Share asset files via download links or web pages

Share asset files such as images or videos externally, without access to your censhare system. You can choose whether to share files in a direct link or via a web page. To share files from a web page, an online channel is required.

Context

The Create shared link wizard is available on any asset page or asset group in censhare Web. You can only share asset files, not the assets themselves.

Prerequisites

To share asset files via a web page, an online channel must be configured in your censhare platform. To share files via links, there are no prerequisites.

Introduction

Not all collaborators of your projects have access to censhare. For example, free-lance workers may not work within your organizational infrastructure. To share files with persons who do not have a censhare user account, censhare Web provides the Create shared link wizard. The wizard is also used to publish and update files on a media portal. For example, publish press kits, product images or videos.

An asset can have several asset files (also called storage items). For example, different file formats and aspect ratios of an image. The Create shared link wizard allows you to select any of these storage items to share. Optionally, dynamic download items are available. A dynamic download item is not a physical file but created dynamically when a user clicks the download link. For example, a landing page offers multiple image sizes (500 x 500 px, 300 x 300 px, etc.) for download. With dynamic download items, these are rendered dynamically. You do not need to store them in an asset.

Share files via web pages

To publish files on a media portal, an online channel is required that integrates with your censhare platform. Users with access to the online channel portal can select the files that they want to download from a web page. A web page can offer multiple downloads. For example, images in different sizes, formats, and resolutions, or images, videos and PDF files. For more information, see Online channel portal overview.

Share files via download links

To create a direct download link, an online channel portal is not required. You can share the direct download link via email or any other channel. If recipients click the link, the file is downloaded directly from the censhare server to their computer. If you share multiple files, these are put in a ZIP file. The ZIP file is downloaded and unpacked on the recipients' computer.

For both options - download links and web pages - you can define an expiration date.

Which download type to choose

Download link	Web page
The file or the ZIP archive is downloaded immediately to the computer when you click the link.	You can browse the media portal or receive a link to a landing page. On the landing page, you can select the items they want to download.
Due to security reasons or corporate policies, you may not be allowed to download and unpack ZIP archives.	You see beforehand, what you are going to download.
Expired links are no longer usable. If you want to share the same files again, you must start all over again.	You can reactivate expired landing pages with the wizard or directly in the Share link asset. You can add or remove files, and set a new expiration date to reactivate a landing page.
No files can be added to a shared ZIP archive.	You can add files to an existing landing page at any time.

Key steps

Select the assets & start the wizard
Choose download type
- Download link
- Landing page
Choose files
Choose link (only if the Web page option was chosen)
Share link

Select assets & start the wizard

Select the assets that you want to share. You can select one or multiple assets. There always needs to be a storage item for an asset. To share multiple assets, select them from an asset list. To share a single asset, select it from an asset list or open the asset in an asset page.
To start the wizard, open the page actions menu and select Create shared link.
If your censhare platform works with an integrated online channel and allows you to create landing pages, the wizard starts with the Choose type step. Otherwise, the wizard starts with the Choose files step.

Choose download type

Note: This step is only shown if your censhare platform has an integrated online channel that allows you to create landing pages.

To generate a direct download link, select Download link.
To create a new landing page or add the files to an existing landing page, select Web page.

After you made your selection, the wizard takes you to the step Choose files. This step is identical for both download types.

Choose files

In this step, select the files (storage items) from the selected assets that you want to include in the download:

Assets	Shows the assets that you selected in the first step. Assets are preselected. You can deselect assets, if you wish.
Files	Shows available storage items of the selected assets. Select more storage items, if desired. The master file is preselected. This is the file that was originally uploaded into censhare. Other storage items like preview or thumbnail are created automatically and are stored physically in the asset.
Dynamic formats (1)	Shows download items that are rendered dynamically. These items are not stored physically in the asset. Select the desired options.
Download expiration (2)	By default, links and web pages expire after 2 weeks. To change the expiration date, click . To remove the expiration date, click x.

Remarks:

(1) Optional. Dynamic options are specific for an Asset type/MIME type, for example: Image/JPEG. Available options depend on your system configuration.

(2) For web pages, you can define a validity period. By default, the validity period starts at the current date/time when the landing page is created. If you want to set a later start date, for example, to publish a press kit at midnight, edit the properties of the corresponding Share link asset after completing the wizard.

To proceed, click NEXT.

Choose link

Note: This step is only shown if you choose the type Web page in the first step.

In this step, creates a new web page or add the selected files to an existing web page. Web pages are assets themselves with the asset type Share link. You can edit them like any other asset, instead of using the wizard.

Existing webpage

This option is selected by default. In the Asset chooser, select the desired Share link asset and click NEXT to proceed.

New webpage

To create a new web page, select the New webpage tab and fill out required fields to create a new Share link asset:

Name: Enter a name of the landing page. This name is used for the Share link asset and does not appear in the URL of the web page.
Description: Enter an optional description of the web page. This is helpful for other users or if you want to reuse the web page later.
To proceed, click NEXT.

Share link

In this step, select how you want to share the link to the files or to the landing page:

Copy link: Copies the URL to your clipboard. You can paste the URL manually into any file, e-mail, or instant message and send or share it from your computer.
Send link via email client: Create an email with pre-configured subject line and body in your local email client. Your computer may ask you to allow censhare to access the e-mail client. Add recipients and send the email from your computer.
Send link via censhare: Only available if a mail server is configured on the censhare server. This option opens and additional Send mail step in the wizard with a prefilled e-mail form. Complete and edit the e-mail, and click DONE to send it via the censhare mail server:
- To: Enter at least one recipient here. Otherwise, the e-mail cannot be sent.
- CC: Enter optional recipients here.
- Subject: Prefilled field. Change if you wish.
  From: Prefilled field. This is a generic censhare e-mail address, not your personal e-mail that cannot be changed. If multiple generic addresses are configured, you can select one.
- Body: Prefilled. Edit the text, if you wish. Do not change the link URL!

The Share link asset

Download web pages are represented in censhare as Share link assets. You can edit the following settings directly in the asset:

Validity period

To edit the properties of a landing page, open the corresponding Share link asset, go to the Overview tab, and edit the Properties:

Field	Description
Name	The name of the Share link asset. The name does not appear in the URL of the landing page. Change if you wish.
Share link ID	The ID is created automatically and cannot be changed. The ID is used as a unique identifier in the last part of the landing page URL.
Share link description	An optional description of the landing page.
Share link validity period	Define or remove the start date and expiration date of the landing page. By default, start date is the current date/time, when a landing page is created with the Create shared link wizard. The expiration date/time is set to 2 weeks from the start date.

Output channel hierarchy

If you use an output channel hierarchy for your website, for example for multiple domains or sub-domains, you can set the output channel hierarchy:

Go to the Administration tab and edit the Flags widget.
In the field Output channel hierarchy, select the desired output channel.
To save you changes, click SAVE.

Remove assets from landing page

To remove an asset and the respective asset files from a landing page, do the following:

Go to the Overview tab. The Downloads from widget shows all assigned assets that are available for download on the landing page.
Move the cursor over the asset that you want to remove, click
and select Remove relation.
To confirm and remove the selected asset, click OK.
The asset files and dynamic download items from the removed asset are no longer available for download on the landing page.

Do not use this widget to add assets to the web page. To add assets and their respective asset files, always use the Create shared link wizard! Otherwise, the corresponding asset files do not appear on the web page.

Next steps

If you copied the link to your clipboard, paste it in an email, instant message or any other file and share it.