If you are planning to integrate your external post-production vendor via an FTP-Server, the following information is important to know:
Transfer of assets to an external vendor FTP
The assets are transferred to a defined upload folder on an FTP-Server. The upload folder can be defined in the Studio Settings / Post-Production.
Dedicated structure/naming for transfer folder
When files are getting transferred, Creative Force can automatically create a subfolder on the FTP and upload the assets into it. These subfolders can be defined on Style guide, production type and position level.
You can read more about the setup here
Asset filename
The vendor will receive the assets correctly named according to the naming conventions set up in Style guides / Photography. A renaming of the assets from the vendor is not necessary.
You can read more about the setup of the final asset naming here.
Transfer of color references (Optional workflow setting)
Creative Force will automatically add a color reference file to the upload if defined in the related workflow.
The color reference file will be named according to the naming conventions set up in the Style guide. A mandatory property to use for the naming is the product code.
Example naming: color-ref-12345678_1.jpg
You can read more about the naming here:
The color reference can be deleted by the vendor after finalizing the post-production and should not be delivered back to Creative Force.
Logfile
Creative Force will add a Log-file for every upload once the transfer is completed.
The log-file can be triggered by the vendor to start the download of the assets
The Log-file is named: ProductCode-ProductionType-transfer-completed.log
The Log-file contains a list of all uploaded files including their directories on the FTP-Server.
Instructions
Individual instructions can be added to an image via Creative Force by an art director or photographer during production. If instructions are added, Creative force uploads an additional HTML-file for every asset with instructions.
The naming of the Instructions file is following the defined asset naming convention and adds -instructions.html to the end of the file name
Example: 0001234_12345678_OM_FV_1-instruction.html
Instruction can be viewed by opening the HTML file in your browser.
Rejections
If assets are getting rejected in External Post QC, Creative Force will create a subfolder in the upload folder called "Rejected". Creative Force will upload an HTML-file to the rejected folder for every rejected asset including the originally uploaded asset.
This means that when a product is rejected to an FTP vendor, Creative Force will go to their FTP server, move the assets of that product to the rejected folder - keep the same folder structure.
It means, what the vendor sent will be what the vendor gets on rejected.
If the vendor sent assets of this product in two folders, then on rejected they will get two folders.
If the vendor sent assets of this product under no folder, then on rejected they will get no folders.
If the vendor sent assets of this product in a long-and-deep folder tree, then on rejected they will get exactly the same folder tree.
The naming of the rejection file is following the defined asset naming convention and adds -rejection.html to the end of the file name.
Example: 0001234_12345678_OM_FV_1-rejection.html
Rejections can be viewed by opening the HTML-file in your browser.
To solve a rejection, the corrected assets must be uploaded to the download folder again.
Import of assets back to Creative Force from an external vendor FTP
All assets must be transferred back to a defined download folder on the FTP-server.
The folder can be defined in the Studio Settings / Post-Production.
The assets do not have to be delivered in the same folder structure they have been uploaded - they can be delivered without structure.
Color references, Log files or instruction files should not be delivered back.
Very important
The metadata of the file is not allowed to be deleted or changed - it is required to stay as received to be able to get imported back to Creative Force.
Clean-up Setting for FTP Vendor
We have a setting to the External Post Production Vendor set-up enabling the clean up of FTP Download folder.
You can now select from the following options:
Archive (default value)
Delete
Where Archive is selected, the files returned to Creative Force will be moved to a folder called '_CF-Archived-Files' on the vendor's FTP. The files will be moved to the _CF-Archived-Files in same folder structure that the vendor uploaded them in, similarly, if the vendor uploaded the images without a folder structure, the images will directly into the _CF-Archived-Files without subfolders.
If Delete is selected, the files are removed from the Vendor's FTP on receipt of the images in Creative Force
Please note, the user credentials entered into the Vendor set-up must have 'write' permissions to the Vendor's FTP.
Note:
If you have multiple vendors using the same FTP-server, please make sure to set up different root folders for each vendor for the Download folder path.
