Keywords are an important part of metadata and an effective tool for quickly finding files, especially in large media libraries. By adding relevant keywords to your files, users can easily search and locate what they need, saving time. Keywords allow files to be found based on relevant terms instead of remembering their specific names. Associating a file with multiple keywords facilitates searches based on different needs, such as content, theme, project, or campaign.
Indexing Keywords per File
Under the Indexing tab in the right panel, you can view a file’s keywords (if any), remove them, or add new ones.
AI-Generated Keyword Suggestions
Mediaflow offers AI-generated keyword suggestions for image files and illustrations based on the file's content to simplify your work. By clicking on these suggestions, they are added to the list of keywords.
To make the AI-generated keywords visible in the info tab in Mediaflow, in your media portals, and other integrations, they must be actively added by clicking on each keyword suggestion.
You can also choose to include all AI-generated keyword suggestions in a search, allowing you to take advantage of the feature without manually adding each keyword.
ℹ️ AI-Generated Keywords and GDPR/DPA
The AI-generated keywords do not affect GDPR/DPA compliance, as no personal data is stored or processed, and no third-party service is used. The AI model runs on our own servers, analyzing only the images and selecting keywords from our own predefined list to describe the image. The function cannot generate personal data.
Adding Custom Keywords
In addition to AI-generated keywords, which primarily describe the image content, you may also want to add custom keywords that describe additional context, such as geographical location and internal terminology. You can enter custom keywords in the Enter keywords field and add them by pressing the Enter key. Keywords and other indexing fields are saved automatically.
❇️ Bulk Editing Keywords for Multiple Files
Keywords are specific per file, but you can bulk edit by selecting multiple files when adding keywords that apply to all of them. This way, only the common keywords and fields for the selected files will be displayed.
Removing Keywords
To remove a keyword, click the X next to it. If it is an AI-generated keyword, it will reappear in the suggestions list. If you click the trash bin icon, the entire keyword field will be cleared. This can be useful if, for example, old keywords from a previous system have been imported and you want to reset them.
❇️ Removing a Specific Keyword from Multiple Files
Select all files (e.g., Ctrl+A) and click the X for the shared keyword in the Indexing tab in the right panel.
Tips for Effective Keywords
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Use specific and relevant words - Avoid overly broad terms that may generate too many results. While adding multiple keywords enhances searchability, they should remain relevant to ensure quality searches.
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Be consistent - Use uniform words and expressions throughout the system. When entering keywords, the system will suggest existing ones to prevent typos and variations of the same keyword.
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Use synonyms and related words - Different users may search using different terms for the same concept. AI-generated keywords already account for this, but you should continue this practice.
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Think from the user’s perspective - Consider what terms colleagues might search for. For those with a media portal, pro users can track statistics on the most commonly used search terms and identify missing keywords.
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Update regularly - Add new keywords as needed, especially for new projects or campaigns.
Automatic Indexing for a Specific Folder
Folder keywords are a smart way to ensure that many relevant keywords are applied to your files. You can assign keywords to a folder, and these will automatically be applied to all files in that folder (and subfolders, if needed). This also applies to files that are later copied or moved into the folder.
You can assign folder keywords when creating a folder or by right-clicking an existing folder, selecting Edit Folder, and entering keywords in the Folder Keywords field.
Folder keywords become particularly beneficial if you check the option to include these keywords in subfolders. This allows you to add more specific auto-indexing keywords to the subfolders below. If you then copy a new file into a subfolder, it will automatically inherit these keywords.
ℹ️ Benefits of Folder Keywords
Automatic keyword inheritance – If you enable the option to include folder keywords in subfolders, files placed in these subfolders will also inherit these keywords.
No duplicate keywords – If a keyword such as "human" is already present on some images in a folder, it will not be duplicated just because it is also assigned as a folder keyword.
Persistence of removed folder keywords – If you remove a folder keyword, it will not be removed from files where it was previously applied. However, you can manually remove it from individual files or select all files in the folder and remove the keyword in bulk.
❇️ Suggested Workflow for Folder Keywords
A useful application of folder keywords is when receiving files from an external partner via a web share - for example, from a photographer.
By setting up a specific upload folder for these files, all uploaded files will automatically inherit preset keywords. These keywords will remain associated with the files even if they are moved to another folder later.
Automatic Indexing Based on Uploader
You can also set up automatic keywords for files uploaded by a specific user. Pro users can go to Settings, select a user, and assign metadata, including keywords, to be applied to all files uploaded by that user. All files uploaded by that user will now be tagged with the predefined keywords.