The Product Hub bridges the gap between asset and product management, by enabling you to directly assign assets from your library to your Products.
|
Please note: Some steps in this article require specific user privileges. If you cannot complete certain steps, please contact your Administrator for a review of your assigned privileges. |
Add assets to a Product
From your Canto Library
The Canto Library enables you to view and modify the Products assigned to individual assets, as well as assign multiple assets simultaneously to a single Product.
Individual asset
Find the asset you want to add to your Product in your Main Library, then click it to open its Preview or Information Page. Next, look for the "Associated Products" field.
|
Please note: If you cannot see the "Associated Products" field, it may need be manually added to the Preview and Information Page.
Learn how to enable the "Associated Products"
field.
Click your profile icon
– by default this will be the Click to zoom
Select the tab "Configuration Options", then click on "Custom Configuration" on the right. Click to zoom
Select either the "Preview Page"
or "Information Page" tab.
Under "Fields" find "Associated Products"
and click the Click to zoom
Close panel
|
Any Products already linked with the asset will appear at the top of this section, and you can click the -symbol to open the corresponding Product page in a new tab.
To associate the asset with a new Product, enter either the Product's name or SKU in the search bar. Select the desired Product from the results. If Image Attributes have been configured for your account, a dropdown will appear alongside the product selection — choose one or more attributes to assign the asset to a specific slot, or leave it unselected to add the asset to Product Assets. Click "Save" to finalize the link.
Multiple assets
You can add multiple assets to the same Product at once. From the Main Library, navigate to the album containing the assets, or use the search to find them.
Hover your cursor over one of the assets, then click the icon in the top right. The icon will change to
to show that the asset has been selected.
You may now select additional assets by clicking the same icon on their respective thumbnails. Once you have finished your selection, click the -button above the gallery.
Enter the Product's name or SKU in the search field, then click the correct Product to select it. If Image Attributes have been configured for your account, a dropdown will appear — choose one or more attributes to assign all selected assets at once, or leave it unselected to add them to Product Assets. Click "Save" to link the assets to the Product.
From the Product Hub
From a Product page, you can add assets directly from your library and assign them to Product Assets or a specific Image Attribute.
Open the Product page, select the "Product Details" tab, and click "Edit" in the top right corner.
You can add assets either to the Product's "Product Assets" or directly to a dedicated Image Attribute. Click "Add Assets" for your preferred choice.
The following page features a selection of assets from your Main Library. Select one or more assets by clicking on them. Assets that have been selected will be marked with a bold frame. If you cannot see the assets you want to add, use the search bar at the top of the page to look for assets by their file name. Click "Save" to add the selected assets to the Product.
|
Please note: Performing a search will reset the current selection. If only some of the desired assets are found in one search, add the available ones first, then repeat the process to include the rest. |
Using the PIM Friendly Metadata Export
The PIM Friendly Metadata Export lets you map assets to Products in bulk using metadata already stored on your DAM assets. This is the recommended approach for large backlogs or ongoing high-volume image work.
Before you begin
Each asset needs the following metadata fields populated in the DAM before you run the export.
- SKU: the Product SKU (or SKUs) the asset maps to. A single asset can map to multiple Products.
- Image Attribute (optional): the Image Attribute you want the asset assigned to — for example, Amazon Front, Shopify, or Nordstrom Detail. The value must match your Image Attribute name exactly. If this field is not populated, the asset will be added to Product Assets by default.
This metadata can be added manually for smaller sets, or imported in bulk using a metadata import spreadsheet.
Running the export
Navigate to the album containing the assets you want to map. Find and select the "Export PIM-Friendly Metadata" option.
You will be prompted to select your SKU field and specify whether to group by Image Attribute. If you are using Image Attributes, select "Yes" and choose the corresponding field. If everything is going into Product Assets, you can skip this step.
|
Please note: Download the export file and import it directly. Do not open or edit the file before importing. |
Importing
Go to Admin > Import, upload the export file, and map the SKU field and Image Attribute columns to the corresponding Product attributes. Start the import. You will receive an email with the subject "Import Complete" when it has finished.
|
Please note: For more information on running an import, see the article "How to: Import and export Product data". |
From external sources
Assets imported from external sources are automatically added to your Canto DAM Library to ensure they are always available. This process functions similarly to regular asset uploads, with the following limitations.
- The total file size of all assets combined may not exceed 150gb
- Each individual asset may not exceed a file size of 1GB.
- To prevent errors, the upload of large files may be stopped if the processing time exceeds 4 minutes. Should this happen it is recommended that you upload the asset separately and assign it to the product via its Content ID.
Prepare your .CSV file according to the article "How to: Import and export Product data", and ensure that the SKU column ①, as well as columns for the asset location are present. If you have already created dedicated Image Attributes, each Attribute should have its own column ②.
|
Please note: If you are using the "Image URL (Product Assets)" attribute, ensure that all URLs are in the same column, separated by commas. |
If you are manually creating the .CSV file, enter the URLs pointing to the source of the assets in the correct column for each SKU. If the CSV file was provided to you, verify that each entry matches the intended Product ③.
Once your .CSV file is ready, upload it as described in the article "How to: Import and export Product data".
On the "Import Details" page, click the drop-down menu under "Asset Album", and select the album to which external assets should be uploaded. If no album is selected – the field remains set to "Select" – assets will be uploaded to the "Unassigned" album by default. For more information on the "Unassigned" album, please visit the article "Unassigned Album".
|
Please note: All assets uploaded during the import process will be added to the same album, regardless of origin or metadata. If you want assets for specific products to be assigned to separate albums, you may either perform individual imports – assigning a different album each time – or move the assets after the import has been fully processed. For more information on how to move assets in the Canto library, please visit the article "How to: Add assets to an album". |
Adjust the remaining import settings to your liking, map the data headers to the corresponding Product attributes, and continue with the import. Once the import process has been completed you will receive an email with the title "Import Complete". It is recommended to verify that your products have updated correctly, and that the assets have been added to your Canto library.
Duplicate checks
Canto has the ability to check whether an asset you are trying to import already exists in your library.
To enable duplicate checks, click your profile icon – by default this will be the symbol – to open the "Profile & Settings" menu, then select "Settings".
Select the tab "Configuration Options", then click on "Duplicate Check" on the right.
If not already enabled, you can activate Duplicate Checks by selecting the checkbox at the top of the page ④.
Select whether Canto should look for duplicates based on asset file names, or their MD5 checksum⑤ – this setting applies to all Duplicate Checks – and then choose how Canto should act once a duplicate has been found.
If "Add as New File" is selected, any duplicate will be added as a copy to your import album, and the Product will be linked to the newly imported asset.
If "Don't Import File" is selected, any duplicate will be skipped during the upload, and the Product will be linked to the existing asset in your library instead.
Manage default assets
Once you have added at least one asset to a Product, the first – or left-most – asset listed under "Product Assets" will be designated as the Product's default asset for the Product Hub and Catalogs.
To change the default asset, select the "Product Details" tab and click "Edit" in the top right corner.
Under "Product Assets", look for the asset you want to make the default. Click and hold the asset, then drag it to the left of the section. The order of the other assets will adjust automatically as you move the current asset. When the asset is at the left-most position, release the mouse button.
You can verify that the update was successful if the asset is surrounded by a light-green frame, and is shown in a magnified view above the "Product Assets" section. Click "Save" in the top right to update the Product.
Remove assets from a Product
Whether an asset was assigned to the wrong Product, or you just want to update and organize your library, there are multiple ways to remove the association between a Product and an asset. Depending on the circumstances, you can start this process either from the DAM library, or from the Product Hub.
From the Product Hub
Open the Product page, select the "Product Details" tab, and click "Edit" in the top right corner.
Find the asset in either the "Product Assets" section or Image Group, click the symbol in its bottom right corner, and select "Remove".
Finally, click "Save" in the top right corner.
From your Canto Library
Individual asset
Find the asset in your library and open either its Preview or Information page.
In the "Associated Products" field click the icon next to the Product you wish to remove, or click the
icon at the top of the field to remove all Products from the asset.
Multiple assets
Use your library to find the assets for which you want to remove the Associated Products.
Hover over one of the asset thumbnails until the icon appears and click it to start selecting multiple assets. Click the same icon on all the assets you want to update.
In the new toolbar at the top of the gallery, click the icon.
Click "Yes" in the dialog to confirm your choice.
Asset-Product synchronization
Your Canto Library and Product Hub are fully integrated but use asynchronous deletion processes to keep deleted assets and products recoverable. Because of this, access restrictions and deleted assets can affect the visibility of Product Images, while deleted Products can affect asset metadata.
Visibility Restrictions
Restrictions placed on folders, assets and albums in your library affect the visibility of assets in the Product Hub. If a Product has restricted assets assigned, users without appropriate viewing permissions will be unable to see them. The Product Hub will display a placeholder image instead.
To learn more about restricted content, please visit the articles "Restricted access to Folders and Albums" and "An introduction to user roles".
Deleted assets and Products
Deleted asset
When an asset is deleted from your library, all Products linked to this asset will display a placeholder image instead. If the asset is restored from the library Trash Bin, it will automatically reappear in all previously linked Products. If the asset is permanently deleted – either manually or after the 30-day hold period – it will automatically be unlinked from all associated Products, and the placeholder image will be removed.
To learn more about recovering deleted assets, please visit the article "How to: Recover assets, folders, and albums from the Trash Bin".
Deleted Product
When a Product is deleted from your Product Hub, it will remain listed in the "Associated Products" field of all connected assets. If the Product is restored from the Product Hub Trash Bin, the connected assets remain unaffected. If the Product is permanently deleted after the 30-day hold period, it will automatically be removed from all associated assets.
To learn more about recovering deleted Products, please visit the article "How to: Recover a deleted Product".