Canto has announced the release of Cumulus 8.5, a major upgrade to the company’s digital asset management product line. Among the new features and capabilities new to Cumulus 8.5 are native support for metadata in more than 20 languages, and improvements that make automated workflow control easier and more powerful.
Users can see and search for metadata in their native language, and options are available for translators and others who need to work with multiple languages. In addition to metadata values, virtually all aspects of Cumulus can be localized, including category, layout and template names, and help messages.
Offering a new option for file distribution, Cumulus can create PDF contact sheets that include direct download links behind each thumbnail. Downloads can be originals, or variants processed on-demand using watermarks and other options. All file types are supported.
Workflow automation options have been added to drive advanced production chains, such as creating asset variants, copying files to remote locations for backup or publishing, applying metadata templates and changing permissions.
Metadata edits can be validated against rules that ensure email addresses and other structured values are properly formatted before a record is saved.
Cumulus administrators have control over account settings, which helps standardize installations, and reduces confusion for users. Administration duties can also be assigned to “deputy” administrators, enabling organizations’ departments to manage their own users.
Improvements made to the Cumulus Vault, the product’s version-control engine, virtually eliminate any performance difference between Vault file transfers and standard network transfers. A new OS-based central asset storage option makes direct Cumulus access from within InDesign and other production applications easier.
64-bit support is available for the Cumulus Server for Windows, Mac OS (Intel) and Linux; the Cumulus Java Classes; the Cumulus Scheduler; Cumulus Sites and the Cumulus Web Client.
Current Cumulus customers with active service agreements can receive the software upgrade at no additional cost. Purchased upgrades are available to customers out of contract.
To purchase Cumulus 8.5 or upgrade to it from a previous version, call Modula4 at 415-869-8645 or email us directly.