Media Library

Introduction

The Media Library can be used to upload and share content. Depending on security settings you will have access to different parts. For example, one editor may have access to upload new media while another may only choose from existing media. The Media Library is accessed by selecting the top menu option "Content".

Folder types

There are several different folders in a default installation.

Users

This folder contains the personal folder of each user. As an admin, you will see all users here, but as a normal user you will only see your own folder.

Site root folder

This is the default folder of your site. It has the same name as your site. Shared media items and folders are placed here.

Other folders

In addition to the folders listed above you may also have folders with templates, sample content and other custom folders. Some of these folders may be synchronized from a shared source either within Smartsign, from another site, or outside Smartsign, from an external file system.

Upload content

Click "Upload" in the action bar to upload media items. You will be presented with a dialog where you can choose which files you want to upload.
From version 10.5 it's also possible to drag and drop files to the media library. You can upload to the current folder or a subfolder by dropping the content on the folder that you want to upload to.

Create new folder

To create a new folder, you should first place yourself in the folder where you want to create it. Then you click "New folder". A prompt will appear where you can enter the desired name of the folder.

Folder permissions

As an admin, you will always see all folders in the Media library, however a normal user will need to be given explicit access. To modify permissions, select the folder that you want to modify and then click View in the action bar. Then switch to the tab Groups. From here you can add groups by clicking or typing in the Groups control. For each group, you can give Read, Write or Modify permissions.Normally permissions granted will be inherited downwards in the folder structure, but you have the option of stopping this so that you can have a different set of permissions lower in the structure. To do this, just enable the setting "Stop inheritance of groups and permission" on the folder. After that you can set different permissions on the folder which will only apply to that folder and the ones below it. Change on any higher-level folder will no longer apply to this folder or the ones below it.

Using media library content in a booking

Click "Add media" and select "Media Library" from the resulting drop-down. The Media Library window will open. Select one or more media items and then click "Add". The window will close, and the selected items will be added to your playlist. You can browse or search to find the media that you want to add.
Uploading to the media library can be more efficient, especially when you have a lot of screens. By uploading first, the media items are already available in the system and can be reused instead of needing to upload several copies of the same file to different bookings.
Another benefit is that anything booked from the media library can also be managed from there. For example, if you replace a file in the media library, it will be automatically replaced in all bookings using it. You can also book an entire folder to a screen and then add and remove items from the folder instead of modifying the booking.

Media validity

It's possible to limit the validity of media to a specific period. To do so, view the media in the media library and set the desired dates on the Validity tab. The time referred to is the local time of each screen. The media can still be added to bookings and will also remain in any previous bookings, but it will be automatically excluded from the actual playlists that are sent to screen if it's not valid. From version 10.7, media that is currently invalid will appear grayed out in the media library as well as in any playlist using it.

Replacing files in the media library

If you wish to replace a media item, find it in the media library, select it and then click replace in the action bar. You will be presented with a dialog where you can choose a file to replace the media item. The media item will be replaced and all bookings using it will use the new version automatically.
From version 10.5 it's also possible to replace a file by uploading a file with the same name as an existing. You will then be automatically prompted if you wish to replace it.

Import a folder from your computer

If you have an on premise Smartsign installation or a PRO cloud service, then you can synchronize entire folders from your computer to the media library using Smartsign Sync. If you qualify, please contact support to receive the sync client and instructions.