---
title: From File to Published Artifact
description: What happens as a file becomes an artifact, from ingest through derivatives, metadata review, visibility, and reuse.
section: guides
order: 7
updated: 2026-06-14
verified: 2026-06-14
related: [getting-started/core-concepts, guides/importing-photos, guides/downloads-and-sharing]
features: [import-sessions, multi-format-assets, format-downloads]
---

# From File to Published Artifact

You'll follow the normal lifecycle of a record from upload to public use, with the decisions you make at each stage.

Preservated separates preservation, processing, description, and publication. That separation lets you import imperfect material safely, improve it in stages, and publish only when the institution is ready.

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     Capture: Admin → Operations → Import session detail with a mix of completed and processing items,
     1440px wide, light theme. -->

## 1. Ingest the source

The lifecycle starts when a file or provider record enters an import session. The source may be a local upload, a batch migration, or an external collection provider.

At ingest, Preservated records what it received and where it came from. For file uploads, that includes file name, size, MIME type, checksums, EXIF, embedded creation dates, and GPS data when available. For external imports, it also keeps source identifiers and mapped descriptive fields.

## 2. Preserve the master

The original file becomes the **master**. Masters are stored unchanged so the institution can always return to the source evidence.

This matters even when the public experience uses a smaller file. A visitor might see a web JPEG, a PDF page image, or a video proxy, but the master remains the preservation copy behind those access versions.

## 3. Generate useful derivatives

Preservated then generates format-specific derivatives:

- Images get thumbnails, web-size previews, and deep-zoom tiles.
- Documents get page previews, extracted text, OCR text, or rendered PDFs.
- Audio gets waveform data and optional MP3 derivatives.
- Video gets poster frames, playable web proxies, and optional audio-only derivatives.

Derivatives are cached and reusable. If a visitor later asks for an MP3 or a 1080p video derivative that does not exist yet, Preservated can create it on demand and keep it for the next request.

## 4. Create or update the artifact

The artifact is the record your staff and visitors work with. It links to the master asset and any derivatives, then receives whatever metadata the source supplied.

A file named `1994-05-parade.tif` might produce a basic title and date. A legacy import might bring richer fields: creator, subjects, rights, places, identifiers, and collection memberships. All of it remains editable.

## 5. Enrich and review metadata

After ingest, curators can add or improve description manually or with AI assistance. AI analysis may suggest titles, dates, subjects, descriptions, detected text, people, places, or salience data for cropping.

The review step is the important control point. AI and import providers can propose information, but staff decide what becomes the curated record. When you accept a suggestion, the record still keeps provenance so later reviewers can understand why the value exists.

## 6. Set access and rights

Before publication, decide two related but separate questions:

- **Who can see the artifact?** Collections and visibility tiers answer this.
- **What can viewers download or reuse?** Rights metadata, copyright status, and download restrictions answer this.

For example, a photograph can be public to view but unavailable for public master download because the rights status is uncertain.

## 7. Publish into visitor experiences

Once an artifact is visible, it can appear in collection pages, search results, public artifact pages, citations, download flows, galleries, tours, and CMS or wiki content.

Publishing is not the end of the lifecycle. Corrections, new scans, transcript edits, better dates, rights updates, and community submissions can continue to improve the record over time.

:::note
If you need a conservative workflow, import into a members-only or admin-only collection first, review metadata and rights, then make the collection public when the record is ready.
:::