FlexXTEND Configuration

Introduction

FlexXTEND Adobe Panel is a microservice application designed to provide HTML pages into Adobe Premiere Pro. It allows end user to browse, search, preview and use media from the Flex system in their Premiere projects compositions and save the compositions back to Flex. More advanced capabilities include the upload of local media to the Flex system, saving Adobe Projects to Flex for ongoing work and rendering media on a remote AME machine. The FlexXTEND panel is run from Adobe Premiere and is an extension of the Flex system.

For the installation, read the article: Dalet Flex Xtend Installation.

For using Dalet Flex Xtend, read the article: FlexXTEND User Guide.

This is a step-by-step guide for configuring Dalet Flex Xtend.

Prerequisites

There are certain prerequisites for working with Dalet FlexXtend.

Flex Side Configuration

Setting up the panel in Adobe Premiere Pro includes the following fields whose values are taken from the configurations in the associated Dalet Flex account:

• Metadata Definition ID for Sequence Render and Export/Project check-in
• Folder Resource ID for Media Check-in
• Storage Resource ID for Project check-in/FCPXML import
• Storage Resource Path for Media Check-in to Shared Storage
• Workflow Definition ID for Sequence Render and Export/Media Check-in/Project check-in (Save as/Save)
• Import Action ID for Media Check-in/Project check-in/FCPXML import
• Variants for assets being created in Dalet Flex
• Workspace ID

EPR files

An *.EPR file contains system presets for Adobe Media Encoder. Some hi-res formats require the one-time generation of an *.EPR file to ensure correct encoding of that format.

EPR files are created in Adobe Media Encoder, using the Preset Browser or from the Export tab of Adobe Premiere. Created presets can be exported to external EPR files for future import. For more information on the Preset Browser operations, see Adobe Documentation.

The location of the Flex related EPR files is configured in the Sequence - Render and Export and in the Media check in section below. These are mandatory fields. You must have a valid EPR file available to your installation of FlexXtend. 

Login and Panel Setup

Once you have successfully installed the FlexXTEND Adobe Panel you can follow the steps below to set up the panel.

To open the panel, launch Adobe Premiere Pro and create a new project or load an existing one.

Go to Window > Extensions > FlexXTEND.

The FlexXTEND panel will pop up.

Panel Configuration

The panel prompts you to select or create a new environment.

Click the Plus (+) icon to create a new environment or select an existing environment from the dropdown list.

When creating a new environment, fill in the following fields:

Environment name: Give your environment a name.

Panel Service URL: This is the URL for the server-side component of the panel. The FlexXTEND panel communicates with this service in the backend. This service needs to be installed inside the Flex environment.

Click Load.

Remember FlexXtend login approval for 24 hours

Login approval to FlexXtend can be remembered for 24 hours. When Consul KV flex/shared/featureToggles/allowToRememberXtendScopeApproval = true, the Remember me for 24 hours checkbox is displayed in the login screen and all new logins in the 24-hour period will be logged in directly without the need for manual approval in the Browser. 

FlexXTEND Settings

On first connection to an environment, fill in and configure the following fields in the FlexXTEND Settings. These can be changed at any time by clicking on the Settings icon in the User Profile. 

See FlexXTEND User Guide for more information.

NOTE: All text fields are mandatory unless otherwise noted in this article. If you do not fill out a mandatory field, the Save Settings button is disabled and a red warning message is displayed by the empty field.

The settings are saved to the flexXtendAdobePanelSettings.json file at C:\Users\<USER>\Documents\AdobeFiles\. To apply configurations from other FlexXtend environments, import this .json file to this location.

Disable the Settings Option in the User Profile 

;"To prevent users being able to change the settings in the FlexXtend panel, use the <;>"showSettingsButton" flag;" in the flexXtendAdobePanelSettings.json configuration file. 

;"Edit the file manually to change the setting.

<;>"showSettingsButton": true -  Settings option is displayed

;"

<;>"showSettingsButton": false - Settings option is hidden

FlexXtend Versions

Scroll down to the bottom of the FlexXtend panel to see the current versions being used by FlexXtend.

Settings View

Dalet FlexXtend can connect to multiple Dalet Flex environments. Select the environment to connect to from the drop down list. The environment you choose is selected in the FlexXtend login panel. 

To streamline the login process to FlexXtend, you can disable the environment selection prompt, so that you always log in to the same environment. Select the Always Use This Environment checkbox to force FlexXtend to connect to the selected environment on subsequent logins. To redisplay the prompt, unselect the Always Use This Environment checkbox and the prompt is displayed on the next login.

General

Enter the general settings, as detailed below.

Use proxy media for high res DLT

When working in Proxy mode, Adobe must get a high-res reference, with the high-res expected frame size, to generate a valid sequence. When a DLT file is imported into Adobe Premiere, the associated proxy file with "real" video is used and scaled to the dimensions of the hi-res media. This allows FlexXtend to import growing files since the duration of the high-res file will not be static but will grow as the proxy grows.

The variable ProxySourceReference, that points to the proxy URL of the high-res file, is added to the Dummy DLT generated for the high-res version of the imported media.  When the variable exists, daletPremiereImporter reads the frames from the given proxy URL and provides them to Adobe as if they were high resolution together with the width, height and audio of the media. By default, this flag is set to true, to disable manually add useProxyReferenceInHighResDlt=false in the flexXtendAdobePanelSettings.json configuration file. 

Sequence – Render and Export

Enter the rendering and export settings, for rendering a new sequence and importing to Flex.

Parameter	Description
Automatically trigger partial checkin	If selected, FlexXtend triggers partial check in automatically whenever  a sequence is rendered for export. See FlexXTEND User Guide for more information.
Export Selection - Entire sequence	Exports the entire sequence. This is the default setting.
Export Selection - Sequence In/Out	Exports the section of the sequence marked with In/Out.
Export Selection - Work Area	Exports the section of the sequence in your Premiere Pro Work Area.
Export Preset (EPR) Path	The path to the Export preset file storing customized settings used by Adobe Media Encoder when encoding and exporting video. This preset file MUST be created as a prerequisite for working with FlexXtend.
Export Storage Path	The location which rendered sequences are exported to on the local computer. If upload to S3 is selected, the file is also uploaded to the S3 storage bucket.
Variant Name (optional)	The name of the asset type variant which will be associated to this media. The variant is created in Dalet Flex. If no variant is supplied, the default variant for the media type is used.
Metadata Definition ID	The metadata definition to show in the Export screen of the Panel. Metadata entered in this screen is imported with the asset to Dalet Flex. The metadata definition is created in Dalet Flex.
Workflow Definition ID	The workflow that the Flex Panel launches after Adobe Media Encoder completes the render of your sequence to create a new file. This workflow runs when you select Export > Render in the FlexXTEND panel and imports your file to Dalet Flex.  If no workflow ID is entered here, then no workflow will be triggered, and your file will only be saved locally.
Enable Remote Media Encoding:	When enabled, render jobs are sent to a remote AME, assigning the actual render to a dedicated AME server.  If enabled  the Export Storage Path above is ignored and the file is written to the storage path in the flexXtendAmePanelConfig json file.
Auto Select Media Encoding	Select this checkbox to enable automatic selection of remote AME based on real-time load and availability of the AME machines. If selected, the Auto AME Selection check box is selected when you open the Export tab in FlexXtend and one of the AME machines associated to your Adobe Premiere client machine is automatically assigned based on its load.
Remote Media Encoding - Label:	Add a label to the remote AME instance.
Remote Media Encoding - URL:	Add the URL to connect to the remote AME instance
Upload Rendered Sequence to S3:	You can select whether to upload your rendered sequence to S3/S3 Compatible storage. Checking the box will prompt you to fill in your S3 Key, S3 Secret, Bucket Name and Path (optional).
Compatible URL	If uploading to S3 Compatible storage, add the URL to the compatible storage.

Media Check-In

This section handles the upload of local media used in a project, to the Dalet Flex system. Media Check-In creates an asset in Dalet Flex and the media is available via Flex for continued editing or future projects. 

NOTE: Apart from the Check in Format EPR, it is not mandatory to fill in the fields in this section. If they are not filled in, local media will not be uploaded to Dalet Flex.

Partial Check-In

By default, when performing media check-in, FlexXtend checks in the entire media file in the Premiere Bin to Dalet Flex regardless of how much material is used in the sequence in the Project. To save resources (storage/processing time) you can perform partial check-in that generates clips to check in using only the portion of media in use on the Timeline (together with predefined handles.) See FlexXTEND User Guide for more information.

NOTE: To support partial check-in, Adobe Media Encoder (AME)  must be installed on the Adobe Premiere client machine. The partial check in clip rendering is done by the local AME that is running on the editor’s machine. 

This section sets the configurations for Partial Media Check-in to the Dalet Flex system.

Project Check-In

This section handles the import of an Adobe Project to the Flex system. The Adobe project file (*.PRPROJ) is imported as an asset in the Flex system for future use and further editing. NOTE: Any local media used in a project is automatically uploaded to Flex when you save the project so it is available for different users working on different workstations. 

NOTE: It is not mandatory to fill in the fields in this section. If they are not filled in, you cannot import and save projects to Dalet Flex.

FCPXML import

This section handles the import of Flex Edit assets for each sequence in the project and the import of a Project XML (FCPXML file type) for the whole project.  These are created when you  click Save As > Export Project or Save > Save Project in FlexXtend.

Import Actions Mandatory Configuration

To import media and Adobe Premier projects to Dalet Flex, the correct Import Actions must be created on the Flex admin side. For Media Check-in/Project Creation/Flex Edit Import/FCPXML Import, these import actions are used directly, for Project Overwrite, the import action must be used in the Save Workflow.

The Import actions are configured in Flex Core under Settings > Actions.

Media Check-In Import Action

To import local media used in projects in Adobe Premiere to Dalet Flex, create an Asset Import action to perform Media Check-In.

Create a new Import action with Plugin Type: Import and Plugin: Asset Import.

Note the Import Action ID under Details, it is used in the Media Check-In section of the FlexXTEND panel configuration.

Under Configuration, set the exact expressions as described in the table below. The additional settings depend on the specific scenario.

Adobe Project Import Action

To import projects created in Adobe Premiere to Dalet Flex, create an Adobe Project import action.

Create a new Import action with Plugin Type: Import and Plugin: Import Project.

Note the Import Action ID under Details, as it is needed for the FlexXTEND panel configuration.

Under Configuration, set the exact expressions as highlighted in the table below. The additional settings depend on the specific scenario.

Overwrite Project Import Action

To update existing projects imported from Dalet Flex after editing them in Adobe Premiere, create an Overwrite Project import action. 

NOTE: This action MUST be used as a node in the Save Workflow that is used to import the changes to an existing project in Dalet Flex and that launches when you select Save > Save Project in the FlexXTEND panel. 

Create a new Import action with Plugin Type: Import and Plugin: Import Project.

Under Configuration, set the exact expressions as described in the table below.

If you set Import Referenced Sources to yes, you must use the following expression in the Edit File Name field and you must select the Create Project XML checkbox in the Import FCPXML section of the FlexXtend settings dialog.

Flex Edits Import Action

To import the Adobe Sequences used in projects in Adobe Premiere/import a Project XML file to Dalet Flex, create an Import Edit action to create Flex Edit assets.

Create a new Import action with Plugin Type: Import and Plugin: Import Edit.

Note the Import Action ID under Details, as it is needed for the FlexXTEND panel configuration.

Under Configuration, it is highly recommended (though not strictly mandatory) to set the exact expressions as described below.

AME Remote Rendering

Remote encoding, or remote rendering, allows Adobe Premiere users to send the render jobs to a central rendering server, instead of launching a local Adobe Media Encoder instance and rendering locally.

When configured, rendering jobs by FlexXTEND users are directed to the central AME server for rendering.

The AME will output the rendered asset into the "exportPath" location configured in the AME JSON, and  will optionally also upload to the S3 location specified in the Premiere user's configuration. The premiere user does not have to specify an S3 bucket for upload.

Versions and Notes

• The Adobe Media Encoder version must match the Premiere version.
• Remote AME is supported for Windows only.

Installation and Configuration

Install the Xtend to AME extension in the same way it is installed on Premiere machines above.

To support monitoring jobs on the Remote Adobe Media Encoder, AME must be installed in https mode -  mandatory from Dalet Flex 2025.9.0.

See Adobe Documentation and this Internal article  Dalet Flex Xtend Installation for more information.

Once installed, the configuration of the remote AME instance is done directly in the flexXtendAmePanelConfig.json file. There is no graphic user interface for configuration, as there is for the FlexXTEND extension.

The flexXtendAmePanelConfig.json file is located at C:\Users\<USER>\Documents\AdobeFiles\.

Edit the file and add the following parameters:

• Flex environment URL, followed by /flexxtendamepanel
• AME port, this port is needed in the Xtend Premiere configuration, by default: 8007. The supported range of ports is from 8007 and above
• Shared storage path, accessible by the Flex system
• Export path, the path for exported files and optionally upload to the S3 location specified in the Premiere user's configuration
• Download path, the path for downloaded files

Example:

  {

  "amePanelUrl": "https://documentation.flex.dalet.com/flexxtendamepanel/",

  "ameNodeServicePort": 8007,

  "sharedStoragePaths": ["\\AME_Storage\amepanel\AMELocal"],

  "exportPath": "\\AME_Storage\amepanel\AME Export",

  "downloadPath": "\\AME_Storage\amepanel\AMEDownload"

  }

Importing FCPXML via FlexXtend

You may want to work on projects in Adobe Premiere that were originally created as an FCPXML file in a different NLE. FCPXML files imported into Dalet Flex will be created as a .prproj Project asset in Dalet Flex with the FCPXML associated as a member asset.

You can use FlexXtend to import these projects and all the information in the FCPXML will be imported to Adobe Premiere.  

Pre-conditions to support this functionality:

1. The media referenced in the FCPXML must have an MPD proxy associated with it
2. The prproj file name must include “ASSET_TO_IMPORT_AS_FCPXML” eg myFlexAsset_ASSET_TO_IMPORT_AS_FCPXML_7539434.prproj
3. The xml/media element, MUST contain an <assetid> subElement containing the Flex Asset id that references the given media 

Issue Reporting

When reporting any issues discovered when working with FlexXtend please include the following information.

Environment name
Flex version
Premiere Extension Version
AME Extension Version (if relevant)
Panel App Version
Detailed description of the scenario
Console logs - use the Save As option to create a text file, do not Copy+Paste because this results in information loss.

Create a har file - From the Network tab, download a recording of all activity on your browser and save it as a har file.