How do I create asset versions?

When the Asset Versioning feature is enabled, DAM users can add new versions of assets and access, download, and share previous versions. To enable or disable the feature, contact DAM Customer Support. If the feature is disabled, newly uploaded assets with the same filename will replace existing assets.

A new asset version can be added when you upload a file with the same filename as an existing asset. The DAM automatically looks for any existing assets with the same name and marks the new asset as conflicted. Once you resolve the conflict, the newly uploaded file is added as the most recent version. If you're an admin, you can decide what happens to versions of conflicted assets by setting version preferences in upload profiles.

A new version can be added from either the Asset Digest or Asset Details page.

Versions in the Asset Digest¶

From the Asset Digest, click Versions in the Asset info section. You’ll see the current version – which is also the final version that displays in the asset preview, portals, and embed codes. Date added is the date the version was uploaded.

Explore the alternate versions that were uploaded before. When you click an alternate version's thumbnail, you can see its details, save it as the final version, add a new version, or delete the version. Deleting a version in Asset Digest will remove that file from your total DAM storage. You can't delete the final version of an asset. You have to save another version as final before deleting it.

Plus, you can click on alternate version's thumbnail to enlarge it in quick view and download that version without having to save it as final.

When adding a new version, you'll be prompted to upload a new file. This will become the new final version of the asset.

Metadata is tied to versions. Currently, you can only edit metadata on the Asset Details page, not the Asset Digest. So for example, if you make edits to the metadata on the Asset Details page for Version 2, you will see those edits reflected in the metadata in the Asset Digest when Version 2 is saved as final – but not for Version 1.

Note that if you are switching between versions in the Asset Digest, refresh the page to see current metadata for that version.

Versions on the Asset Details page¶

From the Asset Details page, click the Add Version button. Any file uploaded using the Add Version button is added as the most recent version.

Versions cannot be deleted, but they can be hidden on the Asset Details page if a prior version should no longer be visible, but other versions should. Click Hide Version to remove a version from view. Note that once a version is hidden, it cannot be unhidden. Hidden versions count towards storage space in the DAM.

After a new version has been uploaded, you can access the version details on the Asset Details page. Get to the Asset Details page either by clicking the asset's filename in the Recent uploads table on the Uploads page or by clicking a filename on asset thumbnails in search results.

In search results thumbnails, the number of versions appears when hovering over an asset or checking Show Details in the Thumbnail dropdown.

On the Asset Details page, the number of versions displays in the Versions section. Click Switch Versions to see the list of versions. To view a previous version, select it from the dropdown and the Asset Details page will update to show the previous version's thumbnail and metadata. Create a new asset from this version, finalize the version, and hide the version. Hidden versions are no longer available to download.

Permissions ¶

To view or take action on versions, users need specific permissions.

Access Asset Versions: View previous versions in the Asset Digest or on the Asset Details page.
Edit Assets' Metadata, Type, and Preview: With this permission for a particular asset group, a user can upload new versions and save final versions.
Delete Assets: Delete versions in the Asset Digest.

Working with filenames¶

When adding new versions, the filename of the new version does not need to match the old versions, and conflict resolution isn't needed. The existing filename is not overwritten with the newly uploaded filename, but you can edit that in the metadata.

Finalized versions¶

Users without the Access Asset Versions permission only see the finalized version of the asset. This ensures they access the most current and approved version. Set a version as Finalized to update the share link and embed code to reflect the latest version and maintain consistency in asset distribution.

Time until versions appear¶

After you add a new version of an asset and set it as finalized, it will take approximately one hour for the new version to appear in share links, embed codes, and portals. Our delivery network has an hour-long time-to-live cache and that needs to clear before new versions appear.

If links are needed immediately for critical information or urgent timing, upload the asset as a new asset rather than using the versioning feature.

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