IMS Product Summary

Third Light's IMS (Image Management System) is a diverse and highly configurable tool, which offers a rich set of features suitable for business users. The summary below lists some of the most important tools we offer, and you can also click on the links to find out more. If you prefer to see IMS for yourself, we have screenshots and demo sites available.

Automated Galleries

  • Automatic thumbnailing, previews and watermarking
  • Delivers galleries with paginated thumbnails effortlessly
  • Choose from folder gallery, library and list views for guests or advanced users
  • Slideshows, monochrome viewing modes, configurable captions
  • Easy navigation and a smart look and feel

Structured meta data

Lightboxes and collections

  • Easily collect images in an attractive, drag-and-drop lightbox
  • Approve and decline download requests from users
  • Save lightboxes as collections
  • Share collections with specific clients working on projects

Converts images of any format

  • IMS supports all of the major graphics formats
  • Upload in any format, download in any format
  • Automatic resizing of images from any resolution
  • Handles ICC colour profiles correctly - no colour discrepancies on screen
  • JPEG, JPEG 2000, TIFF, PNG, BMP, GIF, and more
  • Number of pictures limited only by storage available

Support for video and movie content

  • IMS supports a wide range of video formats
  • After uploading, a panel of preview frames is displayed
  • Frames are taken at equal intervals through the video
  • Easily recognise videos without long downloads or scaled preview movies
  • Videos can be sold in IMS if required

Universal Storage

  • IMS can store any file, not just images and video.
  • Ideal for sharing PDFs or PowerPoints as well as your source graphics
  • Attractive icons are used to represent files in your folders.
  • Number of files limited only by storage available

Search Engine

  • Natural language search engine for exceptional ease-of-use
  • Structured keyword searches, advanced search and 'AND/OR' combinations
  • Sort results by relevance, by date
  • Configurable search fields for extra flexibility
  • A complete record of search terms is kept - helpful for refining meta data

Users, security and permissions

  • Create independent users with their own preferences and permissions
  • Share different parts of the library with different users
  • Offer registration forms for automatic signups
  • Outstanding security and convenience for sharing images
  • Bulk-edit users and permissions for easy updates
  • No per-user licencing

Administration console

  • A powerful web-based interface for admin staff to control the library
  • Includes tools to edit and maintain every aspect of the system
  • Available with a secure HTTPS option

eCommerce options

  • IMS provides a total solution for print and download sales.
  • Allows some or all images in a library to be browsed, searched and sold
  • Image licencing using scope, duration, resolution
  • Partner businesses provide complete print fulfilment worldwide: UK, EU and USA manufacturing bases
  • Includes Pictopia printing for the ultimate in quality
  • Includes the ability to sell in-house products
  • Support for different tax zones and postage rates
  • Built-in invoice model and credit card payment solution (interchangeable)
  • Support for GBP, USD and EUR currencies
  • Full order management and expiry tracking

Watermarking

  • Protect images with a visible watermark
  • Adjustable, translucent overlay of your preferred watermark image
  • Use as a user option or site option as a deterrent
  • Works in conjunction with right-click protection
  • Part of a wider range of security measures in the software

Annotations, tracking and reporting

  • A complete set of reporting and management tools.
  • IMS maintains a log of previous downloads, eg. user, date and picture details
  • Users leave a message to describe their use of the downloaded file
  • Prevents accidental reuse of popular images, improves communications
  • Allows users to leave private (non-meta data) messages with images
  • Designed for workgroup use - quick and easy to use
  • IMS provides detailed reports including graphs, tables
  • User logins are tracked and logged with IP addresses
  • Measure the popularity of images and activity in specific galleries
  • Detailed and meaningful information on daily activity and trends
  • CSV (Excel) exportable data including financial reports

Audit tools

  • Create a true audit environment
  • IMS can record every user action in a separate, secure log
  • Trace back to events where pictures or settings were changed
  • Designed to be used for compliance purposes and corporate record-keeping
  • The audit log is optional, and is protected with secure access controls to ensure privacy

Built-in Email Server

  • IMS includes an outgoing email server
  • Useful for sending attachments to clients directly from the library (no intermediate download)
  • Reports and notifications are sent to site administrators when required by email
  • Can be configured to produce emails with signature text, eg. copyright notices

Built-in FTP services

  • IMS includes FTP (File Transfer Protocol) as a fast inbound bulk upload tool
  • Outbound FTP service can 'push' images to external servers, eg. newspapers or external backup services, archives etc.
  • Any number of FTP accounts can be added, with separate upload areas
  • HTTP and FTP in one service makes IMS ideal for collaboration

Batch uploads and downloads

  • Built-in browser upload tool (Java Applet) for convenient, Windows, Macintosh and Linux uploads
  • Drag-and-drop uploads using purpose-built software for Windows
  • IMS can be set to automatically detect and process new uploads
  • Ability to place inbound images in a specific holding area for approval
  • Entire collections of images can be downloaded in ZIP archives

Atom Feeds for Your Latest photos

  • Popular Web 2.0 method for exporting latest photos, included as standard with Third Light IMS
  • Industry-standard XML feeds, directly to Atom feed browsers (already included in most web browsers)
  • Make it easy for your clients to receive recent photo updates and click through to your site
  • Easily display your photos in Web sites such as Facebook, iGoogle (personalised Google home pages) or Microsoft's live.com

Customisable user interface

  • Fully rebrandable interface
  • Offers unlimited themes: change the look and feel per user, per gallery or site-wide
  • XHTML and CSS files, with options to rebrand
  • Choose different viewing modes for the target audience: simple, advanced etc.
  • We will brand the service for your organisation as part of the launch
  • Open-ended customisations via low-level template files (TPL)
  • Web integration partners available to help

Import services for existing materials

  • We will gladly help you import your initial stock of data
  • CD-ROMs, DVD, hard drives - images in different formats
  • We will also help you structure your images into a taxonomy if required

Experienced support team

Integrate IMS into enterprise networks

  • Login authentication can be integrated with Microsoft Active Directory
  • Eliminates the need to duplicate user databases
  • Can be used over VPNs
  • Periodic and incremental backup services are supplied with the solution
  • Support for complete database and file system backups including Veritas
  • Ability to run a 'hot standby' and geographically remote standby servers
  • Interchangeable merchant payments module (eCommerce option)
  • For the most advanced integration requirements, we offer an SOAP XML web services API.
  • No third party licences for databases or Windows servers

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