Uploading a single asset

For one or a handful of files, use the upload form in the UI. For larger batches (more than ~20 files, or a recurring import), use CSV import instead — that flow lets you describe metadata in a spreadsheet and is much faster.

This page covers two scenarios:

1. Uploading a new media — a brand new media record with one or more files attached.
2. Adding a file to an existing media — attaching another mediafile (e.g. a high-res TIFF or a translated subtitle) to a media that already exists.

Before you start

Make sure these target entities already exist, otherwise you'll have to leave fields blank and come back later:

• The album you want to file the media under
• The partners, persons and events you want to link
• The keywords you want to apply
• The archival collection / collection part, if relevant

If they don't exist yet, create them from the corresponding section in the left sidebar before starting the upload.

Scenario 1 — Upload a new media

Screenshot to add

Sidebar with the Upload menu open, showing the "Upload entities with media files" option.

1. Sidebar → Upload → Upload entities with media files.
2. Drag the file(s) into the drop zone, or click Browse to pick them. Multi-select is fine.
3. Once the files appear in the list, set the Context at the top — usually general vliz. The context controls who can see the resulting records.
4. Click Continue / Next.

Screenshot to add

Upload form with three files queued and the Context field highlighted.

5. You're now on the metadata step. The form is split into two sections:

   • Media-level metadata (one block at the top): title, description, keywords, marine region, album, event, project, partner, …
   • Per-file metadata (one block per uploaded file): filename (read-only), confidentiality, licence, creator, owner, usage guidelines, embargo.

6. Fill in at least the required fields (marked with a *):

   • Media: title, Context (already set in step 3).
   • Mediafile: there are no enforced required fields, but filename is auto-filled. Confidentiality and license should be filled in as soon as is practical.

7. For relations (album, keyword, partner …), use the picker. Type the first few characters; matching entities appear in a dropdown. Pick one — or click Create new if it's truly missing (you'll be taken aside to create it, then returned here).

Screenshot to add

Relation picker dropdown with three matching keywords and a "Create new" option at the bottom.

8. Click Save at the bottom of the form.

The system creates one Media entity, plus one Mediafile per uploaded file, all linked together. The page redirects to the new media's detail view.

Scenario 2 — Add a file to an existing media

When the media itself already exists and you only want to attach an extra file (an alternate format, a thumbnail, a derivative):

1. Open the media's detail page (search for it, or navigate to it from the album).
2. Find the Mediafiles panel.
3. Click + Add mediafile (or drag the file directly into the panel — both work).
4. The metadata form appears for just the new mediafile. Fill in confidentiality, licence, etc.
5. Save. The file is uploaded, processed and listed in the panel.

Screenshot to add

Media detail page with the Mediafiles panel expanded, showing two existing files and a + Add mediafile button.

What happens after Save

Behind the scenes the system:

1. Sends the binary to the Storage API → S3.
2. Generates derivatives (thumbnails, IIIF tiles, possibly transcodes).
3. Creates the metadata record(s) in MongoDB.
4. Indexes them so they're searchable.
5. If file scanning is configured, runs an antivirus / metadata-extraction pass.

You'll see the new file appear in the list with a processing indicator that disappears once derivatives are ready. Refresh the page if it stays visible too long.

Editing immediately after upload

If you spotted a typo right after Save, you don't need to do anything special — just open the entity and use Editing metadata to fix it.

Common gotchas

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Save button greyed out	Required field missing	Scroll up; required fields show a red label or a *
Picker doesn't find an entity that exists	You're searching the wrong context, or the entity is in a different vocabulary flavour	Try the entity's full title; or use the Create new option to be safe
Upload stalls at "Processing" for minutes	Large file or transcoding queue backlog	Wait — large videos can take 5–15 min for IIIF/transcoding. Refresh after a while
File saved but no thumbnail	Derivatives still being generated, or file format not previewable	Wait a minute and refresh; if still no thumbnail check the file format is supported
Wrong context picked	Files saved with restrictive context aren't visible to colleagues	Open the media → Context → change → Save

File-format expectations

The DAMS happily accepts most common formats. Concretely:

• Images: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, RAW (DNG, NEF, CR2 — preview may be reduced).
• Documents: PDF, DOCX, ODT.
• Video: MP4, MOV (transcoded to web-friendly formats).
• Audio: MP3, WAV, FLAC.
• Archives: ZIP (unpacked into multiple mediafiles by the importer if you uploaded via the CSV flow; via the UI form, ZIPs are stored as-is).

If you need to upload something exotic, ask whether IIIF / transcode pipelines need to be extended.