User Interface Integrations - an overview
User interface integrations (UII) enable integrators to extend the functionality of FotoWare by allowing the creation of bespoke user interfaces on the Asset Details page in FotoWare. These user interfaces can, for example, present data about an asset using a custom player/renderer or obtain data about an asset from a connected system.
Licensing
Creating user interface integrations is only possible on FotoWare systems with a valid API license. In FotoWare SaaS systems (cloud), availability depends on the chosen SaaS plan.
User access
Both logged-in users and guest users can access UIIs.
Cookies
UIIs should not rely on cookies.
A cookie from an external website that is set by or read by a UII is considered a third-party cookie by the browser. FotoWeb does not actively prevent the use of third-party cookies, and browsers (at the time of this writing) do support third-party cookies by default. However:
- Some users or browser extensions block third-party cookies, as these are almost exclusively used for ad tracking. Modern websites, therefore usually do not rely on them for necessary functionality anymore.
- Setting or using third-party cookies can raise privacy concerns and/or may require explicit user consent in some legislations.
This also applies to other in-browser storage techniques, such as local storage. If a UII requires state or user identity, we recommend using other means, such as user identity information provided through the FotoWeb API. If a UII has to use cookies, then users should be advised to either not disable third-party cookies or explicitly allow them for the origin domain of the UII.
Which parts of the user interface can be changed?
When building a user interface integration with FotoWare, the areas that can be changed are:
Quick Info
The area on the leftmost side of the Asset Details page, below the default metadata fields and any other metadata fields that have been assigned to the Quick Info area via the archive's metadata set.
In FotoWare Pro, custom content added to Quick Info is added as a new group in the FotoWare Pro Info panel.
Asset Details
A new tab is created on the Asset Details page above the asset preview.
In FotoWare Pro, a new tab is created next to Asset info and Metadata.
Preview
A replacement for the existing asset preview area.
In FotoWare Pro, the entire preview area is also replaced by the content of the custom view.