How to Manage Thumbnails

Thumbnail management in Data Dwell is typically automatic, but administrators and authorized users can manually reprocess thumbnails when needed. Reprocessing recreates preview images and extracts metadata from asset files.

Change an Asset Thumbnail

The thumbnail is the preview shown for an asset everywhere in the platform, including the Library, search results, Portals and Showcases. You can choose how it is cropped:

1. Find the asset in any asset view (Library, Metadata or search results).
2. Open the asset actions menu (⋯) and select Thumbnail.
3. Choose Crop to use a cropped version of the image, or No Crop to scale the full image to fit.
4. Save. The thumbnail updates immediately.

Note: thumbnails can only be changed one asset at a time, and only the asset's current file can be used. Uploading a custom thumbnail image from your computer is not currently supported.

Who Can Reprocess Thumbnails

By default, only administrators have permission to reprocess thumbnails. However, this capability can be granted to other users through assigned roles in user groups.

If you need reprocessing permissions but don't currently have access to this feature, contact your system administrator.

When to Reprocess Thumbnails

Reprocessing should be triggered in specific situations where the automatic generation didn't complete successfully:

Incorrect Thumbnails - The preview image doesn't accurately represent the asset content or shows the wrong frame from a video.

Missing Thumbnails - No preview image appears, and a generic file icon is displayed instead.

EXIF/IPTC Data Issues - Embedded metadata from the file (such as camera information, copyright details, or image descriptions) didn't load correctly.

Before you reprocess, check the Reports to see if the asset is still in the processing queue. If the asset appears in the queue, do not trigger reprocessing-doing so will move the asset to the back of the queue and delay completion. Wait for the initial processing to finish before taking action.

How Reprocessing Works

When you trigger reprocessing, the system:

1. Recreates all thumbnail sizes and preview images
2. Re-extracts EXIF and IPTC metadata from the file
3. Updates the asset with the newly generated data

Important: Once reprocessing begins, existing thumbnails disappear from all locations where the asset is displayed, including Portals, Showcases, and Public Links. Users can continue working with the asset and downloading the original file, but preview images will be unavailable until reprocessing completes.

Reprocess a Single Asset

To reprocess thumbnails for one asset:

1. Navigate to the asset in your library or open it in Asset Details
2. Click the three dots menu (•••)
3. Select Reprocess
4. The system will begin regenerating thumbnails and extracting metadata

Reprocess Multiple Assets

To reprocess thumbnails for several assets at once:

1. Select multiple assets in the library using checkboxes
2. Open the batch menu by clicking the three dots (•••)
3. Select Reprocess
4. All selected assets will be queued for reprocessing

Batch reprocessing is useful when multiple assets have similar issues, such as after a bulk upload where thumbnails failed to generate.

Monitoring Processing Status

Use the Reports feature to check the status of assets currently being processed:

• Assets in the processing queue are actively being handled by the system
• Do not reprocess assets that appear in this queue-they are already being worked on
• Only trigger reprocessing for assets that have completed initial processing but show issues

Troubleshooting Failed Reprocessing

If reprocessing fails or thumbnails still don't appear correctly after completion:

1. Verify the file type against the supported format list (see the What are Thumbnails article)
2. Check that the file isn't corrupted by downloading and opening it locally
3. Confirm the file isn't encrypted or password-protected

If the issue persists, contact the Data Dwell support team. Provide details about the file type, file size, and the specific issue you're experiencing.

Unsupported file types: If your file type isn't currently supported for thumbnail generation, please let us know. Data Dwell is committed to supporting all file types uploaded to the platform. We continuously expand format support based on customer needs, and reporting unsupported formats helps us prioritize which capabilities to add next.