Flow (ShotGrid)

Addon name

In Ayon, we've been using the name Shotgrid. But since we plan to change it, we'll start calling it Flow addon in our documentation. Sometimes, we might use SG too, just to keep things interesting.

Introduction

Flow ( previously known as ShotGrid or ShotGun) is a production tracking and asset management software that helps studios manage their projects, assets, and shots. The Ayon Flow integration allows you to seamlessly connect your Ayon Studio with Flow and automate the synchronization of your project data between the two systems. The integration enables you to synchronize folder attributes, status, tags, and reviewables between Ayon and Flow

Current version of the integration also supports following features:

• Folder attributes two way synchronization
• Folder tasks two way synchronization
• Status synchronization (currently only Ayon to Flow)
• Tags synchronization (currently only Ayon to Flow)
• Reviewables upload to Flow for review
• Three types of Ayon client (desktop) user login:
  • via environment variable,
  • via Tray widget for User email and password inputs,
  • via Tray widget for User email input - with secret shared User api key set in addon settings

Configuring Ayon

Before any project can be synchronized form Flow first we need to configure the addon's Studio settings.

Setting up Flow Script connection

1. Go to your Flow server and within your admin menu (1) select Scripts menu item (2).
2. You'll need to create a new item for each access level and give it a name. We're calling our items ayon_connector and ayon_user_publishing. Each item is linked to a different permission group. It's important to know that the ayon_connector script is only for services, while ayon_user_publishing is for users logging into the Ayon Desktop app. This helps us manage different access levels.
3. When you create a script item, remember to save the generated hash key right away because it's only shown once.

Setting Ayon Secrets

Add the ayon_connector key to Ayon Secrets and name it some easy way so here in our example we are naming it sg_server_script_key. You can also add the ayon_user_publishing secret here just for future reference, but it will never be used as within SG addon settings.

Flow addon Studio settings configuration

Addon Frontend Tab

To be able to use Shotgrid tab in Studio settings you need to have correctly configured addon at production bundle state. Please restart the server after you finalized the settings. After that, you should see the Shotgrid tab in Studio settings.

To get the addon's frontend tab working and sync all Flow projects, you need to set up a few things:

• Shotgrid URL (ayon+settings://shotgrid/shotgrid_server)
• ShotGrid's Script API key (ayon+settings://shotgrid/service_settings/script_key)
• ShotGrid's Script Name (ayon+settings://shotgrid/service_settings/script_name)

Setting up the ShotGrid URL

First, enter your Flow server URL in the Shotgrid URL field. It looks something like https://yourcompany.shotgrid.autodesk.com.

Setting up the ShotGrid's Script API key for Services

Next, in the Services section, put your ShotGrid's Script API key. You should already have this key. Then, add your ShotGrid's Script Name. If you've followed the steps before, you might name it ayon_connector.

Setting login types for Users

You need to decide how users will log into the Ayon Desktop app. Here are three options:

1. Via Environment variable - This is the default login method. Enter the user's email as AYON_SG_USERNAME on each user's computer in your studio. With this method, users won't see their login details on the Tray app widget.

2. Via Tray App with password - Users log in with their email and password. It's a common method, and you can set permissions in Flow. You can create different permission groups for users. However, sometimes users might not have access to certain projects.

3. Via Tray App with shared API key - Users log in with their email only. The shared secret API key is in the addon settings. This lets you set one permission group for all users.

Setting up local storage for Flow

In order to use power of Flows file system you have to configure local storage settings. This is done by enabling local storage and adding local storage name which had been previously configured in Flow's Admin menu > Site preferences > File management. Here it is important to Enable linking to local files (1) and create preset (2) for multiplatform file system. Copy name of the created preset (3) and paste it in Ayon Studio settings.

Paths should be mirroring defined paths in Ayon Anatomy root configuration.

The name of the preset copied previously should be pasted in Ayon Studio settings.

Anatomy preset configuration

To use the Flow addon with Ayon, you need to set up an Anatomy preset. This preset helps sync things between Ayon and Flow. To get started, you can create a new preset or pick an existing one. Right now, the only thing to remember is that Task Types, Folder Types, and Statuses should each have only one item. Make sure it matches a common item you'd find in Flow.

Here's how to add a Comp task type with the shortcode cmp. Make sure to include it in the Flow Admin menu under Pipeline steps.

Follow these steps for Folder Type and Statuses too, as explained below.

To create new Anatomy preset follow these steps:

1. Go to Anatomy presets tab in Studio settings
2. Hit Save as new preset button
3. Name it something like Flow or SG
4. Remove all Folder types except one - make sure it has corresponding type in Flow
5. Remove all Task types except one - make sure it has corresponding type in Flow
6. Remove all Statuses except one - make sure it has corresponding status in Flow

And now the anatomy preset is ready to be used in Flow addon settings.

Selecting enabled entities for synchronization

Flow's enabled entity enumerator (ayon+settings://shotgrid/compatibility_settings/shotgrid_enabled_entities) lets us pick which entities to sync between Ayon and Flow. We do this by choosing the entities from the list and saving our choices. But remember, we must also turn on these entities in Flow's Project Tracking settings. Ensure all required entities are visible (not hidden).

Configuring folder attributes synchronization

To sync folder attributes between Ayon and Flow, set up the Folder Attributes Map. Choose attributes to sync by adding the name to the SG column (1). Attributes with no value won't be considered. Use the Scope column (2) to pick only the Flow entities that should have the attribute. For instance, the fps attribute might be used only for Versions, Shots, and Project entities.

SG attribute names

Use names without the "sg_" prefix, even though they exist in Flow's Field registry with this prefix. The system adds them automatically during synchronization. We first check if a name exists without the prefix and then try it with the prefix for the specific entity. If it's already in the registry, we use it; if not, we create it in Flow's field registry.

Check the Available Fields in Flow's Admin menu > Fields

Here is a typical example of folder attributes mapping:

Targeting reviewables to Flow

You can effortlessly ensure that all reviewables will be uploaded to Flow. For this purpose, you simply need to attach a specific tag to Extract Review output presets. You can achieve this by following these steps:

1. Navigate either to your Studio Settings or any Project settings.
2. Find and add the shotgridreview tag to any of the selected preset's output. You can do this at the following path ayon+settings://core/publish/ExtractReview/profiles/0/outputs.

First synchronization of new project

It is recommended to start first synchronization from Flow side.

Please create new project there, update its Project tracking as requested (Project Actions > Tracking Settings).

In this example it is shown that all items of Asset and Sequence type will be synchronized to flat hierarchy in AYON, Shot items will be parented under Sequence.

Please provide code value for this project for AYON start recognizing it. (Dropdown next to your profile picture > Projects. You might need to add Code column to be visible.)

No go back to your AYON server.

Create new project via Project Settings > Add New Project, it is recommended to use same name and code values as in Flow. Use SG Anatomy preset you set previously (see higher for more details).

Go to Studio Settings > Shotgrid, click on Populate Table. This should list all available projects on AYON server and Flow.

Note

Populate Table requires at least Processor service to be running!

Hit Shotgrid -> AYON button (if it is grayed out, it means that project is missing code in Flow).

To keep both sides synchronized you need to:

• in AYON go to Project Settings > Anatomy (of synchronized project) and toggle Shotgrid Push
• in Flow go to Projects and toggle Ayon Auto Sync (you might need to add this column to be visible)

Note

Synchronization between Flow and AYON started as unilateral from Flow. Two way synchronization features are being added, but parity is not achieved yet. It is recommended to start from Flow for now.