AEM Assets: A Q&A Guide for Developers


In a project involving AEM Assets, you might encounter various terminologies, concepts, and functionalities that can seem daunting at first. Our question-and-answer format will break down these complexities, providing clear and concise explanations to common queries. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a better grasp of the basics.

Role: AEM Developer

AEM Assets is a digital asset management (DAM) solution provided by Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) that allows organizations to manage, store, and deliver digital assets such as images, videos, documents, and other media files.

It supports DAM through features like metadata management, dynamic media, asset workflows for review and approval, asset sharing, and distribution capabilities.

  • Asset Upload and Management: Uploading, categorizing, and managing digital assets like images, videos, and documents.
  • Metadata Management: Applying and editing metadata to enhance searchability and manage assets efficiently.
  • Asset Rendition: Creating and managing multiple renditions of an asset for various platforms and devices.
  • Workflow Management: Automating processes such as approval flows, publication, and asset updates.
  • Asset Distribution: Sharing assets with internal and external stakeholders, possibly using Brand Portal.
  • Search and Retrieval: Using robust search capabilities to find assets based on metadata, tags, and other criteria.
  • Asset Archiving and Restoration: Archiving assets not in active use
  • Integration with Creative Cloud: Allowing creative professionals to access assets from within their creative software.
  • Analytics and Reporting: Tracking asset usage, engagement, and performance for insights.

A workflow model defines a sequence of steps to process information or assets. In AEM Assets, workflow models are used for tasks like asset approval or publication

The DAM Update Asset workflow is used to process digital assets when they are uploaded to AEM Assets. It includes steps for generating renditions, extracting metadata, and updating the asset’s metadata properties.

Custom asset metadata schemas are created in the AEM Schema Editor, which allows you to define custom metadata fields for different asset types.

Tagging adds metadata to assets, making them easier to organize, search, and manage.

Asset Checkout and Check-in functionality allows users to lock and edit assets, preventing concurrent modifications and ensuring version control and collaboration.

Some key features of AEM Assets include asset ingestion, metadata management, asset processing, asset distribution, asset sharing, and asset delivery.

Asset Share allows users to share assets with other users or groups, either within the organization or externally, with configurable permissions and expiration dates.

Asset Renditions are various representations of an asset, such as different image sizes or formats, generated by AEM Assets to optimize asset delivery for different use cases.

AEM Assets provides robust search capabilities, allowing users to search for assets based on metadata, tags, and other criteria. It also supports features like saved searches and search facets.

Asset Collections allow users to organize and group related assets together, making it easier to manage and share sets of assets.

AEM Assets supports asset expiration and archiving policies, allowing organizations to automatically unpublish assets based on predefined schedules.

Asset Annotations allow users to add comments, notes, or markup directly on assets, facilitating collaboration and feedback processes.

Asset References allow AEM Assets to track and manage references to assets used in other AEM components, such as pages or forms, ensuring consistency and enabling efficient asset updates.

Asset Metadata Schemas define the structure and configuration of metadata fields and properties for different asset types or use cases, enabling organizations to customize and extend asset metadata management

A Metadata Schema defines metadata fields for different asset types . It allows organizations to customize and extend asset metadata management by defining new metadata fields and constraints.

A Metadata Profile specifies the default metadata attributes associated with an asset within a certain context. When a metadata profile is linked to a folder, any assets subsequently uploaded to that folder will inherit the metadata values defined by the profile.

Smart Tags

Asset Smart Tags use machine learning algorithms to automatically generate tags and metadata for assets based on their content, reducing the need for manual tagging.

Role: AEM Senior Developer

A metadata writeback workflow is a process in AEM Assets where metadata changes made within AEM can be written back or synchronized to the original binary files. This ensures that metadata updates are retained even if the asset is downloaded and used outside of AEM.

Search boost is a feature that enhances the relevance of certain assets in search results. By boosting a term or property, you increase the likelihood that assets containing that term or property appear higher in the search results.

Asset Microservices are cloud-native services that provide scalable, feature-rich processing capabilities for assets, such as image recognition, smart tagging, and automatic rendition creation.

Asset Insights provides analytical data and insights about asset usage, such as how many times an asset has been downloaded or viewed, which can help organizations optimize their asset management strategies.

Asset Watermarking allows organizations to apply watermarks or logos to assets, either during asset processing or on-the-fly during asset delivery, to protect their intellectual property.

Asset Reports provide detailed information and insights about asset usage, storage, and performance, helping organizations optimize their asset management strategies.

Asset Transcoding allows AEM Assets to convert video and audio assets to various formats and resolutions, enabling efficient delivery across different devices and bandwidth conditions.

AEM Assets includes various optimization features, such as image optimization, video transcoding, and file compression, to ensure efficient asset delivery and minimize storage requirements.

AEM Assets includes duplication detection mechanisms to identify and manage duplicate assets, helping organizations avoid redundant storage and maintain asset consistency.

  • Brand Portal is an AEM-based cloud service for sharing assets with external parties, providing a secure environment for distribution
  • Asset Share Commons is an open-source framework that extends AEM’s capabilities for asset sharing within or across organizations.
  • Brand Portal should be used when external sharing with strict access and distribution controls is required, whereas Asset Share Commons is more suited for customizable asset sharing experiences within the organization or with a broader audience.

Asset Link is an extension that integrates AEM Assets with Adobe Creative Cloud, allowing direct access to AEM assets from within Creative Cloud applications for a seamless workflow.

A responsive image is one that adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions, ensuring optimal display and performance on various devices. This is often achieved through various image renditions and HTML/CSS techniques.

A Dynamic Media component is an AEM component that delivers interactive and multimedia experiences. It can handle responsive images, videos, zoom capabilities, 360-degree views, and other rich media features, dynamically optimizing for the end-user’s context. 

Brand Portal 

AEM Assets Brand Portal is an externally hosted, cloud-based service that allows organizations to share their digital assets with external stakeholders securely. It’s used for streamlined asset distribution, review, and approval processes without giving direct access to the main AEM Assets repository.

Synchronization between AEM Assets and Brand Portal is managed through AEM’s replication agent. Assets selected for sharing are replicated to Brand Portal, making them accessible to external users. The process supports both manual and automated replication based on specific triggers or schedules.

Yes, user permissions in Brand Portal can be managed through user roles and permissions settings. Administrators can assign roles to users, controlling their access to view, download, or upload assets based on organizational policies.

The primary advantage is the ability to securely and efficiently distribute digital assets to external parties, ensuring brand consistency across different channels and partners, while reducing the workload on the main AEM Assets instance.

Brand Portal is a cloud-based digital asset management solution provided by Adobe that allows organizations to share and distribute approved brand assets with internal teams, partners, and external agencies securely.

Brand Portal integrates seamlessly with AEM Assets, allowing organizations to publish and share approved assets from AEM Assets directly to Brand Portal for controlled distribution and collaboration.

Some key features of Brand Portal include asset sharing, role-based access control, download restrictions, asset usage tracking, asset collaboration, and branded portals for partners and agencies.

Dynamic Media

Dynamic Media is a feature in AEM Assets that provides advanced capabilities for delivering rich media experiences, such as interactive videos, image templates, spin sets, and immersive viewers.

Dynamic Media allows for the on-the-fly creation and delivery of dynamic image and video renditions. It optimizes digital media for various channels, devices, and resolutions, enhancing performance and user experience while reducing manual effort and storage needs.

Dynamic Media optimizes asset delivery by generating multiple renditions of assets tailored for different devices and bandwidth conditions, ensuring high-quality and efficient asset playback across various platforms.

Key features of Dynamic Media include interactive viewers, video player customization, responsive image rendering, spin sets and 360-degree visualizations, and advanced image editing tools.

Smart Image is a feature in AEM Assets that automatically generates optimized renditions of an image based on predefined image profiles and the target device or viewport size. It ensures that the most appropriate image rendition is delivered to the client, improving performance and user experience.

Smart Crop, on the other hand, is a Dynamic Media feature that intelligently crops and resizes images based on their content and focal points. It analyzes the image content and applies intelligent cropping to ensure that the most important or relevant parts of the image are preserved and visible, even when the image is resized or displayed on different devices.

Image Profiles are predefined configurations that define the rules and settings for generating different renditions or representations of images in AEM Assets. They specify parameters such as image size, resolution, format, quality, and any other processing instructions (e.g., cropping, resizing, watermarking) that should be applied to the image renditions.

Image Profiles are used in conjunction with Smart Images to ensure that the appropriate image renditions are generated and delivered based on the specific requirements of the target device or viewport.

Additional Resources:

The link provided features concise videos on crucial topics related to AEM Assets. For a comprehensive understanding, it is recommended to watch all the videos.

Important topics for AEM Assets Developer role

TopicSub-Topic
ConfiguringAsset overview
 Metadata Schema
 Metadata Profile
 Admin Search
AuthoringMetadata
 Renditions
AEMaaCSProcessing Profile
CollaborationTimeline & Inbox
 Comments & Annotations
 Check In & Check Out
SearchOmnisearch
 Collections
MetadataSmart Tags

Important topics for AEM Assets Senior Developer role

TopicSub-Topic
SearchSearch boost
 Find similar
 Asset Reports
 Watermarks
MetadataExport/Import metadata
Brand PortalAll topics under Brandportal on Overview
Asset Share commonsAll topics under Asset Share commons on link
Dynamic MediaOverview
 DM Snapshot
 Smart Crop
TranslationSource file translation
PublishingBinary less replication
MigrationCTT tool
 Bulk import of Assets

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