DF Studio Messengers can be configured using one of five pre-designed templates, based on the intended use of the Messenger.
Custom Messengers allow the greatest degree of customization, including the sharing of Edits with a recipient, allowing recipients to create an Edit by rating the images, offering files for download, and so on.
Approval Messengers are designed around the collection of approvals (Yes/No) from the recipient, and their results are displayed in DF Studio’s Approvals View.
Metadata Messengers allow recipients to edit asset metadata, and optionally download files.
Download Messengers allow recipients to download files from each asset, and can offer original files or customized preview sizes.
View Messengers display medium-sized DF Studio previews of each asset, along with the sender’s comments (if any have been provided).
Customize Messenger Templates
Each template can be further customized with a series of settings in the Messenger overlay. An embedded watermark may be applied to any shared asset previews (excluding assets shared in LIVE Messengers or Multi-Messengers), and a six-digit PIN can be required for an additional measure of security (on accounts for which Messenger PIN is available; see Messenger PIN for more details).
To share Notes content from the current Project or Container, use the Notes menu to select the Note to share, then configure the appropriate Conversation options. For details about sharing Notes content in a Messenger, see Collaborate With Messenger Recipients.
Custom Messenger
By default, Custom Messengers are designed to collect the recipient’s select levels on the included assets, and assemble these into an Edit which will be visible in the Messenger’s source Project. If an Edit has already been created in DF Studio, its selections can be shared with the recipient by checking the box in the “Show” column.
Similarly, if selects are not desired from the Messenger recipient, the feature can be disabled by removing the check from the “Enable” column.
Enable “Share Recipient’s Edits” to make the Edit from this Messenger visible to all users of the DF Studio account; disable to reveal the Edit only to the sender.
Make a Messenger “Closable” to prevent recipients from accessing it after they have submitted their feedback and/or selects. With this setting disabled, recipients can continue to access the Messenger, modify their selections, and submit feedback until the Messenger expires.
Enable comments to allow Messenger recipients to start a Conversation with the sender and others on the DF Studio account. Show captions to make captions stored in the DF Studio metadata editor visible in the recipient’s Messenger interface.
In the Image Access section, Messenger recipients can be granted access to view and/or download larger previews than the medium DF Studio preview, which is always displayed.
If original files in Cold Storage are offered for download, the Messenger will be queued while the files are restored to Active Storage, then delivered automatically.
Finally, allow forwarding if the Messenger recipient should have access to forward the Messenger to an additional recipient. This new recipient will create a separate Edit from the original recipient and will not be able to see the original recipient’s selections, nor will the original recipient be able to view the selections of the forwarded recipient.
This forwarding function refers to the use of the “Forward” button within the recipient’s Messenger. Nothing prevents a Messenger recipient from forwarding their Messenger email to another party, but the recipient of the forwarded email will be accessing the Messenger from the same unique link as the initial recipient, and will overwrite any work done by the initial recipient.
Enable printing to allow Messenger recipients to customize and download a printable PDF proofsheet containing the assets in the Messenger. (If the Messenger assets are watermarked, the proofsheet will contain watermarks also.)
Approval Messenger
Approval Messengers are sent to capture a direct Yes/No selection for each asset, and display these Yes/No selections in a distinct manner in DF Studio: every Approval Messenger recipient’s selection is included in the approval state determination displayed in DF Studio’s Approvals View.
Any recipient whose selections should not affect Approvals View should not be sent an Approval Messenger. Consider sending a View Only Messenger (by placing the recipient in the “Cc” field) or a separate Messenger with the “Custom” template.
The configuration options are otherwise similar to the Custom Messenger (as described above), without the ability to hide the approval interface or share an Edit from the sender.
Instead of an Image Access section, Approval Messengers display settings specific to the approval workflow. The default state of the assets can be set to Approved or Killed, and a maximum Kill Percentage can be configured, to prevent recipients from rejecting more than a certain number of assets from the Messenger.
Recipients’ responses will appear in the Asset Inspector for each asset immediately as they are specified, and will affect Approvals View once the Messenger has been completed by the recipient.
For more information about Approval Messengers from the recipient’s perspective, see the following articles: Desktop or Mobile.
Metadata Messenger
When a Messenger recipient needs to provide metadata for a set of assets, they are sent a Metadata Messenger. If desired, approval buttons (Yes/No) can be included alongside each asset as well.
All active metadata fields for the included assets are displayed in the configuration section, beside a View column and an Edit column. Check boxes beside each field in the appropriate columns to allow recipients to view or edit those fields in the Metadata Messenger.
The checkbox atop each section of metadata fields can be checked to check all of the boxes below it for that section in a single action.
Download Messenger
A Download Messenger is sent to distribute files from a set of assets for download. These Messengers are sent primarily for use with DFS Downloader, or for direct import into another DF Studio account.
Any of DF Studio’s previews for the asset can be shared, as well as the original uploaded file. If original files in Cold Storage are offered for download, the Messenger will be queued while the files are restored to Active Storage, then delivered automatically. If desired, a small preview of each asset can be displayed beside its download link(s).
For additional configuration options, see the article devoted to Download Messengers.
View Messenger
View Messengers always show comments attached to assets within DF Studio, and only display the medium DF Studio preview. Thus, the only configuration options available for View Messengers are the interface colors, Notes content, and the watermark options.
For more information regarding Notes content in Messengers, see Collaborate With Messenger Recipients.