The Akeneo - Image & Asset Configs page within the Custom Preference settings allows you to configure and manage various image and asset settings, such as image resizing, quality, and asset storage options, ensuring optimal handling and display of media files throughout your product information management system.

Asset and images

Akeneo PIM has 2 ways to store images for your products.

Either with several Image attributes or by using the Asset collection attribute that points to one or more images from the Assets management feature of your PIM Enterprise Edition (using image files or image URLs).

The SFCC Akeneo connector can retrieve images from the Image attributes, the Asset Collection attributes, or both. This is managed by Akeneo Image Import Type (akeneoImageImportType). If ‘both’ is selected, Media links are managed using product custom Attributes in SFCC.

Select the image type

Select wether you need to import images attribute or assets or both.

Select the Asset Import type

In the connector configuration page, you need to select Assets for the following parameter to retrieve images from the "asset collection" attributes.

akeneo_<camelizedAssetCode>_<camelizedAssetAttributeCode>
 

Natively, SFCC does not support locale specific image links. This is handled by the connector by appending view-type with locale (e.g.: large_en-US, swatch_fr-FR etc). This must be handled in storefront logic by the developer.

External image location 

 Define the base URL to use for every media. This will refer to your DAM or CDN base URL.

Filter the assets

Filtering assets streamlines the asset import process by allowing users to select specific asset families and assets for import, thereby saving time and ensuring that only relevant assets are imported to SFCC.

Asset family Filter configuration

 Asset family filtering allows users to specify which asset families and assets to import. This config is an array of objects comprised of asset_family_code and asset_codes attributes.  

[
{
"asset_family_code": "model_pictures",
"asset_codes": ["allie_jean_model_picture", "amy_socks_model_picture", "alice_blouse_model_picture"]
}, 
{
"asset_family_code": "product_videos",
"asset_codes": ["sku_54628_video1", "d25133k_promo"]
}
]

[
    {
        "asset_family_code": "model_pictures",
        "asset_codes": []
    }
]

Enable asset family filtering

Remove downloaded assets on full mode

Remove downloaded media on full mode

Include Non-Media Asset Attributes

Metadata mapping

Configuration to associate an Akeneo attribute with a salesforce's image attributes, like ‘alt’ and ‘title’

{
"matching": {
"alt": "akeneo_asset_attribute"
 }
}

View type mapping

In the connector configuration page, you can specify the SFCC master catalog image view types and map your Akeneo image files and links onto these image view types on SFCC.

Declare view type 

Declare the Image view type in SFCC.

{
                "view-types": [
                                 "large",
                     "medium",
                     "small"
  ]
     }

Image Link View-Types Mapping

Mapping between SFCC master catalog view types and Akeneo image links. Specify which Akeneo image link type asset attribute is associated with which salesforce's image view-type like ‘large’ and ‘swatch’.

 {
  "matching": {
    "large": "image_media_link",
    "medium": "medialink2",
    "small": "medialink3",
    "thumbnail": "medialink_for_thumbnail"
  }
}

Image File View-Types Mapping

Mapping between SFCC master catalog view types and Akeneo image files. Specify which Akeneo image file type asset attribute is associated with which salesforce's image view-type like ‘large’ and ‘swatch’.

{
  "matching": {
    "medium": "media_file_1",
    "small": "media_file_2",
  }
}

Akeneo Image view types

List of Image View types of the relevant master catalog in SFCC.

{
"view-types": [
"large",
"medium",
"small",
"swatch"
]
}

How to define which PIM attribute is a variant value for product images?

Since the 20.2.0 connector version, you do not have to set this information manually. This is automatically triggered and even more, you now are able to use many attributes on both axis instead of one.

How can I retrieve media from the "Asset Collection" attributes?

Please note that since Akeneo Connector for SFCC version 20.3.0, we have slightly changed the way to manage media (and then images): in order to not be constrained by the SharedLibraries limits anymore, we have changed the way to store the media information: you will have the PIM asset collection and its content described as a SFCC custom product attribute.

1. your asset collection will be created as a SFCC custom attribute (whatever the media is a link or a file) 
   
2. The related information is stored as an index array (the sorting of the media in the PIM is maintained into this index order). By searching the ID in the product attribute, you will find the related media information.
3. in our exemple akeneo_amAssetCollectionLinkAndBinScopable is equal to ["asset1_vdo_ytb_en"]. That means: there is only one asset in the asset collection and this asset has asset1_vdo_ytb_en for ID. If you search for the camelized version of the asset ID (E.g: asset1VdoYtbEn) in the 'Akeneo Product Assets Attributes Data' custom attribute of the product, you will find the data related to the attributes of this asset, such as:

Compatible videos

Exactly the same that the PIM do: Youtube or Vimeo videos links only.

Compatible files

You have to know that the "files" can be either "PDF" or "Other". The main difference is related to the PIM thumbnail generation. Anyway for the files (PDF & Other) you are able to use URL or binaries. If you choose other as media type, you will be able to manage any kind of media (please consider that bigger is the file, longer the processing time will be).

Asset deletion

 The deletion of an asset is tracked within the product attributes of the "pim_catalog_asset_collection" type. This attribute manages a list of assets associated with the product, and when one of these assets is deleted, the deletion is recorded within the attribute of type "pim_catalog_asset_collection"