Assets and media

This topic provides an introduction to asset management and media types in Episerver. Assets such as blocks and media files, are available from edit view in the assets pane in CMS and Commerce. Assets can also be product items in the product catalog in Commerce. A media type can be for example an image, a video, or a document in a defined file format. 

Note: Like other content types, media types must first be defined in the content model, to use the built-in functionality for assets. If a media type is not defined on the website, file upload or drag and drop will not work. See Media types and templates to define media types. 

How it works

The assets system is based on a typed content model with support for the following property types:

• ContentReference property type with an image UIHint appears as an image that you can edit.
• ContentReference property type with a video UIHint appears as a video that you can edit.
• ContentReference property type with a mediafile UIHint appears  as an file that you can edit.
• Url property type with a image UIHint appears as an image that you can edit.
• Url property type with a video UIHint appears as a vedio that you can edit.
• Url property type with a document UIHint appears as an file that you can edit.

The following functionality is available for all content types, including media:

• Waste basket (trash) support for all content types, including moving, viewing and restoring from trash.
• Reference check when you delete any content item (image, page, block, and so on); opens a dialog box with links to affected content references.
• Drag-and-drop support from the media manager in the Assets pane to any overlay or editor that handles files (ContentReferences or URLs with a mediafile, image, or video UIHint).

See Media types and templates for more information on how to define assets and media types for your website.

Related topics

• Content
• Media types and templates
• Working with media