Summary
DF Studio sets the bar high again by introducing an enterprise-level file delivery system, the Multi-Project Messenger. Designed in response to the increasingly popular workflow of enterprise clients sending large volumes of data to vendors and counterparts, this new feature provides a robust yet simplified method for enterprise clients to share large volumes of data with those outside of their organizations.
We are also very pleased to bring you business level user role administration, giving account administrators more control over how account users will be able to use assets in DF Studio.
Enhancements
Multi-Project Messenger
The multi-project messenger allows users to queue multiple projects and send them all in one convenient Messenger link. For instance, a television network may need to provide the entire coverage of a season of a show to the producing studio or a design agency. With the Multi-Project Messenger, the resulting messenger opens one link in the browser with a table of contents containing links to each of the projects or collections. The viewer can navigate from one project to the next all in one browser window. For cross-posting purposes, the messenger’s single link will cross-post all assets, keeping all project and setup organization intact.
User Role Refinements, Additional Privilege Definitions
Previous releases introduced the ability to add privileges such as Delete and Asset API access through user groups. In this update, control over privileges is greatly expanded to the following list:
• Folder Management
• Project Management
• Project Metadata
• Collections – User
• Collections – Account
• Image Edits
• Image Deletion
• Image Upload
• Image Download
• Image Organization
• Image Metadata
• Image Comments
• Messenger
• Portfolio
• Assignments
• Contacts
• Account Settings
• Billing Information
• Asset API Access
The Account Admin role has all of these privileges by default, with the exception of Asset API Access.
The Account User role has all privileges except: Collections – Account, Account Settings, Billing Information and Asset API Access.
The Account Viewer role does not have any of the privileges by default. As a result, this role provides the most flexibility for fine-tuning user privileges.
How to set up user roles:
1 Go to Settings → Users and Groups
2 Under User Groups (right side column), click the “Add User Group” link.
3 Give the group an accurate and descriptive name that will be easily recognizable.
4 Check the roles that apply to the group.
5 Check the names of those individuals that belong to the group. Click Add.
(NOTE: Individual users should be added first so that their names are available to choose from the users list at the bottom of the group creation overlay.)
Improved Metadata Extraction – XMP
DF Studio has improved metadata extraction capabilities, now reading from XMP sidecar files, and reading/writing XMP fields. As with EXIF and IPTC metadata, this information can be viewed in the metadata pane under the “More Metadata” heading.
Metadata Writing to RAW files
Metadata changes made in DF Studio are now written back to RAW files (in addition to the types previously supported.)
Improved RAW Preview Quality
The quality of previews generated from RAW images has improved dramatically by using camera-specific white point information when available. While we still recommend manual RAW processing using tools such as CaptureOne for the most control over color, DF Studio’s RAW image processor produces very good results.
Preserve Setup Structure in Downloads
DF Studio and the DFS Downloader now download files preserving the setup structure in DF Studio. For example, if a gallery is subdivided into four setups called “John, Jane, Lori, Fred”, the downloaded folder will contain four same-named subfolders on the desktop.
DFS Downloader
DF Studio Downloader has been updated for stability and better performance with large volume downloads. We expect the Downloader to be able to easily handle 25-50K downloads.
Bring Back “All Projects”
The “All Projects” button has been re-introduced to the left navigation bar, reinstating the ability for users to view all of their projects outside of the Library folder structure.
Ability to Put New Collections into Folders
Added the ability to choose an existing folder with type-ahead search capability when creating a new collection.
Messenger Recipient Expiration Improvement
An update has been made to the Messenger UI to expire a user within 2 minutes of their link expiration, which is especially important in times when access must be removed quickly. Previously, the recipient could continue viewing the Messenger until their browser session had expired.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a user interface issue where large keyword lists in the Projects and Folders settings would crash the browser.
- Fixed a user interface issue that made it difficult to view the last page of the Messenger Wizard on small screens.
- Fixed a bug with single-file downloads that produced files on the desktop without file extensions.
- Fixed a bug in the assignment creation page that prevented the folders type-ahead field from searching folder names.
- Fixed a bug in the Messenger UI that prevented downloads from being limited to selected images.
- Fixed a bug that erroneously displayed approvals buttons for view-only cc messenger recipients.
- Fixed a bug that continued to send out notifications to LIVE messenger recipients even after their messengers had expired.
- Fixed a bug in the Library where, during a move, child subfolders did not move with their parent folders.
You can download the full release notes as a PDF below.