Terrablock Users Guide
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FastTracker Asset Tracking, Tagging and Access Software for Facilis TerraBlock Shared Storage Systems Version 2.5.0 Quick Start Guide 1 Overview The Facilis FastTracker is a server and client application for cataloging, searching and viewing any media type within the Facilis TerraBlock Shared Storage System. This easy-to-use system includes custom metadata tags, per-catalog user permissions, real “Boolean” search capability, Preview Clip transcoding, and incremental indexing functionality. Facilis FastTracker includes a desktop player that supports most popular image formats, including file sequences like DPX and Targa. Even when the edit room is busy, users can browse content, play finished mix-downs for approval, and log shot comments into custom metadata fields. Licensing You will need to request a license from Facilis to install Facilis FastTracker 2.5. You will be asked to provide the TBLicenseData file from your TerraBlock server, located in C:\Program Files\Facilis\TerraBlock. The FastTracker software includes a 5-seat license. Each seat is tied to a current FastTracker client connection. Licenses from previous FastTracker 2.x versions will work with FastTracker 2.5. Installation System Requirements Server: TerraBlock Version 7.x Windows Client: Windows 7/8/10 64bit Server 2008/2012/2016 64bit OSX: 10.9.x - 10.13.x FastTracker 2.5 fully supports TerraBlock Version 7 software. FastTracker 1.x users should continue using TerraBlock Manager if they have upgraded to TerraBlock Version 7. FastTracker 1.x does not include Web Console support. Please see Backing up a FastTracker Database on page 4 before installing new versions of FastTracker. The FastTracker Installer includes Server and Client components. In order to access the FastTracker database from a client workstation, you must have Ethernet access to the server through a static or assigned IP address. TerraBlock clients that do not have Ethernet access to the server will need to be connected to the same network as the TerraBlock server before launching the client-side application. 2 Server installation: The first step is to run the FastTracker server installer on the TerraBlock server. This will not require a reboot, and can be done while the TerraBlock server is active. Launch FastTrackerInstaller.exe and the Facilis FastTracker Setup dialog will open. It is recommended to close all other applications first. Click Next. You will be prompted to select “Client only” or “Server and client”. Select the “Server and client” option and click Next. Setup is ready - click Install. Click Finish to exit Setup. The service starts automatically, and is listening for connections on port 3000 over any IP address active on the server. Windows Client Installation: The FastTracker client installer can be run at any time on client workstations. It does not require a reboot. Launch FastTrackerInstaller.exe and the Facilis FastTracker Setup dialog will open. It is recommended to close all other applications first. Click Next. You will be prompted to select “Client only” - click Next. Setup is ready - click Install. Click Finish to exit Setup. Launch FastTracker from the Windows Start menu. In the File menu, select Network Configuration. Input the IP address or DNS name of the TerraBlock server. Use the username “Admin” and a blank password for initial setup. macOS Client Installation Extract the contents of FastTrackerClient.zip to /Applications. Add an alias / shortcut to the Desktop or Dock. Launch FastTracker from the alias / shortcut or application. In the File menu, select Network Configuration. Add the IP address or DNS name of the TerraBlock server. Use the username “Admin” and a blank password for initial setup. The “File Types” folder contains empty files with popular extensions. These are used to set file types to open in MPV, the dedicated FastTracker player. This is important, as not all file types supported in FastTracker will be playable in QuickTime. Only change file types that you cannot open in QuickTime. Changing file types that are normally associated with QuickTime may change the behavior of some applications. To change default application for file types: Select the file you want to change association for (“changeme.mts” for example). Right-click, Get Info (or Command-I). In the Info window, choose Open With and select MPV (if MPV is not listed, choose other, browse to the Applications folder, and choose MPV). Once MPV is selected, select Change All to apply to all of the files of that type. 3 Adobe CC Panel Installation Close all Adobe CC applications. Install ZXPInstaller from the FastTracker 2.5.0 package or from http://zxpinstaller.com/. On macOS Sierra / High Sierra clients, ZXPInstaller must be manually approved in Mac System Preferences > Security after first launch. Launch ZXPInstaller and drag-and-drop Facilis FastTracker Adobe Panel 2.5.0.zxp into the application. Launch Adobe Premier / AE CC, open a project, and enable FastTracker Panel in Windows > Extensions > FastTracker Panel. The Adobe CC FastTracker Panel can be installed on clients independent of the traditional FastTracker desktop client software. Backing up a FastTracker Database The database and thumbnails folders should be backed-up regularly, as this information is not recoverable without re-indexing the catalogs. On the FastTracker server, navigate to C: and copy the PGData folder to the desired backup location. A best practice is to add a date to the name of the PGData backup. On the FastTracker server, navigate to C:\Program Files\Facilis\FastTracker\ and copy the thumbnails folder to the desired backup location. A best practice is to add a date to the name of the thumbnails backup. Restoring a FastTracker database NOTE: This process will disconnect any users logged-in to FastTracker. On the FastTracker server, launch the FastTracker installer for the current version and click “Yes” when prompted to uninstall the existing FastTracker installation. Move on to the next step before continuing the FastTracker installation (do not click “Next” or “Cancel” when prompted to select components). If applicable, rename the existing PGData folder in C: Copy the PGData backup to C: and make sure it is named PGData. If applicable, rename the existing thumbnails folder in C:\Program Files\Facilis\FastTracker\ Copy the thumbnails backup to C:\Program Files\Facilis\FastTracker\ and make sure it is named thumbnails. Continue the FastTracker installation, selecting “Server and client” when prompted to select components. Once installation completes the restored FastTracker database will be available in the FastTracker application. 4 Client Software Operation FastTracker is set up with tabs to access different functions in the software. The tabs included in the admin view are: Search Catalogs (admin view) Browse Administration Index Delete Auto Index The tabs included in the non-admin view are: Search Auto Index Browse Catalogs (non-admin view) Index Search Tab Search Area: Type in a search term to find records. You can use a * after a portion of the search term for wildcard searches. Boolean search is also supported (AND, OR, NOT). This will search most metadata tags as well as clip name and clip path. Date/time indexed can also be used as a filter. The catalog to be searched can be set, or left at <select catalog> to perform a global search. 5 Record Display Area: Records found in search are displayed with a head frame, clip title and file name. The top half of the bar notifies the user whether the clip is available for playback on the local workstation (green for available, red for unavailable). The bottom half of the bar indicates if a Preview Clip has been generated (yellow for yes, red for no). In order for the clip to be played, displayed in its location, or dragged out of the search window, the source volume must be mounted to the local workstation and the source file bar (top half) must be green. Thumbnail Display / Preview Clip Player: The thumbnail(s) for a clip will be displayed here. If the clip is less than 10 seconds long, only the lead thumbnail is displayed. If longer, thumbnails are displayed at variable points in the clip. If available, users can also click the green arrow to playback transcoded Preview Clips. Metadata Display and Function Buttons: Here metadata is displayed that was extracted from the clip on index, and any custom metadata added during or after indexing. Functions for records in the display include: Set catalogs – Add or remove the record’s catalog location. A record can live in multiple catalogs, and each catalog can be permissioned separately. Add new tag – Choose a new tag from the list of available tags, and immediately enter custom metadata to the record. Play – If the clip location is available (volume is mounted and directory location has not changed), the clip will open in the compatible player (MPV). See the OSX client installation for more information about configuring MPV. Show preview in folder – If the Preview Clip location is available (volume is mounted and directory location has not changed), the Preview Clip directory will open. Show in folder – If the clip location is available (volume is mounted and directory location has not changed), the source directory will open. Rename – The user can rename clips here to maintain the database link. It is not recommended to rename clips unless the name was changed outside of FastTracker. Delete – Select one or more records to mark as inactive and remove from existing catalogs. Deleted records will be moved to the Delete tab where they can be marked active and restored or permanently deleted. Files cannot be re-indexed until they are permanently deleted from the Delete tab. 6 Browse Tab Browse Area: In this window you can navigate paths to indexed files. The green arrow “..” goes up one level, and “.” selects the root level.