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Perfion PIM · Complete Feature Guide

Images, Files and Asset Cloud Perfion Image and File Guide

Hold every image and document with the product it belongs to, and give each channel the size, crop and format it needs from one original: previews, points of interest, media services, watermarks and, as the library grows, Perfion Asset Cloud.

Perfion holds images and documents as binaries in Image and File features, with binary metadata kept for every one. The Image Previewer shows any image with its original metadata, and a point of interest keeps crops on the part that matters. Media services deliver images and files by link, resized and converted on request, with an optional watermark, and keep each result in a cache. As the library grows, Perfion Asset Cloud holds the file content outside the database, and the migration manager moves it while Perfion keeps working.

At a glance

Perfion name
Image and File features, Image Previewer, Media Services and Perfion Asset Cloud
Where
Images and files held with each item; delivered by media servicesImage PreviewerMedia servicesAsset CloudPerfion Asset Cloud is a licensed service hosted by Perfion
Used by
Product data teams, designers, e-commerce and IT teamsMedia services feed web shops, portals and apps
Four media services
Four documented services deliver images and filesFileImageWatermarked ImageUncached Image
How It Works

How Perfion handles images and files, from one original to every channel

Each image and document is held once, with its product. Perfion previews it and keeps its details, a point of interest guides every crop, and media services give each channel the version it needs.

  1. Load each image once

    Images and documents sit with their item in Image and File features. As an image is loaded, Perfion reads its original metadata and creates the previews it needs.

  2. Check it in the previewer

    The Image Previewer shows any image, whatever its format, with its size, its file name and the details stored inside the file.

  3. Mark what matters

    A point of interest marks the part of the image that must stay in view, so crops keep the product, not the background.

  4. Serve every channel by link

    Media services deliver each file, or each image in the size, crop and format a channel asks for, with an optional watermark, and keep it in a cache for the next request.

  5. Grow storage without disruption

    When the library grows, Perfion Asset Cloud holds the file content in cloud storage, while the details Perfion needs stay in its database.

An illustration, not a screenshot: an item’s images and files, the Image Previewer with a point of interest and a square crop, and the metadata Perfion keeps.
Shared Drives vs Perfion Images and Files

Shared drives vs Perfion images and files: what changes when images live with the product

On a shared drive, every channel gets its own copy, made by hand. In Perfion, one original sits with the product, and each channel is served the version it needs.

Shared drives and manual exports compared with Perfion's Image and File features, Image Previewer, point of interest, image metadata, media services, watermarking and Perfion Asset Cloud, as described in Boyum IT Solutions' Perfion documentation.
Task Shared drives and manual exports Perfion images, files and media services
Where images live Folders on a shared drive, named by whoever saved them. With the item, in Image and File features.
Sizes for each channel Every size exported by hand and saved as a new file. One original; the image service delivers the size, fit, format and quality asked for.
Square and banner crops Cropped by hand, or cut from the centre, product or not. Placed around a point of interest, so the product stays in view.
File formats A TIFF the web shop cannot show, or a PSD nobody can open. Previewed whatever the format, and converted on request to formats such as JPG, PNG, WEBP or AVIF.
Protecting images A watermark added in an editor, image by image. A watermark added by the image services as images are delivered.
What the file knows Details stored in the image are never looked at. EXIF, IPTC, XMP and other original metadata saved and shown in Perfion.
Manuals and datasheets Sent as email attachments, version unknown. Delivered by link from Perfion, to open in a browser or to download.
Storage as the library grows Drives fill up, and nobody knows what can go. Perfion Asset Cloud holds file content in storage built for it, and Perfion works as before.

See how your own images and documents would be held and served from Perfion.

See it for your images
Capabilities in Depth

Perfion image and file capabilities: eight ways to hold, check and serve every image

Each capability shows what it does in Perfion and what it is worth to the business.

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Images and documents are held in Image and File features, so each one sits with the item it belongs to. Image features take BMP, GIF, JPG/JPEG, PNG, TIFF/TIF, EPS, PSD, PDF (first page), SVG, WEBP and AVIF. Images and files can also be values in pick lists, kept once and used on many items, and Item Relations shows everywhere one is used. By default Perfion stores these binaries in its database, with binary metadata for each: file name, size and checksum, and small previews for images.

  • Image and File features on every item
  • Images and files as pick-list values
  • Name, size and checksum kept for each file

Executive ROI Value

Every image and document is found with the product it belongs to, and the same file is used wherever it appears.

  • One place
  • One version

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The Image Previewer shows a preview of every image in Perfion. It uses a preview created when the image was loaded, typically about 1024 × 1024 pixels, or smaller when the original is smaller. Because of that, any image can be shown whatever the format of the original. The previewer fits the image to the height or the width of the screen, zooms in and out, saves the original image, and shows the image’s ID, file name and size, its Perfion metadata and its original metadata.

  • A preview whatever the original format
  • Fit, zoom, and save the original
  • Perfion and original metadata side by side

Executive ROI Value

Teams check the right image, even a large design file, without opening the original.

  • Faster checks
  • Any format

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

A point of interest marks the part of an image with the highest importance. Whenever an image is cropped to a new shape, using crop or smart fitting, the crop is placed around it; without one, the centre is used. It applies when images are saved or exported from Perfion, written out by actions, and served by media services. It is set in the Image Previewer, can be updated by an action, and a media service request can give its own point for one use.

  • Centre used when none is set
  • Used by saves, exports, actions and media services
  • Applies to crop and smart fitting

Executive ROI Value

Square thumbnails and wide banners keep the product in view, without anyone cropping each image by hand.

  • Right crops
  • No hand cropping

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

When Perfion loads an image, it reads and saves the image’s original metadata. Depending on how the image was created, that can include EXIF, IPTC, XMP, ICC and Photoshop data. Perfion also keeps metadata of its own, such as the point of interest, which can be updated. Both are shown in the Image Previewer and can be read by actions. For images loaded before Perfion supported image metadata, a support procedure extracts it from the images already held.

  • EXIF, IPTC, XMP, ICC and Photoshop data
  • Perfion metadata, including the point of interest
  • Older images can be processed later

Executive ROI Value

The details recorded when an image was made stay with it, ready to be checked or used.

  • Details kept
  • Older images included

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

Media services deliver images and files from Perfion through a web link that identifies each one. A web page can show an image, or offer a file, straight from Perfion. There are four services: File delivers the original file; Image delivers images processed on request; Watermarked Image adds a watermark to every image it serves; and Uncached Image processes without using pre-cached versions. Content can be shown in the browser or sent as a download. The services work on a pull strategy, so they scale linearly, and every file and processed image is kept in a cache for the next identical request.

  • File, Image, Watermarked Image, Uncached Image
  • Shown in the browser, or downloaded
  • Cached after the first request

Executive ROI Value

Web shops, portals and apps take images and documents from the product record, instead of copies uploaded by hand.

  • No copies to upload
  • Scales with demand

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The image services resize, convert and crop images as they are requested. A request can ask for a size and how to fit it: keep the proportions, stretch to fit exactly, crop, a smart mix of stretching and cropping, or keep the proportions and fill the rest with a canvas colour. It can ask for a format (BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, EPS, PSD, PDF, SVG, WEBP or AVIF), a resolution, a quality for JPG and PNG, a colour for transparent areas, and a colour profile such as sRGB, Adobe RGB 1998 or CMYK (Coated FOGRA39). SVG and EPS images become raster images when a size is asked for. Only images held as images are processed; files are delivered as they are.

  • Five ways to fit a size
  • Eleven output formats, including WEBP and AVIF
  • Colour profiles for screen and print

Executive ROI Value

Each channel gets the image it needs, from thumbnails to print files, from one original and with no exports by hand.

  • One original
  • Every channel served

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

The image services can place a watermark on the images they deliver. A watermark range decides when: on every image, or only on images larger than a set number of pixels on either side; at zero, it is off. The Watermarked Image service adds it to every image it serves. The watermark always sits in the lower left corner and is scaled down when it is larger than the image, and a watermark with some transparency looks lighter. Files are never watermarked, and SVG and EPS images are turned into raster images first.

  • On every image, or only above a size
  • Lower left corner, scaled to fit
  • Added as images are delivered

Executive ROI Value

Large images shared outside the business carry your mark, while small images stay clean.

  • Images protected
  • Thumbnails clean

Operational Reality (Capabilities)

By default Perfion stores images and files in its database, which is usually more expensive storage and not built for large files. Perfion Asset Cloud, offered as a service and enabled by licence, holds the file content in cloud storage built for binary data, such as Azure Blob Storage, in an account of your own that Perfion manages. The metadata stays in the database, so Perfion works as before, including while files move. Perfion hosts the storage service and media services that come with it, and settings are changed through a web-based settings site.

  • Content in the cloud, details in the database
  • Moved automatically, with Perfion working
  • Hosted media services included

Executive ROI Value

The database stays lean as the image library grows, and nobody changes the way they work.

  • Leaner database
  • No change for users
Core Concepts

5 Core Concepts of Images and Files in Perfion

The first is about originals and the second about storage. The third keeps crops right, the fourth is how channels receive images, and the last is how storage grows without disruption.

  1. Concept 01 · One master, many versions

    Keep One Original, Serve Every Version

    The product data problem it solves

    A product photo exists as eleven files: one size for the web shop, another for each marketplace, a square for the app and a CMYK copy for the catalogue. The appliance is reshot, four of the files are replaced, and the dealer catalogue goes to print with the old photo.

    The concept explained

    In Perfion, the original image is held once, with its item. Media services create each version as it is asked for: the size, the fit, the format, the quality and the colour profile are part of the request, not separate files. Each processed image is kept in a cache, so the next identical request is served from it. When a channel needs something new, it is a new request, not a new round of exports.

    Everyday analogy

    A photographer’s negative. Prints in any size are made from it when they are ordered, and nobody keeps a cupboard of every size.

    In Perfion

    The Image service resizes, converts and crops images on request and saves each result in a cache. The File service delivers the original file. The Uncached Image service processes without pre-cached versions.

    Keep one original, serve every versionLeft: one original image of mixer grinder KC-MG-750, a TIFF of 6000 by 6000 pixels, held once in Perfion. Middle: the image service, which makes each version on request: size, fit, format, quality and colour profile. Right: four versions for four channels: the web shop, 1200 pixels in WEBP, fitted; a marketplace, 1000 by 1000 pixels in JPG, cropped; the catalogue, in TIFF with a CMYK profile; and the app, a 200 pixel PNG thumbnail. Bottom: each version is cached after the first request, so the next identical request is served from the cache, and a new channel needs a new request, not a new export.One original in Perfion, every version on requestOriginalHeld once, with the itemKC-MG-750 · TIFF6000 × 6000 pxImage serviceSizeFitFormatQualityColour profileWeb shop1200 px · WEBP · fitMarketplace1000 × 1000 · JPG · cropCatalogueTIFF · CMYK profileApp200 px · PNG thumbnailCached after the first requestThe next identical request is served from the cache. A new channel needsa new request, not a new round of exports.
    One original in Perfion; each channel’s size and format is created on request and cached.
  2. Concept 02 · Details here, content anywhere

    Separate What Perfion Needs From What It Stores

    The product data problem it solves

    Ten years of product photography sits inside the product database. Backups run all night, database storage is the largest line on the hosting bill, and everyday editing slows down on the days large images are loaded.

    The concept explained

    Every image or file in Perfion has two parts. Its binary metadata, such as file name, size, checksum and small previews for images, takes very little space and always stays in the Perfion database. Its content is the file itself. For most work Perfion needs only the metadata; the content is needed in rare cases, such as generating reports, showing image previews or sending jobs to the application server. That is why the content can move to Perfion Asset Cloud with Perfion’s performance largely unaffected.

    Everyday analogy

    A library catalogue. The cards stay at the front desk; the books can sit in a store across town, and every reader still finds every book.

    In Perfion

    Metadata is saved in the database for every image and file, wherever the content is. Content in the Asset Cloud carries its own copy of the metadata, so media services can serve it without the database. The Windows client, web client and services work the same wherever the content is.

    BPAS method · toolDeploy EnterpriseDesign before configurationThe data model is designed and signed off before anything is configured: the Design phase of toolDeploy Enterprise.
    Separate what Perfion needs from what it storesEvery image or file has two parts. Left: the metadata, which always stays in the Perfion database: file name, size, checksum, and small previews for images. Right: the content, the file itself, which is held either in the database, the default, or in the Perfion Asset Cloud, in cloud storage built for files. Bottom: Perfion needs only the metadata for most work; the content is needed in rare cases, such as generating reports, showing image previews or sending jobs to the application server.Two parts to every image and fileMetadataAlways in the Perfion databaseFile nameSizeChecksumSmall previews for imagesContentThe file itself, held in one of two placesPerfion databaseThe defaultorPerfion Asset CloudCloud storage built for filesMost work needs only the metadataThe content is needed in rare cases: generating reports, showing imagepreviews, or sending jobs to the application server.
    Metadata always stays in the Perfion database; the content can sit in the database or in the Asset Cloud.
  3. Concept 03 · The point that survives every crop

    Mark What Matters in Every Image

    The product data problem it solves

    A marketplace wants square images. The automatic crop takes the middle of a wide kitchen photo, and three hundred listings show a tiled wall with half a chimney.

    The concept explained

    A point of interest marks the part of an image that matters most. When an image is cropped to a new shape, the crop is placed around that point instead of the centre. Perfion uses it when images are saved or exported, written out by actions, and served by media services with crop or smart fitting. With no point set, the centre is used, so images with the product in the middle need nothing.

    Everyday analogy

    A picture framer told which part of a painting must stay in view, whatever the size of the frame.

    In Perfion

    The point of interest is part of the image’s Perfion metadata. It is set in the Image Previewer, can be updated by an action, and can be replaced for one request by the media services. It is used only with crop or smart fitting.

    Mark what matters in every imageTop: a wide kitchen photo with the mixer grinder standing left of centre, and a point of interest marked on the appliance at 21 by 46. Bottom left: the same photo cropped to a square from the centre, without a point of interest: the appliance is cut off. Bottom right: the square crop placed around the point of interest: the appliance stays in view. Note: the point of interest is used with crop or smart fitting; with none set, the centre is used.The crop follows the point that mattersPoint of interestMarked on the applianceat 21 × 46 (per centacross and down)Without one: the centreSquare crop from the centreProduct cut offA tiled wall, half an applianceSquare crop around the point of interestProduct in viewSame image, no hand croppingUsed with crop or smart fitting, in saves, exports, actions and media services.
    The same wide image cropped to a square: from the centre, the product is cut; around the point of interest, it stays in view.
  4. Concept 05 · Copy first, clear after

    Move Storage Without Stopping Work

    The product data problem it solves

    IT knows the image library has outgrown the database, but moving it sounds like a weekend shutdown, a risky export and weeks of testing. So it is put off every quarter, and the database keeps growing.

    The concept explained

    In Perfion, where file content is stored is a setting: the database or Perfion Asset Cloud. When it changes, the migration manager starts moving content on its own. Each file is copied to the new place first, and cleared from the database only after it has moved successfully. Perfion keeps working as usual during the move, files are served from wherever they are at that moment, and storage can be switched back at any time without side effects.

    Everyday analogy

    Moving house one room at a time while living in it: each room is set up in the new house before the old one is emptied.

    In Perfion

    The Asset Cloud needs its storage service, set up by Perfion, and a licence that includes it. Old content is cleared automatically only when moving from the database to the cloud; nothing is ever deleted automatically from the Asset Cloud. Standard media services keep working without changes, even mid-move.

    From BPAS · prodRecord newsletterprodRecordKeeping the record straight.One product data practice every month, written in plain English for product data teams.
    Move storage without stopping workTop: four steps. One, the storage location is set to the Asset Cloud. Two, the migration manager starts on its own. Three, each file is copied to the Asset Cloud. Four, only after a successful copy is the file cleared from the database. Under the steps, a bar shows Perfion working as usual throughout, with files served from wherever they are at that moment. A return arrow shows that storage can be switched back at any time without side effects. Bottom: nothing is ever deleted automatically from the Asset Cloud.Copy first, clear after, and keep working1Location setto the Asset Cloud2Migration managerstarts on its own3Each file copiedto the Asset Cloud4Cleared from thedatabase after successPerfion works as usual throughout; files are served from wherever they areSwitch back at any time, without side effectsNothing deleted automatically from the Asset CloudOld content is cleared automatically only when moving from thedatabase to the cloud.
    Each file is copied first and cleared from the database only after success; Perfion works throughout, and the move can be reversed.
Best Practices

10 Best Practices for Images and Files in Perfion

Each practice says what well-run images and files look like and what it costs to ignore it. Designing it for your range and channels is what BPAS consultants do.

  1. 01Hold one original per image, at the best quality you have

    Source · Originals

    The rule

    Each image is held once, as the best original available, and every channel version is created from it.

    Risk if ignored

    Resized copies are loaded as new images, and quality drops each time one is made from another.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  2. 02Give each kind of image its own feature

    Model · Features

    The rule

    Main images, lifestyle images, drawings, manuals and datasheets each sit in their own Image or File feature, so every channel takes exactly what it needs.

    Risk if ignored

    Every image sits in one pile, and channels publish whichever one happens to be first.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  3. 03Set a point of interest wherever the product is off-centre

    Framing · Crops

    The rule

    Images where the product is not in the middle carry a point of interest before they are used in square or banner crops.

    Risk if ignored

    Automatic crops cut off the product on hundreds of listings at once.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  4. 04Agree one image specification for each channel

    Delivery · Specifications

    The rule

    Each channel has a written size, fit, format, quality and colour profile, used for every image it takes from Perfion.

    Risk if ignored

    Each developer or agency picks its own settings, and the same product looks different on every channel.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  5. 05Send screens web formats and print its own profile

    Delivery · Formats

    The rule

    Web channels receive compact web formats, and print receives high-resolution files in its colour profile, all from the same original.

    Risk if ignored

    Heavy TIFF files that most browsers will not show inline, or catalogue colours that print wrong.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  6. 06Watermark what leaves the business at full size

    Protection · Watermarks

    The rule

    Large images shared outside the business carry a watermark, while thumbnails and small images stay clean.

    Risk if ignored

    Either full-size images circulate unprotected, or every thumbnail carries a mark too small to read.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  7. 07Keep master copies of the watermark and fallback images

    Protection · Masters

    The rule

    The watermark image and the image shown when no image is found are kept safely outside Perfion, with their earlier versions.

    Risk if ignored

    Once replaced, the original images cannot be restored, and the old watermark has to be recreated from memory.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  8. 08Keep the metadata that comes with every image

    Quality · Metadata

    The rule

    Images arrive with their original metadata intact, and images loaded before metadata support have theirs extracted too.

    Risk if ignored

    When a question comes up about an image’s origin or colour, nobody can answer it.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  9. 09Plan storage before the library outgrows the database

    Scale · Storage

    The rule

    The growth of images and files is reviewed regularly, and the move to the Asset Cloud is decided before the database becomes a problem.

    Risk if ignored

    Database costs and backup times grow every month, and work slows when large files are handled.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
  10. 10Treat the storage service key like a password

    Security · Access

    The rule

    The Asset Cloud key is held by named people, renewed when they change, and updated everywhere it is used on the same day.

    Risk if ignored

    Someone who has left still holds a working key, or a renewed key quietly cuts Perfion off from its files.

    Get it right with BPAS

    Not sure this is in place for your images? Talk to a BPAS consultant.

    Talk to BPAS
Self-Audit · 10 Best Practices

Image and file self-audit: how many are in place today?

Tick each of the ten practices above that your business already follows. Your score updates as you go.

Practices in place
0 of 10

Tick the practices that are in place.

Book an image and file review

Nothing you tick is stored or sent.

Illustrative scenario · not a client case study A Business Like Yours

Illustrative scenario: an Indian kitchen appliance maker, with one photo and five exports

A maker of mixer grinders, cooktops, chimneys and small appliances sells about 1,800 products through dealers, its own web shop, three marketplaces and a printed dealer catalogue. Orders, stock and invoicing are in the ERP. Its range carries about 40,000 images and 5,000 manuals and datasheets.

The Operational Challenge

Product images live on a shared drive, in a folder for each channel. Two designers export every image in five sizes and formats, and upload each one by hand. A new product waits about ten days for its images to go live, and marketplace crops regularly cut off the appliance.

Marketplaces reject images that are too small or in the wrong format, the catalogue team asks for CMYK files nobody kept, and nobody is sure which of three “final” files is the current photo.

  • Five exports for every image
  • Crops that cut off the product
  • Three “final” versions of one photo
  • Images ten days behind the product

The Financial Transformation

In Perfion, each image is held once with its product, in its own feature: main image, lifestyle images, exploded drawing and manual. The web shop, marketplaces and dealer portal take images from the media services in the size, crop and format each needs, and the catalogue receives CMYK files from the same original. Off-centre images carry a point of interest, so square crops keep the appliance in view.

Full-size images shared with dealers carry a watermark while thumbnails stay clean. As the library grows, its file content is held in Perfion Asset Cloud, and the team works exactly as before.

  • One original for every image
  • Every channel size on request
  • Crops that keep the product
  • Designers back on new photography
Illustrative figures for a typical Indian kitchen appliance maker of this size. They add up, but they are not a client case study.
Cost line Before (per month) After (per month) Difference (per year)
Exporting and resizing images for each channel₹ 90,000₹ 15,000₹ 9,00,000
Fixing rejected and badly cropped listings₹ 35,000₹ 10,000₹ 3,00,000
Finding and resending images and documents₹ 25,000₹ 5,000₹ 2,40,000
Total₹ 1,50,000₹ 30,000₹ 14,40,000
Illustrative saving a year₹ 14,40,000Same figures as the table, not a client result

See how your own images would reach every channel from Perfion.

Book an image and file review
From BPAS

prodRecord Live

Enterprise product data insights from BPAS

Keeping the record straight, live every month

prodRecord Live is a monthly webinar series on product information management, held on the second Wednesday of every month from January 2027. Each session takes one product data topic and works through it in plain English with time for your questions.

  1. Jan
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  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Explore prodRecord Live
12
Live sessions in 2027 Second Wednesday, monthly
Who Benefits

Who benefits from images held with the product: one original, three answers

  • Promoter & CXOs

    Can we launch online faster without a bigger design team?

    Every channel takes its images from one original, in the size it needs, so launches wait for photography, not for exports.

  • Product Data Manager

    Which image is the right one, and where is it used?

    Each image sits with its product in its own feature, previewed with its metadata, and Item Relations shows everywhere it is used.

  • IT & E-commerce Manager

    Will thousands of images slow the system or the web shop?

    Media services cache what they deliver, and Perfion Asset Cloud holds file content outside the database while Perfion works as before.

Vocabulary

Images and Files Vocabulary and Definitions

From binaries and their metadata to previews, points of interest, media services and the Asset Cloud. Each term shows what it means, why it matters, and a household comparison.

  1. Binary

    Storage · basics

    Image or file

    Operational definition

    Perfion’s word for an image or a file it holds, in an Image feature or a File feature.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Previews, media services and the Asset Cloud all work on binaries.

    Everyday analogy

    Any parcel in a warehouse, whatever is inside it.

    See it in action:Images and files on items under Capabilities →

  2. Binary metadata

    Storage · details

    Always in the database

    Operational definition

    Details about an image or file, such as file name, size and checksum, with small previews for images.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    It is all Perfion needs for most work, so the content itself can be stored elsewhere.

    Everyday analogy

    A library catalogue card: enough to find the book without holding it.

    See it in action:Concept 02 under Core Concepts →

  3. Image Previewer

    Images · viewing

    About 1024 × 1024 px

    Operational definition

    The window that shows a preview of any image in Perfion, with its Perfion metadata and its original metadata.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Images are checked whatever their format, without opening the original file.

    Everyday analogy

    A jeweller’s loupe: a close look without taking the stone out of the case.

    See it in action:Image Previewer under Capabilities →

  4. Point of interest

    Images · framing

    Centre by default

    Operational definition

    The point of an image with the highest importance, used to place crops. The centre, unless one is set.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Square and banner crops keep the product in view.

    Everyday analogy

    The framer’s mark on the part of the painting that must show.

    See it in action:Concept 03 under Core Concepts →

  5. Original image metadata

    Images · details

    EXIF, IPTC, XMP, ICC

    Operational definition

    Data stored inside an image file when it was created, read and saved by Perfion when the image is loaded.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    The image’s own details stay available in Perfion and to actions.

    Everyday analogy

    The label sewn into a garment by the maker.

    See it in action:Image metadata under Capabilities →

  6. Media services

    Delivery · services

    Four services

    Operational definition

    Web services that deliver images and files out of Perfion by link: File, Image, Watermarked Image and Uncached Image.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Web shops, portals and apps take images straight from the product record.

    Everyday analogy

    A tap instead of a water tanker.

    See it in action:Concept 04 under Core Concepts →

  7. Media cache

    Delivery · speed

    Reused for the same request

    Operational definition

    Where media services keep each file and processed image they deliver, so the same request is served again from it.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Repeat requests are fast, and an image is not processed again each time.

    Everyday analogy

    A kitchen that keeps the day’s most ordered dish ready to serve.

    See it in action:Concept 01 under Core Concepts →

  8. Watermark

    Delivery · protection

    Lower left corner

    Operational definition

    An image the image services place over the images they deliver: on all of them, or only on those above a set size.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Images shared outside the business carry your mark, while small images can stay clean.

    Everyday analogy

    The studio stamp on a proof print.

    See it in action:Watermarking under Capabilities →

  9. Perfion Asset Cloud

    Storage · cloud

    Licensed service

    Operational definition

    A Perfion service that holds the content of images and files in cloud storage built for it, such as Azure Blob Storage, instead of the database.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    The database stays lean as the library grows, with Perfion hosting the storage and media services.

    Everyday analogy

    A bank locker for the valuables, while the register stays at home.

    See it in action:Perfion Asset Cloud under Capabilities →

  10. Migration manager

    Storage · moving

    Copies first, clears after

    Operational definition

    The part of Perfion that moves image and file content to the chosen storage location automatically when that location changes.

    Why it matters in Perfion

    Storage moves while everyone keeps working, and can be moved back at any time.

    Everyday analogy

    Packers who set up each room in the new house before emptying the old one.

    See it in action:Concept 05 under Core Concepts →

FAQ

Images, files and Asset Cloud: questions product and e-commerce teams ask

Short answers, each with a link to the part of this guide that explains it.

  1. In the Perfion database by default, in Image and File features on your items and in your pick lists. With Perfion Asset Cloud, the file content is held in cloud storage instead, while the details Perfion needs, such as file name, size and small previews, stay in the database.

    More on Images and files on items
  2. No. The image services create the size, crop, format and colour profile each channel asks for from the original, and cache the result. Only images held as images are processed; files such as manuals are delivered as they are.

    More on Concept 01
  3. BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, EPS, PSD, PDF, SVG, WEBP and AVIF. SVG and EPS are turned into raster images when a size is requested. Whether a format is shown inside a browser depends on the browser: most show common image formats, but not, for example, TIFF.

    More on Image processing
  4. No. The watermark is added by the image services to the images they deliver, on all of them or only above a size you choose. It sits in the lower left corner and is scaled down to fit smaller images. Files are never watermarked.

    More on Watermarking
  5. No. The Windows client, web client and services work the same wherever file content is stored, including during the move. Standard media services keep serving images without changes. Files are copied first and cleared from the database only after success, and the move can be reversed at any time.

    More on Concept 05
  6. Perfion. It is offered as a service: Perfion creates the storage account, the storage service and the media services for each customer separately, and hosts and administers them. You change the settings you need, such as the watermark and the image shown when none is found, through a web-based settings site. It needs a licence that includes it.

    More on Perfion Asset Cloud
  7. Yes. Images, files, media services and the Asset Cloud work with data in Perfion itself, so this guide applies whichever ERP your other data comes from. What changes from one ERP to another is the integration that brings ERP data into Perfion.

    More on ERP integration

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