The Asset Query window is the most essential and important element of the censhare Client. Its main purpose is to find and browse assets from the database, get as much information as possible about assets and allow to edit asset files.

Introduction

An Asset Query window is divided into different areas, called  Components. Components are divided into  Docks. Docks appear as tab panels, a component can hold multiple docks. Docks provide additional information about the assets listed in the Asset Query component.

A set of useful components and docks is available to you by default. The number and arrangement of the components and docks depend on your system configuration. 


The following components are available:

  • Asset Query component (1) - lists the results of a search query in one of multiple ways (views).
  • Toolbar (2) - access asset actions
  • Additional  components (3) - for example, filters
  • Actions component with slider bar (4) - quick access to actions
  • Status bar (5) - information about the connected user, the database, messages and more

Actions

  •  Create new assets 

  •  Open/Edit the selected assets

  •  Save and close the selected assets

  •  Open the selected assets in read-only mode

  •  Close and dismiss (= Abort Edit) the selected assets

  •  Edit the metadata of the selected assets 

  •  Rate the selected asset(s)

  •  Execute a Server Action 

  •  Perform a quick search 

  •  Switch the view 

  •  Browse to the previous page of query results

  •  Browse to the next page of query results

  •  Perform a standard search 

  •  Re-execute the last query

Work with components

  • Open a new Asset Query:  Click the button beneath the rightmost tab. You can open as many Asset Query components as you like.
  • Move assets to different query windows to create a relation: Drag an asset from one Asset Query component to another across tabs and drop it at the desired location. Uncollapsed folders collapse when you hover over them with the mouse and you can place the asset at the desired location. You are prompted to select the approrpiate relation type.
  • Resize component: Drag the slider bar (4) to the desired size. 

Work with docks

  • Hide dock: Click the closing box next to the Dock’s name in the tab.
  • Show dock: From the menu bar, select Show Dock. This displays a hidden dock. 

Standard docks

The  basket  is a user-specific asset list that serves to collect assets during a selection process for further treatment, especially for exporting the asset files or to mail the list to someone else. The  Basket Dock  allows to access this list and manipulate it in the following ways:

  •  Remove the currently selected asset(s) from the basket. The asset will not be deleted, but simply removed from the basket!

  •  Remove the currently selected asset(s) from the basket and push them to the  wishlist  instead.

  •  Export the currently selected asset(s) to a local data medium. Exporting does not remove the assets from the basket.

  •  Send the currently selected asset(s) as attachment of an email. There is a choice, whether to send the email with the censhare system (requires customization of the mail service) or with an external email client.

Channels  are the most common way in censhare to automatically push content into different output targets, like print, web, newsletter and the like.  Channels  have to be defined and customized first by administrators. They consist of a name, optional icon and a ruleset to which sort of content they apply, how to transpose the content, where to put the results and when to come into action. Once a  Channel  is customized, it can be applied to the metadata of the assets, thus exposing the asset to the  Channel  rules.
The  Channels dock  provides a quick overview about assigned channels of the selected asset(s) and allows to manipulate the assignments in the following ways:

  • Add additional channels to the currently selected asset(s).

  • Remove the currently selected channel from the asset.

If extensive changes have to be made to the channel assignment, it is recommended to use the  Edit Meta data action, as it provides a more comfortable editor for channel assignment.

The   Filter dock   provides an alternative way to efficiently browse large result lists in the Asset Query component. The filter list will build itself automatically with each search query and group the result list by criteria as asset type, workflow, status, domain and others (the list of criteria is fully customizable). For each criterion a list of all existing values in the database is shown, together with a quantity indicator. Single-clicking any of the filter entries will immediately perform a new query, reducing the result list to assets matching the filter criterion.
The  Info dock  provides an easy way to gain information about the selected assets) of the Asset Query Dock. It is grouped into three expandable sections, where the Preview and Map sections resemble the functionality of their dedicated counterparts . The Info section compiles essential metadata of the selected assets, such as asset type, creation and last modifications timestamps, workflow information, the internal asset IDs, current version, name and master file information. The content of the Info section is dynamic, which means, that metadata without value is hidden from display and non-common information, such as EXIF information of images or  Features  are automatically included. Content and appearance of the Info section are highly customizable.
The  Map dock provides the integration of an online map service to visualize geographic metadata of assets. Depending on the customization of the system, the displayed map is from Google, Bing or OpenStreetMap and the display options within the map depend on the API of the map providers. The map view will automatically display a pin for every asset that is selected in the Asset Query Dock and that contains latitude and longitude information in its metadata. If no asset is selected or none of the selected assets contains geographical data, the map remains inactive, with a static world map image in the background.
The  Preview dock provides a preview of the currently selected asset. If the master file of the selected asset is an image, the preview shows this image and scales with the size of the Preview dock. If the master file of the selected asset contains text, the Preview dock shows a simplified textual excerpt (without formatting information) of that content. If the master file of the selected asset is a video and preview options for videos have been customized, then the preview provides a freeze frame.

The  Stored filters dock provides quick access to stored filters and allows to maintain them with the following options:

  •  Create a new filter. The  Create filter dialog displays, which is the standard search dialog. The search criteria are then used to filter all child assets underneath the top level of the asset query result. Note, that creating a new filter will not save it automatically! The filter remains active until it is either reset, another filter is created or a  Stored filter  called.

  •  Save the parameters of the last executed filter under the name of the last executed Stored filter, thus overwriting it.

  •  Edit the Stored filter. This opens an editor window, in which the assignments for roles, users, groups and domains of the selected filter can be modified.

  •  Delete the selected  Stored filter.

  •  Reset any currently applied filter setting.

Any of the stored filters can be executed by simply clicking it in the list.

The  Stored searches dock provides quick access to stored searches and allows to maintain them with the following options:

  •  Add a new query to the list of stored searches. This will prompt for a name of the new query. The search criteria are picked from the last executed search, no matter how complex the search criteria were, including results from cascading searches. Therefore it is essential to first execute the search and refine it, before it is added to the Stored searches.

  •  Overwrite the last executed Stored search with the criteria of the last executed search.

  •  Edit the Stored search. This opens an editor window, in which the assignments for roles, users, groups and domains of the selected query can be modified.

  •  Delete the selected Stored search.

Any of the stored searches can be executed by clicking it in the list. 

The  Template dock grants access to those assets in the system, that were marked with one of the template symbols. To use any of the templates and create a new asset from it, drag the template from the  Template Dock to the Asset Query window  (optionally creating a child assignment relation by dragging onto some other asset). A standard New Asset dialog displays with the option to modify any of the meta data. Confirmation of the  New Asset dialog  will then create the new asset with a copy of the master file of the template asset. Be aware, that templates can be hierarchical and that the  New Asset dialog might come up with a group of assets in that case.

The  Versions dock provides a quick overview of the recent versions of the currently selected asset. It displays the version counter, asset name of each respective version as well as data about the time and origin of each modification. Clicking any line in the Versions dock delivers a preview of that version in the Preview dock.

Use the  Show Versions  menu item to open a dedicated  Versions window with comprehensive information and the possibility to edit and restore old asset versions.

The  Wishlist  is a user-specific asset list to collect assets during a selection process for further treatment. The  Wishlist dock allows to access and edit this list:

  •  Remove the currently selected asset(s) from the wish list. The asset will not be deleted, but simply removed from the wish list!

  •  Remove the currently selected asset(s) from the wish list and push them to the  basket  instead.