Digital asset management

The Brightspot DAM plugin lets editors download assets in the format they need, and extracts text and thumbnails from uploaded documents. Developers opt asset types in to these features by implementing a small set of interfaces, and administrators choose which conversion and extraction services to use.

Key capabilities

• Download one asset from its edit page, or many assets at once from search results, as a single file or a .zip file.
• Convert documents and images to another format during the download, using the open-source Pandoc and ImageMagick tools or the DocRaptor service.
• Extract text and a thumbnail from uploaded documents, using PDFBox, CloudConvert, or Amazon Textract. Brightspot stores the text on the asset, and the thumbnail represents the asset in the CMS.
• Review past downloads, and download them again, from the Downloads page in your profile menu.
• Extend the plugin with your own download formats and extraction services.

How it works

An asset type becomes downloadable when it implements DocumentDownloadable, ImageDownloadable, or a converter-specific interface such as PandocDownloadable. When an editor starts a download, Brightspot groups the selected assets by type, shows the formats available for each group, and processes the download in the background. Brightspot then saves the result for the editor on the Downloads page.

An asset type becomes eligible for text and thumbnail extraction when it implements DocumentDataExtractable. On save, Brightspot checks whether the file is new or has changed. If it is, Brightspot submits a background task to the first extraction service configured in DAM Document Data Extraction Settings that supports the file type.

Use cases

Editorial teams

Distributing documents in several formats—A communications team publishes reports as HTML-rendered assets. Before a board meeting, an editor searches for the reports, selects them, and clicks Download. In the Download Options window, the editor selects Markdown for one asset type and PDF for another. Brightspot converts each asset in the background and packages the results as a .zip file on the Downloads page.

Delivering images in a different format—A marketing editor needs a campaign image as a PNG. On the image's edit page, the editor clicks > Download This asset type, selects PNG, and downloads the converted file without opening an image editor.

Previewing uploaded documents—An editor uploads a PDF of a policy manual. After the asset is saved, Brightspot extracts the text and a thumbnail, and shows both in the Extracted Data cluster on the asset's edit page.

Administrators

Choosing an extraction service—An administrator adds the Pdf Document Data Extractor (PDFBox) to DAM Document Data Extraction Settings for PDF files, and adds CloudConvert after it for other document types. Brightspot runs the first service in the list that supports the uploaded file type.

Controlling conversion options—An administrator who does not want editors to see Pandoc formats selects Disable Pandoc Download Options? on the Pandoc tab.

Developers

Making a content type downloadable—A developer implements PandocDownloadable on a content type that stores Word files, so editors can download the files as EPUB or Markdown. For examples, see the technical reference.

Adding an extraction service—A developer extends DocumentDataExtractor to read text from a format the built-in services do not cover. The new service appears in DAM Document Data Extraction Settings after deployment.

Who this documentation is for

• Downloading assets: Editors who download or convert assets.
• Configuration: Administrators who set up conversion and extraction services.
• Technical reference: Developers who add the plugin to a project, make asset types downloadable, or write custom formats and extractors.

For the asset types that use these features, see the Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Attachment file, and Image pages in the content types guide. To manage asset expiration, see the Expiring Assets dashboard widget.