Sorted Collections

Accurately Described

ResourceSpace organizes the contents of the catalog in collections. Collections can be public or private, they can be associated with one user or all groups, and the owner can also allow other users to add their own content. The DAM system compiles collections like a kind of gallery; its actual use, however, is not viewing but instead summarizing and collaboratively editing content.

Users can move to an individual view of the content from the collection's overview page. Here, you will find preview and download options for various sizes. You can also view the metadata and add the resource to a new collection and create your own collections. The DAM system helps the admin describe the content and also provides mass tagging.

To tag about 100 photos, for example, you should first create a collection and then select the Edit all menu entry in the My Collections section. Then, click to select the fields you want to edit.

The single-pane view also offers to import the metadata from another resource. If a photo contains geo-information, ResourceSpace will display this under the image in a map (Figure 5). Users can open a bigger OpenStreetMap map view via Edit Geodata and, if necessary, place the pin in a new location or enter the longitude and latitude in the field.

Figure 5: In the single-pane view, ResourceSpace visitors find the download links to the file, a preview function, and metadata, including a map for geodetic data.

ResourceSpace always displays the search function on the right-hand side of the dashboard. By default, it searches all fields of all resources. You can turn off individual categories by clicking in the checkboxes. If you enter multiple terms in the same field, the system always interprets this as a logical AND. You can also sort the results by relevance, popularity, color, or date.

You can limit the results to a certain year or month in the By date section; clicking on Geographic Search displays the map view again. The Advanced Search displays a mask that allows more precise tuning by also factoring the day into the search and offering fields for tags, captions, text, country, people, and copyright. A drop-down menu also sorts by file status.

Access Control

ResourceSpace supports users and groups. Admins can add new accounts via Team Center | Manage Users , edit existing accounts, and view logs. The logs show who has logged in and out and who has added, edited, and deleted which files. The DAM system reveals timestamps, resource IDs, and, where appropriate, the edited field (Figure 6).

Figure 6: ResourceSpace keeps track of all users' actions and displays the actions in a list sorted by date.

The software supports eight predefined user groups: from administrator, through various restricted access types to Super-Admin. The administrator can generate new groups and change their permissions in the system settings. The authorization manager tool precisely apportions which actions are allowed. The program even allows groups and accounts to be assigned expiration dates, thus supporting time-restricted access. Admins can determine the conditions of access and payment via the eCommerce module.

ResourceSpace can add a watermark to preview images on request. To enable this feature, you need to remove the comment mark in the include/config.default.php file in front of the following line

$watermark="gfx/watermark.png";

The background graphic shows the ResourceSpace lettering on a transparent background by default. You can generate your own PNG file with an image processing program. Ensure that the Allow restricted download function is enabled in the Downloads/preview sizes | Screen section in the dashboard system setup. You can then run the pages/tools/update_previews.php?previewbased=true script in the browser to produce the new thumbnails.

User groups need the w authorization, so that they can see the markings in the resources assigned to their groups. Users need to test the preview with a non-privileged user account because the administrator does not get to see the watermark.

The DAM system contains a few tools to edit the resources. Users can rotate, brighten, or darken the preview images. I really liked the ability to upload new file versions without having to delete an old version and all the metadata. The Log link in a resource's single-pane view displays which changes a file has gone through. However, it is not possible to return a file to a previous state. This is thus not genuine versioning; ResourceSpace instead provides a version overview.

ResourceSpace operators can configure their systems so that the contents are only released on request or only to paying customers. Requests arrive by email and the admin then sends the file or allows access via ResourceSpace. The Pay now option sends users to the PayPal checkout; Payment by invoice means that a cron job regularly generates invoices. The admin can define ordering and payment options via the user groups.

Razuna

Razuna [3] is a DAM by the Danish software company of the same name. It is has a considerably broader scope than Smartimage, the second cloud service in the test. The hosted package targets small to medium-sized companies and dedicated server departments in large companies, museums, and archives. We had two accounts at our disposal. We used both the 30-day trial version from the hosted offer and special demo access that the company had set up. The latter did not include email messages with tips and tricks.

Razuna customers choose from four package sizes in the hosted category. Basic costs around $25 a month and offers 15GB disk space and 15GB traffic volume. The Plus version for approximately $50 a month increases both values to 50GB, and Premium for $100 raises the limit to 150GB.

The Unlimited package costs almost $150 and limits neither space nor traffic volume, but there are additional costs for storage and traffic. The manufacturer takes the higher of the two values and multiplies it by $0.95 for this. Interested users can test all four packages for 30 days free of charge and without giving credit card details.

The prices for a dedicated server start at around $400 per month and rise depending on the number of hosts and additional features up to approximately $1,200 [13]. The software is available under a dual license (AGPLv3 and proprietary), and the company offers the open source model for downloading [14].

Razuna supports more than 20 languages. The option to change is somewhat hidden, but users can find it by clicking on their username at the top right and then under Administration | Settings | Languages .