Apple Catalog

Apple feed delivery workflow

An Apple feed delivery can be triggered at any time from:

• the Connect header, under Create new, by clicking Apple Feed Delivery.
• the contextual menu available for any individual title listed in the Apple Catalog page, by clicking Start feed delivery.
• the Apple Catalog Bulk actions menu in the header, while on the Apple Catalog page, by clicking Start feed delivery.

Triggering Apple feed delivery workflows

When triggering the Apple Feed delivery workflow, a custom 3-step wizard process is displayed. This process is meant to facilitate adding titles, reviewing and fixing errors, and ultimately delivering the Apple Catalog (and, if needed, the Apple Avails as well):

Step 1 - Titles

• The first step of the Apple Feed delivery workflow allows users to select the titles they want added to Apple Catalog or Apple avails, and also select which metadata templates they want to use for this process.

Validations and errors

In step 1, the Apple Feed delivery workflow validates the selected metadata templates.

There are multiple layers of validation in place that are applied for both the Apple Avails metadata template and the Apple Catalog metadata template:

• The templates must have the <umcAvailability> or <umcCatalog> tags to be considered valid templates for this process.
• The templates must have valid contentType values configured, as per the definitions found in the associated .xsd file of the metadata template.
• The templates cannot have the same contentType configured multiple times.
• The templates must contain all the required properties, as per the definitions found in the associated .xsd file of the metadata template.

Step 2 - Metadata

• The second step of the wizard validates the values found in the Title metadata dynamically, according to the validation rules provided by the .xsd file associated with the metadata template. There are no hardcoded validations in place.
• In the second step, the user has the option to fix any missing or incorrect values on the selected titles, before continuing with the delivery.

Step 3 - Deliver

• The third step compiles all the metadata values found on the selected titles and creates or updates the Apple Catalog and Apple Avails master .xml files with the information. Additionally, artworks may also be delivered if they are part of the delivery.
• The workflow presented in step 3 displays links to both Apple Catalog and Apple Avails, for the user to review. If everything is in order, click on Send Apple update to deliver the .xml files to the configured platform locations.
• The most recent Apple Feed delivery workflow can be found in the platform configuration, under the Apple availability feed and catalog feed tab

Change log

At the end of each Apple feed delivery workflow, there can be two separate change logs that are generated: one for Apple Catalog and one for Apple Avails (if an Avails metadata template was used).

Perform an Apple feed delivery

To perform an Apple feed delivery:

1. Configure your selection of titles.

   Note

   Source files are not mandatory to be present in titles for Apple Catalog or Apple Avails deliveries, with the exception of specific artworks.

2. Configure a metadata template for Apple Catalog. Use the correct .xsd file for the Catalog version you are trying to deliver, for example, 3.5 .xsd or 3.6 .xsd.

3. Configure a metadata template for Apple Avails. Use the correct .xsd file for the Avails version you are trying to deliver, for example, 3.5 .xsd or 3.6 .xsd.

4. Configure a platform with all the necessary information. For more information about Apple platforms, see Configuring an Apple platform.

5. Optional: Assign iTunes type package templates to the platform.

   • The package templates are required for full content deliveries, that are performed through the Batch & Jobs system.
     Note

     When trying to deliver iTunes packages, make sure you add a naming convention in the organization settings that will enforce the .itmsp extension on the package.

6. Trigger an Apple feed delivery workflow from the Connect header.

   Note

   Afterwards, the workflow can also be triggered from individual titles or from the bulk action menu, inside the Apple Catalog page.

7. In Step 1 - Titles, of the Apple feed delivery workflow:

   • Optional: Select a valid Apple Avails metadata template
   • Select a valid Apple Catalog metadata template
   • Info all metadata templates in the organization will be displayed in both dropdowns
   • Select the titles you want to add to the Apple Catalog or Apple Avails

8. Proceed to the next step. In Step 2 - Metadata, of the Apple feed delivery workflow:

• If there are errors on the selected titles, you can fix them in this step. If not, you can proceed to the next step.

9. Proceed to the final step. In Step 3 - Delivery, of the Apple feed delivery workflow:

• If there are no errors present, complete the delivery by pressing the Send Apple update.
• You can always inspect the latest delivery in the platform configuration, under the Apple availability feed and catalog feed tab.

10. Check the Apple Catalog page or the Apple Catalog .xml file to confirm that your titles have been added to the catalog.