Latest Features

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is typically the file extension you will see for images encoded with the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) Format. This standard was adopted by Apple in 2017, so you may see files with that extension on Apple devices. Now, if you upload files with these extension to Asset Bank we generate a preview.

Photo by Jonathan Daniels on Unsplash

HEIC is similar to JPGs, but typically generates smaller file sizes, yet at higher quality.

You can already use Advanced Search to find assets that have no data in specific metadata fields. For example, with text attributes (like 'Description') you can just type in 'isempty' and hit 'Search' to find all assets with no value in this field.

This is also supported for checklists and dropdowns, where you'll see an 'Empty' option that you can select.

We've now extended this feature so that it can be used via the Filter Bar. You can type 'isempty' into text fields or use the new 'Empty' option that appears in dropdowns or checklists.

Global Filters are a mechanism that allow a user to restrict what they see via search or browse when set. For example, an admin may have a global filter that when on only shows all 'Active' assets (hiding 'Inactive' or 'Expired' files).

 Previously when a Global Filter was activated, there was a message to communicate this, as shown here:

This is quite distracting, especially as some clients have a Global Filter active by default. We have now switched this to follow common design standards to more subtly indicate that a filter is active. It now looks like this:

With a green circle/tick indicator on the Global Filter icon (top right of your Asset Bank screen). Note, after you run a search, there is an additional info panel above the search results reminding you that the filter is on.

Published lightboxes are a great way to share assets with external recipients who do not need to login. Clients have also asked us for the ability to create View Only versions of these collections, as often the use case is to share options with recipients, rather than giving them something to download.

So we've added this. Now, when publishing a lightbox that has been configured to use a download option for re-sizing, you can opt to untick all the options and just publish.

Asset Transformer is a module that allows you to generate re-sized versions of image assets and have them served by Asset Bank via Amazon CloudFront CDN (Content Delivery Network). Recent changes we have implemented mean that now, after uploading a new version of an image that is being used by transformer, this will immediately be reflected via the CDN (rather than waiting one day for the cache to expire first). This ensures that any updates to your product images will be in front of your clients immediately.

Our clients often create lightboxes to store and share collections with other Asset Bank users (e.g. designers) for processing. But what if that designer is leaving and wants to pass on his lightbox to a colleague? That's now possible with lightbox re-sharing. When this is on a user can re-share a lightbox that was originally shared with them.

Admins can activate this via:

Admin > System > Asset Share Settings:

Note, once active, when a user shares a lightbox it will now default to an editable version. This has to be ticked for the party you share it with to be able to forward it on.

We have overhauled the User Management page that admins have access too.

Benefits include:

1. One search box to allow you to search on anything (user name, email address, group name, etc.)
2. Search filters to allow you to narrow down your search results based on other criteria (e.g. admin users, members of specific groups, SSO users, etc.)
3. A much condensed search area, meaning loads more space to display user information without the need to scroll 
4. All active users listed automatically when you arrive on the page for convenience
5. Eight columns of user data instead of three, including Group, Status, Last Login and Expiry date 
6. Sortable columns of data, with extra info shown on hover
7. Safer user deletion controls to avoid accidental deletion

As requested, we've made it easier to empty an existing lightbox directly from the panel, without having to visit the lightbox page itself.  

We've extended our existing simple Drupal Connector so that it now supports Drupal 9.

Clients have asked for more control when paging through search results and so we have added the ability to skip forward/backwards and jump to the beginning and end of the result set.

We've updated Asset Bank so you'll now see file extensions on your asset previews. This will help you quickly identify the type of file - JPG, MP4, PPTX, DOCX - you name it.

You won't see these on the homepage panels (this is to keep your homepage clean and reduce noise), and in addition, you can now find the file extension on the asset details page too - in the info panel (on the right-hand side). 

Clients who make use of our External Upload feature have asked us to add in the "Populate Title from Filename' option into this workflow. This will help save lots of time when this is the desired outcome. To achieve this we have added the feature to the Bulk Update process. You can now see it there:

When assets expire, then admins (and other groups who should be notified) receive alert emails. Previously these just showed the Asset IDs, so you'd have to find the URL of the Asset Bank and then search for the IDs to see these files. This has been streamlined, and now these IDs are hyper-links that take you straight to the assets in question.

We've extended the options available for metadata extraction (or injection) by adding two new accessibility options for IPTC metadata: Alt Text (Accessibility) and Extended Description (Accessibility). You can access these via:
Admin > Attributes > Embedded Data Mappings (tab)

More details about these two new properties can be seen on this IPTC Article. 

We're excited to announce a new third-party integration that allows you to build a powerful video microsite and connect with your Asset Bank. 

Media Channel is a video platform for publishing your video content online. Its powerful search and sharing capabilities mean you can push your brand's videos out to your audiences, fast.

Here are some of the things you can do in Media Channel:

1. Auto-transcribe automatically creates new, searchable metadata to help people find exactly what they're looking for. What’s more, when clicking on a certain word in the transcript, the video player automatically jumps to that point in the video.
   
   
2. Search, clip and share means your audience can find the content they are looking for, create a clip and share that clip on their social media channels.
   
   
3. Automatically update videos in Media Channel whenever you make a change in Asset Bank. This ensures your content is always up to date and you are in control of what is published.

If you want to see what Media Channel looks like in the wild, check our Hammer Museum's incredible archive of live events and recordings. Also see our integration page.

Published Lightboxes are a great way to share content with external recipients. When publishing users have the option of adding a password. But what if you, as an admin, want to ensure that all content shared in this way is password protected? You can now do this via the Published Lightbox configuration options. You can find these here:

Admin > Publishing > Lightbox Publishing Actions (tab) > "Update Lightbox publishing settings"

You will then see the new option that allows you to make passwords mandatory for all Published Lightboxes.

Note, you can also set the maximum period before a Published Lightbox is unpublished and becomes unavailable to the external recipient.

For those who have the permissions to, we've added the new 'Download Original' button to the assets details page. It's a small change that can make a big difference to the way you retrieve your assets.

The Asset Transformer Module is a powerful tool for repurposing images stored within Asset Bank for your public-facing websites. To improve the usability of the module we've included all-new options:

• Define the compression of returned JPEGs to help optimise images for your website, improving deliverability, performance and SEO ranking.
• New PNG and WEBP formats allow you to maintain the transparency of repurposed images.

None of the above options require any additional configuration within Asset Bank, merely a parameter appended to the URL to retrieve the asset.

Automatically sync your Shutterstock purchases into Asset Bank. No configuration required, just log into your Shutterstock account and newly purchased images are imported into Asset Bank at regular intervals.

The devil's in the details so now you can see everything an image has to offer with full, in-app zoom functionality. Easily pan and zoom with your mouse, keyboard or the on-screen buttons.

External Uploader allows contributors outside of your organisation to be able to upload to Asset Bank without needing a registered account. Perfect for ad-hoc or one-time contributors such as external photographers or third-party agencies.

Admins provide a unique link to an upload area which a contributor uploads to. The uploaded files remain hidden until reviewed and approved by an administrator user, at which point attribute metadata can be added just like a normal upload.

Read more about External Uploader here, or get in touch with the team to learn more.

Filter Bar is our brand new search and browse feature that provides users with a streamlined way of narrowing their search results. Adding search criteria through the attributes in the Filter Bar will return results immediately on the page rather than needing to visit a separate screen.

Find more information on how to configure your Filter Bar, please visit this article or get in touch with our Customer Support Team.

If you share a single image or video file via the Asset Bank Share feature (by email or URL), the recipient can preview the file before downloading it. This is useful if you want to share a large video file with many recipients who can view it in situ without having to download it first.

If you're already taking advantage of Asset Bank's API then you'll be glad to hear we've introduced OAuth2 management in the front end of the site. Under Admin > System you'll now see an API tab where you can manage your API settings and add new OAuth2 credentials.

If your site has multiple languages enabled you may find that the majority of your users wish to use the second language as default. Now you can change the default language of your site in the Languages page.

Admin Dashboard provides administrator users with quick access to important information such as pending available storage, active users/user allowance, outstanding approver tasks, recent/failed searches, user activity information such as download, upload and login data and more.

Admin Dashboard is available for customers hosted on our Cloud Hosted Service at no extra charge, and is accessed via the admin tools (Admin > Dashboard). If you'd like to learn more please get in touch with our customer support team.

We have introduced a fixed header which makes it easier to access important features like quick search, lightboxes, search filters (if enabled) and your user profile.

The fixed header also captures system notifications and the selection bar when browsing through your assets.

It's now possible to export a full list of your Categories, Folders or Keyword Attribute Lists as a .tsv file. Simply navigate to any of the relevant admin screens for those features (i.e Admin > Folders) and you'll see the option:

You can open this file in Excel or a text editor to view, or edit and re-import using the 'Import xxx from a file' option.

You can now change the algorithm Asset Bank uses to match plurals or similar words when searching.

These options are available to Admin users in Admin > System > Search Settings

We've made it easy for your users to find the assets they need, as soon as they login.

The new Asset Bank homepage is the culmination of months of UX research and development, and it shows. Featuring several major design enhancements and a stunning full-width layout, the new homepage provides users with instant access to the most relevant assets. Searching is now more prominent and browsing through folders and promoted assets has been re-designed to take advantage of the full-width of the page.

To switch over to the new full width design contact our support team today.