Compound Objects

Using compound objects allows you to relate and sequence multiple objects related to the same metadata record. You can link up to 1,000 images to a compound object as well as upload batches of 100 compound objects at once.

Create Compound Objects

1. Edit an existing item that contains an image file (current supported filetypes are .jpg . jpeg .tif .tiff .mov .jp2 .cr2 .gif)
2. Select the Options menu then Upload. Select the images you want to add and then select Upload again.
3. After adding at least one additional image to a metadata record, you will have access to a new Related Objects tab when editing an item. 
4. To view the related objects from the Basic Info tab, select the arrows in the media window to go back and forth in the sequence. You can also double click on any of the objects in the media window for a larger view in a new browser tab.
5. Publish or republish the item so that your users can access the compound object in Artstor.

Batch Upload Compound Objects

1. Select a project and then select Upload Media from the Add menu.
2. Select all corresponding image files for a compound object by using drag and drop or browse to select image files from your computer directory. Use Control + click (Command + click for Mac) or Shift + click to select multiple files.
3. Select Group Compound Objects so that Forum can gather the files based on filenames.
4. Continue to Add groups of image files for each compound object before uploading.  
5. If unsupported files were added to the upload, you will receive a notice indicating that unsupported files were detected and will not be included in the batch.  Forum can only support image filetypes but this does not include compressed image files or other filetypes such as doc types and multimedia. 
6. Once the files are uploaded, you will have access to a new Related Objects tab when editing an item. The files will display in the correct sequence.  
7. To view the related objects from the Basic Info tab, select the arrows in the media window to go back and forth in the sequence. You can also double click on any of the objects in the media window for a larger view in a new browser tab.  
8. Publish or republish the item so that your users can access the compound object in Artstor.

Sequence Related Objects

1. Select the Related Objects tab.
2. Change the sequence number(s) of the related objects. The form is dynamic so as you enter a new sequence number, the object will change in the list of related objects as you click or tab out of the field.
3. Save these changes. Publish or republish the item so your users can access the compound object in updated sequence order in Artstor.

Delete or Replace Related Objects

To delete a related object:

1. Select the Related Objects tab.
2. Select Delete next to the object.
3. Confirm you want to delete the individual object. 
4. Publish or republish the item so your users can access the updated compound object.

To replace a related object:

1. Select the Related Objects tab.
2. Select Replace next to the object then Replace Media.
3. Select the replacement media file and then Upload. You will receive a confirmation message when the upload is complete. Publish or republish the item so your users can access the updated compound object.

Download Related Objects or Share Media URL

To download a related object, select the Related Objects tab and then Download next to the object.

To retrieve a URL to a related object, select the Related Objects tab and then select Share next to the object. The Share URL will automatically copy to your clipboard, but you can also select the clipboard icon to copy it again. This URL can be shared with any user and does not require access to Forum.

View Published Compound Objects in Artstor

Published compound objects will use the first object in the sequence as the thumbnail and will display an icon beneath indicating how many related objects are included. Select the item in your Artstor collection to view the compound object.

From the item view, users can navigate between related objects by selecting them from the panel below the viewer or selecting the arrows to move forward or backward in sequential order. Compound objects can be viewed in comparison mode and added to image groups.