A Cumulus catalog is a group of records that, together, represent the assets you want to manage. Each asset is represented by one record. There is no limit to the number of different media file formats that can be represented in one catalog. One of the greatest features of Cumulus is its ability to catalog any digital asset, in addition to the file formats directly supported.

A catalog has a database file at its core. The way you work with the information in this file can be extensively customized.

When you catalog assets, the catalog settings determine how and what sort of information Cumulus extracts, creates and stores on the assets as metadata in the record fields and category fields.

Each catalog can have its own distinct properties. Any changes made to the catalog settings affect the way information is stored on all of that catalog’s assets. For more information see “Catalog Settings”. To set up a catalog to store information in addition to or differently from the default settings, fields can be added to the catalog either by activating them from the list of fields that Cumulus supports or by defining your own custom fields. (See “Adding Fields”, and “Creating a Custom Field”.)

With Workgroup or Enterprise, catalogs can only be created by the Cumulus Administrator. And the Cumulus Administrator can give each user different rights for each catalog. The range of functions a specific user is allowed to perform depends on the rights the Cumulus Administrator assigned to her/him.