Let a rule decide what gets your watermark.
No need to remember it every time you share.
Make sure client-facing work always carries your watermark, without choosing Force on for every share.
By the end, you’ll have created a rule that watermarks tagged images when they’re uploaded or shared, applied it to an asset uploaded weeks ago, and checked the marked copy your client gets.
Before you start
- A watermark style for images in Settings › Watermark. See “Watermark your work before sharing it.”
- A role that can manage watermark settings and trigger rules, and create shares. Owner and Project Manager can by default.
Watch the walkthrough
Let a rule decide which assets get your watermark. Then you don't have to remember it every time you share.
The watermark style is already set in Settings, under Watermark. Below it, Trigger Rules decide when it's applied. There are none yet, so open Manage rules.
Add a new rule and give it a name. Only admins see it, here in settings.
Choose when the rule runs. On upload covers new assets. On share covers the assets you already have, at the moment you share them.
Now the conditions. Add a Tags group, keep Any, and add the tag client-review. Only assets with that tag get the watermark.
By default, the rule covers images, like this style. Expand it to copy the rule to other media types.
Create the rule. It's on, and you can switch it off here at any time.
It now shows under Trigger Rules.
Here's an asset uploaded three weeks ago. Add the client-review tag to it.
Now share it. In Asset usage, choose Share asset, pick Specific people, and add your client.
Choose contact, type a name, and pick your client from the list.
Keep For review. Under Watermark, leave Inherit, so this share follows the workspace rules. Force on and Force off override them for one share or portal.
Share it. Your client gets the invite by email.
The asset has the tag and was just shared, so the rule applies.
Watermark Protection says Preparing.
A few seconds later, it's Active. Your team still works with the original. Open the watermarked version to see what your client gets.
Your client opens the invite and asks for a one-time code.
The code arrives by email.
Enter it, and the asset opens.
The watermark runs across the image. Nobody chose Force on. The rule did it.
In short: a rule has events, conditions and media types. Tag an asset and share it, and the rule adds the watermark. A share or portal override wins over workspace rules. A watermark marks your work. It doesn't stop screenshots.
Search across all videos and guides.
Tag it, share it, and the rule adds the watermark.
Alex Morgan wants every image sent to clients for review to carry the Northstar watermark, without choosing Force on each time. Alex creates one rule, “Client review images”: it watermarks images tagged client-review when they’re uploaded or shared. Then Alex tags an asset uploaded three weeks ago and shares it with Maya Chen at Harbor & Pine.
A rule has three parts: events (when it runs), conditions (which assets it covers) and media types. It uses the watermark style you set in Settings › Watermark; see “Watermark your work before sharing it.” Sign in to YetOnePro to follow along.
- 01
Open Manage rules
Open Settings and go to Watermark. Below the style, Trigger Rules decide when the watermark is applied. With none yet, it says No rules configured. Click Manage rules.
In Manage trigger rules, click New rule and type a Rule name, here “Client review images”. The name is only visible in admin settings.
- 02
Choose when the rule runs
Under Events, tick On upload and On share. On upload covers new assets. On share covers the assets you already have, at the moment a member shares them.
Other events. The list also has On tag change, On metadata change and On portal publish. This guide uses On upload and On share. - 03
Choose which assets it covers
Under conditions, click Add condition group and choose Tags. Keep Any, click Add tag, type client-review and press Enter. Only assets with that tag get the watermark.
Other groups are Uploaded by, Custom Metadata and Folders. A rule with no conditions covers every asset of its media types.
- 04
Check the media types
By default the rule covers images, matching the style: Applies to: Image. To copy the rule to other media types, choose Expand to add. The Rule summary shows what you’ve set: 2 events, 1 condition group, 1 media type.
- 05
Create the rule
Click Create rule. The rule appears in the list, switched on. You can switch it off there at any time. Close the window, and it shows under Trigger Rules.
- 06
Tag an asset
Open an asset, here one uploaded three weeks ago. In the Info tab, under Tags, click Add tag, type client-review and press Enter.
- 07
Start a share for your client
Go to the Asset usage tab and click Share asset. Under audience, pick Specific people, then Choose contact and start typing your client’s name. Pick them from your contacts, here Maya Chen.
- 08
Leave Watermark on Inherit
Keep For review. Under Watermark, leave Inherit, so this share follows the workspace rules. Force on and Force off override the rules for one share or portal. Click Share, and your client gets the invite by email.
- 09
Watch the rule apply
The asset has the tag and was just shared, so the rule applies. In the Info tab, Watermark Protection says Preparing…, and a few seconds later it’s Active.
Your team still works with the original. To see what your client gets, click Preview watermarked version.
- 10
Your client gets the marked copy
Your client opens the invite, clicks View Shared Asset and asks for a one-time code with Send code. The code arrives by email; once they enter it, the asset opens with the watermark across the image. Nobody chose Force on. The rule did it.
In short: a rule has events, conditions and media types. Tag an asset and share it, and the rule adds the watermark. A share or portal override wins over workspace rules. A watermark marks your work. It doesn’t stop screenshots.
Check the result
- Trigger Rules lists your rule, switched on.
- The rule runs On upload and On share, for assets tagged client-review, for images.
- The asset has the tag, and the share’s Watermark is Inherit.
- Watermark Protection on the asset says Active, and your client sees the watermark.
If it didn’t work
Does the rule cover assets I uploaded before I created it?
Yes, through On share. On upload covers new assets; On share covers the assets you already have, at the moment you share them. In the video the asset was uploaded three weeks earlier.
I shared an asset and it has no watermark.
Check that the asset matches the rule’s conditions (here, the client-review tag) and its media type, that the rule is switched on, and that the share’s Watermark is Inherit, not Force off. Assets that don’t match are shared without a watermark.
What other events and conditions can a rule use?
Besides On upload and On share, a rule can run On tag change, On metadata change or On portal publish. Conditions can be Uploaded by, Tags, Custom Metadata or Folders, and a Tags group can match Any, All or None of its tags.
Which wins, a rule or the share’s setting?
The share or portal. Inherit follows the workspace rules; Force on and Force off override them for that one share or portal.
Does a watermark stop screenshots?
No. A watermark marks your work. It isn’t a lock.