The following terms and concepts are explained below:

The Access Level feature in OpenAsset enables you to set usage levels for your Files. For example you may have 'External Use', 'Internal Use' and 'Restricted Use' levels to indicate how Files should be used. You are able to filter Files by Access Level when searching.

The names of the levels are customizable and you can apply permissions to them. For example, you may want to prevent certain people from seeing your 'Restricted Use' Files. Read more about this here.

Search pages for Files, Albums, Projects and Employees have a vertical bar of buttons on the right side of the screen. This is known as the Action Bar and offers ways that you can take action on items. Many of the action buttons work with Selections, for example you could Download, Drag or Edit all the Files in your Selection at once. Some action buttons can work with either your Selection or the items in your Filtered view. In these cases you will be given the option to choose what to take action on.

Read more about this here.

Files can be organised into Albums for later use. Albums can be private to you or shared with others. Read more about this here.

OpenAsset supports a File Approval process where newly Uploaded Files are queued for approval by specific people within your organization. Only when the Files are Approved are they made available for use in the DAM. Read more about approvals here.

The term Aspect Ratio refers to the ratio of the width and height of an image. OpenAsset automatically tags images with Aspect Ratio types so that they can be easily searched on. These are: Landscape, Portrait, Square, Nearly Square, Landscape Panorama, Portrait Panorama.

Batch Editing can save a lot of time when applying the same information to several Files at once. Files in your Selection can have the same Fields or Keywords updated in one go. It’s also possible to manage Files in Albums or attached to Employees from the Batch Editor. Read more about batch editing here.

OpenAsset Camera is an app for iOS and Android that enables users to capture photos and video and upload directly to OpenAsset. It also lets you upload images and videos that are already on your camera roll. This streamlines workflows in getting Files stored in the cloud and ready to use by others. Read more about the OpenAsset camera here.

Files in OpenAsset have a dedicated Field to store the asset Copyright Holder and Policy. This is searchable and is viewable in the File’s information on the File Page and File Search Page. You can also add the Copyright Holder into the file metadata when you download the file. Read more about copyright holders and policies here.

OpenAsset offers integrations with both Deltek Vision and Deltek Vantagepoint. Clients are able to migrate from Vision to Vantagepoint and maintain their connection with OpenAsset. These integrations sync Project, Employee and Role information from Deltek to OpenAsset on a daily basis, maintaining Deltek as their “source of truth” for this data. This has the advantage of reducing effort with data entry into OpenAsset and keeps data consistent across the organisation. The Deltek Integration is a paid add-on. Read more about the Deltek integration here.

OpenAsset offers Document Template functionality. This enables you to generate documents in a common format quickly, and on demand. This can save you lots of time in creating documents and help avoid issues with information getting out of date. Examples include Project sheets and Employee resumes in InDesign or Word and Project presentations in Powerpoint. OpenAsset support engineers can customise templates to your design and branding. Your licence fee will determine the number of templates that you are entitled to. However you are able to pay for additional templates if you need them. Read more about InDesign templates here, and about Powerpoint templates here.

Files can be downloaded to your computer as single Files, in batches and as multiple Size versions and file types. You can read more about how to download Files here.

Image Files can be dragged directly into other applications such as InDesign, Word and Powerpoint. For InDesign you need to install our InDesign Plugin first.

OpenAsset supports storage of Employee information and relates to relevant Files (typically photos) and to the Projects that they have worked on. This provides a rich Employee Portfolio inside the DAM with a wide range of search possibilities. It’s possible to set up Document Templates so that up-to-date Employee resumes can be downloaded when you need them. Employee and Project support is a key differentiator compared to other DAMs. The Employee functionality of OpenAsset is known as the Employee Module.

Employee Fields are used to store information directly related to Employees. See the “Fields” entry in this glossary for more.

The Employee functionality of OpenAsset is known as the Employee Module. It is free to use up to a certain number of Employees, but is available as a paid add-on to get unlimited Employees. The number of free Employees is based on the client’s licence level. Read more about the Employee Module.

Employee Pages represent individual Employees and display a Primary Photo for the Employee, the attached Files and any information that has been added including Roles they have had on Projects. If you have Document Templates set up, it is possible to generate up-to-date resumes when you need them. Employee Pages can be viewed by clicking an Employee in the Employee Search Page.

Fields in OpenAsset are used to store information against Files, Projects or Employees. As well as providing useful information, it’s common that Fields are filterable and can be used to find what you are looking for. Fields are customisable so you can store exactly the information that you need. When considering how to store information, it’s worth giving careful thought to what makes sense to store as Fields and what makes sense as Keywords. Administrators can update fields individually or by using the File Batch Editor. Read more about this here.

OpenAsset is a Digital Asset Management system that primarily helps you store, organise and be more productive with your Files. Files can be Downloaded, Dragged to other applications and exported in Document Templates. Files can be related to Projects and Employees and organised in Albums.

Files can be organised into Categories to make them easier to find. Typically there will be a “Project” File Category to contain all the Project related Files. Then you might have Categories for “Brand Files”, “Reference Files”, etc.

File Keywords are used to tag Files directly. Keywords provide information and are commonly used to filter search results. See the “Keywords” entry in this glossary for more.

File Pages provide further information on individual Files and are accessed by clicking on an image in the File search results. This provides a large zoomable version of the image. Videos can be played and documents can be browsed. On the right hand side, all the information about the File can be seen including things like the format, size and descriptive information. There are also tabs that show the Keywords attached, the Project that it is related to, the different Sizes that are available for Download, a view of images that are Similar and the Albums that the image is contained within. File Pages can be viewed by clicking a Files in the Files Search Page. You can read more about viewing File information here.

If you have administrator rights you are able to edit File information from this page. You can Read more about this here.

A number of actions are possible from the File Information page such as Selecting and Downloading.

The File Taxonomies are your customizable system of Keywords that you can use to tag your Files. See the “Taxonomy” entry in this glossary for more.

The File, Album, Project and Employee search pages offer filters for finding what you are looking for. Each search page has a “Filtered” and “Selected” tab. The “Filtered” tab shows the results that are currently Filtered - you can think of this tab as your search results. If no filters are applied, you’ll see all the results in the system. Learn more about Filtering Files, Albums, Projects and Employees.

Users in OpenAsset can be assigned to Groups for the purpose of managing feature or File Permissions. For example, your Marketing team could be given wider access to Files and features than the wider company. Administrators can manage Users, Groups and Permissions. Read more about this here.

A Hero Image is the main image that is used to represent a Project. This is visible as the thumbnail on the Project Search Page and at the top of the Project Page. Hero images can be ideal as the main image to represent Projects in Document Templates. If you have not chosen a Hero Image for a Project, OpenAsset will set a suggested Hero Image for you. Users that have admin rights for Projects will have the option of setting the suggested image as the Hero Image or choosing another one. Read more about this here.

The OpenAsset InDesign Plugin enables you to drag and drop images directly from OpenAsset into your InDesign documents. Images can be dragged individually or in batches based on your Selection. Images can be worked with in lower resolution for speed, then can be updated to high resolution when you are ready to print. Dragged images remain linked to OpenAsset in the cloud. This means you are able to send an unpackaged InDesign document to another person and as long as they have the InDesign Plugin installed, they will not experience broken images. Read more about the InDesign plug here.

Keywords in OpenAsset are used to tag Files and Projects. This makes them easier to find via filters and provides information. Keywords can be applied to Files and Projects by those that have access. Keywords are organized by Keyword Categories and by Taxonomy. Keywords must exist in a Taxonomy for them to be available for use. Read more about Keywords here.

Keyword Categories are used to organize Keywords semantically within a Taxonomy. The categories give context to the Keywords to provide useful filters and information for your users. Read more about Keyword Categories here.

Feature and File access can be managed at both User and Group level with Permissions. Administrators can manage Permissions and our support team can advise you how to do this. Read more about this here.

Files in OpenAsset have a dedicated Field to store the Photographer. This is searchable and is viewable in the File’s information on the File Page and File Search Page. You can also add the Photographer into the file metadata when you download the file. Read more about managing photographer data here.

The main image that is applied to an Employee to represent them is known as the Primary Photo. The Employee pages have tools to enable users with admin rights to apply Primary Photos to Employees. The Primary Photo is the image that is typically used as “headshot” in resume Document Templates. Read more about applying the primary photo here.

OpenAsset supports storage of Project information and relates Projects to relevant Files and to the Employees that worked on them. This provides a rich Project portfolio inside the DAM with a wide range of search possibilities. It’s possible to set up Project-based Document Templates so that up to date case studies and presentations can be downloaded when needed. Project and Employee support is a key differentiator compared to other DAMs.

File Fields are used to store information directly related to Projects. See the “Fields” entry in this glossary for more.

Project Keywords are used to tag Projects directly, and will automatically tag all Files within the Project. Keywords provide information and are commonly used to filter search results. Project Keywords can be used to Filter on Projects and can be used to Filter on Files that are related to the Projects. See the “Keywords” entry in this glossary for more.

OpenAsset offers map functionality for Projects. For each Project you can set a location by dropping a pin on a map. It’s also possible for us to import Project locations as lat/long coordinates. Once a location is set for a Project, a map appears on its Project Page, with a full screen version. There is also a filterable map of all Projects as an alternative view of the Project Search Page. This can be used to search Projects by location or view certain types of Projects in a location. Read more about setting the Project Location here.

Project Pages represent individual Projects and display a Hero Image for the Project, a summary of the other related images, information about the Project stored in Fields and Keywords, a location map and a summary of the Employees that worked on the Project. Project Pages can be viewed by clicking a Project in the Project Search Page. If you have some Project Document Templates set up it is possible to download up to date documents for case studies or presentations.

The Project Taxonomy is your customizable system of Keywords that you can use to tag your Projects. See the “Taxonomy” entry in this glossary for more.

The Rank feature in OpenAsset enables you prioritise Files with a numeric score. This is typically used for things like a preference for the marketing team or image quality. Users that search for Files are able to Sort or Filter results by Rank. It’s possible to change the name of the Rank feature and customize its options. Read more about setting Ranks here.

Files in Albums or in your Selection can be reordered by criteria like “Date Created” or “Rank”. They can also be individually reordered to a specific order preference. Read more about this here.

Roles define the relationship between Projects and Employees so that project experience is viewable on the Employee Pages and the Employees are visible when viewing Projects. Roles have fields within them so it is possible to define the nature of the Role (eg “Principal Architect”), start and end dates and the number of hours worked. It’s possible to add custom Fields to roles to suit your needs. Read more about Project / Employee roles here.

OpenAsset offers Search Pages for Files, Albums, Projects and Employees. These enable searching via Filters, Selecting and using/taking action on items.

There are similarities in how these pages function, for example controls to navigate pages and change the view options at the top of the screen. Filters to the left of the screen (the Files Search Page is currently an exception to this). Two tabs for “Filtered” search results and “Selected” items, the Action Bar on the right of the screen.

OpenAsset supports making Selections of Files, Projects or Employees. On the Search Pages, each item displays a “check circle” button and clicking this adds the item to your Selection. You can view your Selection by clicking the “Selected” tab in the top left. Selections can be acted upon in various ways, for example you might want to Download all the Selected Files, add all Selected Files to an Album or generate resumes for all Selected Employees. Read more about the Selected tab here.

OpenAsset’s Settings offers a wide range of options to configure and customize for your company's needs. For example, User, Group and Permission management, Integration management, Sizes and Template configuration can all be managed in the Settings. Managing the Settings can be quite involved so our support team can help you achieve what you need.

OpenAsset offers a Similar Image search feature that is driven by AI image recognition. This means that for any given image you’re able to quickly find images that have similarities. This can be a useful extension to text based search if you are not able to immediately find what you are looking for, or enable you to discover images that you were not aware of. Images in the Similarity feature can be added to your Selection. Read more about Similar Images here.

Single Sign-On (SSO) is technology that enables your users to stay logged in on multiple systems. This helps users get to the tools they need faster and eliminates issues relating to manually typed login credentials. OpenAsset offers Single Sign-On via Microsoft Azure and Okta. Read more about Single Sign-On here.

When Files are uploaded to OpenAsset, different size versions are automatically generated. It’s possible to have custom image sizes generated for your needs, for instance, it may be useful to have a Size prepared for posting images to social media. This can save a lot of time in formatting images or videos for common usage. When choosing to download Files, you are able to select the specific Sizes that you need. Read more about this here.

All File, Project, Employee and Album Search Pages have a Sort feature in the top right of the page. This enables sorting of the search results by a range of criteria such as dates and Rank. It also enables switching between ascending or descending order. Read more about sorting search results here.

Our Suggested Keywords feature uses AI technology to scan your image and recommend particular Keywords that are relevant, enabling you to tag your files more efficiently. The Suggested Keyword section lives at the top of your Keywords tab on the File Page. The AI technology will suggest Keywords that you already have in your Taxonomy, as well as entirely new ones. The Suggested Keywords feature is intended to be used an extension of the manual tagging process, so we recommend treating the suggestions as such. Read more about Suggested Keywords here.

A Taxonomy in OpenAsset is a means of organizing the keywords that are used to tag Files and Projects. Keywords must exist in your Taxonomies before they can be used to tag things, meaning you maintain semantic control.

There are multiple File Taxonomies, one for each File Category. For example, this means you can have a different system of keywords for your “Project Files” vs your “Brand Files”.

There is also a Project Taxonomy for Keywords that are attached to Projects. These help with Project search but they can also be used to search for the Files related to the Projects.

Within each Taxonomy, you can have multiple Keyword Categories. These are customizable to your needs but for example, your “Project Files” Taxonomy might have Keyword Categories for “Architectural Features” or “Building Materials”. Whilst your “Project” Taxonomy might have Keyword Categories for “Sector” and “Services Provided”.

Read more about Understanding Taxonomy here, and read more about Managing Taxonomy here.

The OpenAsset Templafy connector enables Microsoft Word and Powerpoint users to place images from OpenAsset into their documents without leaving their applications. The Templafy connector runs within Word and Powerpoint and enables the user to search and browse OpenAsset images by Project and Keyword. Images can then be clicked to load directly into the current document. The Templafy Connector is a paid add-on. Read more about using the Templafy connector here.

OpenAsset offers an integration with Unanet CRM by Cosential. This syncs Project, Employee and Role information to OpenAsset on a daily basis, maintaining Unanet CRM as their “source of truth” for this data. This has the advantage of reducing effort with data entry into OpenAsset and keeps data consistent across the organisation. Unanet CRM by Cosential Integration is a paid add-on. Read more about this here.

Files can be Uploaded from your local computer to OpenAsset using the upload feature. They can be dragged into the uploader or you can select them via a file browser. As Files are Uploaded you can set the Project, Album, Field information and Keywords so the files are searchable and ready to use as soon as they enter the DAM. There is also an optional Approval feature for Uploads. Read more about Uploading Files here.

It’s also possible to Upload Files using OpenAsset Camera or the Procore Integration.

Each person in your organisation that uses OpenAsset should have their own User account. Users login their email and password unless you are using Single Sign-On. User accounts can be created and managed by administrators. Users can be put into Groups for the purposes of managing Permissions. Read more about this here.

Search pages in OpenAsset have different View Options to suit your needs. The Files Search page has options to view the File images at different sizes and the framing style. “Crop” maximises the image and “Fit” shows the whole image. You can also change the information that you would prefer to see beneath each File. You can read more about this here.

Album, Project and Employee Search Pages have options for “Tile View” that shows a larger image and less information, or “List View” that shows more information. Typically List View is better for administrative tasks. Read more about this here.

OpenAsset has an integration with Zapier that enables simple yet powerful integrations with many other online applications. For example, you may want to create a new Project in OpenAsset when an Opportunity is won in Salesforce. Or you may want to post in Slack when a new Employee is created in OpenAsset. There are many possibilities. Read more about this here.