Adding a New Asset
To add an asset to the asset management system of a new installation of Model Manager server:
1
Click Add in the top navigation bar and select Asset. This starts a two-page wizard for adding a new asset.
2
On the first page of the wizard, write a title for the new asset in the Asset title field. Unlike all other fields on an asset, the title field is mandatory. Click Continue.
3
On the second page of the wizard:
a
Write a description for the asset in the Description field.
b
Click Choose thumbnail to browse for a thumbnail image. Write a caption for the image in the Caption field.
c
To add a link to a model version in the database, click Add Row under Model versions. In the Search or paste field for the added table row, write search terms to match models in the database. The search result automatically updates — with a slight delay — as you type in the input field. You can also add a wildcard asterisk (*) to match, for example, the beginning of titles. Click a model version in the search result to select it for the link.
See Searching for Model Versions to Add to learn more about finding model versions to add as links on the Asset page. See Adding a New Model to learn how to save a model to the database by uploading an MPH file.
d
To upload a file from your file system, click Add Row under Attachments. In the added table row, either drag and drop a file to the dotted rectangular area or click the text Click here to upload to browse for a file on your computer.
4
Once you have finished adding model versions and file attachments, click Save to add the new asset to the database.
You can link to an arbitrary selection of model versions on an asset — both to versions of the same model, as well as versions of different models. The model versions can be selected from any repository and branch you are permitted to browse.
Which version of a model you choose to link to depends on the modeling workflow that best suits your needs. You can, for example, create an asset at the beginning of a new project and link to the first version of a model, or set of models, relevant to the project. As the work progresses and you reach important milestones, you might add or replace certain model versions on the asset. Perhaps when the project is finished, you link to the final version of a model. There is, however, no urgency to continually update links on the asset whenever you save new versions of your models in the database — from the Model page of a linked model version, you can quickly navigate to the latest version of the model.
There are no restrictions on the types of supplementary files you can upload on the asset. Examples include notes, word-processing documents, presentations, reports, slides, images, and videos. Data files used as auxiliary data by models — for example, CAD data or interpolation functions — are best version controlled inside the repositories, though, side by side with the models.
If the asset management system has been extended with new asset libraries and asset types, the first page of the wizard lets you select the library and asset type for the new asset via a Choose library and Choose asset type list, respectively. On the second page, you will likely find many more data fields to edit for the asset depending on what fields have been added to the asset management system via customization — see also Customizing the Asset Management System.
See also Example: A Project Asset Type for a tutorial that includes steps for adding and editing assets.