© 2008-2010, Heymann Consulting
Thumbnail Generator EJaP - Version 8.0.0
 
Documentation
 

Contents

 

0 Introduction

1 Installation
 
   1.1 Tryout Version

2 Usage
 
   2.1 Load Thumbnails
   2.2 Load Thumbnails from folder
   2.3 Create Thumbnails with converter application
   2.4 Thumbnail Size

3 Converter Preferences
 
   3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples
 
      3.1.1 EPSF (Encapsulated Postscript Files)
      3.1.2 CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile)
      3.1.3 Create Watermark (with ImageMagick)...
 
         3.1.3.1 ...on Microsoft Windows
         3.1.3.2 ...on Mac OS X

   3.2 Additional Converter Applications

4 Additional Information

5 Version History & Product Support

 

0 Introduction

 

 
 
The 'Thumbnail Generator' - loads, creates or modifies thumbnails of preview size into the Cumulus catalog
 

The Thumbnail Generator is an extension to the Canto Cumulus Workgroup or Enterprise Client 7.5 or higher based on the Canto EJaP (Embedded Java Plugins) technology. It loads, creates, optimizes and modifies thumbnails in the Canto Cumulus catalogs.

If Cumulus does not show a thumbnail for a file format or the quality of the thumbnail is not good enough or you need a watermark on the thumnails (or ...) the Thumbnail Generator comes into play. It can load existing JPEG files into the Cumulus 'Thumbnail' field or automatically creates thumbnails by converting the original file into a configurable JPEG representation and loads this JPEG file into the Cumulus catalog. Converter Applications can be called directly from the Thumbnail Generator to convert the format into JPEG.

If Cumulus can not create a preview for an asset (with its file filters installed), the thumbnail is displayed instead. Therefor it is possible with the help of the Thumbnail Generator to create thumbnails up to 1024x1024 pixels. In the preferences of the Thumbnail Generator application you can specify attributes to set the size and quality of the generated JPEG thumbnails and specify converters and converter settings to generate these thumbnails.

Do you need additional functionality in this application? We develop additional functionality based on your needs. Just send us an email with your feature requests by clicking here.

 

1 Installation

 

In the 'Installation' folder of the product you will find the folder 'ThumbnailGenerator'. Copy this folder(!) and its contents into the 'ejp' folder of your Cumulus Client application.

Under Windows it is usually 'C:\Program Files\Canto\Cumulus 7 Workgroup Client\ejp', under Mac OS X it is 'Macintosh HD/Applications/Cumulus 7 Workgroup Client'. The 'ejp' folder of the Cumulus application can be found in the Cumulus package. You can reach this folder by clicking the mouse-button while holding down the CTRL-key on the Cumulus application icon. Click on 'Show Package Contents' in the context-menu. This will open a finder-window with a subfolder 'Contents'. In that folder you will find a Mac OS X folder and there you will find the 'ejp' folder in which to copy the folder 'ThumbnailGenerator'.

Restart the Cumulus Client application to use the Thumbnail Generator EJaP, it will show a new menu item in your Cumulus application called 'Thumbnails'.

You will get a serial number for the Thumbnail Generator with the full version of the product. After opening the Cumulus Client select 'Thumbnails>License...' to open the license dialog:

 
 
The 'Thumbnail Generator' License Dialog
 

Specify the information necessary to unlock the demo version. Click 'OK' to save the serial number information for this Cumulus Client application.


1.1 Tryout Version

The tryout version of the Thumbnail Generator is a full version of the product, so you can evaluate all the functionality of the product. The limitation: all the created or loaded thumbnails will get a 'Thumbnail Generator DEMO' watermark as shown below:

 
 
The watermark of the
'Thumbnail Generator' Tryout Version
 

The demo version is for testing purposes only and you are not allowed to use it in a working environment! To order the product, just send an email to Heymann Consulting and we will provide you with a quotation to order the product.

 

2 Usage

 

The Thumbnail Generator enables you to load JPEG files into the 'Thumbnail' field of the records in the Cumulus Catalogs. You can load existing JPEG files from your harddisk or your network volumes or you can call a converter application directly from within the Thumbnail Generator to convert the original file into a JPEG representation which will be loaded into the database records.

There are three different methods to load thumbnails into the Cumulus Catalogs:

1) load an existing JPEG file (select a single file)

You can select a single file from a file chooser dialog to load the image into the selected record.

2) load one or more existing files into the records

The Thumbnail Generator tries to find JPEG files with the same name as the selected assets at the asset location or in a selectable folder. It searches for a file with the original asset name with the suffix '.jpg'. If the file is availabe, it is loaded into the 'Thumbnail' field of the record.

3) Create Thumbnails with the help of a converter application

Based on the converter settings that can be configured in the Cumulus User Settings, the original assets will be converted by the specified converter application into JPEG files that will be loaded into the records.


2.1 Load Thumbnails

A lot of applications allow to save a file in its native format (e.g. Adobe Illustrator saves Illustrator .eps files) and also allow to save files in the JPEG file format. So if you already have a JPEG representation of your native file format, you can load this JPEG file as a thumbnail by using the menu item

Thumbnails>Load Thumbnails...

into the selected records. You can select single files in a file chooser dialog. A chooser dialog is opened for each record that you have selected.


2.2 Load Thumbnails from folder

When you have already created JPEG files for your assets and you want to load a bunch of thumbnails in one step, use the menu item

Thumbnails>Load Thumbnails from folder...

to load the files into the 'Thumbnails' field of the records. The Thumbnail Generator tries to find JPEG files with the same name as the selected assets located in the assets folder, when you select 'Search for JPEG files in the Asset directory'. When the JPEG files are located in a different folder, select 'Find JPEG files in the following directory' and specify it.

 
 
Load Thumbnails from a specified directory
 

Example: you want to load a thumbnail into a record of the EPSF asset file 'Image.eps', which can be found in the directory '\\Server\Images\'. If you select Search for JPEG files in the Asset directory, the Thumbnail Generator will try to find the file '\\Server\Images\Image.jpg' (a file with the same name and suffix '.jpg' in the same directory as the asset is stored in) and loads it into the 'Thumbnail' field. You can also specify a different search directory by selecting Find JPEG files in the following directory and clicking the button '...' to select the folder. In the example above the Thumbnail Generator will search for a file 'D:\MEDIA\Image.jpg', if available, it will be loaded into the record.

This function will be performed for all the selected records in the current Cumulus Collection.


2.3 Create Thumbnails with converter application

The Thumbnail Generator can create the JPEG files with the help of converter applications. If you would like to start the converter directly from within the Thumbnail Generator, you need a converter that can be called from a command line or operating system shell. The converter must support the format of the file and must be able to convert it into an JPEG file (RGB color model).

The files that will be loaded into the Cumulus records will be generated based on converter settings that you can specify in the Thumbnail Generator user preferences. To specify the settings for a converter application, go to the Thumbnail Generator user settings:

Thumbnails>Configure...>User Settings>General>Thumbnail Generator

In this example we are using one of the most popular converter applications ImageMagick® to convert the original file into a JPEG representation:

 
 
The converter application preferences for 'ImageMagick'
 

1. Click the 'New...' button to create a new converter setting.

2. Specify a unique name for this file conversion, in the example above the name is 'ImageMagick'.

3. Specify the 'Converter Application:' by clicking the button '...' to select the application from a file chooser dialog or specify the application's path in the text field.

4. Specify under 'Parameters:' the command line parameters that are necessary for the converter to create the JPEG file. (Additional information on how to specify the command line parameters can be found in chapter 3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples.

5 . Specify a 'Working Directory:', in which the JPEG files will be created, by clicking the button '...' to select the directory in a file chooser dialog or specify the path in the text field.

6. On Mac OS X you can specify a shellscript that can be used to start the conversion. This is necessary if your converter application needs environment variables defined to work correctly. ImageMagick needs the availability of some environment variables to do the job (see shellscript example in chapter 3.1.3.2 Create Watermark (with ImageMagick) on Mac OS X).

7. Set the checkbox 'Empty working directory after creating thumbnails', if you want the application to delete the files created during conversion. Important: ALL the files are deleted from the working directory, not only the files created by the application!

8. In the Log preferences, you can specify if you want to see log messages on screen ('Log messages and errors). If you select 'Create a log file' all the messages are saved to a log file named 'ThumbnailGeneratorLog.txt', that you can find in the 'logs' folder of your Cumulus Client installation folder. If both log functions are turned off, only the number of error messages is displayed.

After setting the converter preferences you can use the converter application with these settings:

9. Select all the records for which you want to create new thumbnails and choose the menu item Thumbnails>Create Thumbnails...

10. Confirm the converter settings or modify them if necessary and start the creation by clicking the 'OK' button. If you change the settings, these new settings are only used for this one conversion started and are NOT saved into the preferences.

11. After a confirmation dialog, the application will convert the files with the help of the converter application into the JPEG file format based on the command line parameters.

12. If log messages are activated in the preferences, you will get Log Informationen in a message dialog that will tell you more about the success of the thumbnail creation.


2.4 Thumbnail Size

In the Thumbnail Generator user settings you can specify the size of the thumbnail. You can decide between 64, 128, 256 and an editable number up to 1024 pixels. In the current version of Cumulus the maximum thumbnails size is limited to 1024x1024 pixels. The Thumbnail Generator will limit the value to 1024 in the editable text field.

If the JPEG file size is larger than the thumbnail size setup, the image will be scaled down to the thumbnail size limitation.

Cumulus uses the thumbnail also for displaying a preview of an image, if the software does not have a file filter to create a preview from the original asset. Therefor the Thumbnail Generator helps to load thumbnails up to 1024x1024 to get a good preview of the asset. In the preview view of Cumulus, an info message 'Asset not supported. Supporting module deactivated or not available. (thumbnail shown instead)' is displayed together with the thumbnail image if Cumulus does not have a file filter for the selected format that can create the preview. This message can not be suppressed.

 

3 Converter Preferences

 

The conversion of the original asset into a JPEG representation is performed with the help of a converter application that supports the selected file format. The generated JPEG file will then be loaded by the Thumbnail Generator into the 'Thumbnail' field of the Cumulus catalog. There is an endless list of converter applications available for the different file formats and operating systems. The steps that are performed to create a thumbnail are the same for each and every converter application:

Step 1) Create a JPEG file (RGB color mode) by converting the original asset (or by saving the file from the applications user interface)
Step 2) Load this JPEG file into the 'Thumbnail' field of the Cumulus catalog

Some of the converters do not support the command line, usually you have to start the conversion of the asset into the JPEG format from the application's user interface 'by hand' and load the thumbnails after creating the JPEG representations in a second step. This might also be interesting in some cases, even if a command line interface is available, because you might want to e.g. crop the images before loading them as thumbnails into Cumulus. For example Illustrator or Freehand are able to save files in their native formats but also in the JPEG file format. You can load the JPEG images into the thumbnails by choosing Thumbnails>Load Thumbnails ... or Thumbnails>Load Thumbnails from folder....

If the converter application can be called from the command line (on MS Windows a MS-DOS command line or on Mac OS X from a Shell), you can save the converter settings for calling the command line interface in the Thumbnail Generator user settings as described in chapter 3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples and then easily use these settings directly from within the Cumulus Client. This is the most comfortable way as you can start the conversion and the loading of the thumbnail directly from the Cumulus Client menu.

The JPEG thumbnail will be stored in the record based on the selected thumbnail size. In the current version of Cumulus the thumbnail size is limited by Canto to max. 1024x1024 pixels. If the size of the JPEG image is larger than this limit, the thumbnail is scaled down to the maximum thumbnail size of the Cumulus version.


3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples

To define the converter preferences, open the Thumbnail Generator user preferences:

Thumbnails>Configure...>User Settings>General>Thumbnail Generator

To define the parameters that are used to start the converter application, it might be necessary to use variables that are replaced by original values at runtime. The asset name and the asset reference will change from record to record, so the command line of the Thumbnail Generator must use a variable that is set according to the current record values. Variables are replaced at runtime by the value coming from the record or by the value coming from the Thumbnail Generator user settings (e.g. Thumbnail Size).

The following variables are available to specify the command line parameters, you can display the list of available variables by clicking the 'Help...' button in the configuration dialog:

 
 
The available variables to specify the conversion parameters
 

The next chapters of this documentation will explain how to use these variables by showing some example conversions.


3.1.1 EPSF (Encapsulated Postscript Files)

In this example we are using the Thumbnail Generator to create thumbnails for images in the EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file format. The Cumulus file filter for that format can not create a thumbnail (or a preview), Cumulus is showing the operating system icon instead.

 
 
Asset without thumbnail, the icon
from the operating system is used

 

We are using the converter application ImageMagick®. The software allows to use the command line to start the conversion and to specify its parameters. So we can activate the conversion of the original file into a JPEG representation and the integration of a watermark into that file directly from the Thumbnail Generator menu.

Example: the following command line command opens the file 'hamburg.eps' which can be found in the directory '\\Server\Images\' and converts the file into the JPEG file format. The file will be created in the temporary folder 'c:\temp'. The new JPEG file will then be loaded into the Cumulus Record Field 'Thumbnail'.

"C:\Program Files\ImageMagick-6.4.0-Q16\convert.exe" -colorspace rgb "\\Server\Images\hamburg.eps" "C:\temp\hamburg.jpg"

The conversion tool 'convert' which comes with the ImageMagick product will be used to convert the original file to JPEG. The parameters used to convert the file have the following meaning:

-colorspace rgb = the JPEG file shall be converted to the RGB color model, if necessary
"\\Server\Images\hamburg.eps" = Original file, this file shall be converted to JPEG
C:\temp\hamburg.jpg = target file, which will be loaded into the Cumulus 'Thumbnail' record field

Remark: you must quote the parameters if these are containing paths with spaces. You can find additional informationen about the parameters of the converter and how to use them in the documentation of the vendor.

To define the converter preferences, open the Thumbnail Generator user preferences:

Thumbnails>Configure...>User Settings>General>Thumbnail Generator

To specify the parameters, you can use the available variables which are described in chapter 3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples. A list of all the available variables can be displayed by clicking the button 'Help...'. The asset name and the asset reference will change from record to record, so the command line of the Thumbnail Generator must use a variable that is set according to the current record values. Variables are replaced at runtime by the value from the record or by the value coming from the Thumbnail Generator user settings (e.g. Thumbnail Size).

"\\Server\Images\hamburg.eps" => "$ASSETREF$" (Asset Reference from the Cumulus record)
C:\temp\hamburg.jpg => "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$" (Target file in the working directory with asset name and '.jpg' suffix instead of original suffix)

So the correct definition of the converter parameters using the variables is:

"$CONVERTERAPP$" -colorspace rgb "$ASSETREF$" "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$"

The parameter '-colorspace rgb' is necessary because the original file might have been saved in the CMYK color model. Only JPEG files with RGB color model can be loaded into the Cumulus 'Thumbnail' field.

Specify the new converter settings by clicking the 'New...' button and by providing a new unique name ('ImageMagick' in this example) for the conversion. Specify the attributes like converter application, parameters and the working directory and save these settings by clicking the 'OK' button. Now these settings can be used to perform the file conversion for all the selected assets in the current Cumulus Collection:

 
 
The preferences to convert a file with ImageMagick on MS Windows

 

You can start the conversion by selecting the records in the Cumulus Catalog and clicking the menu item

Thumbnails>Create Thumbnails...>ImageMagick

Select the 'OK' button to start the conversion.

 
 
Record with thumbnail after
using the Thumbnail Generator

 

These ImageMagick converter settings can not only be used for EPS files but can be used for all the formats that are supported by ImageMagick.

You can set the image width and height by using the ImageMagick parameter '-resize' (example: '-resize 256x256'). If the size of the JPEG file is smaller than the thumbnail size specified in the preferences of the Thumbnail Generator, the image will be recalculated into the larger size, which will cause a loss of image quality. So we recommend to create JPEG files with an image width and height that is equal or larger than the predefined thumbnail size.

If you would like to use the thumbnail also for the preview, because Cumulus does not have a file filter to show a large size preview, we recommend to use the ImageMagick parameter '-resize 1024x1024' to generate a JPEG file with 1024 pixels width and height. Change the user settings of the Thumbnail Generator to 1024 to allow the import of this large size image into the 'Thumbnail' field.


3.1.2 CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile)

In this example we are using the Thumbnail Generator to create thumbnails for files in the CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile) format. The Cumulus file filter for that format can not a create a thumbnail, Cumulus is showing the operating system icon instead.

 
 
Asset without thumbnail, the icon
from the operating system is used

 

To convert files from the CGM format to JPEG, we are using the converter application Larson Software Technology, Inc.: CGM to Image. You can find additional information about the product and you can download a demo version at www.cgmlarson.com. The software, that is only available on MS Windows, allows to use the command line to start the conversion and specify its parameters. So we can activate the conversion of the original file into a JPEG representation directly from the Thumbnail Generator menu.

Example: the following command line command opens the file 'Image.cgm' which can be found in the directory '\\Server\Images\CGM\' and converts the file into the JPEG file format. The file will be created in the temporary folder 'c:\temp'. The new JPEG file will then be loaded into the Cumulus Record Field 'Thumbnail'.

"C:\Program Files\Larson Software Technology\Larson CGM to Image\cgm2img.exe" "\\Server\Images\CGM\Image.cgm" -jpg -out c:\temp\Image.jpg -s 1024,0,2 -log c:\temp\Image.txt

The parameters used to convert the file have the following meaning:

"\\Server\Images\CGM\Image.cgm" = Original file, this file shall be converted to JPEG
-jpg = convert to JPEG file format
-out c:\temp\Image.jpg = target file, which will be loaded into the Cumulus 'Thumbnail' record field
-s 1024,0,2 = the file shall be scaled to 1024x1024 Pixel (keep aspect ratio)
-log c:\test\Image.txt = a log file with information about the conversion is created by the converter

Remark: you must quote the parameters if these are containing paths with spaces. You can find additional informationen about the parameters of the converter and how to use them in the documentation of the vendor.

To define the converter preferences, open the Thumbnail Generator user preferences:

Thumbnails>Configure...>User Settings>General>Thumbnail Generator

To specify the parameters, you can use the available variables which are described in chapter 3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples. A list of all the available variables can be displayed by clicking the button 'Help...'.

The asset name and the asset reference will change from record to record, so the command line of the Thumbnail Generator must use a variable that is set according to the current record values. Variables are replaced at runtime by the value from the record or by the value coming from the Thumbnail Generator user settings (e.g. Thumbnail Size).

"\\Server\Images\CGM\Image.cgm" => "$ASSETREF$" (Asset Reference from the Cumulus record)
-out c:\temp\Image.jpg => "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$" (Target file in the working directory with asset name and '.jpg' suffix instead of original suffix)
-s 1024,0,2 => $THUMBNAILSIZE$,0,2 (thumbnail size in pixels, keep aspect ratio)
-log c:\test\Image.txt => "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$" (log file with asset name and '.txt' suffix instead of original suffix)

So the correct definition of the converter parameters using the variables is:

"$CONVERTERAPP$" "$ASSETREF$" -jpg -out "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$" -s $THUMBNAILSIZE$,0,2 -log "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.txt$"

Specify the new converter settings by clicking the 'New...' button and by providing a new unique name ('Larson CGM to Image Converter' in this example) for the conversion. Specify the attributes like converter application, parameters and the working directory and save these settings by clicking the 'OK' button. Now these settings can be used to perform the file conversion for all the selected assets in the catalog.

 
 
The preferences to convert CGM files with Larson's CGM to Image converter

 

You can start the conversion by selecting the records in the Cumulus Catalog and clicking the menu item

Thumbnails>Create Thumbnails...>Larson CGM to Image Converter

Select the 'OK' button to start the conversion.

 
 
Record with thumbnail after
using the Thumbnail Generator

 

This conversion can be used for all the files of CGM file format. The application Larson CGM to Image does not support other file formats, so you would get an error message, if you try to use the conversion settings for other file types.


3.1.3 Create Watermark (with ImageMagick)

In this example we are using the Thumbnail Generator to create thumbnails with a watermark. We are using the converter application ImageMagick®. The software allows to use the command line to start the conversion and specify its parameters. So we can activate the conversion of the original file into a JPEG representation and the integration of a watermark into that file directly from the Thumbnail Generator menu.

For some converter applications that use the command line on Mac OS X (Shell) it is necessary to define some environment variables. If these environment variables are not correctly set when starting the conversion, the applications will not be able to deliver a JPEG file. Therefor it is possible on Mac OS X (only) to specify a shellscript that sets the environment variables before starting the conversion. Here is an example of such a shellscript, that sets the environment variables for ImageMagick on Mac OS X:

 
 
Shellscript on Mac OS X to set the
Environment Variables for ImageMagick

 

The command to convert the asset will replace the variable $COMMAND$. You will find this example shellscript for Mac OS X in the Thumbnail Generator product directory in the subfolder 'MacOSX Shellscripts'. You can find additional information about setting environment variables on Mac OS X in the example in chapter 3.1.3.2 Create watermark (with ImageMagick) on Mac OS X.


3.1.3.1 Create Watermark (with ImageMagick) on Microsoft Windows

In this example we are using the Thumbnail Generator to create thumbnails with a watermark. We are using the converter application ImageMagick®. The software allows to use the command line to start the conversion and specify its parameters. So we can activate the conversion of the original file into a JPEG representation and the integration of a watermark into that file directly from the Thumbnail Generator menu.

 
 
Thumbnail without watermark
before using the Thumbnail Generator

 

Example: the following command line command opens the file 'Image.jpg' which can be found in the directory '\\Server\Images\' and adds a watermark to the file, which is loaded from the file 'hclogo.png' from the directory 'D:\Media\HC'. The watermark will be centered and is 50% translucent. This composing will be done in the temporary folder 'c:\temp'. The new JPEG file including the watermark will then be loaded into the Cumulus Record Field 'Thumbnail'.

"C:\Program Files\ImageMagick-6.4.0-Q16\composite.exe" -gravity center -dissolve 50 "D:\Media\HC\hclogo.png" "\\Server\Images\Image.jpg" "C:\temp\Image.jpg"

The conversion tool 'composite' which comes with the ImageMagick product will be used to convert the original file to JPEG. The parameters used to convert the file have the following meaning:

-gravity center = center the watermark on top of the image
-dissolve 50 = dissolve the watermark by 50% (translucent)
"D:\Media\HC\hclogo.png" = this file contains the watermark
"\\Server\Images\Image.jpg" = Original file, this file shall be converted to JPEG
C:\temp\Image.jpg = target file, which will be loaded into the Cumulus 'Thumbnail'

Remark: you must quote the parameters if these are containing paths with spaces. You can find additional informationen about the parameters of the converter and how to use them in the documentation of the vendor.

To define the converter preferences, open the Thumbnail Generator user preferences:

Thumbnails>Configure...>User Settings>General>Thumbnail Generator

To specify the parameters, you can use the available variables which are described in chapter 3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples. A list of all the available variables can be displayed by clicking the button 'Help...'. The asset name and the asset reference will change from record to record, so the command line of the Thumbnail Generator must use a variable that is set according to the current record values. Variables are replaced at runtime by the value from the record or by the value coming from the Thumbnail Generator user settings (e.g. Thumbnail Size).

"\\Server\Images\Image.jpg" => "$ASSETREF$" (Asset Reference from the Cumulus record)
C:\temp\Image.jpg => "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$" (Target file in the working directory with asset name and '.jpg' suffix instead of original suffix)

So the correct definition of the converter parameters using the variables is:

"$CONVERTERAPP$" -gravity center -dissolve 50 "D:\Media\HC\hclogo.png" "$ASSETREF$" "$WORKINGDIR$\$ASSETNAME.jpg$"

Specify the new converter settings by clicking the 'New...' button and by providing a new unique name ('Watermark with ImageMagick' in this example) for the conversion. Specify the attributes like converter application, parameters and the working directory and save these settings by clicking the 'OK' button. Now these settings can be used to perform the file conversion for all the selected assets in the catalog.

 
 
The preferences to create a watermarked thumbnail with ImageMagick on MS Windows

 

You can start the conversion by selecting the records in the Cumulus Catalog and clicking the menu item

Thumbnails>Create Thumbnails...>Watermark with ImageMagick

Select the 'OK' button to start the conversion.

 
 

Thumbnail with watermark after
using the Thumbnail Generator

 

After using the conversion the new watermark is shown in the thumbnail (centered and 50% translucent).


3.1.3.2 Create Watermark (with ImageMagick) on Mac OS X

The procedure to create a watermark in the thumbnail on Mac OS X is the same as on Microsoft Windows, which is described in chapter 3.1.3.1 Create watermark (with ImageMagick) on Microsoft Windows.

To use ImageMagick on Mac OS X it is necessary to define some environment variables. If these environment variables are not correctly set when starting the ImageMagick tools, you will get the following error message (example for the 'composite' tool):

/Applications/ImageMagick/bin/composite: not found

Therefor it is possible on Mac OS X (only) to specify a shellscript that sets the environment variables before starting the conversion. Here is an example of a shellscript that sets the environment variables for ImageMagick before calling the command to convert the asset:

 
 
Shellscript on Mac OS X to set the
Environment Variables for ImageMagick

 

The command to convert the asset will replace the variable $COMMAND$. You will find this example shellscript for Mac OS X in the Thumbnail Generator product directory in the subfolder 'MacOSX Shellscripts'.

The Thumbnail Generator user settings for this converter that makes use of this shellscript can look like this:

 
 
The preferences to create a watermark with ImageMagick on Mac OS X

 

Before the file can be converted to JPEG the shellscript is started (here 'composite.sh') to set the environment variables for ImageMagick. The script then starts the conversion command to create the new JPEG file.


3.2 Additional Converter Applications

You can use every converter application that is able to convert the file format that you want to support into a JPEG file with the Thumbnail Generator.

If the converter application can be called from the command line, you can save the converter settings in the Thumbnail Generator user settings as described in chapter 3.1 How to create Thumbnails with converter applications: examples and then easily use these settings directly from the Cumulus Client menu.

If the converter does not support the command line, usually you have to start the conversion of the asset into the JPEG format from the application's user interface 'by hand' and load the thumbnails after creating the JPEG representations in a second step. This might also be interesting in some cases, even if a command line interface is available, because you might want to e.g. crop the images before loading them as thumbnails into Cumulus. For example Illustrator or Freehand are able to save files in their native formats but also in the JPEG file format.

 

4 Additional Information

 

1. Only JPEG files with RGB color model can be loaded into the 'Thumbnail' field of the Cumulus catalogs.

2. If the size of the JPEG file is smaller than the thumbnail size specified in the preferences of the Thumbnail Generator, the image will be recalculated into the larger size, which will cause a loss of image quality. So we recommend to create JPEG files with an image width and height that is equal or larger than the predefined thumbnail size.

3. The JPEG files will be created in a temporary directory that can be configured by the user in the application preferences. All the application preferences will be converted into attributes used by the converter application. When converting the file into a JPEG thumbnail, a JPEG file will be created in the temporary folder. If selected in the preferences, the files will be deleted from the temporary folder after the conversion. Warning: ALL the files will be deleted from that temporary folder after using the Thumbnail Generator, even if these files have not been created by the application.

4. The application supports the English and German language based on the current Cumulus Client setup.

5. In the preview view of Cumulus, an info message 'Asset not supported. Supporting module deactivated or not available. (thumbnail shown instead)' is displayed together with the thumbnail image if Cumulus does not have a file filter for the selected format that can create the preview. This message can not be suppressed.

6. If you would like to reset the thumbnail image in a record, just select the record and use the Cumulus Client menu item

File>Update Record>Update Now

from the Cumulus Client menu. The thumbnail will be created based on the Canto Cumulus file filter technology.

7. The Thumbnail Generator generates a log file (if activated in the Thumbnail Generator user settings). You can find the log file in the folder 'logs' in your Cumulus Client installation folder.

 
 
The Log file informs about the asset conversions
 

8. One of the conversion examples in this documentation uses the CGM Converter Software from Larson Software Technology, Inc.: 'CGM to Image'. You can find more informationen about the software and a tryout version on the Larson website at www.cgmlarson.com.

 

5 Version History & Product Support

 

Version 8.0.0 - February 2010

The version has been modified to work with the Cumulus 8 product family.

Version 1.0.0 - July 2008

This is the first version of the Thumbnail Generator EJaP for Canto Cumulus 7.5 or higher.

Please send all your questions about the product to the email address support@heymann-consulting.de. We try hard to answer your questions quickly and improve our products by implementing functionality based on your feedback.

 

 

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Heymann Consulting
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20457 Hamburg
GERMANY