DAM Functional Concepts

Classifications are a tree structure that allows you to organize assets in Aprimo. They also have special functionality that allows you to determine which metadata fields are visible on which records. e.g. Records classified in the Cars classified gain the Model, Year, and License Plate metadata fields.

When creating a record, whether through the UI or through the REST API, there must be at least 1 classification on the record. Aprimo will not allow records to be created without being classified.

When you build an integration, it is important for you to understand the classification structure in the Aprimo environment you are building in. If your integration will be an offering to multiple customers, you should assume the classification structure will be different between customer, or you can recommend a specific classification structure to that customer.

Classifications can also determine which assets are visible to which users, but that is out of scope for this article. If you’re interested check out this documentation.

Orders are a process in the Aprimo API to obtain a download url, or public link if enabled, of an asset. The download url will deliver the full file binary. If you’re building an integration that moves files stored in Aprimo to an external system you will use orders to make that happen.

The below cURL is a very generic example of a Download Order. You can find more examples of orders at the DAM REST API Documentation.

curl --location --request POST 'https://{{tenant}}.dam.aprimo.com/api/core/orders' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer {{token}}' \
--header 'Accept: application/json' \
--header 'API-VERSION: 1' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data-raw '{
"type":"download",
"disableNotification":true,
"targets":[
{
"recordId": "{{recordID}}",
"targetTypes":["Document"],
"assetType": "LatestVersionOfMasterFile" 
}
]
}'

Orders are also capable of certain file transformations, including cropping, resizing, and transcoding video.

If your integration needs to expose the files but doesn’t want to download the full file, then Aprimo Public Links can be used. This type of order will return a public CDN URL instead of a download URL that can be used to view the asset. Aprimo Public Links needs to enabled on the environment.

Orders can also be used to obtain the preview or thumbnail file. This orders work the same way as full file download urls.

Download URLs are only valid for 7 days, after which a new order will need to be placed.

Within Aprimo there are different UIs that you will find. Someone are designed to only be used by the consumers and others contain a more admin level view of the application.

DAM UI is the UI consumers see. It allows them to search for assets that their user is able to see

DAM UI is used for searching for assets, downloading files, editing metadata, performing configured custom actions, and browsing available spaces. It is used by most users of Aprimo DAM, but it is the only UI available to consumer and contributor users.

Assets UI is for power users who need access to the administration side of Aprimo DAM. Here you can create fields, classification, content types, and more. If you are an integrator, you will likely need access to Assets UI when building your integration for creating fields, classification, content types, or configuring rules.

Almost every record in Aprimo will have metadata fields associated to it. Fields store data of a variety of types; including text, numeric, date, hyperlinks, option lists, record links, and more.

Fields can be added to records under a variety of conditions including global, classification dependent, file type dependent, and content type dependent.

Check out this documentation to learn more about Fields.

Your integration will most likely use metadata fields to store data relevant to the external system you integrate with. Data such as usage analytics or deep links into the external system are very common.

Fields can be sorted into specific field groups and then the entire group can be associated to a classification or content type. This can make it very easy to track what fields are applied to what records.

Rules are a configurable object in Aprimo that perform automatic processes based on conditions. Automating certain processes in Aprimo can speed up a user’s workflow quite a bit. An example of a rule is below.

If a record is created
   and classified in Spring 2023 Marketing classification
Then add "7/01/2013" to Expiration Date metadata field
   and add record to the Consumer Ready space.

You can find all the different conditions and actions at this documentation in the Aprimo Help.

Rules are a powerful tool for integrations. If your integration requires records to be classified in a certain classification before your integration pulls that record into an external system, then use a rule to classify that record when the proper conditions are met. This means no one can forget to classify the record properly. Additionally, rules support HTTP callouts, so you can use rules to send data to your external integration when conditions are met in Aprimo.

As an example, lets pretend you have an external PIM system and a new product line launching this month. You have all of your product shots in Aprimo and need to include them in the product page in your PIM. Use rules to send the data to your PIM:

If a record is classified in "New Product Line" classification
   and metadata field "Ready for PIM" is 'TRUE'
   and metadata field "Product ID" contains a value
Then make an HTTP Callout to https://myintegration.com
   and include Record ID in request body
   and include Product ID in request body

The below screenshot is an example of an HTTP Callout in a rule using the supported XML Formatting. You can read more about XML References here

Content Types in Aprimo are like templates for your content. They are configurable definitions that will be applied to your uploaded content. For example, you can have a Content Type called Video that includes metadata fields such as Runtime Length, Encoding Type, and Resolution and whenever a file of type .mp4 or .mov is uploaded to Aprimo it will automatically be added to a Video object.

Content Types can contain children types as well. So the Video content type could have the children Training Video, Ad Video and these children content types could inherit the configured metadata fields of Video and add their own for this specific use case.

Additional Files

Additional Files are any related files to an asset. Often this includes files such as different crops for different social media platforms, a crop for a “banner” image, a reference document detailing the requirements of the asset, and other files.

Crops

Crops are generated through REST API Orders, UI Commands, or an AI Auto Cropping automatic Rule. Crops are stored on the asset as Additional Files.

Trims

Trims are exclusive to videos and are an action to shorten the duration of the video by cutting out a length of runtime from the beginning or end of the video. These can be performed through REST API Orders, or UI Commands. Trims are stored as Additional Files.

Renditions

Renditions are files generated by performing one of a wide variety of actions on a file that aren’t Crops or Trims. Such as changing the resolution of a video, watermarking images, or converting a word doc to a PDF. You can view a full list of Aprimo supported media engines and their actions here. Renditions can be created via the actions menu on an asset or generated automatically via system settings. Once created, Renditions can be published to the Public CDN or downloaded by the user.

If the Aprimo Public CDN is enabled then Public Links can be generated for an asset. Unlike download orders, Public Links don’t expire and can support renditions, and additional image optimization actions. You can find the currently generated Public Links in on an asset’s details page.