Collection building overview

Find information about installing the Project Client and learn how to work with a project, build a collection, and View items in CONTENTdm.

Before you begin

Understand Collections and Projects within CONTENTdm:

Follow the steps below to download the Project Client, create a project, add items to the project, upload items to a collection on the server, and view those items with your Web browser.

Download and install Project Client

You need a Windows computer to install and use Project Client. See Download the Project Client for information about system requirements and instructions to download and install Project Client.

Work with a project

Create a new project

  1. Open the Project Client.
  2. From the Project Client Home tab click Create New Project or select New from the Project menu. The New Project wizard displays.
  3. Enter the CONTENTdm Server URL, your user name and password, and then click Next.
    Choose the collection that you wish to upload items to. Click Next.
  4. Name your project or use the name provided. If you want to make this project available to other Project Client users, check Share this project on a network with other users. This saves items and Project Client settings to the shared location you specify. Click Finish.

Add a single item

  1. Navigate to the Home tab or Project tab.
  2. On the left task pane under Common Tasks, click Add item or select Item from the Add menu. The Add Item wizard opens.
  3. Click Browse to locate the file you want to add.
  4. Click Add once you have selected your file.
  5. A summary screen displays confirmation or any errors or warnings.
  6. Click Close. The item is displayed in the project spreadsheet.
     

Add multiple items (a folder-full)

  1. Navigate to the Home tab or Project tab.
  2. On the left task pane under Common Tasks, click Add multiple items or select Multiple Items from the Add menu. The Multiple Items wizard opens.
  3. Select Import from a directory.
  4. Click Browse to locate the directory containing the items that you want to add. Click OK, then click Next.
  5. Select whether to generate display images.
  6. Click Next. The Confirm Settings screen displays. Review the settings.
  7. Click Add Items or click Back to change your settings.
  8. A summary screen displays confirmation or any errors or warnings.
  9. Click Close. The items are displayed in the project spreadsheet.

Add metadata

  1. Double-click a thumbnail image in the project spreadsheet. The item opens in a new tab.
  2. Type your metadata into the form.

     Note: When typing multiple terms in a controlled vocabulary field, separate them with a semicolon (;).

  3. When finished, click Save before closing the Item tab.

Upload items to server

  1. On the Project tab, select the items you want to upload from the project by selecting the checkbox in each item row or click Select All.
  2. Click Upload for Approval. Selected items are uploaded and the status bar at the bottom of the Project Client indicates progress.
  3. When the upload is complete, the administrator can review the pending queue and approve the items.

Building a collection

Approve and index items within a collection

  1. From the Administration menu of the Project Client, click Approve. If a login screen opens, enter your user name and password and click OK.
  2. The approval queue displays. Select Approve & Index all, then click go.
  3. A status message is displayed while the approval and index is in progress. When approval andindexing are complete, the status message changes to indicate there are no pending items.
  4. When finished, you can close the CONTENTdm Administration page and the Project Client.

View items

Browse collections on a server

  1. In your browser’s address bar, go to your CONTENTdm Website URL to see your website Home page.
  2. Click the Hamburger Menu and select Browse. Items from all collections display, sorted by the default chosen by the Administrator in the Website Configuration Tool. To change the sort options, use the Sort menu.
  3. To view the full item and its metadata, click the thumbnail image or the image title.