New with 6.1 is the concept of asset categories. An asset category, or simply “category“, is a simple tag on an asset that allows for several advanced features related to asset management, including hiding and displaying metadata. In 6.1, the feature is still quite barebones, as it lays the foundation for future improvements to the overall asset model in KeyShot Dock.

Categories can be children of each other to allow for building hierarchies of categories.

Categories can be configured by navigating to Administration → System → Asset Categories:

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For each category, the following options can be adjusted:

Name: A language-independent name of the category. E.g., "Product image".

Description: A language-independent description of this category. The description can include any notes or information about the category itself that might be relevant.

Parent category: The parent of this category. All categories require a parent. Use "Root" as the parent if this category is meant to be independent.

Abstract: When a category is marked as "Abstract", assets cannot be assigned to it.  

Sealed: When a category is sealed, it cannot have child categories assigned to it.

Color (Optional): A color for the category. It is purely for display purposes and serves no functional purpose otherwise.

In the Labels tab, a language-specific title and description can be assigned to the category. This allows information about the category to be in different languages for end users who might prefer another language over English. Your system needs to have multiple languages enabled to use this.

Assigning metafields/groups to only show up in certain categories

Metafields can be assigned to only show up when assets are in one or more specific categories. To set this up, go into System → Metadata and add categories to the field’s Restrict to asset categories field. The metafield will now only show up on assets assigned to your chosen categories or any of their child categories.

This same assignment works on metagroups. Note that a metafield has to be visible from both the field itself and the metagroup it is in. A warning will appear if you have made a metafield inaccessible, but it will not prevent you from saving as this might be desired in certain instances.