Create your first digital adaptation
In this tutorial, we’re going to create an adaptation from a digital template, then promote it so it’s ready for review. Adaptations let you produce on-brand content for your market from a design someone else has already built, without needing design software. By the end, you’ll have a finished adaptation in My Content, promoted to your files and ready to send for review.
This is part 2 of 4 in the marketer tutorials. Previous: Find, download, and share your first assets. Next: Produce your first batch of digital adaptations.
Prerequisites
To follow this tutorial, you need:
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A user role with at least the Creator role for Templates and for Assets, both under Adaptation Studio, which lets you create adaptations from templates. The Standard User role preset includes both. Each role’s permissions are listed in User role presets and permissions.
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Access to a portal with a templates page.
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At least one digital template on that page, ideally one with a text field you can type into.
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What you see here depends on your workspace’s configuration. The fields in each template, and whether you can promote adaptations, are set up for your workspace. If Promote doesn’t appear in step 4, contact your administrator. |
What we’ll create
We’ll find a digital template, fill in its fields to make one adaptation, and watch it render. Then we’ll promote the finished adaptation into your files, which is where reviews and publishing start.
The tutorial takes about 15 minutes, including the videos, in four steps:
Step 1: Find a template
Templates live in Content Portal, grouped by format.
We’re going to open the digital templates and pick one to work with.
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Open Content Portal.
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From the left navigation, select Adaptations, then View Template.
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Select the All digital templates tab.
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Select a template to open its details panel.
You’ll notice that:
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The details panel displays a larger preview of the template and its description.
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The templates on the page belong to your current domain.
If the page has many templates, narrow it down with the search bar or the keywords panel, the same way you’d find an asset.
Step 2: Create the adaptation
Now we’ll make our own version of the template.
We’re going to fill in the template’s fields and watch the preview change as we go.
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In the template’s details panel, select Create Adaptation, then Create Single.
The Create Adaptation window opens, with a preview on the left and the template’s fields on the right.
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If the template offers more than one size, choose the first size in the list.
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If the template has an image field, choose one of the preset images.
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If the template has a text field, select Custom and enter
Spring is here.If it has no text field, change any other field instead.
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Fill in any remaining fields marked with an asterisk. Those fields are mandatory.
You’ll notice that:
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The preview updates each time you change a field.
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Fields you leave alone keep the template’s own values.
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Some fields include guidance above them, explaining what they’re for.
Each field is a parameter that the template builder chose to make editable. Everything else about the design stays fixed, which is what keeps every adaptation on brand.
To start again at any point, select the paintbrush icon to reset the template to its original values.
When you’re happy with the preview, select Create Asset.
Step 3: Watch it render
Creating an adaptation hands it to the platform to render the final file.
My Content opens after you select Create Asset.
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In My Content, open Digital Adaptations.
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Select the In Progress tab.
You’ll notice that your adaptation is listed with a rendering status. How long rendering takes depends on the template.
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When the adaptation disappears from In Progress, select the Complete tab.
The finished adaptation is there, with a thumbnail of the final design. Select it to open its details panel, which displays its name and version number.
If the adaptation fails to render, it stays in In Progress and is marked as failed. To try again, open the failed adaptation’s menu and select Recreate.
Step 4: Promote the adaptation
A finished adaptation stays in My Content until you promote it. Promoting it copies it into your files, where it can be sent for review and, once approved, published.
We’re going to promote our adaptation and check where it lands.
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In the Complete tab, open your adaptation’s menu.
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Select Promote.
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Review the adaptation listed in the confirmation window, then select Confirm.
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When promotion finishes, select View.
Files in My Content opens, and your adaptation is listed there.
You’ll notice that:
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Create Review is available straight away.
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Download, Publish to DAM, Distribute, and Share are disabled until the adaptation is approved in a review.
Hover over a disabled action to read why it isn’t available yet. This is how the platform makes sure only approved content leaves My Content.
The finished adaptation
Here’s what we’ve built:
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Adaptation: one digital adaptation, made from the template you chose in step 1.
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Changes: the size, image, and text you chose in step 2, with everything else from the template.
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Where it is: My Content > Files, promoted and ready for review.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, you’ve learned how to:
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Find a digital template in Content Portal.
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Create an adaptation by filling in a template’s fields.
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Follow an adaptation from In Progress to Complete.
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Promote an adaptation into your files.
Next, continue with Produce your first batch of digital adaptations to make many adaptations from one template at once. To send this adaptation for review and publish it, continue with Review and publish your first adaptations.
To work with print templates, continue with Create your first print adaptation. Create an adaptation covers the full set of options when creating adaptations, including print templates. Understanding My Content explains how My Content fits into the wider workflow.