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Version: V12

A Comprehensive Guide to Watch Folders in VIDIZMO

Introduction​

VIDIZMO's Watch Folder functionality is a quick and convenient way to publish content on your portal. It also provides the capability to process and publish content in bulk, as long as the files are VIDIZMO compliant. Utilizing Watch Folders saves a lot of time as manually uploading and configuring each file is automated.

Prerequisites​

To utilize Watch Folders for automated processing, you need to have the following:

  • VIDIZMO's Premium Package.
  • VIDIZMO Desktop Application with your Portal configured.
  • Desktop Application permission enabled in the portal.

Creating a Watch Folder​

Once you've decided on a dedicated folder, you can link it to utilize the Watch Folder functionality from the VIDIZMO Desktop Application. The steps below demonstrate the procedure.

  1. Select the Add Media icon (plus icon at the bottom-right) and select Watch Folder to move to its settings page.

  2. On the Watch Folder page, select the plus (+) icon at the top-right to create a new configuration. The Add Folder Configuration form appears with the following fields:

    a. Watch Folder Configuration Title: The name of your Watch Folder configuration.

    b. Watch Folder Path: The path of the dedicated folder on your computer. Use Select {Folder} to browse.

  3. Select the Add button to save your Watch Folder configuration.

  4. The Watch Folder displays a message that it is scanning for compatible files in the designated folder on your PC.

  5. If compatible files are found, the page displays all files in a table with columns for File Name, File Path, Created Date, Size, File Last Modified, Machine Name, Status, and Deletion Status. You can select the Refresh button (circular arrows icon) if the files are not visible.

  6. The files in the folder will go into processing. You can determine their status with the Status column — values include "Uploading" and "Queued."

  7. After processing, you'll see them published on the portal. Files published this way utilize the Default Publish Settings of your portal. Learn more about these settings here: Understanding Library Settings.

You can also change the Media Settings of each file after they're uploaded. Learn more about a file's Media Settings by visiting Understanding Media Settings.

Understanding File Status​

The Status indicates which phase of ingestion a file is at after it's added to the folder. The following is a list of Status a file can have:

  1. Uploading: A spinner icon indicates that the file is currently uploading.
  2. Queued: A list icon indicates that the file is due for processing.
  3. Completed: A green checkmark icon indicates that the file has been published.

Adding New Files​

Watch Folders enables you to add files continuously to set them up for automatic publishing. As you add new files to the folder on your computer, the Watch Folder page will refresh to display the additions and begin publishing them.

  1. Add new files to the designated folder on your computer.
  2. The Watch Folder page on the Desktop Application displays a message that it's looking for new files.
  3. The folder refreshes itself after a while, and the new files appear in the list. You can also manually select the Refresh button (circular arrows icon) to display the updated list.

Altering Watch Folder Configurations​

  1. Select the "i" icon at the top-right of the Watch Folder page to toggle the edit options of your Watch Folder.
  2. In edit options, you can change the Title of your Watch Folder configuration, along with the path of the dedicated folder on your computer.

Note: Files uploaded via formerly linked folders will remain published on the portal. Switching to another folder does not affect the content that's already published.

  1. Select the Update button to save your settings.
  2. You can select the bin icon to delete the entire configuration.

Deleting Files​

The files published via Watch Folders remain on the portal even if they are deleted or removed from the folder on your computer.

  1. When a file is deleted from the designated folder on your computer, it remains published on the portal's Media Library.
  2. Deleting or removing files from the designated folder will update the Deletion Status column on the Watch Folder page in the Desktop Application. The deleted file displays a red checkmark in its Deletion Status column.

Sorting Files​

You can sort files in the Watch Folder by selecting the column headers on the top row (e.g., File Name, File Path, Created Date, Size, File Last Modified, Status, Deletion Status). The sorting order will depend on the column header you select.

Filtering Files​

Watch Folders allow you to retrieve and display specific files using various Filters. This feature comes in handy if the list of your uploads is long and incoherent. Filters provide an efficient way to search for specific files and determine their status.

You can utilize Filters from the following steps:

  1. Select the Filter icon (funnel icon) to display the filter options.
  2. The first field lets you filter out files using keywords in File Name.
  3. The second drop-down allows you to filter out files using their Status (All, Queued, Uploading, Completed, Failed, Cancelled).
  4. The third drop-down filters files by their Deletion Status.
  5. Select Apply to apply the filters, or select Reset to clear all filters and display the default list.

Configuring Watch Settings​

Watch Settings enables the Desktop Application to keep event logs for your Watch Folder. Maintaining these logs helps in diagnostics but affects the performance of file synchronization via Watch Folders.

Go into Watch Settings by selecting the gear icon at the top-right of the Watch Folder page.

The Watch Settings window displays the ways to keep logs:

  1. Enable File Logging: Creates and maintains a file that stores logs in your local workspace. Enabling this affects the performance of file synchronization.
  2. Enable Console Logging: Maintains the logs in the Console of your Desktop Application. Enabling this affects the performance of file synchronization slightly.
  3. Use the Reset button to clear all logs.
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