Get started using Adobe Experience Manager Desktop App getting-started-desktop-app
Use the Adobe Experience Manager desktop app to access digital assets stored in an Adobe Experience Manager DAM repository on your local desktop. You can then use these assets in any desktop applications. You can open and edit the assets locally in desktop applications. After making changes, upload them back to Experience Manager with version control to share updates with other users. You can also upload new files and folder hierarchies to Experience Manager, create folders, and delete assets or folders from Experience Manager DAM.
The integration allows various roles in the organization to manage the assets centrally in Experience Manager Assets and to access the assets on local desktop in the native applications on Windows or macOS.
When you open the application after logging out or for the first time, provide the URL of your Experience Manager server in the format https://[aem-server-url]:[port]/. Then select the Connect option. Provide credentials to connect the app with the server.
The key tasks that you perform using the Adobe Experience Manager desktop app are:
How desktop app works how-app-works2
Before you start using the application, understand how the app works. Also, familiarize yourself with the following terms:
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Desktop Actions: From the Assets Web interface, from within in a browser, you can explore the asset locations or check-out and open the asset for editing in your native desktop application. These actions are available from the Web interface and use desktop app functionality.
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File status is Cloud Only: Such assets are not downloaded on the local machine and are available on Experience Manager server only.
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File status is Available locally: The assets are downloaded and available on the local machine as is. The assets are not changed.
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File status is Edited locally: Such assets are modified locally and the changes remain to the uploaded to Experience Manager server. After you upload, the status changes to Available locally. See edit assets.
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File status is Editing conflict: If you and others edit an asset simultaneously, the app indicates that an editing conflict has occurred. The app also provides options to retain or discard your changes. See how to avoid editing conflicts.
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File status is Modified remotely: The app indicates if an asset that you have downloaded is changed on the Experience Manager server. The app also provides the option to download the latest version and update your local copy. See how to avoid editing conflicts.
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Check-out: If you are editing a file or intend to edit a file, you toggle the status to check out. It adds a lock icon on the asset in the app and Experience Manager Web interface. The lock icon indicates to other users to avoid simultaneously editing the same asset as it leads to an editing conflict.
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Check-in: Mark the asset as safe for other users to edit without causing an editing conflict. When you upload your changes, the lock icon is automatically removed. Toggling the check-in status also removes the lock icon, though Adobe recommends that you avoid manually checking in without uploading the changes. If you discard your changes, then manually toggle the check-in.
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Open action: Just open the asset to preview it in the native application. Adobe recommends that you avoid editing the asset by using this action. The reason is because it does not check out the asset. Meanwhile, other users can make edits leading to editing conflicts.
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Edit action: Use the action to modify the image. Clicking Edit checks out the asset and adds a lock icon on the asset. After clicking Edit, if you do not want to edit the asset, then click Toggle check-in. To delete, rename, or move assets in the Experience Manager DAM folder hierarchy, use the Experience Manager Web interface actions and not the edit action.
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Download action: Download the asset to your local machine. You can download the assets now and edit later; work offline and upload the changes later. Assets are downloaded in a cache folder on your file system.
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Reveal File or Reveal Folder action: While the assets are downloaded to a local cache folder, the app mimics a local network drive. It provides a local path for each asset. To know this path, use the appropriate reveal option in the app. Reveal action is required to place assets in the Creative Cloud application. See place assets.
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Open In Web action: To view the asset in the Experience Manager Web interface, open it in the Web. You can initiate more workflows from the Experience Manager interface like updating metadata or asset discovery.
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Delete action: Delete the asset from the Experience Manager DAM repository. The action deletes the original copy of the asset on the Experience Manager server. If you only want to discard modifications to the local asset, see discard changes.
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Upload Changes: Desktop app uploads the updated asset only when you explicitly upload to the Experience Manager server. When you save your edits, the changes are saved on your local machine only. When you upload, the asset is automatically checked in and the lock icon is removed. See edit assets.
Enable desktop actions in Experience Manager Web interface desktopactions-v2
From within the Assets user interface in a browser, you can explore the asset locations or check-out and open the asset for editing in your desktop application. These options are called Desktop Actions and are not enabled by default. To enable it, follow these steps.
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In the Assets console, click the User icon from the toolbar.
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Click My Preferences to display the Preferences dialog.
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In the User Preferences dialog, select Show Desktop Actions For Assets, then click Accept.
Start from the Assets Web interface adv-workflow-start-from-aem-ui
If necessary, initiate your workflow from the Assets Web interface. The desktop app integrates with the Experience Manager to take over when requested using Desktop Actions.
A special case of starting a workflow from the Web interface is asset discovery. The Omnisearch bar in the Assets user interface offers a rich and advanced search experience. You may want to first locate a desired asset on the Web and then initiate the workflow in the app, using Desktop Actions. Some sample cases include filtering search results using facets, locating a specific asset licensed from Adobe Stock, or a customization implemented by your organization that allows you better discovery from the Web interface.
Desktop app functionality is used when you attempt the following actions on the Assets Web interface:
- The Desktop Actions that allow Open, Edit, and Reveal
- Upload folder
- Check-out or check-in
For example, the actions on the Web interface that are available for an asset that is checked out in the app are Open, Reveal, and Check in.
You cannot find the following information or workflow using the Web interface. Use the desktop app as the Web interface does not track local changes and is not aware of the following:
- Files are edited locally.
- Files that have an editing conflict and a way to resolve it.
- Upload local changes to Experience Manager.
- Various statuses of the locally available files.
On the contrary, you can open the asset in the Web interface starting from the desktop app using the Open In Web action.
Next Steps next-steps
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Watch a video to get started with Adobe Experience Manager Desktop App
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Provide documentation feedback using Edit this page
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Contact Customer Care