How do i integrate MTE and DPE Content Manager
INTRODUCTION
DAVID´s Audio Editors (MTE, ETE, STE) can be configured to save database entries via the DPE Content Service instead of using DDE communication with DBM. In this case there is no DBM offering an entry mask to enter and change metadata.
MTE uses a "Custom Mask" for the user to set metadata before storing the entry into the database. These Custom Masks using the same technology as the .NET Custom Masks for DBM.
What do you need at all?
- running DPEContentManager
- running MTE installation
- set the PlugIn right in DPE Admin or Admin.exe
- take care on action and application rights
- running Browserbridge
- (additional things in Editor
)
DPE Content Manager and Admin
pluginCmBbMte:
- Open audio or MultiTrack Editor (MTE) projects in MTE
- DPE BrowserBridge required on client machine
- MTE installation required on client machine
DPE Admin - setting of PlugIn
Audio Editors - Parameters
The following parameters are located in the DigaSystem registry branch → MultiTrack\Settings.
| NAME | DESCRIPTION |
OBSOLETE since MTE 7.0.1091.0 | This parameter decides, if MTE stores entries into the database using the CS. If the parameter is empty (which is the default), then CS is not used. Otherwise, the parameter specifies the basic URL of the DPE system which is hosting the CS. This URL must be given without a protocol prefix (i.e. no "https://"). |
| CustomMaskAssembly | Filename (optionally including the full path) of a DLL, which implements the Custom Mask. If CS is used, this must not be empty. A very basic mask is implemented by the DLL MteDefaultCustomMask.DLL. |
| CustomMaskName | A Custom Mask dll can implement more than one mask, with each mask identified by a unique name. If such a multi-mask DLL is used, the name of the mask for use by MTE must be entered here. If there is only one mask in the DLL, the parameter can remain empty. |
| CustomMaskParameters | This is not a single parameter, but a new subkey under MultiTrack\Settings. Within this subkey, arbitrary additional parameters of type "String" can be defined. These are passed to the Custom Mask DLL via a standardized API. If a specific Custom Mask supports additional parameters, these must be listed in the documentation for the Custom Mask DLL. MteDefaultCustomMask.DLL does not use additional parameters. |
Common workflow
When using DPE ContentService to save database entries, almost all actions which store a take and/or a project into the database work the same as before. Except that the user sees the Custom Mask to enter metadata instead of the DBM entry mask.
Workflow: choose an entry in CM, click on the PlugIn in the menubar, MTE open up and the entry lands in the clipboard
The only exception is the "Save database project and take" workflow. DBM doesn't support showing two entry masks (either in sequence or in parallel) for project and take, and therefore no mask at all is shown in this case (the user can only enter metadata by switching to DBM after the save operation). This restriction is not necessary when saving via DPE ContentService. Therefore MTE displays two metadata masks in sequence, first for the project and then for the take. The data entered in the first mask is used to initialize the fields in the second one.
Note:
- In the first save operation of each MTE session, the user has to enter their DigaSystem password.
- Afterwards, it's internally cached by MTE for the rest of the session.
- Also, the first save operation might take a few seconds longer, because MTE requests some data from the CS, which are also cached for the session.
- MTE started from DBM will use DBM save dialogs and DDE/NamedPipes for save operations. MTE started from Content Manager will use custom save dialogs and webservices for save operations. A mixture (e.g. start MTE from Content Manager and save to DBM) is not possible.