About file storage in Studio Server

In Studio Server, files are stored in a file system, including on an external drive in situations where disk space is at a premium.

This article describes the way in which files are stored, how to set up external storage and how to manage the process of locally storing files by client applications.

File name conventions

When a file is stored in the File Store folder, the file name that is used is taken from one of two methods, each using its own convention:

1. For files directly belonging to an object:

<object ID>-[native|preview|output|thumb].v<major>.<minor>

File name example: 329-native.v0.1

2. For files belonging to pages of a layout object:

<object ID>-page<number>-[1|2|3][optional -portrait|-landscape][-<edition>]. v<major>.<minor>

File name example: 231-page-1-2-landscape-8-v0.4

The following definitions are used in both conventions:

Version numbering

The major version number is increased whenever the object is saved in a status that has the Create Permanent Version option selected (see Workflow Status settings.)

When the object is saved for statuses that don’t have this option enabled, the minor version number is increased instead.

Permanent versions (such as v1.0, v2.0, v3.0, and so on), are never automatically removed. The oldest minor versions are automatically removed when the object outgrows the configured number of versions to track.

For more information about versioning, see Saving file versions with Studio Server.

Object types

For each object type you can have more than one file saved:

• Layouts, articles, images, and pages have several renditions stored which include the native file, thumbnail files, and preview files.
• Layouts, articles, and images have versions stored. The number of versions is configurable per object type (see Saving file versions with Studio Server).

For layout objects, all pages reside in the binary .indd file. However, for each of its pages a thumbnail and preview is stored as well. Optionally, an output rendition is stored too, in either PDF or EPS format.

Performance

In order to ensure optimum performance when many files are stored, sub folders are automatically created by the system.

For instance, if you are about to store more than 100 objects in one folder, the system creates a sub folder named “1”. Files between 100 and 200 are stored inside that folder. The folder creation is done recursively, so if you store the 1000th file in the File Store folder, a sub folder named “10” is created inside the “10” folder.

With the exception of the parent “File Store” folder, which you must create manually, Studio Server will create all required sub folders automatically . The newly created sub folders carry the same access attributes as their parent root folder.

Make sure that the root folder exists and that the access rights are correctly configured. The Web Server user needs the following access rights set:

• Windows: “IUSR_<servername>”
• Linux: “nobody”.

Configuring the number of files stored

Info: Performing the described step requires direct server access. Depending upon how your system is hosted and the level of access you have to that system, coordination may be required with your Partner or WoodWing Support team. For a full overview of the steps that need to be done by WoodWing and how to request them, see WoodWing Cloud - Change management.

The following option controls the number of objects stored within one folder :

• File: configserver.php file (recommended: config_overrule.php file)
• Name of option: ATTACHMODULO
• Possible values: any numerical value
• Default setting: 100
• Example:

define ('ATTACHMODULO', 100);

External storage

External storage disks can be used for storing files on a different disk than where the Studio Server database is installed. In Studio Server, external drives can be used for the File Store folder as well as for high-resolution adverts.

In addition, files can be stored on a remote or integrated third-party content source, such as a wire feed of a news agency.

High-resolution adverts storage

Info: Performing the described step requires direct server access. Depending upon how your system is hosted and the level of access you have to that system, coordination may be required with your Partner or WoodWing Support team.

When high-resolution adverts are used in a Brand, you are likely to want to keep them in the Studio Server workflow system. Nevertheless, in most cases there is no real need to actually import the (potentially large) files into the File Store folder. An external drive can therefore be configured in Studio Server.

This is controlled by the following option:

• File: configserver.php file (recommended: config_overrule.php file)
• Area: SERVERFEATURES
• Name of option: HighResStoreMac or HighResStoreWin
• Possible values: the path to your external drive
• Example:

new Feature( 'HighResStoreMac', 'Volumes/HighResFileStore/' ),

Note: For more detailed information about these settings, see Configuring storage for high-resolution adverts in Studio Server.

3rd-Party content sources

Studio Server can be integrated with 3rd-party content sources such as Wire feeds of news agencies. The connection is made through a Content Source plug-in which is managed through the Server Plug-Ins Maintenance page. See Studio Server Plug-ins.

Storing layouts and articles locally or always on the Server

The default behavior of the plug-ins for Studio for InDesign and InCopy is to always store native files (InDesign and InCopy documents) to the local hard disk without sending them to the server. This is done to reduce network traffic and speed up intermediate save operations.

Studio Server can be configured in such a way that the file is always saved directly to the database instead of locally. For more information, see Always save a layout or article to the database.