Canto, maker of Canto Cumulus digital asset management (DAM) software, announced today the immediate availability of Canto Roboflow, an add-on product that enhances Canto Cumulus with “watch folder” auto-cataloging and catalog synchronization, and scriptable asset and metadata processing.

“Canto RoboFlow was built for Canto Cumulus, so the functionality it adds is a perfect complement to the automation capabilities built in to Cumulus,” said Carsten Hesse, Cumulus product manager.

Among the product’s features is the ability to synchronize Cumulus catalogs with file folders and ftp sites. This enables users to work with files directly, without needing to manually update Cumulus or even have Cumulus accounts. Likewise, when asset records are renamed, moved or deleted from inside Cumulus, RoboFlow updates their corresponding folders accordingly.

“Users who work in InDesign, PowerPoint or other production applications no longer need to worry whether a project’s associated files will make it into Cumulus,” explained Canto Marketing Director, David Diamond. “RoboFlow watches production folders, so referenced or placed files won’t get left behind when a project is archived.”

RoboFlow can be configured to ignore certain file types or specific folders, ensuring Cumulus catalogs remain clutter free. In addition, file naming conventions can be used to direct RoboFlow on the fly. This enables users to add “temp” or other flags to the names of files that aren’t ready to be cataloged. RoboFlow uses file names to determine file destinations and processing options too, so “.mov” files can always be added to a video catalog, and the files of one customer can be kept out of the catalog of another.

RoboFlow also manages scheduled metadata and asset imports and exports. External systems can refresh metadata inside Cumulus, and Cumulus can export assets to external software, like content management systems. Specific output formats, file names and locations can be defined.

Users can be sent customizable status updates at any production stage. Links to relevant assets are included, which helps keep production and approval workflows in motion.

RoboFlow starts at 1,195 USD/EUR and is available directly from Canto or Canto-certified partners. Canto Cumulus 8.0 or later is required on Mac OS, Windows or Linux.

More information: http://canto.com/roboflow

More Cumulus add-ons can be found in the Canto Marketplace: http://canto.com/marketplace

About Canto & Cumulus

Canto® has been dedicated to helping customers fully utilize their digital assets since 1990. Canto Cumulus® is a cross-platform solution that enables companies to easily organize, find, share and track their ever-increasing numbers of digital files, in any format. Canto’s worldwide network of certified developers offers an impressive assortment of plug-ins and add-ons that enhance the Cumulus product line further.

Learn more: http://canto.com

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