Managing assets FAQs
On this page we've included the answers to some common issues that you may encounter when managing assets with Content Hub and using Dynamic Media.
- What image types are supported?
- What video types are supported?
- What video formats can I use to create video transcoding profiles?
- What text types are supported?
- What document types are supported?
- What other types are supported?
- Are any 3D graphics formats types supported?
- I uploaded an animated GIF, but a still image is being displayed. What is the problem?
- Why can't I see a preview of my asset?
- What is the maximum file upload size?
- What is the maximum share size when using Media Share?
- Why can't I publish my SVG?
- What characters should not be included in an asset filename?
- Can I retrieve a deleted asset?
- How do I completely delete a published asset from my site?
- I've deleted a folder. Where are my assets?
- What happens to my assets if I delete an asset store?
- Can I view how much storage I am using or have left?
- Which output formats does the Dynamic Media format parameter support?
- Why is a PNG that I’ve uploaded to Content Hub larger when I request it from Dynamic Media?
- URLs for SVG images
- SVGs and the Product Customization app
- Why do images look blurred?
- Which file formats can I use with the Image Recognition service?
- Can I run image recognition retrospectively?
- Can I use custom fonts?
- How do I specify addresses to be whitelisted for use with Virtual Staging environments?
Supported asset typesLink copied!
The files you upload are categorized into asset types. Depending on the asset type, an asset may be published, dynamically, statically or both.
Assets published with dynamic URLs can be manipulated using on the fly using the Media Delivery API. Assets that don't require manipulation, for example. .pdfs and .doc files are referred to as "static" assets and are served directly using a static URL. Read more about static publishing.
| Asset types for dynamic publishing | Asset types for static publishing |
|---|---|
| Image | Image |
| Video | Document |
| Audio | Other types |
| Text | 3D graphics formats |
What image types are supported?Link copied!
The following image types can be uploaded to Content Hub, published and consumed using Dynamic Media. These assets can be served both dynamically and statically.
| File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|
| jpg, jpeg, jpe, jfif | image/jpeg |
| png | image/png |
| tif, tiff, ptif, ptiff | image/tiff |
| gif | image/gif |
| bmp | image/bmp |
| svg | image/svg+xml |
What video types are supported?Link copied!
The following types of video files can be uploaded to Content Hub, published dynamically and encoded using one or more video transcoding profiles.
| File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|
| mp4 | video/mp4 |
| mov | video/quicktime |
| mkv | video/x-matroska |
| webm | video/webm |
| mpg, mpeg | video/mpg |
| vob | video/mpeg |
| ts | video/mp2t |
| ogv | video/ogg |
| wmv | video/x-ms-wmv |
| avi | video/x-msvideo |
| asf | video/x-ms-asf |
| 3gp | video/3gpp |
| rv, rv9 | video/vnd.rn-realvideo |
| ram | video/x-pn-realvideo |
| flv, f4v, f4pf4a, f4b | video/x-flv * |
All of the major browsers will no longer support Adobe Flash from December 2020.
Audio formatsLink copied!
| File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|
| aiff | audio/x-aiff |
| ogg | audio/ogg |
What video formats can I use to create video transcoding profiles?Link copied!
You can set up a transcoding profile for containers including: mp4, webm, m4v, mov and wmv. A full list is shown in video transcoding profiles.
Note that not all containers can be used with all video and audio codecs and in most cases you will use the transcoding profiles that are already configured on your account.
What text types are supported?Link copied!
You can upload the following text types to Content Hub for dynamic publishing:
| File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|
| txt | text/plain |
| csv | text/csv |
| css | text/css |
| html | text/html |
| xml | application/xml |
| json | application/json |
| jsonp | text/javascript |
| js | application/javascript |
What document types are supported?Link copied!
The MIME types for document type assets may be added to the static publishing allowlist and served from static URLs.
| Description | File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat | application/pdf | |
| Microsoft Powerpoint | ppt | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
| Microsoft Powerpoint (OpenXML format) | pptx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation |
| OpenDocument Presentation | odp | application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation |
| Rich Text Format | rtf | application/rtf |
| Microsoft Word | doc | application/msword |
| Microsoft Word (OpenXML format) | docx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Microsoft Excel (OpenXML format) | xlsx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
What other types are supported?Link copied!
The MIME types for other asset types may be added to the static publishing allowlist and served from static URLs.
| Description | File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Illustrator | ai | application/postscript |
| Adobe InDesign | indd | application/x-indesign |
| Adobe Photoshop | psdx | application/octet-stream |
| Adobe Photoshop | psb | application/photoshop |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | prj | application/octet-stream |
| Adobe Encapsulated PostScript File | eps, eps2, eps3, epsf, epsi | application/postscript |
| Amazon Kindle | azw3 | application/octet-stream |
| Amazon Kindle | azw4 | application/octet-stream |
| Apple iBooks Author | iba | application/octet-stream |
| AppleiBooks | ibooks | application/x-ibooks+zip |
| Apple Keynote | key | application/x-iwork-keynote-sffkey |
| Apple Numbers | numbers | application/x-iwork-numbers-sffnumbers |
| Apple Pages | pages | application/x-iwork-pages-sffpages |
| Google raster image file format | webp | image/webp |
| GPS data format | gpx | application/gpx+xml |
| Microsoft Outlook mail message | msg | application/vnd.ms-outlook |
| Open-source image format | avif | image/avif |
| Web open font format | woff2 | application/octet-stream |
| Video Text Tracks format | vtt | text/vtt |
| Zip Archive | zip | application/zip |
Are any 3D graphics types supported?Link copied!
Several 3D graphics types are supported that you can upload and serve these statically. See Static publishing - 3D graphics formats.
| File extension | MIME type |
|---|---|
| usdz | model/vnd.pixar.usd |
| glb | model/gltf-binary |
| gltf | model/gltf+json |
Using Content HubLink copied!
I uploaded an animated GIF, but a still image is being displayed. What is the problem?Link copied!
When an animated GIF is consumed using Dynamic Imaging, it is treated as a still image and only the first frame is displayed. You will need to consume the animated GIF statically to show the full animation.
Why can't I see a preview of my asset?Link copied!
Preview is only supported for certain types of asset in Content Hub: images, video, text, sets and pdfs. For other types of asset, the "eye" icon is not shown on the asset's card and no preview is available.
What is the maximum file upload size?Link copied!
If you upload the file manually, the file cannot exceed 100MB. If you use FTP bulk upload, then there is no limit.
What is the maximum share size when using Media Share?Link copied!
You can share files up to 1000MB. See Media Share limitations for more details.
Why can't I publish my SVG?Link copied!
If no preview is shown when you upload your SVG and you cannot publish the asset, it may not be a valid SVG. The most common cause of this problem is a missing width and height attribute. Check that you have specified the SVG width and height in your SVG file.
What characters should not be included in an asset filename?Link copied!
The following characters must not be included anywhere in a filename of a file ingested into Content Hub. Including one of these characters in a filename will lead to problems when ingesting the file, or retrieving the file using Dynamic Media. If you need to work with a file containing one of the characters shown below, rename it locally before ingesting into Content Hub or rename the ingested asset.
Can I retrieve a deleted asset?Link copied!
No, the delete asset action is permanent. A warning dialog is displayed for you to confirm the deletion, to help prevent accidental deletions.
How do I completely delete a published asset from my site?Link copied!
Just deleting an asset from Content Hub will not remove it from our Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). To completely remove an asset from your site you need to do the following:
Unpublish the asset using Content Hub or from the Dynamic Media app. Unpublishing an asset will remove it from the mid-tier CDN cache as well as the origin servers.
Purge the asset from the CDN edge servers. If you do not purge the asset, then you will need to wait for the time to live (TTL) to expire.
Delete the asset from Content Hub. You may choose to keep the asset in Content Hub so you can re-publish it later.
I've deleted a folder in Content Hub. Where are my assets?Link copied!
If you delete a folder a message is displayed to warn you that the assets within the folder (and its sub folders) will be moved to the root of the asset store. Any sub folders will be deleted.
What happens to my assets if I delete an asset store?Link copied!
If you delete an asset store, the assets it contains will be available under "All assets". The folder structure the asset store contained will be lost.
Can I view how much storage I am using or have left?Link copied!
No, it is not currently possible to do this within the UI.
Using Dynamic MediaLink copied!
Which output formats does the Dynamic Media format parameter support?Link copied!
Using the Dynamic Media fmt parameter you can set the format of an image to: jpg, png, gif, bmp, webp and jp2. Note that webp and jp2 are not supported by all browsers. See the Media Delivery API parameter reference.
Why is a PNG that I’ve uploaded to Content Hub larger when I request it from Dynamic Media?Link copied!
Your published PNG could be larger than the original for a couple of reasons:
- Your original PNG was indexed, you can ensure the requested version is indexed by adding:
fmt.png.indexed=trueinto your request. See the Media Delivery API parameter reference for more details. - Amplience recreates the image in the process of publishing it to increase performance/reduce latency. In the case of PNGs this can result in a larger file due to the heavily compressed nature of lossless PNG files. This can be mitigated by requesting the image in another format, or applying other transformations.
URLs for SVG imagesLink copied!
Typically SVG images are viewed using a static URL. For example:
SVG files can't be viewed using their dynamic URL shown in Content Hub.
To manipulate SVG images via a URL, such as changing text within an image, you can build up media delivery URLs manually. Note, for SVGs the media delivery URL starts with cdn.graphics. For example:
SVGs and the Product Customization appLink copied!
The Product Customization app creates URLs for SVG image in the format:
http://x1.adis.ws/v1/media/graphics/i/ampproduct/your_file_name
While the format of the link above is valid, you should use the newer style media delivery URL format:
https://cdn.graphics.amplience.net/v1/media/graphics/i/ampproduct/your_file_name
ImagesLink copied!
Image qualityLink copied!
Why do images look less crisp than the originals?Link copied!
In certain circumstances, there can be a difference in quality between the original images that were uploaded and their corresponding images that are served from Content Hub. However, images are uploaded in their raw format, and no changes are made during the upload process. So, how do these differences occur? Typically, differences such as less crisp images than the originals, are caused by post upload processing. For example, you may use parameters to lower the quality of images for faster loading.
When published images aren’t as crisp as you would expect, there are a number of things you can check to track down the cause of the problem:
1. Check how the image looks using its publishing URL
If you are using the preview inside of Content Hub rather than the dynamic link, the asset will show a slightly different level of quality due to the parameters of trying to fit the asset into the smaller preview window. For previewing assets to check the quality, we recommend using the Dynamic publishing link as this will show a true representation of the asset.
2. Ensure the uploaded images were at full quality
Images should always be uploaded at full quality, you can then adjust quality as needed with parameters or templates. If your uploaded images are not at full quality, post upload processing is less likely to be successful, possibly resulting in blurry images. You may need to do some testing internally to find the best settings for some images due to the varying nature of image sizes and resolutions. See our default quality settings for images.
3. Check whether the images were heavily edited prior to upload
If images have been edited using: ‘Save for web’, compositing or aggressive resizing, their quality is reduced, which may impact the final appearance.
4. Has the image been compressed from the original prior to upload?
Images typically lose quality when they are saved from already compressed images, and then saved multiple times again. For example, an image will lose quality if it’s saved from one place, uploaded elsewhere, then saved from there and uploaded to the Amplience platform.
The reduced quality that results from resaving an already compressed image many times in a row is known as ‘generation loss’.
To minimize image generation loss:
- Save the original image once only
- Avoid saving a copy of an image from a copy because each copy results in generation loss
- Always upload original images
5. Check what compression quality is being used
Generally we recommend a range between 65 and 80. Dropping below that may result in poorer visual clarity while going above generally just increases file size without significant benefit. See our default quality settings for images.
6. When using the Amplience Smart Images feature, there are quality and filetype defaults
To override the Smart Images quality and filetype defaults there are specific parameter values that must be used. See Smart Images quality settings.
7. Has post upload processing reduced the quality of the image too much?
Transformation templates can be set to apply to images automatically. You can override the template settings by setting the dpi parameter directly on an image publishing url, for example, dpi=300 will produce a high quality image.
Image Recognition serviceLink copied!
Which file formats can I use with the Image Recognition service?Link copied!
Image recognition can be used with JPG and PNG files. No other formats are supported.
Can I run image recognition retrospectively?Link copied!
The image recognition service will process assets when they are ingested into Content Hub. If you want to process assets that have already been ingested, you will need to contact Amplience support.
Other topicsLink copied!
Can I use custom fonts?Link copied!
You can use custom fonts, but these will need to be installed by the Amplience support team.
How do I specify addresses to be whitelisted for use with Virtual Staging environments?Link copied!
The Virtual Staging whitelist is used to restrict access to the virtual staging environment, for example anyone viewing a visualization or preview in Dynamic Content will need to have their IP address included in the white list.
IP addresses are specified with the Account app, using CIDR notation as explained on the Virtual Staging security page. Setting up a whitelist is an admin task that is usually done by the Amplience provisioning team at the beginning of your project. If you want to make changes and do not have permission to edit your whitelist using the Account app, please contact your organization's admin user or Amplience support.