Introduction to Dalet Flex
Dalet Flex is a media workflow solution.
Dalet Flex includes the following applications:
- FlexMOVE to upload assets and metadata to Flex
- FlexMAM to manage the asset library and edit those assets
- FlexREVIEW to review, comment and approve assets before publication
- FlexXTEND to access the asset library from Adobe Premiere Pro and manage Premiere projects
- FlexTRACK to track the progress of the jobs the system is performing
- FlexADMIN for user management, usage tracking and other administrative tasks
Dalet Flex can be integrated with cloud-based solutions. See integrations available in the documentation.
The modules in Dalet Flex
FlexMOVE
FlexMOVE is an application that lets users easily upload content into FlexMAM and enter important data while uploading. Users can also upload media files in bulk.
FlexMAM
FlexMAM is the primary user interface for Dalet Flex. Users can trigger actions, search, browse for assets, annotate metadata, and make sub-clips. FlexMAM has an easy-to-learn and intuitive interface.
FlexREVIEW
FlexREVIEW is a quick and easy way to share content with internal/external collaborators, vendors, and clients. The interface allows users to comment and review media content without the need to transfer large files or without access to an organization's private network.
FlexXTEND
FlexXTEND is a plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro. It allows access to the assets stored in FlexMAM directly from Adobe Premiere so you can edit , render and store them in Dalet Flex, from inside the Adobe Premiere interface.
Flex Cut
Dalet Flex Cut is the media editor for Dalet Flex. It is used to produce video, manage the audio output of the video, record voice-overs, and add images (png and jpg). Close captioning and CGs are not supported.
FlexADMIN
FlexADMIN is the administration module in Dalet Flex and it allows administrators to easily manage users and groups, as well as make other configuration changes such as branding of the Dalet Flex interface.
FlexMOVE
FlexMOVE is the module you use to:
- Upload media files: video, audio, image, subtitles and documents
- Assign uploaded media to a workspace
- Enter key information via a metadata form at the time of the upload
- Pause and resume an upload
- Perform a bulk upload of two or more assets
You can open FlexMOVE from FlexMAM or directly from your browser.
Opening FlexMOVE
You can open FlexMOVE in any of these ways:
In FlexMAM, click the icon in the header and then click UPLOAD.
OR
In FlexMAM, click the icon in the header and then click UPLOAD.
OR
Open FlexMOVE directly in your internet browser, by adding
/upload/#!/
to the URL for your account and platform. For example:
https://youraccount.platform.net/upload/#!/
Bookmark this location to access FlexMOVE whenever you need it without opening FlexMAM.
Importing media with FlexMOVE
To support your business needs, you can import different media types into Dalet Flex with FlexMOVE. You can import these asset types:
- Video
- Audio
- Image
- Documents
- Subtitle
You can import assets with metadata, without metadata and you can import only metadata to create a placeholder that an asset is associated to at a later time. You can import single assets or multiple assets.
To import a single asset:
- Click on 'Select' to open your file browser or drag your file into the FlexMOVE window from your desktop. Once you select the file you want to upload and click Open.
OR
Drag and drop a file into FlexMOVE.
- Select an Inbox.
- Select a Workspace and click Select.
4. Click Upload Files; a progress bar shows the state of the upload.
Updating metadata with FlexMOVE
It is useful to enrich your assets with metadata to help finding assets later on. You can add metadata to the assets that you upload by filling the fields in the metadata schema form that is associated with the Inbox that you choose. If there are mandatory fields in the form, you will not be able to upload the files until you fill these fields. A red asterisk indicates a mandatory field.
Importing multiple assets
You can import multiple assets simultaneously. You can import these assets with the same metadata or you can supply individual metadata for each of the assets that you are uploading.
To import multiple assets:
- Click on Select to open your file browser . Select the files you want to upload and click Open.
OR
Drag and drop multiple files into FlexMOVE.
- Select an Inbox.
- Select a Workspace and click 'Select.'
- By default, all the files are selected and if you add metadata to the form, this metadata will be saved for all of the selected assets. In this example the file name is used.
5. If you want to assign different metadata for each individual file you are uploading, click on each file separately and add the relevant metadata.
6. Once you have updated the metadata, click Upload Files. If the Group Upload check box is selected all the uploads are displayed in a single progress bar.
If the check box is not selected, individual progress bars will be displayed for each file.
FlexMAM
FlexMAM is a media asset management application that helps you perform essential content processing tasks quickly and easily. FlexMAM makes it easy to:
- Upload, organize and review assets
- Search for and update metadata
- Perform rough cut edits
- Export edit decision lists (EDLs)
- Trigger workflows
Access FlexMAM directly from your internet browser to have your assets at your fingertips and begin reviewing media and collaborating with colleagues quickly and efficiently.
Logging into FlexMAM
FlexMAM is an integral part of your Dalet Flex account. Login by adding /fmp/index to the end of the URL for your account and platform. For example:
https://youraccount.platform.net/fmp/index
Type in your Username and Password.
Introduction to FlexMAM interface
The FlexMAM interface includes these sections:
|
Element |
Purpose |
A |
Header |
Perform search, View notifications, Add assets, Switch apps, View your profile |
B |
Bulk Assets |
Manage multiple selected assets |
C |
Sequence |
Create a sequence |
D |
Wizards |
Trigger a standalone Wizard that consists of an ordered sequence of screens to which you add information to perform a specific task. |
E |
Search Filters and Views |
Set column filters and manage views (assets/markers) |
F |
Folder Navigation |
Navigate assets based on collections and taxonomies |
G |
Results |
Asset list and search results |
H |
Preview Player |
Preview assets with the preview player |
I |
Summary Tabs |
Toggle between tabs to view information for selected assets: metadata, comments, markers, keyframes etc. |
J |
Help |
Direct link to help documentation |
Toggling between Table and Tile view
You can display the assets in different views, table or tile view.
Click the Settings icon, , and select Table view or Tile view to display assets in different views.
In Table view, assets are displayed in a list.
In Tile view, assets are displayed in a tile with a thumbnail and metadata.
Creating templates for Table view
You can create templates that display different metadata fields for the Table views according to your needs and preferences. The template is applied to assets and markers when you view the complete Asset table or when you search and filter assets within the search listing. You can create multiple templates and you can easily switch between them to ensure that you are viewing the metadata fields that are most important and relevant to your roles and to the task at hand. You can share templates between users in the team. If a template is shared, you can edit and delete templates that are created by other users and other users can modify your templates.
To create a Table template:
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Templates section by clicking the icon.
2. Select New Template and in the New Table Template window, select the Row View tab (1).
3. In the Name field (2), type in a name for your template (max. 35 characters).
4. Select Asset Type (3), .
5. In the What’s available drop down switch between different metadata types (4): General, technical, etc.; the available metadata fields are displayed in the table below.
6. Hover over the field you want to add to the template and click (5); the field is added to the template.
7. Add as many fields as you want to display in your Table view.
8. If you want to share the template with other users, tick the Share this template? check box.
9. Click Save to finish.
Managing Table Templates
You can create multiple templates and then set which templates can be used as Active Templates.
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Templates section by clicking the icon
- Click Manage Templates and select the Row view tab.
- Select a template in the Whats Available frame and use the icon to move the template to the Your Active Templates frame.
4. Click Finish.
Selecting the active Table template
Once you have added a template to the list of Your Active Templates, select the active template to suit your workflow.
To select the active Table template:
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Templates section by clicking the icon.
- Hover over Select template and select the template you want to use.
3. The selected template is updated in the Settings box.
4. The selected template is applied to the assets in the Results table.
Editing Table templates
Once you have created a Table template, you can edit it as required.
To edit the template:
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Templates section by clicking the icon.
- Select Edit Templates and in the Name field drop down list, select the template that you want to edit.
3. Make your changes and click Save.
Creating templates for Tile view
In Tile view, you can decide which metadata is displayed on the tile. This is done by creating a Tile template. You can use tile templates to determine what metadata is displayed for different asset types in Tile view. When Dalet Flex is installed the Default template is available.
To create a Tile template:
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Templates section by clicking the icon.
- Select New Template and in the New Table Template window, select the Tile View tab (1).
3. In the Name field (2), type in a name for your template (max. 35 characters).
4. In the What’s available drop down switch between different metadata types (3): General, technical, etc.; the available metadata fields are displayed in the table below.
5. Hover over the field you want to add to the template and click (4); the field is added to the template. You can select a maximum of four metadata fields.
6. If you want to share the template with other users, tick the Share this template? check box.
7. Click Save to finish.
Managing Tile templates
Once you have created a Tile template, you must set which asset type the template is applied to.
To apply a Tile template to an asset type:
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Templates section by clicking the icon.
- Click Manage Templates and select the Tile view tab.
- Select a template in the Whats Available frame and use the icon to move the template to the Your Active Templates frame.
4. From the Type drop down menu, select the asset type the template is applied to: Image, Video, Group or Package.
5. Click Finish and the template is applied to all assets of the selected type.
6. If no asset type is assigned, the Tile view uses the default template configured for the system.
Sorting assets in a table
You sort the assets by clicking on the table header. A green arrow next to a column header indicates that assets are being sorted by this field in either descending or ascending order. In this example, the assets are being sorted by Name in descending order.
Click on the header of an additional column to add a second criteria, You can add an additional column as a sort criteria, by clicking its header. In this example, assets are sorted by Name in descending order and then by duration in ascending order.
The first click sorts in descending order, the second click sorts in ascending order and the third click clears the sort. You can have a maximum of two sorts, if you click a third column, the sort is removed from the first column and added to the third column you picked. A counter on the header indicates the order of the sort. Multiple sort selections are saved when you create a Saved Search.
Using Notifications
Staying notified of the status of current workflows helps you keep up to date. You can click the bell icon to open the Notifications pane to see if you have notifications about workflows and tasks. When a new notification is received, an orange circle is displayed on the Notifications button in the Header. From the Notifications pane, you can select a workflow and open the Operational Dashboard to check the status of the workflow.
Viewing notifications
To view workflow notifications, click the bell icon,
In the Notifications pane, select the Workflows tab.
All running workflows are displayed
When there is a new task, an orange icon overlay will appear over the bell icon and the new workflow is highlighted.
Expand the notification card by clicking to view the progress of each stage of your workflow.
Click on the workflow link to view the workflow graph.
If your workflow has failed, the progress bar is red.
Click on the workflow link to view the workflow graph.
Select the My Workflows checkbox to only receive notifications about your own workflows.
Clear the notification panel by clicking CLEAR ALL.
If you navigate away from the notifications pane or log out, Dalet Flex remembers your last location and opens on the Workflows tab next time you access your notifications.
Previewing Assets
When media assets are ingested into Dalet Flex, a proxy version that you can preview in FlexMAM is automatically created. When you select an asset in the Asset Listing table, you can preview the content in the Prevuew Player. You can preview audio, video, image and text assets.
Working with the Flex Preview Player
The Flex Preview player is simple to control using basic transport commands. You can play/stop, skip forward/backwards 1 frame, fast-forward/rewind using the Preview Player controls or using keyboard shortcuts. You can use the controls on the Preview Player to set IN/OUT points, create clips and run Wizards on a selection in the Player. You can also use the icons in the Preview Player header to perform actions on an asset selected in the Results table.
Click on the left of the asset name in the Preview Panel to expand or collapse asset preview.
You can rename an asset at any time by clicking in the Name field above the Preview player.
This table explains what the transport buttons and command icons in Flex Preview Player are used for.
This button |
This keyboard shortcut |
Does this |
Play/Pause |
||
Jump forward/backward 1 frame |
||
|
Reverse playback. Press multiple times to increase playback speed. |
|
|
Stop playback and set play speed to normal |
|
|
Forward playback. Press multiple times to increase play speed. |
|
|
Displays the current TimeCode |
|
|
Set play speed |
|
Add comment |
||
|
Set volume control |
|
Enter/escape full screen mode |
||
|
Set IN/OUT marker |
|
Clear IN/OUT marker |
||
|
Displays the IN/OUT timecode of the current selection |
|
Playback selected clip region |
||
Create clip |
||
|
Run a wizard on selected clip region (if available) |
|
|
Run a wizard on selected asset (in Player) |
|
|
Download selected asset (in Player) |
|
|
Open selected asset in Manage page |
|
|
Show/hide the keyboard shortcut menu to view additional keyboard shortcuts |
You can also use the three dot menu in the Preview Player header to view additional actions that you can run on a selected asset.
Creating clips with Flex Preview Player
As you preview media, you may find material that you want to save to use later. You can select part of the media and save it as a clip in the ClipBin. A clip is a range of frames saved as an object in a ClipBin. You can use clips to build a sequence. When you first start working with FlexMAM, any clips that you create are saved to the ClipBin. This is your personal collection and its contents are not visible to anyone else. If you have access to additional private or shared collections, you can activate one of these to save your clips to. You can create clips from Dalet Flex Preview Player in the Preview Panel or in the Manage Page.
To create a clip:
- Select an asset to load it into the Preview Player.
- Play the asset or drag the Preview player slider to where you want your clip to begin and click to mark the IN point and click to mark the OUT point of your selection.
- Click the Create clip icon, , to create a clip.
- In the box that opens under the Preview Player, type in a name for your clip and click . By default, the name of the clip is “UserName.AssetName.clip.n”.
5. Your clip is created in the current Working Collection. The default Working Collection is your Clip Bin.
6. Click on the icon to clear your selection.
What is a Placeholder?
A placeholder is an asset without attached or associated media. Essentially, a placeholder is an offline video or audio asset. Placeholders are useful since they allow you to add enter or validate metadata even if the actual media is not yet available.
Creating a placeholder manually in FlexMAM
- In FlexMAM, click the icon in the header and then click PLACEHOLDER.
2. In the Create Placeholder window, enter a Name. This field is mandatory.
3. Select to create a media asset placeholder and then select the Type that corresponds to the type of media to be imported later, for example video or audio.
OR
Select to create an image asset placeholder.
4. Select a Workspace. This determines which users will see and work with this new asset.
5. Click Save; the Placeholder is displayed in the Asset table.
Metadata
In Dalet Flex, metadata is information about assets. The metadata may refer to the content of an asset, the files associated to an asset, the source of an asset or any other descriptive information relevant to an asset. To enhance assets, this information can be chosen as fields to display in forms or in views and it can be indexed for retrieval in searches.
In Dalet Flex, metadata fields are combined into a metadata schema which contains different fields of different field types, such as free text, name, selection, date and time etc. Different metadata schema can be assigned to different asset types and metadata can be added manually by a user or automatically when working with assets.
All digital assets have technical metadata, such as format and duration, associated with them. When a file is ingested into Dalet Flex, the technical metadata is extracted from the file during the import process.
In addition, you may need to add descriptive metadata as part of the import process, for example a specific metadata schema with mandatory fields might be displayed when you upload a file using FlexMOVE.
Viewing asset metadata
In Dalet Flex, you can view and manage metadata in the Summary panel. The Summary panel is located on the right-hand side of the FlexMAM interface and contains multiple tabs that are used to display additional information about the selected asset. To view the metadata of an asset in Dalet Flex, select an asset in the Asset Listing table; the asset metadata is displayed in the Summary panel. If the selected asset can be previewed, you can see the Summary panel below the Preview Player. The Summary panel is also displayed when you open an asset in the Manage page.
NOTE: The functionality of the tabs in the main interface and in the Manage page may differ. For example, you can only add Custom Markers to an asset when you open the asset in the Manage page.
If there is no media to preview, the Summary panel takes up the whole of the right-hand side of the interface.
The Summary panel contains a set of tabs that display information about the selected asset. The tabs can be used in different ways. For example, in the Metadata tab, you can type in metadata to enhance your assets and in the Keyframes tab, you can upload and manage keyframes for the selected asset. Some of the tabs, such as the Technical Metadata and Relationships, contain read only information extracted by the system.
The available tabs are:
- Metadata
- Details
- Technical Metadata
- Timeline
- Relationships
- Access
- Custom Markers
- Keyframes
- History
Different sets of tabs are displayed for different asset types.
Metadata tab
The Metadata tab displays a list of metadata fields configured for a given type of asset. The metadata fields may vary for each type of asset: audio, video, image, and so on. Some of the fields can be edited whilst others are read only.
If these fields have been indexed, you can use them as search criteria. Certain fields may be mandatory, an asterisk indicates that the field is mandatory. Some fields support multiple values while others only support a single value. This is an example of the basic simple metadata schema used in Dalet Flex.
Details tab
The Details tab displays additional details for a selected asset such as date created, asset type, created by and source. The fields in this tab are fixed and cannot be changed and most of the information in them is read-only.
Technical metadata tab
The Technical Metadata tab displays technical information related to the media file, format and stream. The fields in this tab are fixed and cannot be changed and the information in them is read-only.
Viewing asset comments
The Timeline tab displays comments about assets. There are two types of comments:
- Timeline Comments
- Comments
Timeline Comments are short comments of general information about the asset. They can relate to the complete asset or to part of it. You can add multiple comments to a single asset and these are displayed in the Timeline tab. Comments are not indexed in the search. The Timeline Comments tab also displays Comments made by reviewers during a review cycle, see Reviewing content and adding comments in FlexREVIEW.
Comments are system comments added when performing a review and comments added in FlexREVIEW when finishing a review session. Comments can only be added in FlexREVIEW.
Adding timeline comments to an asset
You can add a Timeline Comment to the whole of an asset, to a particular range of the asset or to a single frame.
To add a timeline comment to your video asset:
- On your selected asset, play your asset or move the playhead to the part you wish to comment on and use the set in and set out icons, , to set the section of the video that you want to add the comment to. To set a comment for the complete asset, do not move the playhead.
- Click to show the Comment Box.
- Insert a comment in the comment field and click ; the comment and its timecode is displayed in the Timeline Comments tab.
Managing timeline comments
When you hover over comments, icons that you can use to manage your comments are displayed.
- Click on a comment to jump to the section of the asset that the comment relates to.
- Play the section the comment was applied to by clicking the that appears when you hover over the comment.
- Edit your comments by clicking the which appears on hover and making your changes in the text field.
- Click to delete a comment.
- Filter Timeline Comments by creator using the icon.
- Sort Timeline Comments by oldest/newest or timecode in/out using the icon.
Viewing child assets and group memberships
The Relationships tab displays information about child assets related to the selected assets. It has two tabs:
- Children
- Memberships
The Children tab shows the media files that are derived from an asset. Typically, this tab would show the high resolution and proxy files. When you hover over a child media file, you can access icons that let you run a wizard on the child media file, download the media, or run a specific action.
You can double click on a child to open it in the Manage page.
The Memberships tab displays a list of the objects, such as Groups or Collections that the asset has been used in. In Dalet Flex, a video asset can be inserted into a group. For example, this tab displays any groups that an asset has been inserted in and if you click an object, you can jump to the associated group asset.
If you select a Group asset, the members of the Group are displayed in the Children tab.
Viewing asset history
The History tab displays information about changes that have been made to an asset. It lists who made the change, the type of change and the time and date of the change. The History tab supports pagination and you can set the number of items displayed on a single page. Click the Refresh button to update the display.
Sharing Assets with Other Users
Dalet Flex is deployed with a single workspace, but it is possible to add additional workspaces. If you have more than one workspace configured on your platform, by default, a user can only see the assets that are in a workspace that the user is a member of. Use the Access tab to grant access to the asset for users or user groups that are not members of the current workspace. You can specific users or groups to share the asset with. Once the asset has been shared, the user is able to view and modify the asset even if they do not belong to the workspace that the asset is in.
- In the Access tab, click the Share Access icon.
2. In the Share with people and groups dialog, search for the name of a user or group you want to share your asset with. You can toggle between individual users or groups by clicking the icons to the left of the search bar.
3. Select the user/group and click Share.
4. Once access has been granted, the users you have added can see the shared asset.
Managing Keyframes
The Keyframes tab shows keyframes associated with the asset. Selecting a keyframe, highlights it and jumps the Player to the keyframe timecode. To support large numbers of keyframes per asset, the Keyframes tab supports pagination. Up to 24 keyframes can be displayed on each page. You can extract directly from a video asset in FlexMAM or you can upload an external file.
In the Keyframes tab, move the playhead to the frame that you want to extract and click the Extract keyframe icon, ; the keyframe is selected and is added to the Keyframes tab. By default, the name of the keyframe is the Name_of_the_asset_TimeCode.
In the Keyframes tab, select the Upload keyframe icon, . Drag and drop or click to upload an image. You can give the keyframe a Title and Description and click Upload; the keyframe is added to the Keyframes tab.
Hover over a keyframe to display its description and a set of available action icons:
(1) Set master keyframe: Sets the keyframe as the master keyframe, this is indicated by a green tick on the keyframe
(2) Download keyframe: Downloads the keyframe and uses the name as the file name
(3) Open details: Opens a modal that display a large keyframe image with additional details and action commands. You can edit the additional details in this view using the icon.
(4) Delete keyframe: Deletes the keyframe
Collections
A collection is a folder used to organize assets. You create collections to store related assets in a meaningful way so that it is easy to find them. For example, you can create different collections based on subject, date, etc. Any clips you create are saved to the currently active Working Collection.
When you start working in FlexMAM, the ClipBin is your default active Working Collection. Any clips you create will automatically be saved in the ClipBin. You can create additional collections to help organize your clips. These collections are displayed in My Collections. If you want to work collaboratively, you can give View or Modify rights for your collections to other Users/Groups. In Shared Collections, you can see any collections created by other users and shared with you. You can activate any collection so that it becomes the Working Collections and new clips that are created will be saved to it.
Managing collections
You can perform a number of actions on collections using the icons that are displayed when you hover your mouse over a collection.
Use this icon |
To do this |
Activate a collection to be the active Working Collection that all new clips created from the Dalet Flex Player are sent to. At any time, there is only a single Working Collection. Once a collection is activated it is moved to the Working Collections section. Any clips you create are saved to the currently active Working Collection. Click a second time to deactivate the collection and remove it from the Working Collections section. |
|
Create a new collection. You can also use this icon to create collections that nest in existing collections. |
|
Delete a collection. This icon is not displayed if you do not have modify rights for a collection. |
|
Display information about the collection, run wizards on the collection and modify the Share rights on the collection. |
To create a collection:
- Hover the mouse over the My Collections folder and click the Create Collection icon, .
OR
In the header of FlexMAM, click the ADD icon, , and click COLLECTION.
- In the Collections dialog, enter a name for the new collection and then click the check mark. The new collection is added to My Collections.
3. To add another Collection, select a collection and click the CREATE COLLECTION link in the top left corner. This link is only active if you have selected a collection in My Collections or a shared collection that you have editing rights for. You can also hover the mouse over a collection and click the plus icon.
4. You can also create a sub-collection inside a main collection in the same way.
Adding clips to a collection
Whenever you create a clip in the Dalet Flex Player it is saved to the currently active Working Collection. To add a clip to a collection, load an asset into the Dalet Flex Player and mark the IN and Out points for your clip. Click the Create clip icon, , to create a clip. Type in a name for your clip and click the icon. By default, the name of the clip is “UserName.AssetName.clip.n”.
The clip is added to the active Working Collection, in this example it is added to Clip Bin.
Sharing a collection
When you click the icon for a collection, the Collection Summary pane is displayed. In the Access tab, you can see which users or user groups can view and/or modify the collection.
You can click the icon to modify the access rights to the collection. You can only set rights on collections that you create or on collections you have been granted full rights.
To share a collection:
- For a collection that you have created in My Collections, hover the mouse over the name of the collection and the click the icon
- In the Collection Summary pane, click the Access tab.
3. Click ; the Share with people and groups dialog
4. Select the person or group icon (1) to set if you are sharing with a user or with a group of users.
5. Click the drop-down list to select the specific person or group (2). If you want all users to see the collection, select the option Everybody
6. Once the person or group is added, then click and set the specific right you want to grant, View or Modify (3).
7. Click the Share button (4).
The people you select can now see the collection in their SHARED COLLECTIONS folder. Depending on the rights you set, they can see the collection but not change it or they can see and modify the collection.
Managing Assets
The Manage Page is a full screen version of the Preview player.
To open an asset in the Manage page:
In the Asset Results table, double click on an asset OR select an asset and click the Open button, .
The Preview player in the Manage Page works in the same way as the player in the Preview panel but also supports additional functionalities:
- Audio levels on the left of the player
- A Timeline view of the audio waveforms on the audio tracks
- A Clip Bin view of all clips created from the asset
- Multiple audio track selection for audio preview
- A comments track to highlight the parts of the video asset that have been commented on
- A button to allow you to add metadata markers
Managing audio tracks of an asset
Audio Tracks for an asset are displayed beneath the preview player.
Renaming audio tracks
You can edit the name of the tracks using the Edit icon (1). When the track label is editable, type in your track labels and click the edit icon again or click out of the track to disable editing mode.
To save space on the Timeline, you can Expand/Collapse the track name column using the Expand/Collapse icon, (3).
Selecting single/multiple audio tracks to preview
Assets can have one or more audio tracks, and these can be selected by clicking on the audio track. The selected track is highlighted and will be the track that plays when the preview is playing.
You can select multiple tracks to play at once by activating multi-selection mode. Do this by clicking the multi-select icon, , (2) above the audio track names or using Ctrl/Cmd + click. The multi-select icon is only visible when at least one track is selected.
You can use shift and click to select a range of tracks in a single click.
When multi-selection mode is enabled, clicking on a:
- Non-selected track will add it to the mix of tracks to be previewed
- Selected track will remove it from the mix of tracks to be previewed
You can toggle between Timeline view displaying the waveform and Clip Bin view displaying any clips created from the asset by clicking the navigation bar above the audio tracks.
Bulk Assets
Bulk assets are a set of grouped assets that you can perform actions on simultaneously. To simplify your work, Dalet Flex groups multi-selected assets together and displays them in the Bulk Assets folder.
To select multiple assets:
- Press CTRL+A keys to select all assets
- Tick the box in the left column to select one by one
- Tick the very top box in the left column to select all assets
The Bulk Asset icon displays a number indicating how many assets are linked in the Bulk folder.
Click the ‘Bulk Assets’ button to see all your bulked assets.
Use the icons at the top of the Bulk Assets folder to apply wizards, run actions or perform other actions to the group of asset you selected.
Quick Actions
There is a fast action panel that you can use to perform common actions on multiple assets:
- Add to Clip Bin
- Add to Collection
- Create Group
- Edit Metadata
To activate the quick actions panel:
- Select multiple assets by holding down the CTRL key on your keyboard and clicking each asset you want to do the action on.
- When more than one asset is selected, the Quick Actions Panel is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen.
- Drag and drop your assets into the quick action box you wish to perform.
Searching for Assets
FlexMAM has search functions that let you quickly filter to search content listed in the main Asset Results window.
There are several ways to search and filter through assets. You can combine any of the following tools:
- Free text search: Enter text in the top toolbar to search across all fields indexed in the search
- Advanced search: Add specific criteria to refine a search query or create and save a filter
- Refine search: Select and refine a specific field directly in the display template to filter assets
- Taxonomies: Choose from a list of predefined terms found in the taxonomies list to filter assets
Using a free text search
You perform a free text search in the Global Search Bar.
To perform a free text search:
- Enter your search criteria in the search bar at the top of the FlexMAM interface.
- As you start typing, a list of assets appears in the Suggested Assets list.
3. If you see the specific asset that you are looking for in the list, click to open it in the Manage Page.
4. Otherwise, press Enter on your keyboard to validate your search query and run the search; the search results appear in the Asset Results table.
Creating an advanced search query
You can improve your search results by creating an advanced search that uses search chips and search operators. You can then save the query as a search profile and share it with other users.
- Click the filter icon to in the search bar to open Advanced Search.
2. In Advanced Search, click Add Filter to add chips that refine your search using available metadata fields.
3. Select to set the asset field filter options available for your query.
4. The fields are grouped by type, such as General, Technical etc. In drop down list (1), select the field you want to add to filter your results by and in drop down list (2) select the actual field as in this example.
5. In the operator drop down list, select the operator to use: contains, 'is,' 'is not,' 'starts with,' 'ends with,' 'is empty' and is 'not empty.' The available operators depend on the type of field that you have selected.
6. Add the value that you are searching for.
7. Click Add to add the chip to the Advanced Search bar and perform the search.
8. The results are displayed in the Results table.
9. You can edit a chip by clicking on it to reopen the Edit Filter dialog.
10. In the drop down list, select operators to add to your search:
ANY creates an OR operator between chips
ALL create an AND operator
NONE creates a NOT operator
11. You can change the operator between chips using the drop down list between the chips.
12. When creating your filter, you can add multiple values for the same field. This creates multiple chips that are grouped together with brackets. Operators can then be changed between each group to further configure search.
13. If your number of chips exceeds one line, they will automatically flow onto multiple lines. You can click the icon to expand and collapse your filter chip field.
Filtering column headers
You can add search filters on the column headers in your Results view. Any values that you add to the headers are added as a chip to the Advanced Search bar.
To filter on column headers:
Hover the mouse over any field in the header of the Asset Results.
Type in or select the value that you want to filter on.
You can filter on multiple columns.
All filters are added as chips to the Advanced Search bar and the search is performed and the results are displayed in the Asset Results table.
Clearing a search
Clicking the ‘x’ in the search bar clears a free text search but does not clear your filters.
Clicking X filters clears your entire search, filter chips, column filters and free text, and closes Advanced Search.
Creating a search profile
Saving an advanced search query with a combination of filters of your choice as a search profile allows you to easily locate specific assets whenever you wish. You can share your saved search profiles with other users.
To create a search profile:
1. Create your search query and click Save.
2. In the Save Search dialog, give the search profile a name and click Save.
3. Your search profile is saved in the My Searches folder in the Activity section in the Navigation pane.
4. To reuse the search profile, click on it in the My Searches folder; the results will be displayed in the Search Results table.
Sharing a search profile
To improve collaboration and save time, you can search a saved search profile with other users.
To share a search profile:
- In Activity, in the My Searches section, hover over the search profile that you want to share and click the Search Info icon.
2. In the Search Info pane, select the Access tab, and click the Share Access icon.
3. Select the person or group icon (1) to set if you are sharing with a user or with a group of users.
4. Click the drop-down list to select the specific person or group (2). If you want all users to see the collection, select the option Everybody
5. Once the person or group is added, then click and select View (3).
6. Click the Share button (4).
7. The user/group that the search has been shared with, sees the search profile in the Shared Searches folder.
Enabling recommendations for content
To facilitate your work, FlexMAM displays recommendations for similar content when you select an asset in the Search listing. You enable recommendations from the FlexMAM table settings menu.
Recommendations are based on asset tags, which you manage in the Details tab in Summary panel of an asset.
To add a tag to an asset, type in the value. If the tag already exists in the tag collection, you will be prompted to select it from the drop-down list.
If the tag does not exist, type in the value you want to add and click Enter; the new tag is added to the tag collection.
Add tags to your assets to improve the recommendations of related material. FlexMAM searches for content that has closely matching tags and displays the most relevant items in the Recommendations panel at the bottom of the screen.
Click on one of the Recommendations to open it in the Manage page. You can hide/show the Recommendations panel using . Clicking on disables recommendations.
Exporting search results
You can export your search results as a CSV file.
- Click the Settings icon, , and expand the Export Search Results section by clicking the icon.
- Select the results you want to export, either the current page of results or a specific number of results.
3. Click Export to CSV to export the file.
Groups
A group asset is an object that combines assets and other asset groups according to a logical relationship. An asset or asset group that belongs to an asset group is referred to as a member. When you select a Group asset, the members of the Group are displayed in the Children tab of the Relationships tab in the Summary pane.
Creating a group
You create a group asset and then you can add assets to the group.
To create a Group:
- In FlexMAM, click the icon in the header and then click GROUP.
2. In the Create Group window, enter a Name. This field is mandatory.
3. Select a Workspace. This determines which users will see and work with this new asset.
4. Click Save; the group is displayed in the Asset table.
Adding assets to a group
You add assets to a group by dragging them to the group once it has been pinned to the Navigation tree.
To add an asset to a group:
- In FlexMAM, hover over the group asset.
2. Click the pin button; this pins the group to the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
3. Now you can drag and drop assets into the pinned group folder.
Sequences
A clip is a region of frames from a video and saved as an object in a clip bin. You can use clips to build a video editing sequence. A sequence is made of clips that you have extracted from one or more video assets. A sequence of clips can be rendered to create an entirely new asset. For details on how to create clips see Creating clips with Flex Player above.
Creating a sequence
- To access the Sequence Editor, click the Sequence button at the top right of the screen, ; the Create Sequence dialog opens.
- Type in the name of the sequence and select a workspace.
3. Click Save
Adding clips to a sequence
- Drag and drop your clips from the clip bin into the timeline below in the order you want them to be edited or rendered.
2. In the sequence timeline below, drag and drop the clips to the order you want.
3. In the preview panel, preview the clips in the order that you put them in the sequence timeline.
4. To save your sequence, press 'Save as' and in the dialog box type the name of your sequence, choose the workspace and click Save.
5. To clear your sequence and start a new sequence, click the ‘Clear’ button.
Rendering a sequence
- To create a new asset from the sequence, in the sequence timeline, click the Wizard icon and select Render.
- Type in a name for the asset and select whether or not a Review is required for the new asset.
- Click OK to finish.
Working with assets
Running a wizard to process assets
In Dalet Flex a wizard consists of an ordered sequence of screens that you add information to in order to perform a specific task. In Dalet Flex, you select an asset and then click the magic wand icon, , above the Player to select the wizard that you want to use.
Each wizard performs a different operation:
- Archive – Makes a copy of the content on the Archive storage such as AWS Glacier storage.
- Purge – Deletes an asset from the system. You can choose if you leave the corresponding metadata in the system or delete it as well.
- Request Review – Opens a form to add comments and a target review date and initiates a review process
- Render – Creates a new asset from a clip or sequence.
- Publish to Social – Posts the content to the registered social media account on Facebook or Twitter.
- Publish to Cloud Storage – Exports the content to your account’s S3 bucket. Please contact your administrator for more details.
- Restore – Restores the archived footage from the archive onto the cloud storage. Only available for assets that have been archived.
To trigger a wizard:
- In Dalet FlexMAM, select an asset
- Click the Wizard button.
3. Select the wizard you want to apply to the asset.
4. Fill in the wizard.
In this Wizard |
Supply this information |
Archive |
Select the Archive Type: Standard or Deep Add any additional information |
Restore (Only available for assets that have been archived) |
No additional information required |
Purge Asset |
Select the Purge Type: Purge file and metadata, purge file only (keep metadata) or purge asset only |
Request Review |
Add instructions about what is required in the review Set the Review Expiry date |
Render (Only available for a sequence or clip) |
The title of the rendered asset and whether a review is required or not. |
- Click OK to complete the wizard and trigger the process on the selected asset.
Flex Xtend
The Flex Xtend panel in Adobe Premiere is a plugin that allows editors to browse, search, preview and use media from Dalet Flex in their Adobe Premiere projects' compositions and save these compositions back to Dalet Flex. More advanced capabilities include the upload of local media to the Flex system and saving Adobe Projects to Dalet Flex for ongoing work. The Dalet Flex Xtend panel is run from Adobe Premiere and is an extension of Dalet Flex.
Logging in to Flex Xtend
Open the Flex Xtend panel in Adobe Premiere by launching Adobe Premiere Pro and creating a new project or opening an existing project.
Go to Window > Extensions > Flex Xtend.
The Flex Xtend panel pops up. Click the Plus (+) icon to create a new environment or select an existing environment from the dropdown list. See Flex Xtend Installation and Configuration Guide for more details on environment settings.
Select your environment and then log in with your Dalet Flex credentials.
Flex XTEND asset panel
Once logged in, the Flex Xtend Panel opens on the Import tab.
Here you can search and filter the available assets in the Dalet Flex system and import media for editing in Adobe Premiere.
Click on the User Profile button to see your login credentials and configure the Xtend settings.
See the Flex Xtend Installation and Configuration Guide for more information on Flex Xtend Settings.
Logout if a user change is required.
Click on the All your Settings icon to open the panel display settings.
Switch from Table to Tile view and change the Asset view Template, as configured for this user in Dalet Flex.
The left-hand side “hamburger” menu allows users to access the various Collections and Workspaces in Dalet Flex.
Saved Search Filters for Xtend are also saved here (see below for details).
Searching and filtering assets in Flex XTEND
Use the text field at the top of the panel to search the available assets.
Depending on the selected Template, use each column header to filter by that column’s metadata. In the example, the filter is set to filter Audio assets, from the Type column header.
Create custom Search Filters by clicking on the Filter icon at the top right.
From the dropdown lists, select the required parameters.
Click Add to apply the filter.
Click on the X Filters icons to remove any filters.
To save a search Filter, click on Save.
You can combine Search filters with Header filters to create more complex search queries.
Saved Filters can be applied via the Activity > My Searches section of the left-hand side menu.
Previewing and importing assets
Double click on an asset to Preview it before import. Note that this is only possible if a proxy format is accessible for the asset.
Control the playout, enter a manual timecode and adjust volume and play speed using the bottom controls.
Click 'Import' to import the previewed asset or 'Back' to return to the Asset list.
Alternatively, in the Asset list, select one or more assets and click Import.
All imported assets will appear in the Adobe Premiere Media Bin.
Saving an Adobe project
Users can save their Adobe Premiere project (the *.PRPROJ file) directly to the Dalet Flex system, allowing them to reload it later for continuous work. Project assets can be loaded to different Premiere workstations, as long as all media used in these projects was uploaded or checked-in to Dalet Flex. See Check-In Local Media below.
To save an Adobe project:
- Click on the Save Project tab to open the Save Project options.
- If there is a mandatory field, users must fill it in before saving is enabled. Fill in the fields and click Export Project. In the example below, the text field is mandatory.
3. Follow the Save Project process status. If configured, the Adobe Premiere Sequences in the Project will also be uploaded to Dalet Flex and created as Flex Edit assets.
4. Click OK when done. A new project asset has been created in Flex, associated to the PRPROJ file.
Export: Check-In local media
Users who use local media in the Premiere project and want the original local media to be available from Dalet Flex, can use the Media Check-In option to upload any local media used in the Premiere project.
Click on the Export tab to open the Render options.
Local Media Check-In does not require any metadata, even if mandatory fields exist in the form.
Click on Media check-in to upload the local media to Flex.
Follow the Export process status.
Click OK when done. A new media asset has been created in Flex, associated to the newly uploaded media file.
Export: Render
You can render the current sequence of a project and save the new video to Dalet Flex.
Click on the Export tab to open the Render options.
If there is a mandatory field, you must fill it in before rendering is enabled. Fill in the fields and click Render.
The rendering is done by Adobe Media Encoder. It will launch automatically if you are rendering locally, from the same machine as the Adobe Premiere.
Follow the Render Status.
A new media asset is created in Dalet Flex, associated to the new media file which was just created.
FlexREVIEW
Flex Review is a quick and easy way to share content with internal/external collaborators, vendors, and clients. The interface allows you to comment on and review media content without the need to transfer large files or without access to an organization's private network.
Logging in to FlexREVIEW
FlexREVIEW is an integral part of your Dalet Flex account. Login by adding /review/#!/browse to the end of the URL for your account and platform. For example:
https://youraccount.platform.net/review/#!/browse
Introduction to FlexREVIEW interface
The FlexREVIEW interface includes these sections:
|
Name |
Purpose |
A |
Header |
Perform search to find review sessions, Return to the Browse page in FlexREVIEW |
B |
Filter Bar |
Filter Reviews |
C |
Review List |
Browse a list of all review requests |
D |
Player |
Preview the asset being reviewed |
E |
Review Panel |
Information tab, Comments tab and Review button |
Requesting a review
- In Dalet Flex select an asset and click the wizard icon above the preview window and select Request Review.
2. In the Request Review form, add information about the review and the Due date for the review.
3. In the Request Review dialog, type in the Review Instructions. This information is sent as an email to all members of the Review group.
4. Click on Review Expiry to display a calendar. Select the date that the review session should be completed by.
5. Click OK to make the Review Request. The wizard starts the Review workflow and an orange dot is displayed on the Notifications button.
Reviewing content and adding comments
In FlexREVIEW, you can add comments against a specific frame or range of frames in an asset. These comments are displayed in the Review panel in FlexREVIEW and in the Timeline Comments tab in the Timeline tab in FlexMAM.
- Log in to FlexREVIEW. In the Review List, you will see a list of all tasks that need review.
2. Select an asset and use the player to preview the content in FlexREVIEW.
3. Select an asset to see information about the Review session in the Review panel.
4. Select an asset to view comments that have been added to the asset.
5. Double click on an asset or click the Review button underneath the review panel to start the Review session.
6. In the full screen FlexREVIEW, you see the selected media in the preview window.
7. Use the Transport buttons to control the Player.
See the Working with the Flex Player section for details.
8. Play the asset or drag the player slider to where you want your comment to begin and click to mark the IN point and click to mark the OUT point of your selection; your selection is highlighted in the Timeline.
9. In the Review Panel, select the Comments tab and underneath, type in your comment and click the button.
10. The comment is added to the Comments tab.
11. Click on any comment to jump to the corresponding timecode in the Player.
12. You can browse through a list of comments using the Page counter.
13. To edit the text of a comment, click the icon and once an edit is made, click the button to confirm the change.
14. To delete a comment, click the delete icon.
15. Once you have completed the review, click the Finish button.
16. In the Finish Review Session screen, select Rejected or Approved and add an optional Final Comment.
17. Click Finish to complete the Review.
Viewing review comments in FlexMAM
- In FlexMAM, click on an asset.
- In the Summary Pane, select the Timeline Comments tab in the Timeline tab; the comments added in FlexREVIEW are displayed.
3. Any comments added in the Finish Review Session screen are displayed in the Comments tab in the Timeline tab.
FlexADMIN
The Dalet Flex administration module allows administrators to easily manage users and groups. If you have administrator rights for the system, you can login to FlexADMIN.
Logging in to FlexADMIN
FlexADMIN is an integral part of your Dalet Flex account. Login by adding /fmp/admin to the end of the URL for your account and platform. For example:
https://youraccount.platform.net/fmp/admin
When you click Login, FlexADMIN opens on the User Management page.
Introduction to FlexADMIN interface
The FlexADMIN User Management interface includes these sections:
|
Element |
Purpose |
A |
Header |
Perform search, View notifications and tasks, Add assets, Switch apps, View your profile |
B |
User Management |
Manage users and groups and workspaces |
C |
Account Management |
Manage accounts, account settings and themes |
D |
Application Settings |
Manage Global settings and FlexMAM settings for accounts |
E |
Active menu |
Manage the options in the menu |
F |
Object List |
Object list (users, groups, accounts etc) and search results |
G |
Summary Tabs |
Toggle between tabs to view information for selected object: details, metadata, memberships etc |
Managing Users, Groups and Workspaces
When you login to FlexADMIN, by default the User Management – Users option is selected and a list of users is displayed with their details.
Select a user to view the user details in the Summary Tabs.
Select the Groups option to display a list of groups.
Select a group to view the group details in the Summary Tabs.
Select the Workspaces option to display a list of workspaces. By default, Dalet Flex for team has only one workspace.
Select a workspace to view the workspace details in the Summary Tabs.
You can search for objects in FlexADMIN using the Header bar. The search results are displayed in the object table. You can sort objects by clicking on the column headers in the table, the column being used for sorting is marked with a green arrow (ascending/descending).
Creating and enabling a user
If you have administration rights, you can create new users in Dalet FlexADMIN.
- Click on the Create User icon, .
- In the Create User dialog, type in the Login, First Name, Last Name and Email for the user and select a Role. All the fields are mandatory.
3. Click Save; the new user is added to the list.
4. The new user is not enabled by default. To enable the user, select the new user and in the Details tab, slide the Enable button to the right.
- You can disable a user in the same way.
- To delete a user, in the Details tab, disable the user and click the icon.
Creating and enabling a group
If you have administration rights, you can create new groups in Dalet FlexADMIN. After creating a group in FlexADMIN, you must contact Professional Services (PS) to use them in a workflow.
- Click on the Create Group icon, .
- In the Create Group dialog, give the Group a name.
3. Click Save; the new group is added to the list.
4. The new group is not enabled by default. To enable the group, select the new group and in the Details tab, slide the Enable button to the right.
5. You can disable a group in the same way.
6. To delete a group, hover over the group and select the icon.
Adding a user to an existing group
1. Select a group and in the Summary panel, select the Memberships tab in the Summary panel.
2. View the members in the group or use the Add member icon, , to select users to add to the group.
3. Click Share.
4. Select a user in the Memberships tab and use the icon to remove a user from the group.
Creating and enabling a workspace
If you have administration rights, you can create new workspaces in Dalet FlexADMIN. After creating a workspace in FlexADMIN, you must contact Professional Services (PS) to use them in a workflow.
- Click on the Create Workspace icon, .
- In the Create Workspace dialog, give the Workspace a name.
3. Click Save; the new workspace is added to the list.
4. The new workspace is not enabled by default. To enable the workspace, select the new workspace and in the Details tab, slide the Enable button to the right.
5. You can disable a workspace in the same way.
NOTE: You cannot delete a workspace from Dalet FlexADMIN.
Adding a user or group to a workspace
- Select a workspace and in the Summary panel, select the Memberships tab in the Summary panel.
2. View the users/groups associated to the workspace or use the Add member icon, , to select users/group to add to the workspace.
3. Click Share.
4. Select a user/group in the Memberships tab and use the icon to remove a user/group from the workspace.
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