Production and metadata
This section explains how Anchorpoint handles production and metadata so you don't have to worry about your files.
What happens to my project files?
Your production data, e.g. your Unreal and Unity project, code, videos, images, 3D models, Blender or Photoshop files etc. are never modified by Anchorpoint. This data is then mostly on your Git repository or a shared folder such as on your hard drive, Dropbox, Google Drive or NAS. Anchorpoint adds metadata such as file locks, tags and annotations on top of that.
Where does Anchorpoint store its metadata?
Anchorpoint processes metadata (tags, file locks, attributes or shared Git config values) in the Anchorpoint cloud. This allows for team collaboration or synchronization across multiple computers. Anchorpoint stores a .approj file in your project so it knows where your project files (described above) are located. Anchorpoint never uploads any production data to the Anchorpoint cloud.
Git
Anchorpoint is able to connect to any Git server, whether it's GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Devops or a self-hosted Gitea server. You don't need to configure things like LFS, because Anchorpoint does it for you.
The only thing you need to take care of is to make sure that your team members also have an account on that Git server. You also need to invite them to your workspace.
Git LFS
Git LFS is the acronym for Git's large file storage. It's an addition to the Git system to manage heavy binary files, like PSD, Uasset, blend, EXR, MP4 etc.
Git is designed for software developers who deal primarily with text files. They are pretty light. When connecting to a Git server, the whole version history is downloaded to your computer, because Git is a distributed version control system and allows you to work offline. This is okay for text files, but not for heavy binary files. Git LFS allows you to control that better, so only the binary files that you really need are being downloaded.
Don't upload binary files without using Git LFS, because you will reach the limits of the Git hosting service. Anchorpoint takes care of that.
Shared folder
Anchorpoint functions as an ordinary file browser with asset management and pipeline capabilities, allowing you to manage your project files more efficiently. It works perfectly with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Nextcloud, and your local NAS in the studio.
Virtual files
Tools like Dropbox or Google Drive allow you to keep files online only. This means that you can see something on your computer, but the file is not physically there. When you open it, it has to be downloaded first. These are called virtual files. Anchorpoint will show them with a cloud icon. To view thumbnails, click on the cloud icon in the top right corner. It will trigger the download of the virtual file.