Allowing Users to Connect Remote Repositories

Overview

This guide provides an overview on how to use Bigtincan Cloud services to connect your content repository in Dropbox to your Bigtincan tenant. Once connected, selected users can access content residing in the connected Dropbox account and add them to Stories in the Content Hub. The files are kept in sync, meaning as they are updated within Dropbox, they would automatically get updated inside the Content Hub in all the stories they have been added to.  

*Note: You will need Admin access to Hub to access

Connect your Dropbox Account to the Content Hub

1.  Navigate to the Content Hub Web App

2. Navigate to Platform Configuration >Files > Cloud Services for Publishers and click on "Connect cloud service folder".

3. Select the Dropbox option. 

4. You will be guided to authenticate your Dropbox account through a window.

5. Once authenticated, the window will automatically close and you will be presented with Step 2 in the connection process focused on the Folder Connection. You will be able to select the folders that you want to allow access for publishers.

6. Service Name: Designate the name for your connection

7. Connection: You can choose to grant access to the entire account or to a selected folder.

8. Click on Confirm.

9. Select Users or User Groups to give them access to use this repository.

10. Click on Confirm.

11. Your online repository has been successfully linked to your Hub account.

How to use in Publishing workflow

Once your Dropbox account has been successfully connected, the users that have been given access to this Cloud Service connection, are able to add files to a story using the “Cloud Files” option when adding files to a story. The users also have the option to add folders, which would then sync all files within that Dropbox folder to the given story.

<1. Story publishing Add file modal>

<2. Cloud services connection list>

<3. Dropbox file list>

Once the story is published, soon after you can see the selected files (from the chosen folder and files in Dropbox) being added to the story as they are synced to Content Hub. Any future updates to these files in Dropbox would also update the corresponding files in stories in Content Hub. The files remain in sync as long as the CloudService Dropbox connection stays active.

The sync behavior is explained below:

• Content update - as the files are updated in Dropbox, or new files added to a folder, they would show up in Content Hub as well.
• Tags - If the files have been tagged in Content Hub, they continue to retain the tags for the updated versions as well. This is a feature intended to avoid losing any tags as the files are updated.
• Bookmarks - When files are updated in Dropbox, the user bookmarks automatically get updated to point to the latest files synced from Dropbox.
• File renames - When files are renamed in Dropbox, they will also be renamed in Content Hub to keep the same names as in Dropbox.
• File deletions - When files are removed from Dropbox, they will also be removed from stories in Content Hub.

*Note: Unlike the connector behavior before where deleting the connection and recreating sometimes would solve sync issues even if temporarily, the new connectors have very specific mapping to the folder/files that have been associated between the Dropbox repository and Content Hub Stories/Files. Deleting a connection after those sync associations have been created will orphan those associations requiring the publisher(s) to have to reestablish them in each story. So NEVER delete a new Dropbox connection post-creation and story/file sync.