Portfolio is a digital asset management tool used for organization and addition of metadata to all kinds of files.
Portfolio is offered as a local application as well as a web-based service.
Complexity: Moderate
Platform: Web-based; desktop software for Mac and PC; smart device app for iOS and Android
How to get it: Request a consultation by emailing itg@yale.edu
Help documentation: http://www.extensis.com/support/product-support/portfolio-1/
What kinds of files can I store?
Any file type can be stored and organized through Portfolio.
Who uses it?
Universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations of all sorts use box, including Yale. For a longer list, see http://www.extensis.com/company/customers/
How many files can I store? How big can they be? How much will it cost?
Portfolio does not store your files, but rather points to files already stored in another place. For best results, the user should store files on a server as opposed to on their local machine. Thus the number of files is not restricted by Portfolio.
Yale currently has a license to offer Portfolio to Yale faculty, students and staff at no cost.
How can I keep my files organized? Do the files have names–like on my computer? Is organizing the files easy?
Portfolio uses “galleries” to organize information. These galleries can function similarly to folders, where the user adds files directly to specific galleries. But a far more dynamic iteration of galleries in Portfolio is the smart gallery. A smart gallery is essentially a folder that is automatically managed based on any specific set of criteria determined by the user. For example, if a user wanted to create a gallery for all documents related to a particular project, the user could merely add the name of the project to Keywords or create a field name for Project Name and set a smart gallery for files with that Keyword or Project Name. Portfolio would then automatically add any file fulfilling that criterion to the smart gallery.
In this way Portfolio allows users to add information to files and then automatically organizes them based on the added information.
Who can see the files? Can I keep them private? Can I share them?
The files are limited to the program, so the only people who can see them are those granted access to the catalogue.
Extensis offers a web-publishing service that works in conjunction with Portfolio. It allows users to search a catalogue based on a predefined set of metadata. The files are not saved anywhere on the web, but rather Portfolio uses server access to point directly to the file on the server.
What is the legal status of public or shared images–their licensing? Can people ‘steal’ my images?
Portfolio allows users to add copyright metadata to any file.
If files are shared online through Extensis’s web-publishing service Netpublish, the metadata from the files are built into the documents. Netpublish can also add watermarks to downloaded images.
Can I leave the file here and publish it directly to a web site?
Yes, through Netpublish only. Netpublish can be used with WordPress blogs as well as independent websites.
Integration with social media is not supported.
Can I ever get them all back?
Portfolio only points to files, it does not store them.
What if I accidentally delete a file? Can I get it back?
If you delete a file it is only removed from Portfolio, not deleted from its storage place. If metadata had been previously added, the metadata should still be available if added back to Portfolio.
