The CI HUB Connector Pro simplifies managing text and metadata in creative workflows by offering intuitive tools and streamlined features. Here’s an overview of its key functionalities:
Using Asset Metadata in CI HUB Connector
The CI HUB Connector Pro integrates with your Digital Asset Management (DAM) system to provide access to all available asset metadata. This includes metadata stored directly in the asset, such as IPTC, XMP, and Exif information, which may contain details like titles, descriptions, copyrights, and other asset properties.
Customize Metadata Visibility
You can control which metadata fields are displayed in the connector.
Click the gear icon in the metadata panel to show or hide specific metadata fields based on your workflow needs.
Assign Metadata to Layouts
Metadata can be easily applied to your layouts when working in Adobe InDesign:
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Insert an asset into your layout by dragging an image from the CI HUB Connector into the designated image frame.
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Hover over the desired metadata field in the connector.
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Drag and drop the metadata field onto the corresponding text frame in your layout.
This allows you to quickly link asset information (such as titles or descriptions) to your design elements.
Automatic Text Styling
If the target text frame already has a paragraph style applied, the metadata text will automatically adopt the defined formatting, ensuring consistent styling across your document.
Copy Metadata to Clipboard
The Copy to Clipboard feature allows you to quickly copy any metadata, custom metadata, or asset details with a single click. This option is available in both the Excop tab and the Asset Explorer Details view, making it easy to paste metadata into your documents or other applications.
Metadata Based on Relations
Connect your DAM system to PIM systems for more advanced metadata applications, including:
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Filling placeholders in layouts like factsheets or flyers.
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Using drag-and-drop for metadata to simplify layout creation.
For larger projects, export metadata to a CSV file for seamless integration with InDesign’s Data Merge tool.
Series Production and Bulk Editing
You also have the option of using CI HUB Connector and InDesign’s data merge function to do a series production together. The important thing here is that you have assets that have all the metadata filled in that you need for this. In our example we have an InDesign template and in it an already pre-formatted product field. If you now call up your assets in CI HUB Connector, you can select them. To do this, hold down the Shift key and hover over the assets with the Cursor. The assets are selected if they have been marked with a blue frame. Now export a CSV file by clicking on the respective export icon. The file is saved in the same folder as all your local assets.
Working with Metadata-Based Objects
If your source system supports objects, a single record can contain multiple images in the export. This allows you to automatically place one record with multiple images (“n” images) into your layout.
This functionality is commonly used to display different views of the same product within a single record.
Using the Bulk Asset Function
When working with assets, it is often necessary to edit or manage multiple files at once. The CI HUB Connector provides a Bulk Asset function to simplify this process.
To activate the feature, click the Bulk Asset icon.
Once activated, you can select multiple assets in sequence.
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Hold the Shift key to select several assets at once.
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The Details section displays an overview of all selected assets.
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This helps you quickly verify that the correct assets are selected.
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If necessary, you can simply deselect any assets you do not need.
You can also place multiple assets into your document at the same time:
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Click Use file, or
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Drag and drop the selected assets directly onto the page.
Within the CI HUB Connector, you can also lock or delete assets. The Bulk Asset function allows you to perform these actions on multiple assets simultaneously.
Working with Renditions in Bulk
If your source system supports renditions, you can place assets using different renditions.
This also works when placing multiple assets with the same rendition. However, only renditions that are supported by all selected assets will be displayed.
Discover the ExCop feature in this article
