This article will show you as the external vendor, what it looks like when receiving from and sending files to Creative Force with the filename method.
FTP/Box.com Folder Definitions
On the FTP and Box.com there will be a number of folders that are used to download and upload assets to and from Creative Force. The customer has the ability to set a custom name and folder structure for the Download and Upload folders.
Upload - This folder is where Creative Force will upload assets to be downloaded and worked on
Download - This folder is where the vendor will upload the completed assets to be transferred back to Creative Force
Rejection - If a Creative Force user rejections an asset back to the vendor for further retouching, the system will move assets and their folder structure to this folder on the FTP (we'll discuss rejection logic in detail later on)
CF_Archive - The clean-up folder. Once Creative Force has attempted to transfer assets back to Creative Force, the system will move the assets and the folder structure they were uploaded into the CF_Archive folder. *note this only applies if the customer has selected the Archive clean-up setting within Creative Force
_CF-Invalid-Files - Within the Archived folder, you will also see a folder called _CF-Invalid-Files. This folder contains all the files that have been scanned by CF but cannot be received back due to incorrect filename or file extension.
Receiving files from CF
Depending on where your customer set up their upload folder, this folder is where you will receive the files from CF. In this folder, you will receive the following files:
The source images
Transfer_completed.log: The naming structure of this file is Product Code_Production type_transfer_completed.log. The Log-file contains a list of all sent files including their directories on the FTP and Box.com Server. This file should not be returned when returning completed files.
Expected_returned_files.txt: The naming structure of this file is Product Code_Production type_expected_returned_files.txt. This file contains all of the information that you need to follow when returning files back to Creative Force. This file should not be returned when returning completed files.
There are also optional files that depend on your customer’s flow that you will see in your folder. The below files should not be returned and can be deleted when returning completed files.
Instructions HTML file: 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 follows the defined asset naming convention and adds -instructions.html to the end of the file name.
Color Reference: The customer has the option of sending along a color reference file.
Expected-return-files.txt
The expected-return-files.txt contains all of the information that you as a vendor must follow in order to send the files to CF correctly, *note: you don’t need to return this file back to CF. In this file, you will see the following:
The total number of files you must return
The name of each file returned and their corresponding source files. Note: The filename is not case-sensitive
The folder where you must upload the files back - if the customer chooses the filename method. If the customer chooses the Filename plus Folder path method, you will see the complete folder path and upon returning the files, you will need to create the folder path accordingly.
The preset specification of each image (if this is enabled). If the file extension is N/A, you can send any file format back
Other references include (if applicable): Job code, Project code, Product code, Deliverable code, Production type, and task ID.
In the above example, this is the information you will need to know when retouching the images:
The total number of files you must return: 4 images
The name of the first file you must return is: PCvid02_Model_1_main.jpg. The source image for this file is PCvid02_Model_1 (01).jpg
The folder where you must upload the files back: /Hann Fresh acc/Upload from FTP/UAT
The preset specification of each image
Note:
If your client has set up the same file naming tokens for all of the positions in the style guide and the files are in the same file type, the expected file name you need to return will include the preset variant code as a post-fix.
If your client has set up the same file naming tokens for all of the positions in the style guide and the files are in the same file type and with the same preset, the expected file name you need to return will include the asset ID as a post-fix.
Sending files to CF
Fan-out with preset
If your customer requires you to make different versions of one source image with different specifications, you will see that in the Expected-return-files.txt file.
From the above screenshot, the same source image file PCvid02_Model_1 (01).jpg, you are expected to return three files PCvid02_Model_1_main.jpg, PCvid02_Model_VAR1.jpg and PCvid02_Model_VAR2.png
This means that you must return the files with the correct filename and file extensions.
No preset
If your customer does not require you to send a specific file extension, you can also see this in the Expected-return-files.txt file. With this setup, you only need to be sure that the file returned has the exact filename as stated.
For example, in this below screenshot. You will know that there is no preset requirement for this image. The file extension is set to be N/A which means you can send back whatever file types. You will only need to make sure the filename is correct which is PCvid03_Mannequin_2
Rejections
Occasionally, a customer may receive an asset back that requires reworking. In this scenario, the customer will reject the image back to External Post. If the customer has chosen the Archive clean-up setting, Creative Force will pull all assets from the task out of the CF_Archive folder (including any subfolder/folder structure they were uploaded into the download folder initially) and move the assets to the Rejected folder. To know which assets require rework, Creative Force will upload an HTML file to the rejected folder for every rejected asset.
From here, the system only requires that you correct and upload the assets that have been marked for rejection. You do not need to upload and return the entire batch.
Note:
The Rejected folder is a sub-folder created automatically under the folder where you received the files from CF originally.
If your customer has chosen the Delete clean-up method, upon rejection, you will only see the Rejection.html and Transfer-reject-completed.log files, because the images have been deleted.