Shared vs. inline assets

The terms “shared” and "inline" indicate if an asset can be reused.

• Shared assets are available for reuse; they can appear in more than one parent asset.
• Inline assets are not available for reuse; they appear in only a parent asset.

Corporate logos are a common example of a shared asset: brand storytelling almost mandates that corporate logos be identical wherever they appear in a site. Other examples of shared assets include the following:

• Images that appear in more than one article
• Reporters cited in more than one news story
• Page layouts appearing in more than one section

The following diagrams illustrate the difference between shared and inline.

Referring to the diagram on the left, the image of kneading dough is generic, so it is a good candidate to appear in the three blog posts. If you change the image or its caption, the change appears in all three blog posts. In addition, when editors search for images using the keyword kneading, Brightspot displays the image in the search results.

Referring to the diagram on the right, the celebrant is describing a one-time event that included a one-time dessert. The chances of editors using the image in other blog posts are low, so it is a good candidate to add it to Brightspot as an inline asset. In addition, when editors search for images using the keyword birthday, Brightspot does not include the image in the search results.

Summary:

• Add assets to Brightspot as shared when—
  
  • You want them to be available for use in multiple parent assets.
  • You want their updates to appear in the parent assets.
• Add assets to Brightspot as inline when—
  
  • You believe they are not pertinent to more than one parent asset.
  • You do not want them to be available in other parent assets.
  • You want to prevent automatic updates from appearing in the parent asset.