Every designer I have ever interviewed for a job has stumbled when asked if they know of or have used Adobe Version Cue. Some common responses are "Yes it's that program that gets installed with Photoshop" or "It's for making versions of graphics I think?". In all fairness both responses combined do almost make a complete answer :-)
I'm first to admit I ignored it for a long time, until I read somewhere that Version Cue is basically versioning for graphics using your Adobe applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign). To anyone who programs for a living they understand the benefit necessity of having version control of their code. As I'm a big user of SVN, the thought of having something similar for the graphics side of web development sounded very appealing.
I've learned that many professionals and beginners alike still don't really know what VC is or how it works, how to set it up, or what to do once it's implemented.
The truth is, setting up a Version Cue server and implementing it into your work-flow is very easy, and you'll soon understand how it offers a far superior alternative to just saving your files onto a regular file system or server. And it will occasionally save your arse as it has mine on several.
How does it work?
Used in conjunction with Adobe Bridge, the Version Cue server ideally runs on a dedicated machine on your network, although you can run it on your own workstation.
The first time you go to save your work you will be prompted to check it in to Version Cue. This is version 1 of that particular design. Each subsequent check-in of that file is considered a new version, and you can browse the previous versions of any file using Adobe Bridge.
Every time you check a file in you will be prompted to enter a comment for this version. It helps to put something meaningful that will make sense if you or someone else has to read it later on.
Real world scenario 01: Roll back to previous versions
Lets say during the design phase you've been given several edits by the client, and at some stage they say "You know what? I think I liked it better when we had that side bar thingy on the left and the blue theme. Let's go back to that". Using Adobe Bridge, you can view all the previous versions of that design (including the one the client is referring too) and see the comments you've (or other designers) made at each check in. You then locate the version which the client described and promote it to the current version and if the client is still happy, mark it as 'approved'.
This also means all the other designers in the team wont have any doubt which version is going to be used come time to begin implementation.
Real world scenario 02: Having your arse saved
You've finished the design and flattened the PSD so you could send it to a client as a JPG for review. At some point you got distracted and saved your work in a flattened state and closed the file. With Version Cue it's a no-brainer - just roll back to the previous version. Without Version Cue, you would be creating the PSD again from scratch!
Real world scenario 03: Alerting other designers
If another designer opens a file from the Version Cue server that you have checked out, they will be alerted to the fact when opening, saving and checking in. This gives them the opportunity to save a new version of the file as to not conflict with what you are doing.
The bad stuff
Like any software that seems to good to be true there are some annoyances. This one is a massive oversight on Adobe's part, as for some reason they chose to ignore standard back-up best practices by not allowing back-ups to be saved over a network. This means back-ups are actually performed on the same workstation, which is pointless if it doesn't have a separate additional physical hard drive. If you're just backing uo to the same drive and it dies, you're screwed.
You will have to slave another drive in the server and instruct VC to use it for backups. You can also use an external USB or Firewire drive, but they are much slower than an internal SATA drive.
On the topic of back-ups, there is no automated way to perform backups on VC. They have to be initiated manually every time. So for maximum peace of mind you will want to remember to perform a backup each night.
And finally there is also no incremental backup function. So if you're Version Cue backup data is 500mb for example, and during the course of the day you create another 10mb worth of art, running a back-up will create an additional 510mb file instead of just adding 10mb into the existing backup.
That aside, you owe it to you and your team to implement Version Cue. I will be glad to offer any assistance here if required, but I've only familiar with VC on CS3.
More information
I've really only touched the surface here. Watch this video and you will get a better idea of how powerful and awesome it is.
Marvin The Martian
My only issue with version cue is that along with Bridge, it is a very heavy program. I love both, but it takes it toll.
Tuesday 19th May 2009 | 07:54 PM Reply Comment URL Profile Back to top