Tip #31

Use lightboxes to select digital assets for projects and collaborate with others.  You can share the lightbox with other users or email a lightbox link or download invite.

With so many fish in the sea and increased availability of internet-based services, we all ask ourselves “What are the Top Web APIs out there?” After speaking to internal and external web service experts, we have published the answer. Even if you’re not technically inclined, you’re sure to have used some of these popular APIs before. Note that we’d of course rank our beautiful WebDAM API on the list, but since we’re the humble type, we took WebDAM out of the this awards ceremony.

1. Google API http://code.google.com/more/

In the past decade, Google has moved far beyond mere search to maps, social networking, email, and more. Google APIs allow these various tools and services to be interfaced via many applications, bringing the multitude of Google products to just about every nook and cranny of the Internet. Following REST, XML and XSLT standards, Google APIs are designed to be easy-to-use and stable. Google’s endless roadmap of innovation, web services, and web application development make this choice a no brainer.

2. Facebook API https://developers.facebook.com/

The world’s biggest social networking site, Facebook needs no introduction. With the Facebook API, programmers can integrate a more personalized social experience on their own websites, including the ability to “Like” and share pages. Through the Facebook API, Facebook data can connect with countless business apps for endless possibilities.

3. Twitter API https://dev.twitter.com/docs

Known as “the best way to discover what’s new in your world”, Twitter is a real-time information network that continues to allow millions of people to connect and share information for free. The Twitter API is a huge resource —critical to the growth of social media in our world today.  With the Twitter API, programmers have the ability to integrate with everyday personal and business applications, creating automation and quick accessibility for sending and reading tweets. Twitter provides several options, including a Twitter for Websites (TfW) suite of integration tools, along with a Search API, REST API, and Streaming API.  With these web APIs, Twitter is now extended everywhere including blogs, mobile devices, social media sites, and more.

4. Amazon API https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/advertising/api/detail/main.html

Originally a mere bookseller, Amazon is now the marketplace leader selling anything from cat food to web applications —and both Amazon S3 and Amazon EC2 web services offer just as much flexibility. With S3, you can store your files in Amazon’s data center and manage access using the Amazon API, which has both a REST and SOAP interface. Using the Amazon S3 API is a convenient way to expand data storage and leverage other professional web applications. Amazon EC2  is a server farm rental service, where the amazon API can be leveraged for fail-over tools and other web services. The Amazon web API is no doubt, one of the most popular web APIs in the market.

5. Salesforce API http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api/index.htm

Salesforce is a leading CRM solution that gives businesses the information and tools necessary to gain and nurture customers. With the salesforce API via the Force.com platform, CRM functionality has become almost limitless. Organizations can customize their salesforce experience to accommodate even the most unique and complex business processes for a streamlined workflow. The salesforce API also allows prebuilt applications to fit any organization. In fact, they provide a number of ways for developers to implement custom features, including a SOAP Web Services API, REST API, Bulk API, Metadata API, Apex, and Visualforce.

6. YouTube API http://code.google.com/apis/youtube/overview.html

The biggest video-sharing website, YouTube’s motto of “Broadcast Yourself” is self-explanatory — average people, not the media, have turned YouTube into an internet juggernaut. This goes even further with the YouTube API, which enables people to integrate the video content and functionality however they want. YouTube provides both a YouTube Data API and a YouTube Player API, allowing programmers great flexibility and control over YouTube’s functionality and content.

7. WordPress API http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_API’s

One of the most popular content management systems around, WordPress powers both blogs and websites all over the world. The versatile WordPress API allows many applications to connect with its system via installable WordPress plugins, extending site functionality to incorporate social networks, play multimedia, and much more. Using the open source WordPress API, companies are able apply new functionality and features to Wordpress while instantaneously leveraging a new sales channel. Companies can also use a WordPress API key to manage security of their WordPress API plugin.

8. Box API http://developers.box.net/w/page/12923958/FrontPage

Box.net is a content management system with diverse capabilities to fulfill file management needs in the cloud. From personal users to enterprise solutions, /bin (the Box.net network) provides a box platform, pushing innovative ideas forward for apps built on the Box API. Enterprise technology gets dated quickly in just about any sector, and Box.net focuses on delivering a flexible experience utilizing cloud-based apps integrated with Box. The Box API is becoming more and more recognized as a valuable interface, especially in Silicon Valley.

9. Flickr API http://www.flickr.com/services/developer/

One of the web’s most popular photo sharing systems amongst friends, Flickr offers storage, organization, and display of digital photos. The Flickr API allows for development of different ways to share and organize photos, including integration with other social apps. Flickr also encourages programmers to converse, share, and curate using the Flickr API.

10. Dropbox API http://www.dropbox.com/developers

Dropbox is a collaborative tool that allows for file/document management and sharing across both personal and professional needs. Recently launched, the Dropbox API grants access to Dropbox data from other business applications for easy revisions, file sharing, search, even restoration of previous file versions. Designed for mobile apps and web services on multiple platforms, the Dropbox API is accompanied by various SDKs and tutorials for quick deployment.

Our list of best APIs ranges across many types of features and functionality, but they all have one thing in common: the ability for developers and administrators to evolve business applications into something more. As technologies continue to converge, integration and partnership are becoming increasingly more prominent across the entire landscape. As a result, more and more companies are driving forward together instead of competing with each other. Who benefits from all this? The most important person of all: the user, which is why it’s time to get on the web API bandwagon.

Stop the Metadata Madness!

Tired of entering metadata manually every time you upload a new batch of assets? With the new custom dropdown menu feature, the need for manual metadata entry every time has been eliminated! Plus, say bye bye to inconsistency!

Scenario:

Let’s say you work with the same photographer much of the time, Larry Smith. Larry uploads new work into your WebDAM and then your contributing users add the metadata. There is one problem, though. Your contributors—while diligent about adding the metadata—are consistently inconsistent. Your photographer is credited in various ways: Larry Smith, Larry R. Smith, Lawrence Smith, Lawrence R. Smith. All versions are technically correct, but the fact that there are four different versions for the photographer credit can undermine the searchability of your database.

The Solution: Metadata Drop Down Menu

Now when your contributors add the credit information, instead of manually typing in the photographer’s name, they will choose the photographer’s name from the dropdown menu you’ve already setup. If you want the photographer to be credited as “Lawrence R. Smith” every time, then that is the option you should put in the drop down menu.

Click to Enlarge

Setting it Up:

From the admin homepage, click on “Metadata Schema” located under the Folders & Assets menu. Under the “Configure” column, click the “Add” button for each field that should get a dropdown menu. Type in the items you want listed in the menu (one per line) and click “Save.”

In-Document Searching

Many of you depend on WebDAM for distribution of photos, logos, and even videos. Users can find the digital assets they need quickly by searching keywords and other metadata.

Did you know that you can also store a multitude of document files, such as Word and PDF. This can be very useful for maintaining a library of press releases, media kits, letterhead, process documents, and more. What’s more, WebDAM now supports in-document searching! This means that you won’t need to add keywords to your document files. Every word in those files is automatically searchable!  Just check “Search within documents” from the Search page and voila!  Instant results!

Search by Size and Resolution

Need an asset for a brochure, web banner, or magazine? Most printing companies will require a file that is 300 DPI whereas web banners only need to be 72 DPI. With this new filter, avoid spending time reviewing files that do not meet the size requirement. To use, simply enter a resolution parameter on the search page. You can also search by asset width and height which is great when searching for assets to use on the web!

Click to Enlarge

Congratulations development team on another fantastic update!

As always, these enhancements have come direct from our customers’ requests and feedback so keep ‘em coming!

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.

WebDAM supports the use of a controlled vocabulary to facilitate keywording in a consistent manner. For many organizations, the controlled vocabulary is often custom created to include words such as product names or industry-specific terms. For others, such as stock agencies, it makes sense to purchase a standard controlled vocabulary which includes broader terms such as man, woman, office, child. Whatever the source, WebDAM fully supports it in several ways:

For the Administrator: Through the web-based administrator tools, a controlled vocabulary can be imported, managed, and enabled to provide an easy mechanism for selecting terms to keyword your assets. This time-saving feature ensures consistency and uniformity in keywording across your database.

For the User: WebDAM also integrates the controlled vocabulary within the search capabilities so users have the added benefit of selecting terms rather than typing. This approach eliminates user frustration from searching terms that do not exist in the database. Users find what they need faster and easier.

Creating a controlled vocabulary for use in WebDAM takes just a matter of minutes once you have determined which terms you would like to include. A simple text file, one word per line, is all you need to get started!

Photo metadata can be a bit convoluted and overwhelming at first glance, especially since different standards exist for storing it. Things don’t get easier when you add in different applications that read, write, and handle metadata in various ways. Still, a consistent element exists with all photo metadata, and these simple concepts can help anyone get more out of their photos.

What is metadata?
A simple and very common definition of metadata is data about data. However, I much prefer the definition from Everything is Miscellaneous: Metadata is what you know and data is what you’re looking for.

What is photo metadata?
Photo metadata is a specific type of metadata that refers to the attributes of a digital photo. It is different from other types of metadata due to its embedded nature – photo metadata is typically embedded within the image header for additional functionality and usefulness. This provides flexibility, allowing the metadata details to travel with the photo independent of the application or environment. In other words, photo metadata is interoperable.

Let’s look at an example of photo metadata in action. If a photographer uses Adobe Lightroom for post-processing his images, he can add key metadata details such as location, copyright, and keywords using Lightroom’s captioning tools. He can then send the image to a client that uses Apple Aperture. The client can open the image in Aperture, and even though the application is different, the metadata is still accessible.

Without photo metadata standards, this simply wouldn’t be possible – each application would read and write in application-specific fields, meaning that information couldn’t be exchanged between Lightroom and Apple Aperture. It’s easy to imagine how this would create headaches for everyone involved.

What are photo metadata standards?
Photo metadata standards describe consistent available metadata fields so information can cross platforms. The standards provide instructions for application developers on how to read and write information to and from the image. The most common and widely adopted metadata standards are EXIF, IPTC, and XMP.

Why are there several different standards?
In any industry, communication is easier when there is a single standard to use. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened here, and it’s really just because that’s the way things evolved. The good news for consumers is that only application developers really have to deal with the different standards. As a user, the standards provide different types of information and benefits and most software applications handle these standards fairly seamlessly, providing the benefits of each sans the confusion. Let’s take a closer look at each of these standards:

EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format): EXIF is metadata embedded in an image by a digital camera when the image is first captured. EXIF data includes information such as camera manufacturer, model, focal length, color space, date, and time. Most EXIF fields are write-protected and can’t be edited by software applications; this is because any editing or updating of these fields would impact the integrity of the original photo capture information. EXIF metadata is supported in JPEG and TIFF files.

IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council): IPTC is the standard that defines information such as copyright, location, and keywords. Originally developed for news agencies in the 1990s, IPTC allows different organizations (such as news agencies) to exchange photo information by adding the metadata using photo management and capturing tools. IPTC metadata is supported in JPEG and TIFF files and has seen wide adoption by third-party software vendors.

XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform): XMP is an XML-based standard that supports a wider range of file formats (including JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, PDF, AI, EPS, and DNG files). Developed by Adobe, XMP is generally easier to work with for software applications because of the extensible XML format. While XMP is viewed as a better platform by many in the industry, Adobe understood the need to work with previous standards. Because of this, Adobe integrated IPTC metadata into XMP to prevent older images from being left behind.

Despite the best intentions of Adobe to integrate IPTC into XMP, there’s still a gap in terms of compatibility. Some applications support XMP, some support legacy IPTC, and some support both. To make things more complicated, some applications may offer different levels of support for these standards (e.g. reading from both but only writing to one).

Other applications, WebDAM included, offer an all-encompassing solution by writing to both standards. This helps keep them in sync. For example, if you wanted to put metadata in your photo regarding country of origin, you could save “country=USA.” The application would simultaneously save the metadata to the legacy IPTC “country” field and the XMP “country” field for maximum flexibility regardless of application.

In terms of software, choices exist when it comes to compatibility. The popular Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, etc.) support EXIF, IPTC, and XMP, and even includes different types of functionality for handling images and associated metadata. Outside of Adobe’s products, hundreds of other applications, ranging from editing tools to photo database and digital asset management systems, support at least one of these standards.

Given the huge investment involved with annotating an image archive, your application of choice should include support for these widely adopted standards. The wrong choice could create a ripple effect through your digital media pipeline, forcing you to backtrack and make retroactive updates and corrections. If you’re considering software that uses proprietary standards for handling metadata, it’s best to let it be – those types of applications will only cost you valuable time and money in the end.

FETCH SOFTWORKS
http://fetchsoftworks.com/

Fetch is a full-featured file transfer client exclusively for Mac users. Fetch supports both FTP and sFTP file transfer protocols to ensure compatibility with most internet providers, web-hosting companies, publishers, and more. The Droplet shortcuts and Dashboard widgets make it easy to upload files and track the progress of the upload through the user friendly interface. View your files effortlessly on the web using the WebView tool, which also allows users to copy web addresses. Tired of wasting time and energy on monotonous tasks? Simply use the Automator actions and AppleScript recording to automate repetitive tasks. Fetch assures that all your questions and concerns are addressed through their extensive online help support.

FILEZILLA
http://filezilla-project.org/

For those of you looking for a free FTP solution, FileZilla is what you have been searching for. This open source software is distributed free of charge and provides both clients and a server. Easy to use, this cross-platform FTP, FTPS and sFTP client has numerous features. Unlike other FTP solutions, FileZilla is not exclusive to Mac or PC users but is able to run on Windows, Linux, Mac OS and more. Not to mention that it is available in many different languages. Stay on task and organized with FileZilla’s powerful site manager, transfer queue, bookmarks and filename filter. For files larger than 4GB, this FTP solution supports the resume and transfer of those large files.

ACEFTP 3 PRO
http://software.visicommedia.com/en/products/aceftp/

Whether you’re a novice or a tech savvy professional AceFTP 3 Pro is a FTP client software solution for everyone. Securely transfer your files with the ease and efficiency that AceFTP Pro provides. There is no question that your files will be secure with the software’s password protection and SSL security protocol integration features. The familiar Windows XP-style interface and the dual-plane interface make AceFTP 3 Pro easy to navigate. File transferring has never been easier as this software allows users to execute multiple file transfers simultaneously, conduct server-to-server file transfers, resume interrupted transfers, open numerous FTP sites concurrently and much more.

FLASH FXP
http://www.flashfxp.com/

For Windows users, FlashFXP may just be what you are looking for. Make file transfers easier with FlashFXP as it allows you to transfer files between other local computers running a FTP server, via the Internet, or between two servers using site-to-site transfers. Some of the benefits of FlashFXP include the multi-language support, internal text editor for quick edits, internal schedule and site states to keep track of all uploads as well as downloads among many other features. FlashFXP makes this FTP solution simple to use through the FTP only and FXP views, advances queue control, enhanced drag and drop functionality and the folder bookmarks.

CoffeCup
http://www.coffeecup.com/free-ftp/

If you are looking for a simple FTP solution without the frills and unnecessary features then CoffeCup is for you. This FTP solution is a simple and reliable way to transfer your files, and the best part is its free! Simply upload files by dragging and dropping them from your computer to your server. Due to the set up on multiple server profiles you are able to transfer your files in binary, ASCII, or auto mode. Keep your files organized using the Combo Bookmarks, which allow users save the local and remote folder. This FTP solution also makes it possible for users to pull them both folders up at the same times. CoffeCup’s direct FTP also makes it possible to make changes directly on your server to save you time and energy.

If you are looking for a complete desktop image management solution with built-in FTP, check out my recommendations for the top photo workflow tools.

Adobe Bridge CS4
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/bridge/
Adobe Bridge lets you browse, locate, organize, view and tag your digital photos. Bridge is included in all six editions of Adobe Creative Suite 4. This is the perfect solution for less advanced workflows looking to centralize and access local files.

Photo Mechanic
http://www.camerabits.com
Photo Mechanic touts itself as both an image browser and workflow accelerator and is a very popular tool amongst professional photographers. Offering a thumbnail view of your images in a contact sheet display window, Photo Mechanic makes it easy to compare and select the best in a group. Batch processing and IPTC and EXIF metadata support make it easy to organize and catalog large volumes of images.

Microsoft Expression Media
http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/expressionmedia2
Organize, share and protect your digital assets quickly and easily using Microsoft Expression Media 2 (formerly iView MediaPro). This software handles organization, cataloging, metadata, editing, presentation, publishing and archiving. Streamline your tasks by simplifying the process of transferring an image from your camera to print.

Adobe Lightroom
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom
Spend less time importing, editing, managing and showcasing your images with the help of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. The software’s top new features make it essential for today’s digital technology workflow. These features include (but are not limited to) enhanced organizational tools that sort and filter large volumes of data using powerful metadata, multiple monitor support to easily and efficiently manage image workflow, streamlined Photoshop CS4 integration and volume management to manage and organize images across multiple drives.

Apple Aperture
http://www.apple.com/aperture
Lightroom’s biggest competitor, Apple’s Aperture 3 makes it quick and easy to import photos onto your Macintosh computer, even making it possible to preview and adjust images as they are being imported. Organize your files anyway you choose, whether it be through faces, places or descriptive keywords and captions. Aperture 3 allows you to compare images side by side to make selections, flag specific images and add color labels.

How can these tools integrate with your digital asset management workflow? Like WebDAM, all of the above include IPTC and XMP support so your metadata is completely compatible between applications. To further streamline your workflow, each of these tools integrates FTP so you can connect directly to your WebDAM account from your desktop to seamlessly publish your assets to the web to archive, share and distribute throughout your organization.

What are your favorite desktop tools for photo editing and image workflow?