This documentation section is dedicated exclusively to Scaleflex DAM. You can access the DAM directly from the top left menu in your VXP hub, to the right of the "home" tab, you will see the "DAM" tab. Once you've clicked on it, you will find yourself within Scaleflex's Digital Asset Management portal.

Upload assets

Upload assets in bulk from your local computer or various external sources.

Overview

The Uploader lets you upload assets in the DAM from a variety of sources:

• Your device's storage, camera or screen

• Web links

• Third-party sources include Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and many others.

You can drag & drop, copy & paste or browse to the file's location to select it for upload:

Transform assets during upload

You can transform your assets as part of the upload process.

Monitoring upload progress

Once you click the Upload button, a progress icon is shown on each asset, as well as an overall Progress bar underneath the Upload modal, showing the cumulative progress of all assets:

Upload results

There are three possible end states and relevant actions:

The Asset Details window allows you to peruse and edit all the information pertaining to the asset, modify the media (if it's in a supported format), publish the asset and more.

All the information about the asset is organised in vertical tabs:

All the available actions are at the top:

You can perform the following actions from the Asset Details window:

If Metadata Variants are configured for your project, you can view the asset according to a selected locale - including language, currency or anything else that is configured.

Next to the Regional settings, you will find three dots '...' button with which you can access a menu of actions you can perform on the asset:

Click the heart icon in the top menu of the asset window to add an asset to your personal My Favorites list.

In Scaleflex DAM you can manipulate your media files to get them just right for your needs.

Browse the relevant media subpage to learn more:

• Edit image

• Edit video

• Edit design template

If you have an image asset (jpg, png, webm, etc) you can modify it with the in-built Image Editor in a multitude of ways, including cropping, resizing, applying filters or watermarks, and so on. You can save the results as a new version of the main image or as an entirely new asset.

Edit image

Click the Edit image button from the context menu or in the Asset Details window to open it in the Image Editor.

The Image Editor is a feature-rich inline image editor that supports the most commonly used image editing function of image editing software:

Coming before end of 2024!

Coming before end of 2024!

You can Publish or Unpublish your asset from this menu and manage its visibility.

In addition, this menu provides options to share your asset throughSharebox, a CDN link, or embed in website.

All available asset details are organised in different categories, grouped in tabs:

The General Information tab provides the following information about the current asset you are viewing:

The Metadata tab holds information about the asset's custom defined or embedded metadata and is organised in 2 relevant sub-tabs.

Custom-defined metadata

You can create and customize metadata fields to fit your needs. These fields are categorised and apply to all assets within a specific Scaleflex DAM project (token). If you manage multiple projects, each can have its own unique metadata structure.

The Custom metadata fields are visible in the asset management modal, tab Metadata -> Custom.

See Managing metadata.

Embedded metadata

Embedded metadata is stored within the asset itself and remains with it when the file is shared or downloaded. Various software tools can access and read this metadata. Examples of embedded metadata include GPS coordinates, the author's name, camera details, and more.

Scaleflex DAM can extract embedded metadata, even from custom namespaces (e.g. model name, product category), and map them to fields in the Custom metadata section.

To enable embedded metadata extraction:

1. Go to Settings > DAM > Automations.

2. Enable the Extract embedded metadata post-process.

Once enabled, embedded metadata will be automatically extracted upon file upload and displayed in the Metadata -> Embedded tab of the asset management modal.

Creating transformation for a single image

1. Open the asset management window and navigate to the Variations tab.

2. Click the + Add variation button to create a new variation using the Image Editor.

After saving the variation, it will appear in the Variations tab. You can hover over the variation to either download it or copy an optimized CDN link for easy sharing.

Image annotations allow you to communicate with fellow contributors and discuss the features of the assets. Comments and annotations are timestamped and are available to all users with editing privileges.

Adding comments and annotations

The comment section is accessible from the context menu and the assets management modal of each file.

In the comments section, you can:

• View all comments for an asset.

• Sort or filter comments.

• Like or dislike comments.

• Mark comments as "Resolved."

• Start a new discussion from a comment.

The Approvals feature lets you gather structured feedback and decisions from stakeholders through a voting process. It ensures alignment and reduces errors, particularly for campaigns and projects with multiple contributors.

Key usecases

• Reviewing designs for marketing campaigns.

• Approving edited images before publishing.

• Gaining consensus for social media posts or web assets.

• Streamlining multi-department approvals for promotional materials.

Any asset can be submitted for an approval. "Approval" can adopt whatever definition your project needs, e.g. "Approval for website use".

Pre-requisites

Approvals must first be enabled for your project, which can be done by any user having access to Settings > DAM > Automations > Workflows:

Approval statuses

An asset, requested for an approval, can have these statuses:

*see Approval vote outcome section below

Approval vote outcome

An approval request is considered:

• Approved: When all approvers vote positively.

• Rejected: When at least one approver votes negatively or the request Due date expires.

If an asset is rejected, the requester can review comments, make adjustments, and submit a new approval request.

Due date expiration

If an approval is not approved by the due date, the approval is automatically rejected.

Requesting an approval

An approval can be requested in several ways:

1. From the Context menu > More actions > Manage approval
2. From the Library sidebar - expand the Approval status section and click the Manage approval link
3. From the Asset details window - go to the Approvals tab and click Request approval.

Steps to request approval:

1. Click the Request approval button to open the Request approval modal.

2. Complete the following fields:

   • Selecting approvers: Choose one or more approvers. Users without asset access are muted and cannot be selected. At least one approver is required to enable the Send request button.

   • Adding an optional message: Provide additional context for the approvers (eg. "Please review this image for use in next month’s newsletter").

   • Setting a due date: Set a realistic deadline for the review process. The local time is auto-detected.

3. Once the Send request button is clicked, all approvers receive an alert.

Voting on approval request

Approvers will get a notification when they are asked to vote on a request. An approver can click on the link in the notification or navigate manually to the asset. Once in Asset details window > Approvals tab:

1. Click on the View and approve link

2. Then choose to either Approve or Reject the asset

3. You can leave comments when voting, in this way providing immediate feedback like: "Please adjust the font size in the banner."

Manage approval request

Active requests can be modified by the original requester or anyone with the necessary permissions (if not listed as an approver).

How to manage an approval request

• Open the Approvals tab in the Asset details window.

• Click Manage approval to view details.

• Make changes as needed:

  • Cancel: Notify approvers and stop the approval process.

  • Edit: Modify approvers, due dates, or messages.

Viewing approval details and history

Regular users:

Regular users can view approval details but cannot take action or leave comments.

Where to view approval statuses:

The approval status is displayed in the following locations: 1. Asset thumbnails - Approval status is displayed on the top-right corner (not clickable).

2. Library sidebar - a field in the General tab shows the approval status. Hovering over it displays a summary tile.

1. Approvals tab - Provides a detailed history of all approval requests.

Approval history

1. Open the Approvals tab in the Asset details window.

2. Click History to view previous approval requests.

3. Select the file version from the left panel and click View details for more information.

Best practises for using Approvals:

• Use clear messages to explain the purpose of the approval.

• Set realistic due dates to allow stakeholders enough time to vote.

• Regularly review approval history for process insights.

The History tab within the Asset Window will display the whole history of the asset since its inception.

You can view all its versions along their creation timestamps, and you can click to expand any version to see all actions have been done to it, by whom and when:

The main difference between grouping assets via Folders, Labels, My favourites vs Collections is that the membership of assets to a group is dynamic when using collections. This means that assets are automatically added or removed from a collection based on their technical properties and metadata values.

Collections view

You can access the Collections view from the main menu on the Library page.

Collections sub-menu

In the collections list, the collections submenu has the following options:

• Name: sort by name ascending or descending

• “Sort” icon: if the collections are currently sorted by name ascending, then this will sort them descending and vice-versa

• “Planet” icon: allows to select the metadata/tags language

• Refresh: refreshes the collections list

• "Info" icon: if an asset is selected, provide additional details for it

• "Cart icon": a collection of downloaded assets.

Managing collections

Add a new collection

You can do this by clicking on the button + Add collection. A pop-up configuration panel will appear, prompting you to specify the collection’s name and settings.

• Name - Please specify a meaningful collection name

• Access - by default it is Company. Only users with access to DAM Hub can see these assets.

• Groups- The groups contain a list of pre-defined collection criteria that can be combined together.

Edit collections

Click on the "Settings" icon in the left panel of the page to open the Configuration window, which allows you to manage your collections.

That will open the "Manage collections" window where you can Search, Add new collections, Edit the current configuration or Delete existing collections.

Difference between Labels, Tags, and Collections

Labels allow users to organise their assets in a more structured and permanent way than Tags. Unlike the dynamic Collections whose assets change through applicable filters, they are static and are similar in principle to the labels on physical products (drinks, foods, clothes).

Users can still modify a given label and/or change which assets fall under it.

The system also allows users to view and search the labels and their applicable assets.

Labels View

The Labels page can be accessed from the DAM sidebar menu.

Managing labels

Creating labels

You can create named, colour-coded labels by clicking on + Add label button. This allows you to list and place all assets assigned to a specific label in a single view.

• Title - please choose a meaningful name for your new label

• Colour selector - choose a color by clicking a pre-defined color or by entering an RGB code manually.

• Pinned - if this checkbox is marked, then the new label will appear on the top of the labels list. On Sort the system will sort first the Pinned labels and then will show the other ones.

Editing labels

To manage labels, click the 'Settings' icon in the left panel. This opens the Configuration window.

That will open the "Manage labels" window where you have options to Search, Add new labels, Edit the current configuration or Delete existing labels.

Attaching a label to an asset

Right-click on an asset (or multiple selected assets) and choose the 'Manage' > 'Labels' submenu to search for and apply a label.

If no exact match is found during the search, the user can create a new label and apply it to the asset immediately.

Detach a label from an asset

This function is available on the Labels page when selecting a file and opening its context menu:

The user can select multiple files too and use the ... icon in the Navigation bar in order to access the same option.

In both cases, the user should have a Developer, Manager, Admin, or Owner User Role to detach a label.

Searching labels

Searching for an asset by a specific label

You can search by specific search criteria inside the pool of all assets assigned to a specific label, using the main Search box:

Searching for a Specific Label

If you are interested in finding all assets assigned to a specific label, you can search for this label's name in the Search box at the left panel and then click on the result.

Overview

The Product feature helps you organize and quickly find files by grouping them using specific product references. Once enabled, users can add two new metadata fields—Product Reference and Product Position—to their assets.

Marking assets with Product References makes it easy to locate materials for seasonal promotions or product launches.

Enabling Products

Creating and Deleting Products

A product will appear in the Products view only if at least one asset has this Product as assigned in its Product reference field.

Products are automatically removed from the Products view when no assets are associated with them.

Assigning Product Metadata to Assets

To add Product metadata to an asset:

1. Select the asset

2. Open the Details view

3. Go to Metadata > Custom

4. Click the Edit button

5. Add or update the Product reference and Product position fields.

6. Save the changes.

Product Reference identifies the specific product to which the asset is related. Product Position specifies the order in which assets appear within a product group. For example, it determines the sequence of images in a promotional campaign.

Removing Product metadata from an Asset

To detach product metadata from an asset:

1. Select the asset and open the Details view.

2. Navigate to Metadata > Custom.

3. Click the Edit button.

4. Clear the Product reference and Product position fields.

5. Save the changes.

Using the Products view

The list of Products can be found at Menu > Products (the Product view).

The Product Position value of an asset determines the order of the files in the detailed view when a Product is selected.

Searching for products

Product Filter

Use the Products filter in the search bar to find assets:

• Search by single reference: Enter one product reference to retrieve its associated assets

• Bulk reference search: Use the Add List option in the filter to paste multiple references (one per line). The system will automatically format the input and display results for all referenced products.

Users can mark assets as favorites and view / search these assets under the My favorites submenu for quick access. Each asset can be marked as favorite or not and each user can access their list of favorite assets via Menu > My favorites:

Adding assets to My favorites list

The user can add an asset to My favorites list by simply clicking on the heart icon at the bottom right corner of the asset:

An asset whose icon is colored in purple is already added to this list, while an asset whose icon is in grey is not part of My favorites.

Users can add multiple assets in bulk to My favorites list by selecting them and then opening ... -> Add to -> My favorites in the Navigation bar:

In the same way, an asset or a group of assets that are already added to My favorites list can be removed from there.

Sharebox allows you to share assets with third parties without access to Scaleflex DAM.

Creating a Sharebox

To create a Sharebox, select the assets you would like to share and open the Share Assets modal in the top bar or the context menu—Share / Via Sharebox.

Each Sharebox can optionally be password-protected, have an activation and expiration date, and provide options to disable or enable asset downloads. Additionally, you can invite users by email to access the Sharebox.

Editing and Deleting Sharebox Instances

You can view, modify, or delete Sharebox instances from the left menu in your library under "Sharebox." You can also change the password, activation date, or expiration date.

Search

The search bar allows user to use simple search with keywords that will find and display the most relevant assets found.

Simple keywords search

It is the search triggered by default when you use the main text bar, and looks for the entered keyword in title, description, filename, tags, along with all custom metadata.

Sorted by relevance (sorting adjustable afterward).

In the search keyword, any non-alphanumeric character is taken as a separator (eg "-" or "_") and the operation between those sub-keywords is AND.

If this search is used along with filters (mentioned below), it will be an AND operation between them.

The results returned by this search are divided into 2 sections, in order:

• Exact: all complete sequences of alphanumeric characters (at least) are matched.

• Partial/Fuzzy (aka extended): truncated sequence of alphanumeric characters, including small variations (e.g. typo), provided relevance is above a threshold (70% by default).

Advanced search

It is activated by typing the @ sign and selecting one of the dedicated search operator (filename,...). This allows user to search in specific fields - file, metadata, asset properties, etc.

User can also use the Context dropdown to narrow down the search scope to a specific folder or to Favourites.

Filter

By timestamp

By file format

By filesize

By tags

By metadata

By image info and content

By Product Reference

What is faceted navigation (aka faceted search) ?

At its core, faceted navigation utilizes a faceted classification system to organize information. This system categorizes items based on multiple, independent attributes called facets. Each added facet acts as new filtering layer.

• Concept: Faceted navigation falls under the umbrella of parametric search techniques. Instead of relying solely on keyword matching in a traditional search, it allows users to filter based on pre-defined parameters (facets) associated with the asset. This enables a more nuanced, smarter search experience.

• Technology: Faceted navigation relies on efficient data structures and algorithms to handle large datasets and filter combinations. In essence, the system needs to quickly identify items that match all selected facet criteria. Search engines like Solr or Elastic Search are popular choices for implementing faceted navigation due to their ability to handle complex filtering operations.

• Benefits: The technical aspects of faceted navigation translate into several benefits:

  • Drill-down refinement: Users can progressively narrow down results by applying multiple facet filters, leading to a precise subset of assets.

  • Faceted exploration: Faceted browsing allows users to explore different categories and discover new assets they might not have found through a simple keyword search.

  • Improved efficiency: By filtering irrelevant options, faceted navigation reduces the number of results a user needs to sift through, saving them time and effort.

How does faceted navigation work in DAM?

Faceted navigation is applied for 4 types of attributes (as of May 8th, 2024)

• Date (Uploaded and Created date)

• Metadata Single-select

• Metadata Multi-select

• Metadata Boolean

→ Faceted navigation is only available in the "Assets" view (ie. not in the Folder view)

→ Faceted navigation section is built as a side bar at the left side of the UI, replacing entirely the filter bar (shown below, that will then be hidden) in the Assets view.

Activation of faceted navigation

The dynamic of faceted navigation

Within a metadata, the operator between 2 values or more is set to OR

Between 2 metadata or more, the operator is set to AND

In details:

• Within a metadata

-> For multi-select, we provide 2 operators: AND and OR

Let assume we are calling query HAS (equal to IS but for multi-select we call it HAS just for gramatical purpose)

We will have 2 options

1. Metadata HAS a AND b -> expected results are files which have both values a and b, file that contains only a or b won't be returned

2. Metadata HAS a OR b -> expected results are files which has either a or b, file that contains both of the values will be returned also

➡️ This option cover the 1st option -> within a multi-select metadata, we will choose HAS-OR operator to cover more file results

-> For single-select, it will always be OR when users click in more than one answers as one file can not contain more than one value.

• For 2 metadata or more

For faceted search, it is an AND operator between multiple metadata as the answers will be more specific and this is the main idea for faceted navigation: trimming down the most correct answers

Example:

a. Multi-select metadata "colour" with value: “red”, “white”, “black”

When "red" and "white" are searched for -> expected answers are:

• Files that contain value red only

• Files that contain value white only

• Files that contain both value red and white

b. Single-select metadata "size" with value: “35”, “36”, “37”

When “35” and “36” are searched for -> expected answers are:

• files that contain 35 value only

• files that contain 36 value only

c. Now, combining the two previous examples

When “red”, “white”, “35”, “36” are searched for -> expected answers have to use AND operator to encompass the 2 metadata constraints, so answers will be assets that contain:

• red and 35,

• red and 36,

• white and 35,

• white and 36,

• red and white and 35,

• red and white and 36

→ Refining searches further is leading to more accurate and relevant results.