DAM glossary

A

Alt text

A short text alternative that conveys the content or function of an image to people who cannot see it, mainly through screen readers G1. The IPTC Photo Metadata Standard has had an embedded "Alt Text (Accessibility)" field since version 2021.1, so the text can travel with the file G2.

In the wiki: Bynder features, Canto features, Frontify features, Sitecore Content Hub features.

Asset

In a DAM, an asset (digital asset) is a binary file (image, video, document, design file, etc.) managed together with its metadata, renditions, rights and version history. Archival terminology defines a digital asset as information in binary form treated as having value to an organisation G3.

Auto-tagging

Automatic assignment of keywords or other metadata to an asset by a machine-learning model, typically computer vision for images and speech or object recognition for video. In research this is called automatic image annotation G4. The output is usually reviewed or limited to a controlled vocabulary before it becomes authoritative metadata.

In the wiki: Brandfolder features, Keepeek features, Orange Logic features, Wedia features.

B

Brand portal

A branded, often public-facing or partner-facing area of a DAM that exposes a curated selection of approved assets (logos, imagery, templates, guidelines) for browsing and download, without giving access to the full library. Some products also let portal users contribute assets back G5. No standards-body definition exists; the term is used across vendors.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Brandfolder features, Frontify features, Keepeek features.

C

C2PA and Content Credentials

C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) publishes an open technical specification for attaching cryptographically signed provenance information (a manifest recording origin and edits, including use of generative AI) to media files G6. Content Credentials is the public-facing name for this provenance information and for the tools that display and verify it G7. For a DAM, the practical question is whether ingest, editing and rendition pipelines keep, write or strip manifests.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Bynder features, Canto overview, Frontify features, Orange Logic features, Sitecore Content Hub features.

CDN

A content delivery network is a set of distributed servers that delivers content to users from locations close to them, reducing latency and load on the origin. The IETF modelled CDNs and their interconnection in RFC 3466 G8. Many DAMs publish asset URLs through a CDN (see Dynamic media).

Checksum and fixity

A checksum is a value computed from a file's bits by an algorithm (e.g. MD5, SHA-256). If any bit changes, the value changes G9. Fixity is the property of a file being unchanged over time, verified by recomputing and comparing checksums G10. The SHA-2 family of hash functions is specified by NIST in FIPS 180-4 G11. DAM APIs use checksums for upload integrity and exact-duplicate detection.

In the wiki: Aprimo API, Brandfolder API, Canto API.

Client credentials grant

An OAuth 2.0 flow in which an application obtains an access token using only its own client ID and secret, with no user involved. It suits server-to-server integrations G12. Some DAMs bind such tokens to a technical or named user, which determines what the integration can see.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets API, Aprimo API, Canto API, Frontify API, Sitecore Content Hub API.

CMS

A content management system is software for creating, managing and publishing digital content, typically for websites G14. In DAM integrations the CMS usually references assets stored in the DAM instead of holding its own copy. See also Headless CMS.

Collection

A user-defined grouping of assets (also called a lightbox, board or basket) used to gather, share or download a selection without moving files in the folder structure. "Lightbox" comes from the backlit viewing surface photographers used to review slides and transparencies G15.

Controlled vocabulary

A predefined list of terms that may be used as metadata values, chosen to keep indexing consistent and retrieval reliable G16. ANSI/NISO Z39.19 gives guidelines for building controlled vocabularies, including lists, synonym rings, taxonomies and thesauri G17. In a DAM, pick-lists, keyword trees and option lists are controlled vocabularies.

In the wiki: Keepeek features, Wedia features, Canto features.

D

DAM

Digital asset management is the practice of managing digital files and their metadata centrally across their lifecycle: ingest, description, search, rights, distribution and archiving G18. A DAM system is the software that supports this practice. See the solution directory.

Digital rights management (DRM)

Technology that identifies the rights attached to digital works and controls access to or use of them according to permissions G19. In DAM practice "DRM" is often used loosely for rights management (recording licences and restrictions as metadata). See Usage rights.

DigitalSourceType

An IPTC controlled vocabulary that states how a media item was created, for example a digital capture, a digitised film, a composite, or media created by a trained generative model ("trainedAlgorithmicMedia") G20. It is used in IPTC/XMP metadata and referenced by C2PA, so DAMs that strip it lose AI-provenance labelling.

In the wiki: Canto overview, Canto changelog.

Dublin Core

A small, general-purpose metadata vocabulary (title, creator, subject, description, date, rights, etc.) maintained by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) G21. XMP includes a Dublin Core schema, which is why fields such as dc:title and dc:subject appear in embedded image metadata.

Duplicate detection

Identifying assets that already exist in the library. Exact duplicates are found by comparing checksums (see Checksum and fixity) G9. Near-duplicates (resized, recompressed or slightly edited copies) need content-based comparison of visual features G22.

In the wiki: Aprimo features, Bynder features, Keepeek features, Wedia features.

Dynamic media

Serving assets straight from the DAM (often through a CDN) as URLs that generate renditions on the fly: resizing, cropping, format conversion, quality, video streaming. This is sometimes called DAM-as-a-CDN. The IIIF Image API is an open standard for this URL-driven transformation pattern G23, and CDN architecture is described in RFC 3466 G8.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Brandfolder features, Wedia features, Orange Logic features.

E

Embargo

A restriction that keeps an asset unavailable (unpublished, hidden or not downloadable) until a set date and time. The term comes from news distribution, where content is released to professionals in advance for publication at a later time. IPTC's NewsML-G2 has a dedicated embargo property G24. Archival practice treats it as a type of access restriction G25.

In the wiki: Bynder features, Orange Logic features, Wedia features.

EXIF

Exchangeable image file format: a standard for technical metadata written by cameras and phones into image files (capture date, camera model, exposure, GPS position, orientation). It is published by CIPA as standard DC-008 G26. DAMs usually read EXIF on ingest and expose it as read-only fields.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Bynder features, Keepeek features.

F

Faceted search

A search interface that lets users narrow results by combining independent attributes (facets) such as file type, date, campaign or rights status. It is based on faceted classification, which organises material by several mutually exclusive characteristics G27. In DAM APIs, facets are usually returned as value counts alongside search results.

In the wiki: Canto features, Frontify API, Keepeek API, Sitecore Content Hub API.

G

GraphQL

A query language and runtime for APIs in which the client states exactly which fields it wants from a typed schema, usually through a single endpoint G28. Some DAMs offer GraphQL instead of, or alongside, REST.

In the wiki: Frontify API, Sitecore Content Hub API.

H

Headless CMS

A content management system that stores and serves content through APIs only, with no built-in presentation layer, so any front end (web, app, kiosk) can render it G29. Headless architectures often pair with a DAM that delivers media by URL or API.

In the wiki: Sitecore Content Hub overview.

Headless DAM

A DAM used as a back end whose assets, metadata and renditions reach websites, apps, e-commerce and other systems through APIs and delivery URLs, with the presentation layer (the "head") decoupled from asset management G66. The term describes an integration architecture rather than a product category: the same DAM can serve its own users through its interface and feed other channels headlessly. See also Headless CMS and Dynamic media.

In the wiki: Sitecore Content Hub features, OpenText Media Management overview, Wedia overview.

Hot folder

A monitored folder (local, network or cloud) where any file placed in it is processed automatically according to preset rules, for example imported into the DAM with default metadata. The term comes from prepress and print workflow systems G30.

I

ICC colour profile

A data file that describes the colour characteristics of a device or colour space, so colours can be converted consistently between screens, cameras and printers. It is specified by the International Color Consortium (ICC.1, also published as ISO 15076-1) G31. DAM rendition pipelines must preserve or convert profiles correctly to avoid colour shifts.

IIIF

The International Image Interoperability Framework: a set of open APIs for delivering and presenting images and audiovisual material. Its Image API defines a URL syntax for region, size, rotation, quality and format G23. It is common in museums, libraries and archives.

In the wiki: Orange Logic features, Orange Logic API.

Ingest

The process of bringing files into a managed repository: upload, validation, metadata extraction, rendition generation and registration. In the OAIS archival model it means turning a submission package into an archival package G32.

IPTC Photo Metadata

The IPTC Photo Metadata Standard defines descriptive, administrative and rights properties for images (creator, credit line, copyright notice, licensor, location, keywords, accessibility and, since 2025.1, AI-generation properties). These are embedded mainly as XMP and in the legacy IIM format G2. It is the most common basis for DAM image metadata mappings.

In the wiki: Bynder API, Canto features, Keepeek features, Orange Logic features.

J

JWT

A JSON Web Token is a compact, URL-safe token format carrying signed (and optionally encrypted) claims. It is often used as an OAuth 2.0 access token or for service-account authentication G33.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets API, Aprimo API, Bynder API, Keepeek API.

M

MAM

Media asset management: asset management specialised for audio and video, especially broadcast and production workflows (ingest from cameras, proxies, transcoding, logging, archive) G34. Some enterprise DAMs combine DAM and MAM features.

In the wiki: Orange Logic overview.

MCP

The Model Context Protocol is an open protocol that connects AI applications (LLM clients, agents, IDEs) to external systems. Servers expose tools, resources and prompts, and clients call them over JSON-RPC G35. Several DAM vendors now offer MCP servers for asset search and management by AI assistants.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets integrations, Aprimo integrations, Bynder integrations, Canto integrations, Frontify integrations, Orange Logic integrations, Comparison.

Metadata

Data about an asset that supports its discovery, structure, administration and preservation G36. In a DAM it is usually split into descriptive (title, keywords), administrative/rights (owner, licence, expiry) and technical (format, dimensions, EXIF) metadata.

Metadata schema

The formal definition of which metadata fields exist, their data types, allowed values, cardinality and validation rules G37. Integrators usually read a DAM's schema through its API before mapping fields.

In the wiki: Aprimo API, Canto API, Keepeek API, Sitecore Content Hub API.

O

OAuth 2.0

An IETF authorization framework that lets an application obtain limited access to an HTTP service through access tokens instead of user passwords G12. Its main grants are authorization code (with a user), client credentials (machine-to-machine) and refresh token. Current security best practice is set out in RFC 9700 G13. See Client credentials grant and PKCE.

In the wiki: API pages, e.g. Bynder API, Canto API.

ODRL and RightsML

ODRL (Open Digital Rights Language) is a W3C Recommendation for expressing permissions, prohibitions and duties on content in machine-readable form G38. RightsML is the IPTC profile of ODRL for the media industry G39. These standards let usage rights be stored as structured data rather than free text.

OIDC

OpenID Connect is an identity layer on top of OAuth 2.0 that lets an application verify who a user is (through a signed ID token) and obtain basic profile information G40. It is one of the two common protocols for DAM single sign-on, with SAML.

In the wiki: Bynder overview, Frontify overview, Keepeek overview, Wedia overview.

OpenAPI

The OpenAPI Specification is a standard, language-agnostic format (YAML or JSON) for describing HTTP APIs: paths, operations, parameters, schemas and security schemes G41. Where a vendor publishes one, the wiki stores a verbatim copy in the solution's specs/ folder.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets API, Aprimo API, Brandfolder API, Canto API.

P

Pagination

Splitting large result sets into pages. Common styles are offset/limit (page numbers), cursor or scroll tokens (an opaque pointer to the next page), and links to the next page carried in the response or in an HTTP Link header G42. Cursor-based pagination stays consistent when the data changes during iteration; deep offsets often hit limits.

In the wiki: API pages, e.g. Brandfolder API, Frontify API.

PIM

Product information management: software that centralises product data (attributes, descriptions, classifications, channel-specific values) for distribution to e-commerce, print and marketplaces G43. DAM–PIM integration links product records to their images, videos and documents.

In the wiki: Canto overview, Keepeek integrations, Sitecore Content Hub overview, Wedia integrations.

PKCE

Proof Key for Code Exchange (pronounced "pixie"): an extension to the OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow that protects against intercepted authorization codes by binding each request to a one-time secret G44. It is required for public clients such as browser apps, desktop tools and many MCP clients, which cannot keep a client secret.

In the wiki: Canto API, Bynder API, Frontify API, Orange Logic API.

Proofing

Reviewing a draft asset before release: on-screen annotation, comments, version comparison and approval or rejection by reviewers. The term comes from print, where proofs simulate the final output for checking G45.

In the wiki: Bynder features, Sitecore Content Hub features.

R

Rate limiting

A cap on how many API requests a client may make in a time window. When it is exceeded, the API usually responds with HTTP status 429 Too Many Requests, optionally with a Retry-After header G46. Many DAM vendors do not publish exact limits.

In the wiki: API pages, e.g. Aprimo API, Wedia API.

Rendition

A derived version of an asset's original file, such as a thumbnail, web preview, resized or cropped image, other format or video proxy. Also called a derivative. Adobe's XMP Media Management schema records the relationship with properties such as xmpMM:RenditionClass and xmpMM:DerivedFrom G47.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets API, Aprimo API, Bynder API, Sitecore Content Hub API.

Resumable upload

An upload method that sends a large file in chunks so an interrupted transfer can continue where it stopped instead of restarting. tus is an open protocol for resumable uploads over HTTP G48. DAM APIs often use their own chunked or multipart upload flows, sometimes through pre-signed cloud-storage URLs.

In the wiki: Bynder API, Canto API, Frontify API, Keepeek API.

REST API

An HTTP API that follows the REST architectural style: resources identified by URLs, manipulated through a uniform interface (standard methods such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and exchanged as representations such as JSON G49. Most DAM APIs are described as REST, with varying strictness.

S

SAML

Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 is an OASIS standard for exchanging authentication and authorization assertions between an identity provider and a service provider. It is widely used for enterprise single sign-on G50.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets overview, Brandfolder overview, Canto overview, Orange Logic overview.

SCIM

System for Cross-domain Identity Management: an IETF standard schema G51 and REST protocol G52 for automatically provisioning, updating and deprovisioning users and groups from an identity provider into applications such as a DAM.

In the wiki: Bynder features, Frontify features, Aprimo features, Comparison.

Single sign-on (SSO)

Authentication in which users sign in once with a central identity provider and access several applications without separate passwords. In DAMs it is usually implemented with SAML 2.0 G50 or OpenID Connect G40.

In the wiki: Comparison.

SKOS

Simple Knowledge Organization System: a W3C standard data model for publishing thesauri, taxonomies and other controlled vocabularies as linked data (concepts, preferred and alternative labels, broader/narrower relations) G53. It is useful for exchanging vocabularies between a DAM and other systems.

T

Taxonomy

A hierarchy of categories and subcategories used to classify content G54. In a DAM it often drives navigation, faceting and permissions (e.g. brand › product line › product).

In the wiki: Aprimo features, Bynder features, Sitecore Content Hub features.

Thesaurus

A controlled vocabulary that names a preferred term among synonyms and records relationships between terms: broader, narrower and related G55. ANSI/NISO Z39.19 covers thesaurus construction G17. DAM thesauri let users search with any synonym while indexing uses one preferred term.

In the wiki: Keepeek features, Wedia features.

Transcoding

Converting audio or video from one encoding to another, for example to produce web-playable proxies, streaming formats or lower bitrates G56. Video-capable DAMs transcode on ingest or on demand.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Orange Logic features, Wedia features.

U

Usage rights

The licence terms attached to an asset: permitted media, territories, duration, talent and model releases, credit requirements and expiry. DAMs record them as metadata or linked contract records, and may block or warn on download after expiry. Archival terminology calls the system that tracks and applies such rights rights management G57. For machine-readable expression, see ODRL and RightsML.

In the wiki: Aprimo features, Bynder features, Orange Logic features, Keepeek features.

V

Versioning

Keeping successive states of an asset's file (and sometimes its metadata) under one identity, with the ability to view, compare or restore earlier versions G58. For HTTP repositories, the IETF standardised version history in the WebDAV versioning extensions (RFC 3253) G59.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Brandfolder features, Keepeek features.

Visual search

Finding assets by image content rather than text: searching with an example image ("find similar"), or by natural-language descriptions matched against image embeddings. This field is known as content-based image retrieval G22.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Bynder features, Canto features, Sitecore Content Hub features.

W

Watermark

A visible overlay (logo, text) applied to previews or downloads to discourage unlicensed use. It can also be an invisible digital watermark: a pattern of bits hidden in the file to identify rights holders G60.

In the wiki: Brandfolder features, Canto features, Keepeek features.

Web-to-print

Producing print materials through a web interface, usually from locked templates in which users change only allowed elements (text, images) and then send output to a printer G61. In DAMs it appears as template or "brand templating" modules.

In the wiki: Brandfolder features, Orange Logic features, Wedia features.

WebDAV

An IETF extension of HTTP for authoring and managing files on a remote server (create, move, lock, set properties). It lets a DAM repository be mounted like a network drive G62.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets API.

Webhook

An HTTP callback: when an event occurs (asset created, metadata changed, workflow step completed), the platform sends an HTTP request to a URL registered by the subscriber. The Standard Webhooks initiative documents shared conventions for payloads, signatures and verification G63. Webhooks avoid polling but need signature checks and retry handling on the receiving side.

In the wiki: API pages, e.g. Bynder API, Keepeek API, Comparison.

Workflow and approval

A defined sequence of tasks and decisions that an asset passes through (e.g. upload → metadata review → legal approval → publication), with assignees, states and notifications. BPMN 2.0, an OMG standard, is a common notation for modelling such processes G64.

In the wiki: Aprimo features, Orange Logic features, Sitecore Content Hub features, Wedia features.

X

XMP

Extensible Metadata Platform: a framework created by Adobe for embedding metadata in files using an RDF/XML serialization. Part 1 is also published as ISO 16684-1 G65. IPTC, Dublin Core and many vendor fields are carried as XMP namespaces, and DAMs read and write XMP on ingest and download.

In the wiki: Adobe Experience Manager Assets features, Bynder features, Canto features, Keepeek features.

Sources

All URLs were opened on the access date shown. Type: standard or official specification; vendor documentation (used only where no standard defines the term); professional reference work or encyclopedia.