Understanding And Using DAT Transformations In CX For Omnichannel

Summary

Dynamic Asset Transformations (DAT) allow you to generate tailored versions of assets (called derivatives) on the fly for different channels and devices. You can configure DAT derivatives using our interactive visual canvas or by adding specific parameters to the asset URL.

Enabling DAT creates a specific DAT derivative and public link visible in the Asset Detail view.

Note: If an original asset is smaller than the configured DAT dimensions, the system will output the derivative at the original asset's maximum size without upscaling.

Who?

This feature/solution requires your Customer Success Contact to enable, but then individual permissions can be done by the Bynder Admin.

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Please keep in mind that in order to have all DAT functionality your Bynder Admin must enable all DAT specific permissions in the DAT section of Permission profiles. Once the permission profile is set up properly all users with DAT permissions can use the feature.

Why?

CX Omnichannel's DAT turns one master asset into every channel-ready variation. Apply transformations by URL parameter or from the Transformations UI in the asset detail view: From resizing and cropping to  borders, backgrounds and output format. 

Combine as many transformations as the channel requires. Where a marketplace demands a precise cutout, embed clipping paths into a single master to supply the expected crops. A DAT preset captures a channel's rulebook once, configured and previewed against your own reference images inside Bynder instead of in a design tool, or waiting on an agency to return a set of near-identical images. Each variation is rendered on demand from a DAT or predictable URL and delivered straight to your PIM, CMS or storefront, so no per-channel files are stored and every channel always serves the current approved asset. Entering a new marketplace costs a preset, not a new production run.

How?

Creating A DAT Derivative

  1. Navigate to the Asset Bank.
  2. Select the asset you want to create a DAT derivative for.
  3. Click Transformations in the Info tab of the Asset Detail View. This will open a screen to configure the DAT transformations.
  4. Either click the DAT preset you want to apply in the right sidebar, where a preview of what the DAT derivative will look like will be generated, or create a derivative from scratch.
    • To create a derivative from scratch click the transform.png button, and select Transform.  
  5. Click the ➕ Add transformation button.
  6. Open the Transformations dropdown and select one of the available transformations. Choose the parameters for the fields, sliders, and options to configure the transformation.
  7. If you’d like to update the focus point click the dropdown and select Override focus point.
    • You can select a new focus point by editing the percentages or directly clicking on the asset with the real-time editor. This focus point will only be applied to the transformed asset; it won’t change the preset DAM focus point.
    • Note: If the AI Focus point detector is not working as expected, you can Opt-out of the solution to rely solely on the main focus point detector set up in your DAM. In order to Opt-out please reach out to your Customer Success Contact.
  8. Click the Format dropdown and select the file extension type you want the output file of your DAT derivative to have. Options are: WebP, JPG, PNG, AVIF, or Auto (recommended).                           Screenshot 2024-05-22 at 3.08.31 PM.png

Note: If you select Auto, WebP will be the default output for all browsers that accept WebP; in all other cases, it will be JPG.

11. Click the Quality dropdown and select one of the available options to set the quality of the output.                         Screenshot 2024-05-22 at 3.08.22 PM.png

12. Click the link_brand_guidelines.png button to copy the URL of the DAT derivative, or select Download to download the file.      

13. Click Done to close the screen.    Screenshot 2024-05-22 at 3.07.27 PM.png

Extracting Multiple Clipping Paths

  1. Upload a PSD, TIFF, or JPG file containing embedded clipping paths, or configure an AI clipping path and run the Transformation Agent on an asset (requires the Agent platform).
    1. Important: To ensure clipping path extraction can be done for JPG files, please request for this feature to be enabled in your portal.
    2. Path names extract automatically upon upload without manual portal configuration. Important limitations to highlight: 
      1. 50 paths can be extracted at once per file and up to 100 paths will be shown in the clipping path drop down in the DAT Preset Admin configuration screen.
      2. Commas , are not supported in clipping path names, and all special characters must be properly encoded. To avoid errors when special characters are involved, always use the DAT UI to generate your URL. 
  2. Open the asset's Transformations menu in the Asset Detail View, or navigate to Portal Settings > DAT Presets or directly to the DAT UI to build a reusable preset.
  3. Click ➕ Add transformation and select Crop or Remove background.
  4. For Crop transformations, select a path from the Clipping Path drop down menu.  
  5. Copy the derivative URL, download the file, or save the configuration as a preset for future reference and consistent delivery.

Available Transformations

Background

Change the background color of a transparent image.

  • Enter the HEX code of the color you want to fill the background within the Color field.
 

Border

Add a border around the image and specify the border width and border color.

  • Enter the HEX code for the border color in the Color field.
  • Set the border width by entering the number of pixels in the Border field. Example: Width = 30, this means that all sides of the image will have a 30px border.

    • To customize the border/padding width per side of the image click the Independent Borders option. Example: width = (30,20,30,20) - this indicates that 2 sides will have 20px border while the other two sides will have 30px border.

      1st number = Top

      2nd number = Right

      3rd number = Bottom

      4th number = Left

 

Crop

Crop your image using interactive visual controls or exact aspect ratios.

  • Visual Canvas: Use live guide lines and anchor points directly on the image preview to adjust your crop area in real time.

  • Social media Channel Templates: Select from a list of preconfigured social media dimensions for easy cropping per channel, or choose a generic aspect ratio.

    • Note: Social media Channel template dimensions are fixed by specification and cannot be modified.
  • Clipping Path: Crops the image according to embedded clipping paths extracted upon upload or AI-generated clipping paths configured via the Transformation agent.
  • Crop Shapes: Choose from the following options:
    • Rectangle: Crops the image in a rectangular shape using specified dimensions or interactive handles.

    • Ellipse: Crops the image in an elliptical shape.

      clipping_crop.gif

      Example of cropping with a clipping path.

  • Set the dimensions of your crop using the width and height fields in the Dimensions section.

Note: The dimensions can only be set for Rectangle and Ellipse crops.

 

Remove Background

Remove the image background. The system will use the available clipping path information to mask the image and remove the background.

Tip: Fill the removed background with a solid color using the Background transformation.

 

Extend

Extend the image to the specified dimensions.

  • In the Dimensions section, enter the new width and height to decide how much you want to extend the image canvas.
  • (Optional) If you want to fill the transparent area of the extended canvas with a solid background color, enter the HEX code of that color in the Background field.

High Resolution (XL_DAT)

For projects requiring superior detail, we offer a High-Resolution Derivative (XL_DAT). This feature allows you to serve images up to 6000 x 6000 px, doubling the capacity of our standard DAT assets. 

Note: The XL_DAT derivative must be configured in your portal. Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or the Support team to enable this Feature. 

How it Works

The XL_DAT option is dynamically generated based on the size of your original upload. The system uses a minimum threshold to determine if a high-resolution version is necessary:

  • The Trigger: If your uploaded image has any dimension (width or height) of 3001 px or larger, the High-Resolution Derivative is automatically created.

  • The Limit: The XL_DAT will match your source image size up to a maximum of 6000 x 6000 px.
  • Below Threshold: If an upload is smaller than 3000 x 3000 px, only the standard DAT derivative will be available.

Implementation and Scaling logic

Use the table below to see how different upload sizes trigger the high-resolution asset:

Original Upload Size XL_DAT Triggered? Resulting XL Resolution
2000 x 2000 px ❌ No No XL_DAT created (Both sides under 3000px).
2000 x 4000 px ✅ Yes Created at 2000 x 4000 px (Height ≥ 3000px).
4000 x 4000 px ✅ Yes Created at 4000 x 4000 px.
7000 x 7000 px ✅ Yes Created at maximum cap: 6000 x 6000 px.

Using High-Resolution Assets

To access the higher resolution version of an asset, you must adjust your transformation settings:

  1. Navigate to the Transformations menu.
  2. Select High Resolution base Derivative.
    • Note: This option will only appear if the source asset meets the 3000 px minimum requirement.
  3. Choose between the Standard Base or High Resolution for your output.

Identifying XL Assets in URLs

When High Resolution is enabled, you will notice a specific parameter added to the asset URL. This tells our delivery network to fetch the larger file:

.../DATXL?resolution=high

Important Note: The resolution=high parameter is required to serve the XL_DAT asset. If this parameter is missing, the system will default to the standard DAT size (max 3000 px).

Fill

Resize the image without distortion (losing the aspect ratio). As much of the image as possible will remain visible. The image may be cropped to create an image with the specified dimensions.

  • Resize the image by entering the desired dimensions in the width and height fields of the Dimensions section.
    • Note: We cannot upscale the image as this would lead to quality loss.

  • Open the Focus dropdown and decide which part of the image should be cropped by choosing one of the following options

    • Focus point

      The image will be cropped from the predefined focus point, ensuring that only the most important visual information is available in the crop.

    • Gravity

      With gravity, you can set which part of the image shouldn't be cropped. Depending on the entered dimensions, other sides may still be cropped.

      Use the gravity picker or the dropdowns in the Graviy section to set the gravity

      gravity_picker.jpg
 

Fit

Resize the image based on the specified dimensions. The aspect ratio won't change which means one size of the resized image may not have the exact specified dimension.

  • Resize your image by entering the desired image in the width and height fields in the Dimensions section.

Note: We cannot upscale the image as this would lead to quality loss. Note that due to high density displays some content will appear fuzzier because it uses less pixels than your display. 

Flip

Flip the image vertically.

Rotate

Rotate the image clockwise based on the specified degrees.

  • Enter the number of degrees you want to rotate the image in the Angle field.

Scale

Resizes the image to the specified dimensions without necessarily retaining the original aspect ratio.

Trim

Removes any transparent or white-colored areas at the edges of an image.

Filters

Opacity

Set the opacity level of the DAT derivate.

  • Use the Opacity slider to set the opacity level.
 

Sepia

Add a sepia tone filter to the DAT derivate.

 

Contrast

Adjust the contrast of the DAT derivate.

  • Use the Contrast slider to set the opacity level.
 

Brightness

Adjust the brightness of the DAT derivative.

  • Use the Brightness slider to set the brightness of the DAT derivative.
 

Grayscale

xAdd a grayscale tone filter to the DAT derivative.

 

Blur

Apply blur to the DAT derivative.

  • Use the Blur slider to set the blur level of the DAT derivative.
 

Sharpness

Set the sharpness level of the DAT derivative.

  • Use the Sharpness slider to set the brightness of the DAT derivative.
 

Saturation

Set the saturation level of the DAT derivative.

  • Use the Saturation slider to set the brightness of the DAT derivative.

Text

Apply a text layer to the image.

  1. Enter the text for the overlay in the Text field.

    • Note: Commas and colons (:) are unsupported in the DAT Text Overlay transformation.

  2. Select the font for the text overlay in the Font dropdown.

  3. Enter the HEX code of the desired font color in the Text color field.

  4. Choose the position for the text overlay using the position picker or the dropdowns in the Position section.

  5. (Optional) Set the padding for the text in the Padding field.

  6. (Optional) Enter the number of degrees you want to rotate the text in the Angle field.

 

Image

Overlay an image over another.

Note: Currently, only one image overlay transformation can be applied at once. DAT image overlays will not respect the size of the selected derivatives. 

  • Select the asset you want to overlay by clicking on Choose asset in the image section
  • Search through your DAM assets and select the one you would like to use
  • Enter a percentage(1-100) to determine the opacity of the overlay image in the Opacity field
  • Select the position of the overlay image using the position picker or the dropdowns in the Position section
  • Enter a number (0-359) to determine the angle of the overlay image in the Angle section
 

Color

Apply a text layer to the image.

  • Enter the HEX code of the desired overlay color in the color field
  • Enter the percentage (1-100) to specify the transparency of the color overlay

Output

Increase DPI

Increase the DPI output for transformed images in order to deliver images with the correct requirements when submitting product images to online platforms. 

Format

This will convert the original file to a .JPG, .PNG, .WEBP or .AVIF file type. The default output format is .AVIF, if AVIF is not possible with the users browser the output will be .WEBP.

Note: When converting .JPG or .PNG to .WEBP there can be a color conversion issue that may cause the asset to appear pixelated. 

 

Quality

Set the quality of the output file. This only works for .WEBP and .JPG files.

 

Automatic Download

This ensures that the download of the DAT derivative will start automatically upon visiting the URL.

SVG Limitations

DAT does not currently support SVG as an output format.

If you would like to use an SVG as an output, you should mark the file as Public in the Advanced Rights section of the asset, then use the Original URL that will appear in the Public Links section of the Asset Detail view.

SVG files loaded into Bynder will still generate Webp DAT derivatives that can be used with the DAT UI and Presets.

FAQs

What if I want a transformation that Bynder does not offer?

Please submit a product insight request here.

Can WebP images be transparent with Bynder?

Yes, WebP supports transparent background.

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Level: Proficient

Proficient-level articles are for users who have some prior Bynder knowledge. These articles require you to know the basics and may also require higher-level portal rights to accomplish the task outlined within the article. 

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