Project Sharing with Aavelin Composer

At this current time, MagicBox Inc. does not have Composer software that is 'server class'. This may cause a problem for those of you out there who have multiple people working on the same projects for your Aavelin, VIP, or Memo. This Article will explain how to setup Aavelin Composer, MagicBox Composer for VIP, or Memo Composer on multiple computers to allow for project access and collaboration.

Note: Each PC that has any Composer software from MagicBox Inc must have its own software licence. Composer is NOT to be installed on a server computer.

Selecting a Projects Location

In order for collaboration to be a bit smoother, the 'Projects' folder (where Composer stores all content created) needs to be located on a server. For projects, we recommend that you put it in the following path (if using Aavelin Composer):

Aavelin\Composer\Projects or Aavelin\Projects

This will help others know that these projects are intended for the Aavelin unit. Consult your network administrator on the best location for these projects.

Setup in Composer

In the Composer software, you can assign a location as to where all projects will be opened from and saved to. To do this, open up Composer and go to 'Setup'.

Here, find the text field labeled 'Default project folder:' and click on Browse:

Then search for the location you have made for the projects. From now on, Composer will only look in this folder for opening and saving projects.

Putting Images on the Server

You can also create a source folder for images to be used in your MagicBox projects. Images placed here should have been created by your company or purchased for multiple computer distribution. If you have purchased either of the two Background Expansion Packs from MagicBox Inc, you can put them on the server with the following criteria:

• You have purchased a software license for each MagicBox unit you intend to create content for.
• You will use the images only for content intended for your MagicBox unit.

A slight problem can arise when two people are working on the same project but bring in images from different locations. If one user brings in an image from their computer and another person tries to edit the same page in the same project on their computer, Composer will not know how to retrieve that image, unless the second person is able to point Composer to that image via the network. Otherwise a project can have a lot of problems if images are being brought in from multiple computers.

Import/Export: Alternative Method for Project Sharing

If you don't want to set up server locations for project sharing, don't worry, there is another way to share created content from Composer. Composer has an import/export feature. This feature allows you to export as many pages as you want into a single file that can be imported into a different project, on the same PC or on a different one.

To export pages, first open a project. Then, click on the first page you want to export and click on 'Export' on the left. You will then be prompted to append this page to an existing export file or create a new one.

Click on 'Create new import/export file'. If you want to add another page to be imported into the other project, click on the page, then 'Export', then 'Append to existing import/export file' and locate the export file you just created. Repeat this for each page you wish to import into another project.

Once all the pages are in the import/export file, the file is saved in the path denoted by 'Default Import/Export Path:' in the setup window. Now you can move this file to another computer, or open up a different project on the same computer. Once you have opened the project that you want to import the pages into, click on the page that you want to import the other pages before, then click on 'Import' and find the import/export file that you just created. Note: Fonts will not be exported due to copyright infringement.

Moving the Project Files

There is one other way a project can be shared and that is by moving or emailing the project files. Every project has a .AVP, .VVP, or .MVP file that contains important information about the project settings and a group of JPEG files, found in a folder with the same name as the project file. These can be moved to any location with one consideration: once relocated, if a page needs to be edited that has imported images, backgrounds, or credit roll text, you will need to tell composer where to get those items. If you want to avoid this, use the Import/Export method described above.

About MagicBox

MagicBox, Inc. has been manufacturing Character Generators and Video Messaging Systems, for CATV, CCTV, Satellite and Digital Signage applications since 1992. Customers have expanded from cable to include education, government, hospitality, medical, and corporate applications. Product development is focused on ease of use and integration with other systems. For more information, visit www.magicboxinc.com.

MagicBox-Making Digital Signage Simple.