New Asset Management System for OSD - FAQ

1.What is an Asset Management system?

The aim of the asset management system is to:

• Manage assets, images and revisable files, in one and unique place
• Simplify collaboration, access to source files and history keeping
• Simplify submission process to ISOCS (no more need to upload graphics source file with the submission)
• Enable assets' traceability
• Restore online document at a specific stage with their assets (versioning)

2.What is an asset?

An asset includes all the file types and metadata associated to a graphic. Therefore each asset includes:

• the display file (mandatory): web-friendly image format that will be displayed in the online document (List of authorized file formats)
• the revisable file (optional) : source file from which the display file has been produced. Not all display files have a revisable file, e.g. screenshots (List of authorized file formats))
• and additional metadata :
  • asset type (mandatory) : identifies the type of image, i.e. chart, diagram, photograph. Depending on the type, a revisable file may be required during the submission to ISOCS. The list of asset types are based on the DRG directives.
  • contains language text (yes/no): allows you to flag images containing textual information that could require translations
  • alternative text (optional) : brief text description of the image that could be used in the future by screen readers (not yet implemented yet in OSD)
  • description (optional) : free text field to add more information about the image such as a description. This information is for the committee use only and can be searched in the Asset library.

3.What is changing?

In the Online Document:

• When adding an image to a online document, Authors and Leaders can directly upload its corresponding revisable file. No need to keep the source file on your computer, it stays available all the time in the Asset library
• Assets are versioned alongside the online document (major and minor versions), you can access all past versions of an asset from the Asset library
• The List of authorized file formats was extended (display and revisable files)
• OSD authorizes only 1 revisable file per asset
• At file upload, graphics' filenames are renamed to a unique name with the pattern "graphic-[unique number]" in order to avoid duplicate names and unsupported characters. There is no more need to rename the files for submission to ISOCS.
• Before, the image library used to show all uploaded images in the online document, which made it difficult to find a specific image. Since, images should not be reused in an online document but cross-referenced to guaranty uniqueness, the image library now only shows the unused assets of your document.

During submission to ISOCS

• Committee officers no longer have to submit graphics to ISOCS during submission at 30.99 and 40.99, nor to rename all graphic files to comply with DRG naming conventions.
• Images and their source files are available anytime for download from the Asset library

4.Where can the list of all the assets for an online document be accessible from?

All assets are gathered in the Asset library, accessible from the online document or from the Asset library tab in Projects.

5.Can a new asset be uploaded to the Asset Library?

It is not possible to add new assets from the Asset Library. All new assets must be added directly in the Online Document. Detailed information is available in the article: Add, edit and remove graphics

6.How can I add a revisable file or update the metadata of an asset?

To add a revisable file or update the metadata of an asset, go to the online document and follow the step describe in this article: Add, edit and remove graphics. It is not possible to update an asset from the Asset Library in Projects.

7.What is the list of authorized image file format?

Since the 1st of October 2024, the list of supported formats of image files was extended as follows:

• Display file : PNG, JPG, SVG
• Revisable file (following DRG directives):
  • AutoCAD (.dwg or .dxf)
  • Illustrator (.ai)
  • Vector file type (.eps, .svg, .wmf or .emf)
  • Word (.doc .docx), Excel (.xls .xlsx), Powerpoint (.ppt .pptx), Visio (.vsd .vsdx)
  • CorelDraw (.cdr)
  • Photoshop (.psd)

8.How can I download all the assets of my online document to my computer?

You can download all the assets of your online document from the Asset Library. For more information view this article: Asset Library - download assets

9.How can I retrieve an asset from a previous version of the online document?

By default the Asset library will always show the latest version of the assets, corresponding to the latest version of the online document.

Should you want to access previous versions of the assets corresponding to a previous versions of the online document, open the drop down and select the desired version.

For more information view the article: Asset Library - Asset version history