure select the category, in which you want to insert an asset.
2. In the menu bar, go to File -> Upload.
3. In the opened Upload template select the desired file from you file system.
4. Enter the meta information as file name, image subtitle or -source. Make sure to comply with the naming convention.
5. Click Save. You move to the next workflow step.
   Clicking the Cancel button will take you back to the Media Asset Management.

Note

The asset upload template may differ on your system. The explanation here is based on the default imperia template. Thus you can create your own templates. You can find more information in the syntax reference for imperia templates in the programming manual.

2. via drag&drop

With this possibility you can add several assets from your file system by simply dragging them from your file system and dropping them in the desired category in MAM. Proceed as follows:

1. Drag the desired asset(s) from your file system to the desired asset category:
   

2. A confirmation dialog appears where you may change the name of the assets to be uploaded:
   
   In case an asset with the same name already exists in the MAM, you may choose to overwrite it by selecting the checkbox next to its name or remove it, using .

3. Click Upload to initiate the upload.

3. Multiupload

With this possibility you can add several assets from your file system and add the meta information.

1. Select File -> Multiupload to upload multiple assets to an asset category.
   The process is similar to that described for the single upload, but with the additional select box Number of Uploads at the top of the input mask/template:
2. In this select box, specify how many assets you want to upload to the Media Asset Management at once. Based on your selection, imperia duplicates the set of input fields for the upload of an asset.
3. Select the files from your file system.
4. Click Save by the end of the page to start the multiupload.

4. Multiupload (Flash)

With this possibility you can add several assets from different directories of your file system.

1. Select File -> Multiupload (Flash).
   The process is similar to that described for the multiupload, but now you can select from different directories.
2. Select the files from your file system.
3. Click Upload to start the multiupload.
4. Click OK to return to MAM.

Changing Asset Details

Asset properties are changed in the meta fields that are located under Details. Proceed as follows:

Note

imperia's administrator can enable or disable editing meta fields.
Also, you need write permission for the respective asset category to change the details of an asset.

1. Open details

Depending on the selected view, asset details are opened as follows:

• IconBox view:

  1. Click on the desired asset to display the Information Panel.
  2. Select the Details link.

• List view
  Click in the column Details on the link of the corresponding asset.
  If this function is not visible, you either do not have the appropriate access permissions or that column is hidden in your view. In the latter case, read Showing and Hiding Columns.

2. Edit meta fields

In the Asset details dialog you can see the asset's meta information:

• Enter the desired values in the input fields.
• Clicking deletes a meta field. Meta fields which have no icons next to them, cannot be changed or removed.
• You can create new custom meta fields for the asset: In the last row of the Details dialog you will find empty fields:
  1. Enter the name into the left input box, and the value into the right.
  2. Then, click the Add Field button in the right column to insert the meta field.
  3. To save your changes, exit the dialog by clicking Save.

Deleting an Asset

Note

To delete an asset, you need write permission for the appropriate asset category.

For both Iconbox and List view, proceed as follows:

1. To delete an asset select it.
   In the list view to delete a single asset, click in the column Delete (when the column is not visible, read Showing and Hiding Columns).
2. In the menu bar call Edit -> Delete.
3. You can select and delete multiple assets by clicking the desired assets while holding Ctrl.
4. In the list view you can also delete all assets of a category by selecting the check box in the first column №.
5. An overview dialog opens where you make further selections for the asset(s) to be deleted:
   
   • If there are documents that use the respective asset, you can ignore the references (not recommended!).
   • You can delete the asset from the workflow or from the archive (permanantly).

Focus point -under development

You can set the focus point for very large formats. Especially, after cropping an image this function comes very handy.

Prerequisite

As usual, the feature 'Focus point' is to be found in a column. Make sure that you have added the column to the MAM.

Proceed as follows:

1. In the MAM, in the column Focus Point click the link.
   A new window opens in the MAM:
   
2. On the left side you set the focus point in the image by using the mouse.
   On the right side you see the different previews of the image according to the set focus point.
3. Click Save & Go to save the focus point and return to MAM.

If you then insert the asset into a document, the selected focus of the image is shown.

Asset Actions

For every graphic asset there is a variety of actions to edit and customize the layout of an image.

1. Open and apply asset action

1. In the Iconbox and List view: in the preview window select the link Customize. In the list view you find this function also in the column User action.
   Following dialog opens:
2. Select the asset variant to apply the action to. You can choose from Original, Thumbnail or other variants if available.
3. Select the action. This opens the page of the action, see descriptions of the actions in the following.
4. Carry out the desired changes.
5. To apply the changes, click Next. The changes to the image will be directly applied in the new variant of the asset, which will be shown to you afterwards.
6. Click Close to leave the action dialog.
7. In order to set the variant as a default, read the section Define a Standard Variant.

Note

• By clicking the Previous button on the last page of the dialog, you will then create a new variant!
• If a variant already exists, it creates a new one nevertheless.

2. Descriptions of the asset actions

For every action, you can see the changes you've made in the thumbnail on the left.
If you wish to preview the variant in its original size, simply click on the thumbnail. This opens a popup with the image variant in its original size; to close it, again click on it.

Annotate image

Insert text of a defined size at a defined position into the image, and save the result as an asset variant.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens where you define the annotation settings:
   

2. Enter the following fields:

   • X position, Y position Enter a numerical value to set the distance from the left, upper edge of the text to the left, upper edge of the image in pixels.
   • Text size Enter a numerical value to determine the font size in pixels.

   • Text color Enter a hexadecimal color value to determine the text color.

     Important

     Please don't forget to put a hash sign (#) in front of the color information or the action will fail.

   • Text Enter your annotation text here.

3. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Change image saturation

Create a variant with a different color saturation.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens where you can determine the saturation level of the new variant:
   

   • for values ​​from 0 to 99 the saturation level is lower than the original
   • for values ​​over 100 - higher than the original.
   • So you can make a black and white variant of a color photograph or turn dull colors bright.

2. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Convert image

This feature allows you to convert images to other formats. Select the desired format from the list.

This function allows you to convert the image to the following formats:

• jpeg

• gif

• png

• tiff

• bmp

The tiff and bmp formats are not recommended for web applications because not all browsers support them.

Proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Create image thumbnail

Creates a new preview image for the asset.

1. After selecting the action, imperia automatically generates a preview image in the standard size for asset thumbnails.
   

2. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Crop image

Crops an image.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens, where you determine the crop area.
   
2. To do so, hold down the primary mouse button and drag to create a rectangle.
3. At the four corners and in the middle of each line of the crop rectangle there are handles which you can use to change the size of the crop area by clicking and dragging them.
4. Another way to select the crop area is to put in the dimensions manually: Use the Width, Height, X, Y input fields below the image, which set the distance from the left and the top corners of an image.
5. You can move the mouse in the crop rectangle to position it precisely while holding the primary mouse button. Click Next to display a preview.
6. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Fit to size with margin

This function allows you to create a variant, fit to a size, and the formed margins are filled with a given color.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens, where you set the size.
   
2. Click Next. This opens the second page of the action:
   
3. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Fit image to a given size

Scales the image to a given aspect ratio.
The MAM automatically selects a centered section of the original image in the specified aspect ratio and thus produces a variant adapted to the desired dimensions.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens where you enter the desired dimensions of the variant.
   
2. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Resize image

With this action, you create a scaled variant of an asset.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens where you can enter the desired dimensions for the variant.
   

   • imperia generates a variant resized to the dimensions you specified.
   • When you enter the two side lengths and the result in the aspect ratio differs from the original, you get a distorted variant.
   • But if you enter only one side length, imperia automatically calculates the length of the other side in the correct aspect ratio.

2. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Tip

If you want to create a variant with given height and width, the actions Crop image or Fit image to a given size are the better choices.

Scale image keeping the aspect ratio

You create a variant with a different size, without affecting its aspect ratio. Also the background color can be set.

1. After selecting the action, a dialog opens where you can resize the input.
   
2. If “trans” (transparent) background color is selected, the result is a black background.
3. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Upload a variant

This allows you to upload an image variant.

Convert to monochrome

Converts an image to monochrome.

1. After selecting the action, the following dialog opens:
   
2. Use the Red, Green or Blue channel slider bar to adjust the image.
3. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Gamma correction using color curves

Gamma correction using color curves

1. After selecting the action, the following dialog opens:
   
2. From the drop down menu above the Curves graph, select the channel you wish to adjust: Value, Red, Green, Blue and Alpha.
3. Then, use your mouse to create a point on the Curves graph and drag it to the desired position.
4. You can undo a previously made adjustment, using the Reset button next to the drop down menu. The reset only takes action on the curve you are currently modifying.
5. If you have already created a curves preset file with Photoshop or Gimp, you can use it by dropping in inside the Curves graph.
6. Then proceed as described under Asset Actions.

Define a Standard Variant

You create different variants of an asset with the asset actions. One of these variants is the standard variant which means that it will automatically be selected when importing an image into a document by double clicking on the respective icon (see Inserting an Image with the Media Asset Management ). By default, this is the unmodified version of the asset.

Follow these steps to set an asset variant as default:

1. Open the Asset Variants dialog:
   IconBox view:
   Click the desired asset to display the Information Panel.
   Select the View variants option.
   List view:
   Click in the User variants column of the desired asset on the link View variants.
   
   The Asset Variants dialog opens:
2. In the first column Default, change the variant you want to define as default by checking the respective radio button.

3. You can display a preview in a new window, by clicking in the second column Details on the name of the variant.
   In the column Plug-in it shows you which action was used to create this variant.

   Plug-in information in the dialog	Asset Action
   annotate	Text annotation
   crop	trims an image
   fitToSize	sets the desired image size
   resize	changes image size
   saturation	saturation
   thumbnail	creates a thumbnail
   4. Close the dialog box. imperia saves the settings automatically.

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Searching in the Media Asset Management

The Media Asset Management offers two options for a targeted asset search - full text search and filters.

Full Text Search

At the left of the footer of the Media Asset Management, you will find an input box for search terms that you can use to search for certain assets.

1. Enter a search term and press the Return key or click Search.
   Then, MAM will search the saved asset information for the search term and return a list of hits. The Media Asset Management saves the entered search terms and shows them as suggestions when you start typing.
2. To set a search-limitation choose one of the following available options:
   • All categories(default)
     The full text search is performed on all categories that you are granted access permissions to.
   • Current category
     The search is performed exclusively in the category, you have just selected in the asset category tree. Subcategories will not be searched.
   • Current subtree
     The same as the Current category, save that subcategories are included in the search.
3. If you want to clear the search to enter a new term or view the unfiltered content of a category, click Reset.

Search Filter

You can define search filters if you are frequently searching for assets with a recurrent search criteria. You can save them for each user individually and thus use them repeatedly without reentering them.
The control elements for the search filter are located on the right of the footer:

In the search filter configuration, you can choose from existing search filters, create new filters or modify, resp. delete existing ones.

Create new search filter

To define a new search filter, follow these steps:

1. In the drop down menu, click the option New filter:
   
   The New filter dialog opens:
   

2. Customize the settings for your new filter:

   1. Filter name: Enter a name for a filter that will be listed in the filter select box.
   2. Checkbox : If you want to make the search filter available to all users of your system, select the checkbox Save as global filter.

   3. Meta-information criteria:

      • left select box
        contains a list of available asset properties. Choose here the meta field to be filtered (for example, Title to filter assets by title).
        A special option is the option Saved filters that allows you to combine several saved filters into a "meta-filter".

      • middle select box
        determine which limitation to apply for the filter. The following options are available:

        • Contains : The filter pattern is found somewhere in the content of the selected meta field.

        • Does not contain : The filter pattern is not found in the content of the selected meta field.

        • Equals: The filter pattern is matched exactly in the content of the filtered meta field.

        • Does not equal : Assets, for which the filter pattern is matched exactly in the content of the filtered meta field, do not appear in the hit list.

        • Begins with : The content of the filtered meta field begins with the defined pattern.

        • Ends with : The content of the filtered meta field ends with the defined pattern.

      • right input field
        contains the search pattern; enter an alphanumeric filter pattern.

3. If you want to define several meta fields as filter criteria, click Add. Additional form fields for filter definition will be added. In Meta-information criteria, define the logical link between the different filter criteria. You can choose between the values All and Any.

4. To save the filter definition, click Save.

Edit or delete search filter

1. In the drop down menu, select the existing search filter.
   
2. Choose the Edit option. The dialog that opens is identical to the dialog for creating search filters. Make your changes and save them by clicking Save.
3. Choose the Delete option, to delete an existing search filter (global filters will be deleted for other users, too). You are prompted to confirm; click OK to finalize the deletion.

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Edit and Store QR Codes in MAM

Please note that the QR code generator is a separate feature that should be purchased additionally. Contact your imperia sales person for further information.

Important

You need an asset enabled category with a specific workflow, that includes the QR Code plug-in, in order to generate and store QR Codes in MAM. In doubt, contact your system administrator.

To upload and store the QR Code in the MAM, proceed as follows:

1. In the MAM select the category in which you want to edit the QR-Code, e.g.:
   

2. In the menu bar, select File -> Upload
   You will be led through the apppropiate workflow that is assigned for creating QR Codes. The following step though appears for every workflow where you need to make following settings:
   Adjust the available options:

   • Message
     Enter the website that will be linked to when clicking on the QR Code, e.g. www.pirobase-imperia.de or the data or text to be encoded as QR code. This option is mandatory and cannot be left empty.

   • Image format
     Select the desired image format from the drop down list. The available formats are:

     • png

     • jpeg

     • ASCII

   • Advanced options (for the layout of the QR Code):
     Error correction level
     Select the desired error correction precision from the drop down list. Available values are L, M, Q and H (lower to higher precision).

     Note

     In case you are using the Oil Paint filter to make the QR code look more stylized, make sure that the Error correction level has a higher value.

   • color (#hexadec)
     Define the color of the generated QR code in hexadecimal color format.

   • Radius
     Define the rounding radius for the Oil Paint filter. Possible values are in the range of 0 (default) to 2.

     Note

     Higher values may distort the QR code and make it unreadable for QR code scanners. It is recommended to use lower values, combined with higher error correction levels.

   • Margin size
     Define a margin for the generated QR code. Values range between 0 and 255.

   • Scale factor
     Define a scale for the generated QR code. Values range between 1 and 255.

3. Click the Save & Next button.
   A new dialog opens, where you enter the desired filename including the file extension, e.g. “imperia.de.png”.

4. Click again Save to close the dialog.

You are redirected to the MAM, where the new QR code is available as an asset: