Default media handlers

The following media handlers are available within Assets and handle the most common MIME types:

Handler nameService Name (in the system console)Supported MIME types
TextHandlercom.day.cq.dam.core.impl.handler.TextHandlertext/plain
PdfHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.pdf.PdfHandler
  • application/pdf
  • application/illustrator
JpegHandlercom.day.cq.dam.core.impl.handler.JpegHandlerimage/jpeg
Mp3Handlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.mp3.Mp3Handleraudio/mpeg
Important - An uploaded MP3 file is processed using a third-party library. The library calculates a non-accurate approximate length if the MP3 has variable bitrate (VBR).
ZipHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.zip.ZipHandler
  • application/java-archive
  • application/zip
PictHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.pict.PictHandlerimage/pict
StandardImageHandlercom.day.cq.dam.core.impl.handler.StandardImageHandler
  • image/gif
  • image/png
  • application/photoshop
  • image/jpeg
  • image/tiff
  • image/x-ms-bmp
  • image/bmp
MSOfficeHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.msoffice.MSOfficeHandlerapplication/msword
MSPowerPointHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.msoffice.MSPowerPointHandlerapplication/vnd.ms-powerpoint
OpenOfficeHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.ooxml.OpenOfficeHandler
  • application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
  • application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
  • application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation
EPubHandlercom.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.epub.EPubHandlerapplication/epub+zip
GenericAssetHandlercom.day.cq.dam.core.impl.handler.GenericAssetHandlerfallback in case no other handler was found to extract data from an asset

All the handlers perform the following tasks:

  • extracting all available metadata from the asset.
  • creating a thumbnail image of an asset.

To view the active media handlers:

  1. In your browser, navigate to https://localhost:4502/system/console/components.
  2. Click com.day.cq.dam.core.impl.store.AssetStoreImpl.
  3. A list with all the active media handlers is displayed. For example:

chlimage_1-437

Use media handlers in workflows to perform tasks on assets

Media handlers are services that are used with workflows.

Experience Manager has some default workflows to process assets. To view them, open the Workflow console and click the Models tab: the workflow titles that start with Assets are the assets-specific ones.

Existing workflows can be extended and new ones can be created to process assets according to specific requirements.

The following example shows how to enhance the AEM Assets Synchronization workflow so that sub-assets are generated for all assets except PDF documents.

Disable or enable a media handler

The media handlers can be disabled or enabled through the Apache Felix Web Management Console. When the media handler is disabled, its tasks are not performed on the assets.

To enable/disable a media handler:

  1. In your browser, navigate to https://<host>:<port>/system/console/components.
  2. Click Disable next to the name of the media handler. For example: com.day.cq.dam.handler.standard.mp3.Mp3Handler.
  3. Refresh the page: an icon is displayed beside the media handler indicating it is disabled.
  4. To enable the media handler, click Enable next to the name of the media handler.

Create a media handler

To support a new media type or to execute specific tasks on an asset, it is necessary to create a media handler. This section describes how to proceed.