Widen is the vendor-supported system WashU has chosen as a centralized solution for digital asset management across the Danforth campus.
Pixel is our customized instance of Widen here at the university. Our users and accounts, assets and asset groups are housed within Pixel.
There are three types of user accounts, each with their own permission level based on role:
- Administrator: This licensed user manages their department’s or school’s assets, asset groups and metadata. They can upload, edit and add metadata fields and download, as well as create, manage and share collections and portals.
- Uploader: This licensed users can upload, edit and download assets.
- User: This licensed user can view and download assets.
Asset refers to the individual digital file that is uploaded to the system. Each photograph is an asset.
Uploading is the process by which you add digital assets to the system. Uploading is simple and the system guides you through the whole process, giving you a full-screen view in which to drag and drop files, add and remove files prior to upload, and review a summary of assets that were uploaded.
Metadata is a set of data that describes and gives information about an asset, such as filename, date, department and location. We may also refer to this as tagging a photo.
The type of metadata you add can be standardized for an asset group, and it is best practice to add metadata during the initial upload process.
The more metadata you add, the more searchable and discoverable the asset will be within in the system.
Asset groups are a way of categorizing your assets and are managed by each school or department. Your school or department will be assigned two asset groups for storing your assets:
- Public asset group: This is a highly curated collection of assets that is visible and available for download by all licensed Pixel users at the university.
- Private asset group: This is a restricted asset group that is only visible and available to select users within your school and department, which your Administrator controls and manages.
Each asset must be assigned to a group at the time of upload.
Collections allow you to pull together assets that are saved in a predefined search; this is useful when sharing or downloading a group of assets.
The collections you create are only visible for you. Admins can also create global collections that are publicly visible.
Assets can be added to collections during or after the uploading process.
Sharing is the process by which departments or schools – or individuals within the same group – make their assets available to each other for use.
You may share a single asset or a group of assets. Assets can be shared via a link or through email to internal or external recipients. The recipient does not need to be a licensed Pixel user to access and download shared assets.
Portals are mini-DAMS that you can create within Pixel for sharing with a targeted group, such as the media or an outside vendor. For example, a portal could contain all your brand assets (photos, videos, logos, design files) for a specific project or initiative.