Creating Objects

Document Types

The Nuxeo DAMS allows you to create five different kinds of digital objects, called "document types." When creating a new simple or complex object (or adding components to a complex object), you must declare the Nuxeo document type for the object at the point you create it; once declared, the document type cannot be changed. The selected document type informs how the object will preview in Nuxeo, as well as how the content will display if published to Calisphere. [Note: The "document type" must match the "main content file" filetype, or harvesting objects to Calisphere will result in an error].

As you can see from Nuxeo’s documented Supported File Formats, it supports most common file types for each of these document types (including 3D files). Note that a subset of supported files can currently be rendered for display in Calisphere, as indicated in the table above. 

Each document type can function as a complex object and can contain child-level components of any of the four document types.

Main Content File

Calisphere harvests "service copies" derived from the "main file" uploaded to Nuxeo–these "service copies" are smaller file formats aimed to support web performance (see "What gets harvested and published to Calisphere, based on "Main Content File" in the table above). The harvesting process has a filesize limit for individual files, with a current threshold of 10gb per "main file."

Preparing Content Files

For information on preparing files for importing into Nuxeo, including supported formats, security levels, filenames, reformatting/digitization guidelines (including QA considerations, technical metadata, and web accessibility requirements), see Preparing Files.

Metadata

Each of these document types has the same metadata scheme. The metadata scheme follows Dublin Core standards, and is optimized for descriptive and rights information.

Nuxeo supports the input, storage, search, and display of characters in Unicode. You can input Unicode characters using several methods, such as using Unicode character inputs that are available through Windows or Mac OS systems, using a Unicode-enabled keyboard, or copying-and-pasting Unicode characters from other sources into Nuxeo fields.

Creating and Editing Simple Objects

Using the Nuxeo UI to Create Simple Objects

To create a simple object:

• Navigate to your Project Folder.
• Click on the ‘Content’ tab if it is not already selected by default, and press ‘New’.
• Select the appropriate Nuxeo Document Type.
• Upload the primary file into the "Main Content File" section. If you have supplemental, variant versions of files, upload them into the "Files" tab.
• Fill out the Basic Information metadata fields.

Using Bulk Import Processes to Create Multiple Simple Objects

You can also create multiple simple objects, by first bulk importing files into Nuxeo; then subsequently adding metadata via the Nuxeo UI (or subsequently bulk importing tab-delimited metadata).

Creating and Editing Complex Objects

Any of the document types (Picture, File, Audio, Video) can contain any number of component objects of any document type. While Nuxeo can be used to create a hierarchical component structure, this can present a number of complications for rendering and display in Calisphere and other access systems. We hence recommend utilizing a flat, single-level hierarchical component structure. Here is an example of a series of related photographs:

• UC Davis Oakville Experimental Vineyard photographs (Picture type)
  • Photograph 1 (Picture type)
  • Photograph 2 (Picture type)
  • Photograph 3 (Picture type)

There is no limit on the number of child-level components for a given complex object, and they are orderable via the ‘Summary’ tab for the parent-level component.

Using the Nuxeo UI to Create Complex Objects

1) First, create a simple object. This will comprise the parent-level record for the complex object as-a-whole. 

It is optional to add a "Main Content File" for the parent-level record; if no file is added at this level, the "Main Content File" that is added to the first component will be used as the primary display image for the object as-a-whole in Calisphere. Components, however, should contain references to actual content files. 

2) Add components using one of the two methods, below: 

Import component files, one at a time:

• Within the Component Objects section, press 'New' to create the first component:
• Select the appropriate Nuxeo Document Type.
• Upload the primary file into the "Main Content File" section. If you have supplemental, variant versions of files, upload them into the "Files" tab. 
• Provide a descriptive title for the component, if the object will be published to Calisphere.
• Repeat the process for each subsequent component

Bulk import process in the Nuxeo UI:

• Navigate to the complex object that’s the destination for the bulk import. Then follow the process for bulk importing files using the “Import” button in the Nuxeo UI.

From any given parent object, you can order, reorder, and delete children by navigating to the ‘Component Object’ section on the Summary tab, selecting the checkbox next to the component object you would like to order or delete, and then pressing the ‘Move to top’, ‘Move up’, Move to bottom’, ‘Move down’, or ‘Delete’ buttons accordingly. (By default, child-level components will appear in the order in which they’re added.)

To edit the metadata, simply click on 'Edit' button in the metadata view.

Using the File Uploader Client to Bulk Import Component Objects

You can also create complex objects using bulk import processes, to first create simple objects – then adding components to them, to make them into complex objects. 

First, use the Nuxeo UI to create simple objects (or bulk import processes to create multiple simple objects), using the instructions outlined above.

Then bulk import components into the complex object. You have the following options:

Bulk import files into the complex object, using the File Uploader Client:

• Follow the process for bulk importing files using the File Uploader Client. When selecting the target location to upload files, choose the particular complex object as the destination for the upload.

Bulk import files into a Project Folder, using the File Uploader Client. Then subsequently copy-and-move the files into the complex object:

• Follow the process for bulk importing files using the File Uploader Client. When selecting the target location to upload files, choose a Project Folder as the destination for the upload.
• Once the files have been uploaded into the Project Folder, use the copy-and-move function:
  • Select the files in the Project Folder using the checkboxes.
  • Once selected, hit the ‘Copy’ button below the results
  • Navigate to the complex object that you'd like to move the items into; select the complex object
  • In the Clipboard panel in the sidebar, click the link 'Move in current folder'.
  • Note: Using the ‘Copy’ function will create duplicate files. Please consider cleaning up copies to reduce duplication.