1. What is Asset Studio?

Asset Studio is the screen where you manage all the media files ("assets") that appear on your NexSigns displays. Think of it as a file manager - similar to Windows Explorer or Google Drive - built into OnePass, but designed specifically for digital signage.

In Asset Studio you can:

• Upload pictures, videos, and PowerPoint files - one at a time or many at once

• Organize files into folders, move them around by dragging, and rename them

• Search every folder at once and jump straight to where a file lives

• Preview any file full-screen, exactly as it will look on your display

• See at a glance whether a file fits a landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) screen

• Check whether a file is currently being shown on a screen before you delete it

Important idea: the files in Asset Studio are shared by your whole company license. When a teammate uploads a picture, you will see it too. When you delete a file, it is deleted for everyone - permanently.

2. Opening Asset Studio

1. Sign in to OnePass as usual.

2. Open your NexSigns license (the screen where you manage your displays).

3. In the menu on the left, click Asset Studio ^Beta (this entry used to be called Manage Asset).

Asset Studio opens as a full-screen page with a dark background. The dark background is intentional - it matches how content looks on an actual display, so colors and photos appear the way your audience will see them.

3. A tour of the screen

The page is divided into a few areas. From top to bottom, left to right:

4. Browsing your files

4.1 Opening folders

• Double-click a folder tile in the file area to open it, or

• Click a folder name in the folder panel on the left. Click the small triangle next to a folder to expand or collapse its subfolders without opening them.

4.2 Going back up

• Click the up-arrow button to the left of the breadcrumb, or

• Click any earlier name in the breadcrumb trail (for example, click "Home" to jump all the way back), or

• Press Backspace on your keyboard, or hold Alt and press the Up arrow.

4.3 Grid view and list view

Two small buttons in the top bar switch how files are displayed:

• Grid view (default) - large picture tiles. Best for visually finding a photo.

• List view - compact rows with name, type, size, and date, plus clickable column headings you can use to sort. Best for working through many files.

Asset Studio remembers which view you prefer, even after you close the page.

4.4 Sorting

Click the sort button on the right side of the toolbar (it shows the current order, e.g. "Name A-Z") and choose: Name A-Z, Name Z-A, Newest first, Oldest first, Largest first, Smallest first, or Type. In list view you can also just click the column headings (Name, Type, Size, Date). Folders always appear before files, like in Windows.

4.5 Filtering by type and orientation

The round filter buttons in the toolbar narrow down what you see:

• All / Images / Videos / Slides - show only one kind of file. Each button shows a live count, e.g. "Images 214".

• Any / Landscape / Portrait - show only files whose shape matches your screen. Landscape means wider than tall (a normal horizontal TV). Portrait means taller than wide (a vertical screen, like a menu totem). This is very handy when you are looking for content for a specific display.

4.6 What the little labels on tiles mean

5. Finding files with Search

The search box sits in the middle of the top bar.

1. Click into the box and start typing - for example, final fantasy.

2. Results appear automatically as you type. Both file names and descriptions are searched, and the matching words are highlighted in yellow.

3. Results are shown as a list, and every result displays where the file lives - for example "Home / Promotions / Summer" - just like Windows search.

4. Click that location line to jump straight into the folder that contains the file.

Search scope: Everywhere vs. This folder

Next to the search box is a small button that reads Everywhere. Click it to toggle:

• Everywhere - searches every folder in your whole library (this is the default).

• This folder - instantly filters only the folder you currently have open.

To leave search, click the X next to the box, press Esc, or simply clear the text.

6. Previewing files

6.1 Quick look: the details panel (single click)

Click any file once. A panel opens on the right showing a small preview plus everything about the file: its type, upload date, size, dimensions, and a Screen Fit line that tells you in plain words how well it suits a display (for example "Full HD (1080p) - ideal for most screens" or "Ultra-wide strip - video wall / ticker zones"). For videos, the play length appears once the preview loads.

Close the panel with its X, or click any empty space in the file area.

6.2 Full-screen preview (double click)

Double-click a file (or select it and press Enter) to open the full-screen preview on a black background - this is exactly how the content will look on a display.

• Use the arrow buttons on the left/right edges - or the Left/Right arrow keys - to flip through every file in the folder without going back.

• Videos play right in the preview with normal play/pause controls.

• The top bar of the preview shows the file's name, size, and dimensions, plus buttons to Open Full Size in a new browser tab or jump to Details.

• Press Esc or click the X to close.

6.3 Editing a picture

For image files, the details panel has an Edit Image (Beta) button. It opens a built-in photo editor where you can crop, add text, draw, and more. This feature is in Beta, meaning it works but is still being improved.

7. Uploading files

7.1 Four ways to upload

1. The Upload button. Open the folder you want the files in, click Upload in the top bar, then Choose Files. You can select many files at once (hold Ctrl while clicking, or Ctrl+A for all). The window lists each chosen file with its type and size. If you selected exactly one file you may also give it a custom name and description. Click Start Upload.

2. Drag files from your computer. Select files in Windows Explorer (or on your desktop), drag them onto the Asset Studio window, and drop when the "Drop files to upload" overlay appears. They upload into the folder you currently have open.

3. Drag a whole folder. Drop an entire folder from your computer and Asset Studio will recreate the same folder (and any subfolders) in your library, then upload every file into its proper place. Great for moving over an organized campaign folder in one go.

4. Paste a screenshot. If you have copied an image - for example a screenshot taken with the Snipping Tool, or "Copy image" from another program - just press Ctrl+V while in Asset Studio. The image uploads into the current folder, automatically named "Pasted image" with the date and time.

7.2 The upload tray

As soon as an upload starts, a small tray appears in the bottom-right corner. For each file it shows a progress bar, the destination folder, and buttons to cancel (X) or retry a failed file. The tray header shows overall progress ("Uploading - 3 of 12 (45%)") and a Retry failed button if anything went wrong. You can collapse the tray with the small arrow. Newly uploaded pictures appear in the folder immediately - no waiting.

7.3 What file types can I upload?

Files that are not accepted are flagged in red before the upload even starts, with the reason - nothing is silently skipped.

7.4 About PowerPoint uploads

Displays cannot show a PowerPoint file directly, so NexSigns converts your deck into a video behind the scenes. After you upload a PPT/PPTX you will see a purple Converting... label on its tile. The conversion takes a few minutes, and you will receive an email when the video is ready. Slide timings and transitions are preserved.

7.5 The "Do not downscale" checkbox

To keep displays fast, very large pictures are automatically resized so their longest side is at most 3840 pixels (that is 4K - more than enough for a normal screen). If a chosen picture is bigger than that, the upload window notes "resized to 3840px" next to it. If you are preparing content for a video wall (many screens combined into one giant picture) and need the full original resolution, tick Do not downscale images before starting the upload.

7.6 Duplicate names

If you upload a file whose name matches something already in that folder, the tray shows a yellow note: "a file with this name already exists here - keeping both." Nothing is overwritten; you simply end up with two files, and you can rename or delete one later.

8. Selecting more than one file

Many actions (move, delete) work on several files at once. Ways to select:

• Click one item - selects just that one.

• Draw a box: press the mouse button on an empty spot, drag a rectangle around the tiles you want, and release - everything inside is selected (exactly like on the Windows desktop).

• Ctrl+Click adds or removes individual items from the selection.

• Shift+Click selects everything between the last item you clicked and this one.

• Hover circle: move the mouse over any tile and a small circle appears in its top-left corner. Clicking circles is an easy way to build a selection without keyboard keys.

• Ctrl+A selects everything in the folder.

The bar at the bottom of the file area always tells you how many items are selected. With several items selected, the right-hand panel shows a summary (count, total size) and a button to set the same description on all selected files at once. Click any empty space to clear the selection.

9. Organizing: folders, renaming, and moving

9.1 Creating a folder

Click + New Folder in the top bar (or right-click empty space and choose New Folder). A folder called "New Folder" appears with its name already open for typing - just type the name you want and press Enter. You can create folders inside folders to any depth, for example Home / 2026 / Spring Campaign / Videos.

9.2 Renaming things

You can rename any folder or file. This changes only the display name you see in NexSigns - it does not affect the actual media file or anything already playing on screens. Four ways:

1. Click the name of an already-selected item - after a moment it turns into a text box. Type and press Enter. (Pressing Esc cancels.)

2. Select the item and press F2.

3. Right-click the item and choose Rename.

4. In the details panel, click directly on the name (or the description) to edit it in place.

9.3 Moving files and folders

Drag and drop (easiest): drag any tile - or a whole selection - onto:

• a folder tile in the file area,

• a folder name in the left panel (hovering over a collapsed folder briefly will expand it so you can reach subfolders), or

• a name in the breadcrumb trail (for example, drag onto "Home" to move items to the top level).

When you drag several items at once, the pointer shows a badge like "3 items". Items disappear from the current folder the moment you drop them - if anything goes wrong they reappear, and a message explains why.

Cut and paste (keyboard): select items and press Ctrl+X (they turn semi-transparent to show they are "on the move"), navigate to the destination folder, and press Ctrl+V. You can also right-click a folder and choose Paste into this folder.

9.4 Right-click menus

Right-clicking is the fastest route to most actions:

• On a file: Open, Preview in New Tab, Edit Image, Rename, Cut, Details, Delete.

• On a folder tile: the same, plus Paste into this folder.

• On empty space: New Folder, Upload Files, Paste, Refresh, Select All, Keyboard Shortcuts.

• On a folder in the left panel: Open, New Subfolder, Rename, Paste into this folder, Delete.

10. Deleting - and doing it safely

1. Select what you want to remove and press Delete (or right-click and choose Delete).

2. A confirmation window opens instantly and tells you exactly what will be removed - including everything inside selected folders - for example: "Delete 14 file(s) in 3 folder(s) (1.2 GB)?"

3. Optional but recommended: click "Check if these files are in use". Asset Studio scans your channels and screen layouts:

   • Green message = the files are not used anywhere - safe to delete.

   • Red warning = the file is still playing somewhere, and it names the exact channel or layout, e.g. "used by Channel 'Lobby Menu'". Deleting it would leave a gap on that screen, so update the channel first.

4. Click Delete to proceed, or Cancel to back out.

The check is optional so that deleting stays fast - on libraries with many channels the scan can take a few seconds. You can always run the same check from a file's details panel ("Used By - Check usage") without deleting anything.

11. Keyboard shortcuts

Press ? (the question mark key) at any time to see this list inside Asset Studio.

12. Switching to the older interfaces

Asset Studio is the newest of three generations of the asset manager. The older two remain available:

• Classic interface: in Asset Studio, open the "..." menu (top right) or use the announcement banner and click Switch to Classic. This opens the previous folder-based page.

• Version 1 interface: from the Classic page, click Switch to Version 1 Interface to reach the original table-style list.

• Every older page has a Switch to New Interface button that brings you back to Asset Studio.

All three pages manage the same files - switching interfaces never changes your content. Your choice is not saved anywhere; each page simply links to the others, and the left menu always opens Asset Studio.

13. Working on a small screen

On a narrow window, tablet, or phone, Asset Studio adapts: the folder panel tucks away behind a menu button (three horizontal lines) at the top-left - tap it to slide the folders in and out - and the details panel overlays the right side. Everything else works the same, and buttons are enlarged for touch.

14. Frequently asked questions