Digital Asset Management - DAM-it! - The Blog » image requests

DAM Mondays: Digital asset management tip #30

Melissa Kelly — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:25:22 +0000

Happy MLK Day! Begin this week with a digital asset management dream to fulfill all your image requests easily with today’s DAM Mondays tip.

Tip #30

Use the Request Manager to manage the many requests for images and brand assets that you receive. Approve or deny access in one click.

What’s New in WebDAM: Download Request

Leigh Ann Ledford — Tue, 10 May 2011 22:01:29 +0000

A powerful component of digital asset management is controlling who and when your digital assets are used. With WebDAM, the system administrator has the ability to control this through setting up different permission levels for users and user groups. The administrator manages who can download and who can only view an asset. We are excited to announce an enhancement to this function…the download request feature!

With the new download request feature, administrators no longer have to choose between giving their users the ability to download or only view an asset. Now, they can alternatively choose to give users an opportunity to request a download right from the system!

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Benefits:

Added protection and control over assets
Saves time and needless emailing of assets
Automatic email notifications for download requests
Easy to approve or decline requests from the Request Manager

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How it Works:

Enable download requests in your Global Preferences on the Downloads tab.
Users without permission to download (view-only users) will now see a button on the Asset Preview page to Request Download.
The system administrator will receive an email with notification of the request and a link to the Request Manager.
From the Request Manager, all requests are displayed with an option to approve or deny.
Upon approval, the requester will receive an email notification with a download invite for the appropriate asset.

Need advanced control over requests? WebDAM also provides the ability to enable requests at the folder level including the ability to specify who should receive download requests for each folder!

WebDAM is listening. This feature was developed based on customer feedback. Tell us what you think by commenting in our blog.

Breaking Down DAM (Digital Asset Management) Distribution

Jody Vandergriff — Thu, 05 May 2011 18:27:23 +0000

Partners, distributors, media outlets, web producers, ad agencies, publishers—all of those groups depend on your digital media every day. How do you manage these needs? Surprisingly, many companies—both small and large—have no process in place to manage these requests, resulting in project delays and bottlenecks.

This process is known as digital media distribution and is a key component to digital asset management. A DAM’s core functionality includes managing, searching, organization and archiving assets, but what happens when you’re inundated by internal and external requests? Without distribution, this creates a difficult situation for busy content managers. So how does digital asset management facilitate distribution of digital media? Let’s take a closer look at the different approaches to distribution:

Self-service
- The self-service model provides your stakeholders with direct access to your photos, videos, brand assets and other types of digital files. Within WebDAM, that means web access to view, search and download what they need through a browser. However, the self-service model can be as simple as a shared file server made directly accessible to the requester. With the self-service model, the requester accesses what they need with no interaction by the content manager.
Requests
- Under this approach, the digital asset management system facilitates requests by providing the requester with a mechanism to contact the content manager for file-access permission. Within WebDAM, this includes providing the requester with preview and search capabilities to confirm the assets of interest. Once identified, the requester can submit a request for review and approval by the content manager, all using an online system. This type of request mechanism saves the content manager a significant amount of time by bypassing the search-and-identify process—all while limiting database access for the requester.
Fulfillment
- Fulfillment requires the content manager to do the legwork. The content manager takes the request, searches for potential matching assets, and provides the requester with access to only those selected assets. Fulfillment, unlike self-service, grants access to only a limited selection of files based on the requester’s specific guidelines. WebDAM facilitates this process with its Lightbox and email distribution features, providing an efficient means for selecting and sending files.

So which distribution method is best for you? All of them, in fact! Each distribution method can be appropriate depending on the situation. For example, if a member of the press makes a one-time request for corporate photos, fulfillment may work best. However, if your web team needs regular access to brand assets and product photography, self-service allows them anytime-anywhere access. Regardless of the method, an efficient process for distribution of photos, brand assets and marketing collateral can lead to more efficient production, saving time and money for everyone involved.

Feature in Focus: Lightbox

Leigh Ann Ledford — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:39:30 +0000

Allow me to show you the Lightbox!

Lightboxes are the solution to so many distribution challenges, for several reasons, but most importantly, Lightboxes save you time! No more cumbersome downloading, burning images onto a CD, and overnighting disks that may not even be the ones the recipient was hoping for… Or worse, getting lost in the mailroom shuffle!

In my past life in publishing, this would happen time and time again. The photographer would overnight a CD of high resolution images for review… only for our photo editor to say, “I can’t use any of these! Do they have anymore they can send?” Should this happen once and sometimes twice (as it often did), you’ve eaten up a week up precious production time!

I’m sure you have many similar stories springing to mind right now… Your boss is on vacation and needs you to review and select images to use in a brochure to send to production on a tight deadline. Your PR manager needs high-resolution photos of the company’s latest product ASAP. And so on.

For those of you who have not used the Lightbox yet, it’s easy to get started. First, some basics! A Lightbox is simply a way to group files within WebDAM. While logged in with your WebDAM user account, you can create and manage an unlimited number of Lightboxes, a huge time saver when working on simultaneous projects!

To add assets to a Lightbox, simply click the Lightbox icon underneath any thumbnail. The asset will be added to your active Lightbox instantly. Your active Lightbox (the one you are currently adding to) can be changed at any time using the Lightbox toolbar at the bottom of your browser. From here, you can also create a new Lightbox. To view your Lightboxes, click on Lightbox within the navigation links near the top of your account.

Note: Your individual WebDAM account may have a custom name for the Lightbox feature such as Favorites or Selections. Contact your system administrator if you are unable to locate the Lightbox.

So, let’s talk distribution.

One of the key benefits to using the Lightbox for distribution is that you can share a collection of images and other types of files with someone who normally wouldn’t have access. For instance, let’s say you need to send a press representative several high-res product shots. You can simply add the files to a Lightbox and utilize the Lightbox distribution features to provide access.

There are two ways to distribute assets from the Lightbox. You can email a download invite or FTP the files directly to an FTP server.

Emailing a download invite:

From the Lightbox page, select Email a download invite from the Lightbox Downloads menu on the left.
Complete the form on the next page, and click on Send Email.
The recipient will get an email with an invitation to download.
They simply need to click on the link provided in the email to access the download.

Sending via FTP:

From the Lightbox page, click on FTP assets to another computer from the Lightbox Downloads menu on the left.
Complete the form on the next page with the recipient’s server address, username, and password, and click on FTP images.
At this point, the recipient can retrieve the files from their FTP server.

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I know what you’re thinking. I have just one image to send. Do I really have to go through all of these steps for just one image? Absolutely not!

You can send a download invite right from the Asset Preview Page! Just click on Send Download and complete the email download form.

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Distribution tools are just one component of the Lightbox. In an upcoming post, we will address collaboration challenges and how to use the Lightbox to be even more effective in these efforts. Stay tuned!

Feature in Focus: Role-Based Permissions

Leigh Ann Ledford — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:54:15 +0000

DAM Micromanaging!

But in a good way…

Role-based permissions are one of the most customizable features in WebDAM. Utilizing role-based permissions enables the administrator to set different permission levels for viewing, downloading, and even uploading, on a group-by-group basis. This means that you can have all of your digital assets accessible from the same database, but specify by user group – by folder, exactly which assets are available to which user groups!

Scenario

So, let’s say you are in charge of a global marketing team with offices around the world. You want most assets available only to your internal team members. But, you also want to have some of those assets available to external vendors and media outlets. Role-based permissions allow you to have both, and it takes just a few minutes to setup.

The first step is to create user groups for the various roles they have within your database. For this scenario, we will use the following user groups: Corporate Marketing, External Vendors, Internal Team, and Media.

The next step is to set the permissions for a specific folder by user group and its respective roles. To get started, go to the admin homepage and select “permissions” from the Gallery Preferences menu.

From the Switch to permissions for: dropdown menu, select the folder within which you want to have unique permissions. In this scenario, we want to make assets in the CORPORATE IMAGES folder viewable and downloadable by the Media user group. We also want to make sure that the assets within the CORPORATE IMAGES folder are not viewable or downloadable by the Guest or External Vendor user groups. Simply check/uncheck the box under the view folder column and then choose allow/do not allow under the download column.

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In addition to setting permissions for what user groups can view and download, there are several administrative permission options, such as uploading assets and creating folders. Users with access to these functions are called Contributors.

Once you have the folder permissions setup, be sure to add users to the appropriate groups. To specify which users belong in which groups, select “manage group members” from the Users & Groups menu.

Want more flexibility, ok… In WebDAM, you can create as many user groups as you want. And, users can belong to more than one user group. These settings can also be found under the Users & Groups menu.

For more tips on role-based permissions as they relate to your specific organization, contact your Customer Success Manager or Sales Representative.

Feature in Focus: Click-on Agreement

Leigh Ann Ledford — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:35:14 +0000

In this month’s feature in focus, we will go over some of the benefits of using the click-on agreement feature. This tool can be useful for virtually any business using WebDAM for digital asset management. Even if internal users are the only ones downloading your assets, the click-on agreement can be invaluable. Once a user is able to download the asset, they can do whatever they want with it, and often do: email to a third party, use it to print a marketing brochure for major distribution. To the users, this act seems completely harmless. Many people do not know that images have rights and usage terms associated with them. One easy way to combat this haphazard usage is to communicate with your users on how the assets may be used. Enter click-on agreement…

With the WebDAM click-on agreement, the account administrator can write completely custom terms. Some system administrators prefer a short, general explanation, while others prefer a very detailed, more formal agreement, written and approved by their corporate legal team. It’s up to you. But here a couple of samples to get you started:

General

“This asset belongs to the University of Digital, and may be used only for educational purposes. It is not for commercial use.”

Specific

“This End User License Agreement is a legal agreement between you (in your capacity as an individual and as an agent for your company, institution or other entity) (collectively, “you” or “Licensee”) and The University of Digital. Downloading, displaying, using, or copying of an image by you or by a third party on your behalf indicates your agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of the License Agreement. You agree that the image selected by you may be used for noncommercial, educational purposes only; no derivative works are allowed, and attribution and copyright notice is required. Any transfer of the image by you must be for non-commercial purposes: transferred copies are equally subject to the terms of this Agreement. Please provide the following copyright notice on any appearance of a downloaded image: ©University of Digital. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, do not download, display or use the image.”

Enabling the Click-On Agreement

To enable this feature: From the admin side of the database, go to your gallery preferences and click on the downloads tab. Make sure the enable click-on agreement box is checked and enter your click-on agreement verbiage in the text box. To format your agreement, enter HTML! Be sure to make your preference selection for whether you want users to be prompted with the click-on agreement box every time or just for the first download. Save and you’re done!

Case Study: WebDAM and the American College of Rheumatology

Jody Vandergriff — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:51:01 +0000

Our new case study details how the ACR is utilizing WebDAM to power the foremost collection of rheumatology images. The new Rheumatology Image Bank expedites image request fulfillment through its 24/7 web access, granting journalists, teachers, and researchers the ability to instantly retrieve high-resolution imagery. Read more at: http://www.webdamsolutions.com/casestudies/acr-image-bank.php.

Get Organized in 2010 with DAM

Jody Vandergriff — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:05:00 +0000

It is a little known fact that “Getting Organized” is considered one of the ten most popular New Year’s Resolutions year after year. After all, an organized life promises to save time, improve focus, and reduce stress. Well, the same can be said for your digital assets. When organized, your digital assets work for you – helping you complete projects efficiently and bring products to market. When they are not organized, however, your digital assets can actually hinder your product pipelines, acting as bottlenecks and fragmenting your workflows. Here is a list of the top 5 ways DAM gets you organized and saves time:

1. Find what you need, when you need it: Centralizing your digital assets means you will always know where to find your critical images, designs, and other assets exactly when you need them. DAM provides a framework to quickly search and browse through thousands of assets, a nearly impossible task if your files are scattered on hard drives, PCs, and DVDs. Web-based solutions for Digital Asset Management, such as WebDAM, further improve this benefit by ensuring your assets are accessible 24/7 anywhere in the world.

2. Reuse rather than regenerate: Hundreds of hours have gone into generating your digital creations, all to be used once, and then buried within the confines of a designer’s computer. Not anymore. With DAM, your assets are readily available and tagged with important meta-data such as how, when, and where a given file was used within your marketing campaigns. Easily find related images and image source files to promote reuse and allow you to more easily repurpose your hard work.

3. Remove the gatekeeper: If you are like many organizations, one department, or often times even a single individual, is responsible for fulfilling image requests coming from a number of sources including internal departments such as the web team, marketing, and PR to external associates, such as media professionals. There are three potentials pitfalls with this approach. First, you are relying heavily on the knowledge of a few individuals about where your files are located. What happens when they leave the company or change positions? Second, as your requests grow, it becomes impossible to fulfill each and every one while meeting deadlines. And last, once the requested assets are located, how do you deliver them to the recipient? Burning CDs or emailing large image files consumes enormous amounts of time. With DAM, image requests can be “self-fulfilled” by directly searching the DAM database and instantly retrieving exactly what is needed. Most DAM systems also include tracking capabilities to keep you on top of how your assets are being used and distribution tools to provide several mechanisms for efficiently delivering the digital files to the recipient.

4. Watch those copyrights: If you are handling rights-managed digital files, such as photos, knowing your usage rights is critical. Breaking copyrights is a costly mistake that no organization wants to make. So what do you do when you locate a photo but don’t know the terms upon which it was acquired? After much effort tracing the purchase, you will most likely opt to play it safe and purchase a new license. With DAM, you are not only tracking your digital files but also the critical meta-data associated to your files, such as copyright terms.

5. A race to the finish: From the previous four points, you can probably guess why DAM helps you meet deadlines and get products to market faster. Organizing your digital assets and the associated meta-data, means less time searching and more time producing. Many DAM tools go a step further by providing workflow integration and collaboration tools to actually facilitate your project pipelines. For example, WebDAM provides an online collaboration environment, called a Lightbox, enabling individuals to share project-specific files and swap notes and comments, resulting in faster collaborative turn-around.

In a future post, we will break down the DAM Return on Investment, or ROI, to see just how much time and money DAM can save your organization.