Team Member

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Team Member

Access shared spaces with the creative.space web and desktop app to interact with media assets.

Welcome to creative.space! As a vital creative force in your team, this guide will walk you through the key functionalities designed to streamline your creative workflow:

Onboarding - Get connected to a creative.space storage server with the desktop app.
Mount to Desktop - Access shared storage on your desktop to get to work in your favorite application(s).
Media Management - Explore all of the functionality available in the web and desktop apps.

Onboarding

Select the option that best describes your needs to get started:

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I am a local user...

Welcome to the creative.space system! Let’s get you set up for desktop access:

Install the Desktop Application: Your administrator will provide you with the installer for the creative.space desktop application. Download and install it on your Windows or Mac computer.
Opening the Application: Once installed, launch the creative.space desktop app.
Adding a Node: In the upper right-hand corner of the app, click the plus button and select ‘Add Node’. Drag and drop the configuration file provided by your administrator into the app.
Enter Credentials: The configuration file will auto-fill the necessary details. Enter the Username and Password given by your administrator and click ‘Add a node’.
Accessing Spaces and Folders: After logging in, you’ll see the Nodes and Spaces you have access to. Click on a Space to browse its contents.
Opening in Finder/Explorer: To open a Space or Folder in Finder or Explorer, click the 3 dots next to it and select your preferred option.
Uploading and Downloading: You can upload folders and files by dragging them into the Desktop App, or download them faster than from the mounted volume.
Network Connections: The app automatically selects the fastest connection, allowing seamless movement between local and remote locations.
Using the Web App: Click the globe icon next to a node to launch the web app for additional functions like changing your password or browsing media assets.

Congratulations! You’re now ready to use the creative.space system.

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I am a remote user…

Connect remotely using ZeroTier:

Download ZeroTier and Desktop App: Go to the ZeroTier website, download and install the ZeroTier application. Also, install the creative.space desktop application on your computer.
Opening the Desktop App: Launch the creative.space app and follow the prompts, providing administrator credentials when required.
Copying Node ID: In the app's 'Settings' menu, under 'ZeroTier', click on 'Node ID' to copy it.
Send Node ID to Admin: Email your Node ID to your administrator, and include your computer type for proper device naming.
Receive and Use Configuration File: Once authorized by your admin, you will receive a Network Invitation email with a configuration file. Download this file.
Add Node in App: In the desktop app, click the plus button, select 'Add Node', and drag the configuration file into the app.
Enter Credentials and Access Spaces: Enter the Username and Password provided by your admin, then click 'Add a node'. Access the Spaces and Folders as you would in a local setup.

You're all set up for using ZeroTier with creative.space!

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I need to onboard a local user…

To onboard local users as a System Admin, follow these simple steps:

For Administrators Onboarding Local Users

Log into Admin Account: Start by logging into your admin account on the creative.space web application.
Manage Local Networks: Navigate to the ‘Networks’ section in the System page to manage and configure local networks.
Prepare Configuration File: Select the network interface for your user and use the email icon to send a pre-written email with a configuration file, or download and send it directly.
Monitor Network Activity: Track your network’s activity and connected users through the ‘Connected Users’ panel.

By following these steps, you can efficiently onboard local users, ensuring a seamless experience for system administrators.

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I need to onboard a remote user…

To onboard remote users as a System Admin, follow these simple steps:

Sign Up for ZeroTier: Go to the ZeroTier website, sign up, and create an account.
Generate API Access Token: Log in to ZeroTier, go to ‘Account’, and create a new API Access Token in the tokens section.
Add ZeroTier Token in creative.space: Log into the creative.space web app, navigate to System page, and add the ZeroTier API Token.
Create and Manage ZeroTier Networks: In the ‘Manage ZeroTier Networks’ panel, create new networks or manage existing ones, ensuring secure connections to the server.
Onboard Users: Send remote users the necessary instructions and configuration files to connect to the creative.space system.

You're all set to onboard remote users using ZeroTier with creative.space!

Choose Your App

Check out our guides on how to use creative.space with your application of choice!

Premiere Pro

DaVinci Resolve

Final Cut Pro

Media Composer

Mount to Desktop

When you mount a space or folder to your desktop, you are able to access through your operating system’s file browser and in applications. From here, you can use it like any other storage volume. The only difference is that everyone can access the same files and see changes in real-time.

Mount a Space

Go to the home dashboard, which should be the default location when the desktop app launches.
Navigate to the node the space is on.
Click on the ‘Mount’ button next to the space.
The space will mount and appear under ‘Mounted’ in the left sidebar.

Mount a Folder

Navigate to the folder you want to mount.
Right click or click the ‘…’ icon on that folder.
Select ‘Mount Folder’.
The folder will mount and appear under ‘Mounted’ in the left sidebar.

Browsing Spaces

Spaces are where you can organize and store all your projects and assets.

Effortlessly select and navigate through spaces to access and manage your files.
The interface is intuitive, resembling traditional folder structures, making it easy for you to find what you need.
Preview your media and access detailed information effortlessly.
The Inspector feature supports thumbnails, media player capabilities, and metadata for over 200 formats, enhancing your workflow efficiency.

Desktop App

The new creative.space desktop application have been expanded from a basic utility for mounting storage to a fully featured file browser.

What’s New

Multi-Node Dashboard - The new home dashboard and sidebar display all of your nodes in a single view.
Sidebar - View your mounts, bookmarks, and spaces across multiple nodes wherever you are for quick navigation.
File Browsing with Inspector - See and interact with your media assets within the desktop app.
Upload and Download - Transfer files and entire folders from anywhere without zipping or cloud storage.
Launch on Desktop - Open a file in its default application from the desktop app directly or triggered from the web app.
Update Center - Use the new menu in settings to update to latest software release, including betas.

Understanding the Interface

Home - A unified view of all your nodes and the spaces on them.
Top Menu Bar - The global menu at the top of the application containing various modal, including settings, which may be oriented differently based on your operating system.
Sidebar - View your mounts, bookmarks, and spaces across multiple nodes wherever you are for quick navigation.
Viewport - Navigate spaces, folders, and files and interact with them.
Inspector - View previews, metadata, and available actions for media assets.

Right Click Actions (Desktop)

Bottom Bar

Multi-Selection Actions (Desktop)

Inspector (Desktop)

Shortcuts

Web App

As a Team Member, you have access to the Spaces page in the web app and the following interfaces:

Spaces - Lists all of the spaces you have access to with an interface to browse and interact with folders and files.
Ingest - Browse, inspect, and copy from read-only USB, SMB, and FTP connections.
Libraries - View and filter assets based on custom metadata tags.

Spaces

Spaces let you decide who can see your content, who can modify it, and even how much storage they can use. Spaces liberate your content from the confines of your collection of external hard drives, and centralize it under your control.

Spaces are a versatile, easy way to store and share your content. Once you create a space, you can:

Navigate spaces, folders, and files
Inspect and take action on files
Share links

Learn more about Spaces...

Ingest

Content can take a lot of time to move and copy. But it doesn't need to slow you down. Ingest lets you copy content directly from an external storage device to the node. With Ingest, you can avoid the need to physically connect the drive to your computer, copy the files from the drive to your computer, transfer them over the network, and then upload them to a storage space.

Learn more about Ingest...

Libraries

Add custom metadata tags to your assets. Categorize and filter your assets based on specific attributes, such as project, client, or file type. With tags, you can quickly search for and locate the files you need, saving you time and effort.

Learn more about Libraries...

Create Folder Structures with Templates

Apply templates directly from the web and desktop apps to create organized, standardized folder structures.

Simply fill out a form to customize folder and file names with your specific project variables.

Desktop App

Applying templates with the desktop app:

Right click on the space or folder you want to apply the template within and select ‘Apply Template’.
Click on the ‘Choose Template’ dropdown and select the template you want to apply.
Fill out the fields in the form that appear.
Click on ‘Apply Template’.
Click on the space or folder to open it, revealing the applied template within.

Web App

Applying templates with the web app:

Centralize and Share Content

Spaces are a versatile, easy way to store and share your content. Once you are granted access to one and have created a directory for your project, it’s time to put everything in once place.

What makes shared spaces unique is that you are able to interact with the media assets stored in them using multiple interfaces that would typically require replicating data across direct-attached (DAS), network-attached (DAS), and cloud storage.

Access and Transfer Methods

creative.space provides many ways to access and transfer data to spaces:

Desktop

Operating System (OS): Mount Spaces to your desktop using SMB, AFP (Time Machine only), or NFS and interact with them like any other volume in Finder or File Explorer. ✅ Ideal transfer method for local users with high-bandwidth ethernet connections. ❌ Slowest method for remote users, due to high latency.
Desktop App: Our application simplifies mounting and is also a file browser, which can be used to upload and download folders and files (HTTPS). ✅ Ideal transfer method for remote users with high latency. ❌ Can be slower than other methods for local connections.
FTP: Activate our built-in FTP service and access your Spaces with your LDAP credentials using any FTP client. We recommend using ZeroTier for secure remote access and performance acceleration. ✅ Fast and provides option to resume failed transfers and some apps include syncing automation. ❌ Can be confusing for users without prior experience with FTP.

Web

File Browser: Every Space, folder, and file has a URL with a custom .local address for your node that allows you to bookmark in your browser of choice and share links. ✅ Best option for uploading/downloading single files with users who don’t have the desktop app installed. ❌ Only supports file upload/download, so you may need to zip/unzip.
Ingest: Copy from read-only USB, SMB, and FTP connection using a dedicated interface that also supports previews, metadata, downloading, and link sharing. ✅ Ideal transfer method for ingest from network servers, supported capture devices, and USB devices. ❌ SMB for ingest may be slower than other methods, so contact your support rep to assist with large transfers.

Sharing and Launching with Links

The desktop app streamlines collaboration and access by allowing you to mount spaces and folders directly to your operating system. This allows you to collaborate with team members in real-time from the same storage. The file browser functionality also allows you to browse and launch files.

Copy and Share Links - Every space, folder, and file stored on creative.space has a shareable link. Quickly copy and paste these links to share your work with team members or collaborators without having to replicate or upload your assets to another storage location, such as the cloud.
Launch on Desktop

Open any file, from RED clips to Premiere Pro project files, in the default application on your operating system. This requires the creative.space desktop app to be installed, open, and logged in.
Launching mounts the space the selected item is stored in, if it wasn’t already. So, if you store a launch-able project file in the same space as media assets, launching is a one click method to jump right into your application of choice and start working.

Bookmark Web Links - You can save and organize web app links as bookmarks in your web browser of choice to quickly get to work without navigating folder structures.