Automated Digital Asset Import
The THRON Assets Import automation allows massive ingestion of content from FTP/S3 servers, automating folders, versions, and metadata. Configuration is done in Automation Studio, with settings for connection, Excel mapping file, folder organization, and asset update logics. It supports versioning, multiple separators, and execution reports, with limits on label length, path depth, and case sensitivity.
Configuration in Automation Studio
Go to Platform Settings -> Flows & Automations → Automations to create your flow.
- Create new automation: Click on "New" and choose Assets Import.
- Automation Name: Assign a unique identifier.
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User to impersonate: Select a user with write privileges.
- Technical note: Every action (folder creation, upload, tags) will be registered under this user's name. Make sure they have access to the destination folders.
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Scheduling: Choose the execution frequency:
- Single (One-shot): For initial migrations.
- Recurring: Every hour, every 6 hours, daily, or weekly to maintain sync.
Step 1 - Connection to Source System
Define the scan perimeter by setting the protocol and credentials.
FTP / SFTP / FTPS
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Host and Port: Enter the address (e.g.,
ftp.company.com) and the port (21 for FTP, 22 for SFTP, 990 for FTPS). - Credentials: Server Username and Password.
- Root path: The remote folder path from which THRON should start reading files.
Amazon S3
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Bucket Name and Region (e.g.,
eu-central-1). - Root path: S3 prefix to circumscribe the import.
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Credentials:
- Access Key / Secret Key: For direct access via IAM user.
- AWS Role: Select this option if the THRON instance is authorized via IAM Role (does not require manual keys).
Step 2 - Mapping Excel File
The automation looks for an .xlsx (or .xls) file in the source folder to process the files.
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Identification: Indicate the full path and the exact name (e.g.,
import/mapping_files.xlsx). The name is case-sensitive. - Do not move or rename the file once configured.
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Separators:
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Path separator: Always use the forward slash
/. -
Multi-value separator: Configurable character (e.g.,
;) to separate multiple destination paths or multiple values for the same attribute. Read more
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Path separator: Always use the forward slash
Excel File Structure and Metadata
Column headers must be precise. Here is the technical schema:
| Header | Mandatory | Description |
| Source_Path | YES | Relative file path on the server (e.g., photos/products/shoe.jpg). |
| Asset_type | YES | Allowed values: IMAGE, VIDEO, AUDIO, OTHER. |
| Destination_Path | NO | Folder path in THRON. If empty, uses Source_Path. |
| File_name | NO | Asset name in THRON. If empty, uses the original file name. |
| code[locale] | NO | Attribute code and language (e.g., description[en-001]). |
Step 3 - Folder Configuration
Path and multiple values separators
Proper management of separators avoids unwanted "multiple classification" errors.
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Hierarchy: The
/separator is fixed. Example:Men/Shoes/Running. -
Multi-value: If you want an asset to be in two folders, write:
Men/Shoes;Sale/Last_Size(assuming;as separator). - Critical Constraint: The character chosen as multi-value separator must never be part of a folder name or an attribute value. If it is, THRON will truncate the name and create wrong nodes.
Folder Organization Strategies
Choose how THRON should behave during the creation of the folder structure:
- Option A (Replicate source structure): THRON recreates exactly the tree structure present on the FTP/S3 server. If the Excel file indicates a path that does not physically exist on the server, the asset will result in an error.
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Option B (Defined by Excel): THRON ignores the physical structure of the server and creates folders based solely on the Destination_Path column in the Excel.
This is the recommended choice for those who need to reorganize the archive during the import.
Existing Asset Enrichment Logics
- Versioning: In case of multiple assets with the same filename you can choose whether to do a versioning of the asset or to skip the content and therefore not import it.
- Select Attributes: If you enter a value not present in the Data Model, the automation will automatically create the option (if the impersonated user has permissions).
- Attribute Update: In the event that the user enters new attributes with which to populate an already existing asset (which will be identified via file name), the values of the attributes entered in the configuration file will be overwritten.
Recommended Configuration
If you are onboarding you can use this standard configuration:
- Protocol: SFTP (Port 22).
- Organization: Option B (Gives you total control over the tree structure via Excel).
- Multiple Separator: ; (Semicolon).
- Overwrite logic: Overwrite.
- Recognition Key: File_name. If you upload a file with the same name in the same path, THRON automatically generates a new version instead of a duplicate.
Execution Report Analysis
At the end of each run, THRON generates a report Excel file in the same folder as the mapping file.
- Error Column: Contains failure details.
- "Versioning blocked": Indicates that multiple assets with the same name already exist in the destination and the system doesn't know which one to update. Resolve by deleting duplicates in THRON.
- "Folder not found": Typical of Option A when the physical server does not reflect the Excel.
System Limits
- Folder Labels: Maximum 150 characters. If exceeded, the system will issue a warning in the report.
- Path Depth: Maximum 10 hierarchical levels.
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Case Sensitivity: File names must match perfectly with what is written in the Excel (e.g.,
IMG_01.JPGis different fromimg_01.jpg).