Table of Contents
File types
18. May 2026
Table of Contents
File Types are regular files (images, documents, videos, etc.) grouped into a hierarchy to give you access to their extracted metadata. Therefore, the name of the individual type is, for example, not “image” but “Image Metadata”.
File (everything that has a file extension): Video on how to add File types as a sidebar filter so users can filter for file types, e.g., show me all bitmaps or show me all documents.
- Audio (e.g., mp3)Items. You may want to filter for images in a relationship field, e.g., show only product images (not videos).
- Documents (e.g. doc, pdf)
- Images (e.g., jpg, png, gif)
- Video (e.g., mov, mp4)
- Vector (e.g., SVG, AI)
Those files are sent to Fotoware Alto data extraction to extract file-specific metadata
- File: file extension, original file name, file size in bytes, and others.
- Audio (Audio Streams)
- Documents (Creator, Publisher, Titles)AudioMetadata. You
- Images (Color Profile, Color Space, IPTC, Exif)
- Video (Video Streams, Codec)
- Vector (EPS, Creator)
You can use file type metadata in Display Pattern, Business Rules, and Filters. You can add indexing settings for metadata schema fields from Exif or Dublin Core here, by updating the field of the corresponding schema.
Create a File Type
You cannot create a File Type yourself. If you lack support for a File Type, contact Fotoware Support.
Add Layers to File Type
You can add Layers to a File Type. Only the Layers available to the File Type can be applied after upload.
Example:
- “Document Approval Layer”
- Only available to documents
Search or Filter File Type
You may want to filter for images in a relationship field, e.g., show only product images (not videos). You can add a filter with contentSchemaID ImageMetadata to the relationship field.
The File Type is saved in a field called:
contentSchemaId
The following file type IDs are currently available in Fotoare Alto:
- ImageMetadata
- DocumentMetadata
- VideoMetadata
- AudioMetadata - You can only replace files of the same type, e.g., images can be replaced by images, documents by documents.
Find the correct ID in the corresponding settings of your File Type.
| Case | Value |
|---|---|
| Exact Match | contentSchemaId:fileTypeId |
| Contains | contentSchemaId:fileTypeIdPart* |
File Type in Sidebar Filter
Some default system fields are available for selection in the Filter editor, e.g., permissionSetIds, layerSchemaIds, or contentSchemaId.
- Open Filters
- Add a new Filter
- Select Permission/Layers
- Save
Video on how to add File types as a sidebar filter so users can filter for file types e.g. show me all bitmap or show me all documents.
Upload - Create File Type Items
Creation of a File Type Item means uploading files or files in folders to Fotoware Alto.
- Drag and drop files or folders (containing files) to Fotoware Alto for uploading.
- In the notifications, you see the progress and check the status of your upload.
- After upload, you can directly apply the available Layer.
When a file is uploaded or transferred into Fotoware Alto, the most suitable File Type is selected. It does not need to be in a special menu; wherever you are in Fotoware Alto, just drop your files and folders, and then the upload will start. and a core set of fields (file metadata) is provided for the newly created File item. You see entries in these fields under Extracted in each file item. You can open the Main menu > Schemas > File Types to see the various File Type definitions available. File extensions not recognized as Image, Document, Audio, Vector, or Video receive fields and display patterns of the parent "File" file type.
It does not need to be in a special menu; wherever you are in Fotoware Alto, just drop your files and folders, and then the upload will start.
Uploading requires appropriate permissions. If you are not able to upload files or folders, contact your instance administrator.
Replace - Update File Type Items
Updating a File Type Item means replacing the file in Fotoware Alto.
- Open the Content Item, then choose Replace File. You can only replace files of the same type, e.g., images can be replaced by images, documents by documents.
- In the notifications, you see the progress. There, you can also check the status of your upload.
- After upload, you see the new icon “historic version” if the feature is enabled for your Fotoware Alto.
Uploading requires appropriate permissions. If you are not able to upload files or folders, contact your instance administrator.