This is a fairly detailed guide to importing and editing visual media (photos and graphics) in Censhare. The basics are covered in the video below. For more information, use the headers at the top of the page to skip to specific topics. If you have any questions or suggestions for the improvement of this guide, don't hesitate to contact us.
If you choose “New”, Censhare will create a new asset attached to the destination asset. This is the option you will use almost all of the time.If you choose “Replace”, Censhare will replace the destination asset with the new image. This means that the old asset will be replaced everywhere it is being used (print layouts, vitra.com, etc.). Are you sure you want to do that? You should only use this option if you really know what you’re doing.If you choose “Cancel”, well, you get it.
All you have to do here is click the arrow icon on the left. You won’t need the other icons. Depending on how big or how many images you're uploading, you may have to wait a little while for Censhare to complete the upload.Whether you’re importing one or more images, you’ll get another pop-up next: the metadata window, which brings us to the next section:
Entering metadata and keeping it up to date is the most important part of working with photos in Censhare, because:
The basic functions are the same, the only difference is that with the mulitple asset window, you can edit the metadata for multiple files at once by selecting mulitple files on the left (marked blue in the image). This is handy if the metadata for all the assets needs to be the same, but you should be careful if each asset requires different metadata. By selecting each asset individually, you can edit the metadata one by one. For example, you could select each asset indivudually and give it its own name. Then you could select them all and edit the other metadata which might be the same for all assets.When you’re done, press OK. If you make a mistake, you can press Cancel and start over.
Name: a good name ensures that an asset will be searchable and findable in Censhare. Think about how a colleague might search for the image in the future. A name like "Vitra-279" says nothing about the subject of the image. Give assets useful, logical names, like "Lounge Chair with Ottoman, Akari 10A, Nuage" or "Vitra Design Museum - Hello Robot Exhibition".
Open the relevant dropdowns and select the applicable categories for each image or group of images. Multiple selections from multiple windows are possible. The more applicable selections made, the better the mediabox filter will work. Take a few minutes sometime to look through all the various options so you will know which categories are the most relevant to the images you upload and use. If you think a relevant category tag is missing, let us know and we'll see about adding it to the list.
Creation date: is the date the image was created, not the date the image is imported into Censhare (the import date is recorded by Censhare automatically). For new photos, this is the date of the photo shoot. For historical photos, this is the date the photo was made. If the exact date is unknown, just enter January 1st and the year.
Content state: is the status of the image according to Vitra. This indicates whether the image is approved for use by the project manager or product manager.
Content notice (required for Content state yellow or red) – explains why the image is marked yellow or red. This details any practical limits or special exceptions related to the use of the image, for example “product no longer available”, “color not yet available”, “in editing”, “no use before Orgatec”, etc…Note: An image may have Copyright state green (OK to use according to the copyright agreement) but Content state red (not OK to use according to the Product Manager or Project Manager).If either Copyright state OR Content state are red, we are not allowed to use the image.
Underlying principle: Original images should never be edited and should remain in their original condition. Only variants (versions) should be changed or edited. Sometimes, however, the original image doesn’t work for a particular application. Some common examples are:
3. Update Metadata:
Images should be connected to each other with “Variant with update flag” ONLY. The other relation types have specific functions and are used to connect images to other types of assets, like Product Families or widgets. Here are some common relation types and their uses: - Assignment: used to connect assets to each other, often with no active function. When in doubt, default to the assignment relation. - Picture: used to connect images to FAMs or SUBs and in some cases to connect images to widgets. - Planning: used to connect widgets to pages and in some cases to connect images to widgets. - Variant with update flag: used to connect variants with original images or variants with variants (variant of variant). This is the "right" way to connect images to other images. - Variant without update flag: not in use. - Web picture: used to connect: - one SUB filter image to each SUB or - one SUB hero image to each Product Page or - one FAM hero image to each FAM page Additional versions of filter or hero images shold be connected to the appropriate parent asset with the "Picture" relation.
That's great, but why should I do it this way?These are the advantages of using this method to create variants:
1. Open the asset to edit (the variant, not the original):
2. Edit the image in Photoshop. Some things to think about while you’re editing:
3. Save the image in Photoshop.
Don’t forget this step or your changes will not be saved in Censhare! Select the image(s) you have just edited in Censhare and click the diskette icon with the little x (Save and close) at the top left in Censhare. The image is checked back into Censhare with your changes.If you decide you want to cancel your edit or you do not want to save your changes, select the image(s) in Censhare and click the “X” (Cancel - Close without saving) at the top left in Censhare. The image is checked back into Censhare without saving changes.Whenever you check an asset out of Censhare, ALWAYS remember to check it back in, even if you don't change it, otherwise no one else can edit the asset.