An introduction to Assets 10

At its core, Assets is a central location in which files are stored. Using various applications, users can access these files to view, use, share, or edit them.

This article describes the various components and ways of using Assets:

• Assets
• Portals
• Shared files
• Assets for InDesign
• Managing Assets
• Developing for Assets

Assets

Assets itself is an application that is run in a Web browser on a desktop or laptop.

It is aimed at power users who need to manage the stored files by making them searchable by adding metadata, editing the files, sharing files with other people, uploading new files, and more.

To make this possible, Assets comes with various tools for quickly finding files (the Folder browser and the Filter), panels for changing the metadata, viewing the file history and reverting file versions, bundling related files in Collections, sharing files, and more.

Using Assets requires a Content Manager license. To access Assets, users need to log in.

To learn more about using Assets this way, see Using Assets 10 – Quick Start.

Portals

Portals can be used for showcasing specific material such as brochures and products. From it, visitors can download and optionally share files.

Portals are a variation of a Brand portal, but with the following differences:

• Specific folders or Collections can be promoted to the front page for increased visibility and findability.
• A title, header, and short description can be added to the home page.
• Accessing a portal can be done anonymously.
• Portals can be password protected.
• Multiple Portals can be set up.
• All visitors to the portal will see all and the same content; no access rights exist for individual visitors.

Creating Portals requires a Portal license.

To learn more about Portals, see Managing Portals in Assets 10.

Assets for InDesign

Assets for InDesign connects Adobe InDesign or InDesign Server to Assets. With the Assets for InDesign plug-in installed in InDesign, the following can be done:

• Placing files from Assets onto a layout. A direct link to the file in Assets is then made: when the file is updated in Assets, the file that is placed on the layout is updated too.
• Opening layouts directly from Assets in InDesign for editing.
• Opening placed images from the layout for editing and saving them back to Assets as a different file type.

Assets for InDesign primarily consists of an Assets menu with commands for performing various actions.

The main use of Assets for InDesign is to place files on a layout by dragging them from Assets, and to open layouts from Assets directly in InDesign for editing.

Using Assets for InDesign requires a Content Manager license. To connect Assets for InDesign with Assets, users need to log in.

For detailed information about using Assets for InDesign, see the articles for Assets 10 for InDesign.

Shared files

One of the main features of Assets is sharing files with other people. This is done by creating a Shared Link: a link which people can access through a Web browser on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device.

Users who access the link can be allowed to download the original file or a preview of the file, approve or reject files as part of a review, or even upload files. Making changes to the original files is not possible.

Shared links can be created in Assets, the Brand portal, or a Portal and can be accessed by anyone who has access to the link; no license, user account, or login is required.

To learn more about sharing files, see Sharing files with others using Assets 10.

Managing Assets

Managing the Assets environment is done by using the Assets Management Console. With it, the following tasks can be performed:

• Managing users and user groups, including access rights
• Changing the branding of Assets
• Managing your subscriptions
• Managing Portals

Using the Management Console requires a Content Manager license. To access the Management Console, users need to log in and need to have the role of Admin.

For more information, see the articles for managing Assets.

Developing for Assets

Software developers can customize Assets and integrate their applications with Assets using the Assets REST API. This is done by using the Assets Management Console.

Some examples of what can be done with the API are:

• Searching for files
• Downloading files, previews, or other derived formats
• Uploading files
• Changing metadata
• Creating folders and Collections
• Creating Shared Links
• and much more...

Using the Assets API requires an API license.

For more information, see the articles for developing for Assets.