Configuring a New Multimedia Collection
Scenario: You want to create a new multimedia collection to integrate media files into Desigo CC for a specific purpose. When a collection is selected in Operating mode, the Default tab displays a welcome page with a button for each media file configured to be played.
Reference: For background information, see the reference section.
Workflow Diagram:
Prerequisites:
- The Multimedia Collection extension is installed and included in the active project.
- System Manager is in Engineering mode.
Steps:
You can obtain multimedia files (MP3 for audio files, MP4 for videos, and HTML pages with videos) from Headquarters, or create your own media files as required.
When creating media files, give them short meaningful names, because the same name must be set in the library text group, which defines the label associated with that file in Desigo CC.
Specifically, for each text group entry associated with a media file, the text you enter in the language column en-US, is the text that will display on the button for playing that media file in Desigo CC.
Therefore, if required, modify the original name of the media file to be descriptive and short enough to fit into the media file buttons. 
When the Multimedia Collection extension is installed, a set of media files used by the default multimedia collection object are copied under [Installation Drive]:\[Installation Folder]\GMSMainProject\Help\Multimedia.
You can store the media files (MP3, MP4, or HTML pages) used by other multimedia collections either directly under [Installation Drive]:\[Installation Folder]\GMSMainProject\Help\Multimedia, or organize them into separate subfolders under this. When you configure a multimedia collection in Desigo CC, you can set from which folder it will retrieve its media files.
NOTE: Multiple collections can retrieve files from the same folder: each collection will still only display the buttons defined by its associated text group.
- If you are adding files for a new multimedia collection, do one of the following:
- In the directory [Installation Drive]:\[Installation Folder]\GMSMainProject\Help\Multimedia, click New Folder and create a separate subfolder to collect the media files for this collection (for example, MyMultimediaCollection). Then copy the media files into it.
- Copy the media files directly under the folder [Installation Drive]:\[Installation Folder]\GMSMainProject\Help\Multimedia.
- If you are adding files for an existing multimedia collection, copy the media files (MP3, MP4, or HTML pages) to the folder referenced by that collection (see 6 – Associate the New Multimedia Collection to a Folder and Text Group).
A multimedia collection folder can have a different number of media files than the number of entries in the corresponding multimedia collection library text group. Only media files associated with text group entries will have a button to be played.
Skip this step if the Multimedia Collection Library with Texts block already exists at your allowed customization level. For example, Project > System Settings > Libraries > L4-Project> Global > Multimedia Collection > Texts.
- In System Browser, select Management View.
- Select Project > System Settings > Libraries > L1-Headquarter > Global > Multimedia Collection.
- In the Library Configurator tab, click Customize
.
NOTE: If the Customize icon is disabled, it means the multimedia library with Texts block already exist at your allowed customization level.
- The structure of the selected library is cloned under the allowed customization level (for example, L4-Project > Global > Multimedia Collection). Only the library structure is recreated here. The Texts block in the library is not yet configured.
NOTE: You can also create the library structure manually. See Manually Creating a New Library.
The text group defines what buttons for accessing media files display when a user selects a multimedia collection in System Browser. Each button label defined in the text group entry must exactly match the name of the corresponding media file stored on disk. Typically, you must create a separate text group for each multimedia collection object.
- System Browser is in Management View.
- Do one of the following:
- To configure a new text group, select Project > System Settings > Libraries > L4-Project or L3-Region or L2-Country > Global > Multimedia Collection > Texts.
- To configure an existing text group, select Project > System Settings > Libraries > L4-Project or L3-Region or L2-Country > Global > Multimedia Collection > Texts > [text group].
- The Text Group Editor tab displays the entries of this text group. Each entry corresponds to a button for playing back a media file.
- To add a new text group entry:
a. Click Add new row
.
b. In the Value field, enter a consecutive number that must not be duplicated within the given text group.
- To configure a text group entry:
a. In the language column en-US, enter the text that corresponds to the exact name of the file in the multimedia collection folder.
b. Click Icon. From the Icon Picker dialog box, select the appropriate library and icon, and click OK.
- The selected text and icon will display on the button for playing that media file in Desigo CC.
NOTE: The en-US language is mandatory. Additional languages can optionally be configured. In any case, the mapping of media files to buttons is always done based only on the en-US language.
- Click Save
.
- (Only for newly created text group): In the Save Object As dialog box:
a. In the Object Name and Name fields, enter the same name for the text group, using the TxG prefix. For example, TxG_myTextGroup.
b. In the Description, field enter a description for the text group.
c. Click OK.
A text group can have a different number of entries than the number of media files in the corresponding multimedia collection directory. Only media files associated with text groups entries will have a button to be played.
Skip this step if you want to check or modify the configuration of an existing multimedia collection.
- In System Browser, select Application View.
- Select Applications > Multimedia Collection.
- In the Object Configurator tab, click New Multimedia Collection
.
- In the New object dialog box, enter a name and description (for example mycollection), and click OK.
- The newly created multimedia collection is added to System Browser.
The multimedia collection object must be mapped to a folder on disk containing the media files, and to a text group containing the button labels for accessing those files.
- In System Browser, select Application View.
- Select Applications > Multimedia Collection > [my collection].
- Select the Extended Operation tab.
- The Configuration Subfolder property indicates the media files path for this collection, relative to the default folder. If the property is blank, media files are retrieved from the default folder [Installation Drive]:\[Installation Folder]\GMSMainProject\Help\Multimedia.
- To set a subfolder: enter the path to the media files subfolder with the following format: \[multimedia collection subfolder] (for example, \MyMultimediaCollection), and click Set.
- To revert to the default folder, clear the subfolder path and click Set.
- The Textgroup property indicates the text group defining the button labels and icons for this collection. If it is blank, no text group is associated yet, and no buttons will display:
- Enter the Object Name of the text group configured for this collection (see 4 – Configure the Text Group for the Multimedia Collection). For example, TxG_MyTextGroup) and click Set.
- Set System Manager to Operating mode.
- In System Browser, select Applications > Multimedia Collection > [my collection].
- To refresh the page, click another tab and then click the Default tab again.
- The welcome page refreshes and displays the content of the multimedia collection.
- Click the button that corresponds to the media file you want to play.
- The Default tab refreshes and the media file relevant to the selected button is played.
