Help & Documentation
Learn how to use Comad to organise and manage your digital assets.
Getting Started
Create an account
Click Sign In and choose Create Account. Enter a username, email address, and password (at least 8 characters). You will receive a confirmation email — click the link to activate your account.
Sign in
Enter your email and password on the Sign In tab. Once authenticated you will be taken to the asset browser.
Upload your first asset
Click Upload in the top bar. Drag and drop files onto the upload area, or click to browse. Add optional metadata (description, caption, keywords) before clicking Upload.
Browse and organise
Select a category in the left panel or type in the search bar to find assets. Click any asset to view and edit its details in the right panel.
Uploading Assets
Single and multiple files
Click Upload and drag files onto the drop zone, or click to browse. Multiple files can be added in one batch. Each file gets an editable name and shared metadata fields apply to all files.
Shared metadata
Description, Caption, Keywords, Creator, and Copyright fields are applied to every file in the batch. Creator is pre-filled with your username and cannot be changed.
ZIP file modes
When a ZIP file is detected, a mode selector appears. Choose ZIP only to store the ZIP as a single asset. Choose Contents only (default) to expand the ZIP into a category tree without storing the ZIP itself. Choose ZIP + contents to do both.
Assigning categories on upload
If a category is selected in the browser when you open the upload dialog, all uploaded files will be automatically assigned to that category. To assign further categories, select the asset afterwards and use the category controls in the right panel.
Browsing & Searching
Browsing by category
Select a category in the left panel to see all assets in that category. Click All Assets to see every asset you have access to. Select a specific sub-category to see assets within it.
Searching
Type in the search bar to filter assets by name, caption, keywords, creator, or description. Search works across all categories simultaneously.
Sorting
Use the sort pills above the grid to order assets by Name, Type, Date (default, newest first), or Size. Click the active sort pill again to reverse the direction.
My Assets filter
Click the My Assets pill to show only assets you uploaded. This filter combines with any active category or search.
Categories
Creating categories
Click the + button next to the Categories heading to create a new top-level category. To create a sub-category, hover over an existing category and click its + button.
Category hierarchy
Categories are organised in a tree. Click the arrow next to a category to expand or collapse its sub-categories. The tree starts fully collapsed — only top-level categories are visible on load.
Assigning assets to categories
Drag an asset thumbnail onto a category node to assign it. You can also use the category dropdown in the asset details panel. An asset can belong to multiple categories.
Moving categories
Drag a category node onto another category to make it a sub-category. Drag it onto All Assets to promote it to top-level. A category cannot be moved onto itself or one of its own descendants.
Asset Details
Metadata fields
Select any asset to open its details in the right panel. You can edit Name (required), Description, Caption, Keywords, and Copyright Notice. Creator is read-only and is set at upload time.
Availability
The Available checkbox controls whether the asset is considered active. Optionally set an Available Until date to automatically mark the asset unavailable after that date.
Saving changes
Click Save changes at the bottom of the form to apply your edits. A confirmation message appears briefly when the save is successful.
Managing categories in the panel
The categories assigned to an asset are shown as tags. Click Ă— on a tag to remove it, or drag a tag to the red drop zone. Use the dropdown at the bottom to add an additional category.
Editing Images
Open the image editor
Hover over any image asset card in the grid. A pencil icon button appears in the top-left corner of the thumbnail. Click it to open the full-screen image editor.
Crop your image
Click the Crop button in the toolbar to enter crop mode — the cursor changes to a crosshair. Click and drag on the image to draw a crop rectangle. A rule-of-thirds grid and blue corner handles mark the selection. Drag a new rectangle at any time to replace the selection.
Rotate your image
Click Rotate Left or Rotate Right to rotate the image in 90° increments. Rotation and cropping can be combined — rotate first, then drag a crop selection, or in any order. Click Reset to clear all edits and return to the original.
Save your work
When you are happy with the result, choose Save As New Asset to keep the original and create an edited copy, or Replace Current to overwrite the asset's file in place. Press Escape or click Cancel at any time to close without saving.
Crop tool
Toggle Crop mode in the toolbar, then drag on the image to select the area you want to keep. The area outside the selection is dimmed. Draw a new rectangle at any time to replace the selection. Crop mode automatically stays active until you switch it off or close the editor.
Rotate tool
Use Rotate Left (↺) and Rotate Right (↻) to turn the image in 90° steps. The image is redrawn immediately. You can rotate multiple times — four clicks return you to the original orientation. The Reset button clears both rotation and any active crop at once.
Save As New Asset
Creates a brand-new asset from the edited image. All metadata from the original (name, caption, keywords, copyright, availability, and visibility settings) is copied across. The creator is set to your current username and the asset is automatically assigned to the same categories as the original.
Replace Current Asset
Overwrites the file stored for the existing asset. The asset's ID, metadata, and category assignments are unchanged — only the image file itself is replaced. The thumbnail in the grid refreshes automatically after a successful replacement.
Visibility & Privacy
Default visibility
All assets are private by default when uploaded. A private asset is only visible to you — other users cannot see, search, or access it.
Making an asset public
Open the asset details and uncheck Private in the Visibility section. This automatically enables Read access so others can view the asset. You can then optionally enable Download and Write access.
Read access
When enabled, other authenticated users can see the asset in search results and browse views, and view its metadata and thumbnail.
Download access
When enabled in addition to Read, other users can download the full asset file.
Write access
When enabled, other users can edit the asset's metadata. Grant this only to collaborators you trust.
Making an asset private again
Check the Private checkbox to make the asset private again. This immediately clears all public access flags — Read, Download, and Write are all disabled.
Locking & Deleting
Locking an asset
Click the Lock button in the action bar at the bottom of the asset details panel. A locked asset cannot be deleted until it is unlocked. Lock status is stored locally in your browser.
Unlocking an asset
Click Unlock in the action bar. Once unlocked, the Delete button becomes active.
Deleting an asset
Click Delete in the action bar. A confirmation prompt appears — click Yes, delete to permanently remove the asset. Deletion cannot be undone. Locked assets cannot be deleted.
Downloading an asset
Click Download in the action bar to save the original file to your device. The asset URL shown in the details panel can also be copied and shared.
Ready to get started?
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