The photools.com Press Kit

Welcome! This page contains information and resources for journalists and bloggers.
Contact me via press@photools.com if you need more information or if you have questions not answered here.

Background and History

photools.com is the web presence of Mario M. Westphal, the developer of IMatch and IMatch Anywhere™.
Mr. Westphal has a background in photography and software development, having worked with both small and large companies, web agencies, and startups. He currently resides in Germany.
When he couldn’t find suitable software to manage his ever-growing image collection, he decided to build one himself.
Thus, IMatch was born. Today, IMatch is used by a large user base from over 70 countries.

IMatch User Base / Target Audience

IMatch users come from diverse fields: amateur and professional photographers, videographers, small photo agencies, scientists, doctors, artists, librarians, collectors, artisans, historians, institutional and corporate users, as well as plane and train spotters, among others. Basically, everyone who needs to manage large amounts of images and other digital assets can benefit from IMatch, especially those looking for solutions on a budget.

IMatch is considered one of the leading Digital Asset Management Systems (DAM) for Windows available today.
IMatch specializes in managing digital images and videos but also handles other file formats, such as audio files, PDFs, text documents, or Office documents with ease. This capability enables users to manage their entire project within IMatch, not just images or video files.

IMatch supports over 150 file formats, including images, RAW files, videos, audio files, Office documents, PDFs, and more, as well as user-defined formats. It provides strong and standard-compliant metadata support and offers numerous distinct features not available in other Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems. See the full feature list below for more information.

IMatch Anywhere^™ is an add-on for IMatch that enables users to access their IMatch database remotely, from any device with a modern web browser. This product is designed for use with home or company networks, allowing multiple users to collaborate and share digital assets using IMatch Anywhere WebServices™. It offers an affordable and easy-to-maintain multi-user Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution.

All trial versions are fully functional and remain active for 30 days after installation, with no registration required. If you require more than 30 days of testing for your article or post, please contact us regarding a press license.

High-Resolution IMatch Screen Shots and Logos

Here are some IMatch screen shots you can use in your publication or blog.

Important Links

Some quick links for your convenience.

User Reviews for IMatch

The renowned Gardner Capterra Website has several dozen reviews for IMatch. Real reviews from real IMatch users.

Main Features

Below is a list of all major features and functions in IMatch, along with links to the corresponding topics in the IMatch help system where applicable. This makes it easy for you to access more detailed information about these features and functions.

License and Support
Free trial version downloads and pricing information. IMatch is distributed by FastSpring.
Perpetual license, no subscription.
Available since 2001.
Free support directly from the developer and via the IMatch user community.
Updates are free for the purchased version. Updates are shipped every 6 to 8 weeks. Updates usually include new features and enhancements, not just bug fixes.
Fair discounts on major upgrades (released every 12 to 18 months). See the Update & Upgrade policy for details.
User interface available in English and Deutsch (official), with volunteer translations into Nederlands and Português.

System Requirements
IMatch requires Windows 10 or later and a processor supporting AVX. See the hardware and software requirements for details.
It efficiently manages up to one million assets per database on suitable systems. Typically, users handle 100,000 to 300,000 files. Corporate users manage between 500,000 and several million assets.
IMatch does not require a specific file system layout or move assets into a proprietary database. It manages files where they are, ensuring compatibility with all other software.
Supports RAW image formats via Windows WIC codecs and LibRaw integration.
Supports over 150 image, video, audio, PDF, Office, and other file formats. User-defined file formats are also supported.
Integrates seamlessly with all common image editors, RAW processors, and other software.
IMatch is highly performant with a moderate resource footprint. It utilizes multiple processor cores by distributing complex operations automatically. The graphic card is used for hardware-accelerated super-fast image display and other tasks.

File Management
Indexes selected or all folders on disks and other storage media. Indexes files on cloud storage (must be accessible via Windows).
Create, copy, move, rename, and delete folders. Batch creation of entire folder hierarchies.
Copy, move, rename, and delete files.
Powerful Renamer feature for renaming files based on patterns, metadata, date & time, and variables.
Distributes files into folders using patterns and variables, dynamically creating folder hierarchies as needed. Typical use-cases: create date-based folder structures from files, automatic backups of original files on secondary drives, etc.
Monitors the file system to detect new or modified/deleted files in managed folders by external applications. Automatically re-imports modified files and indexes new files. Files deleted or renamed/moved by external applications are marked as off-line. Users can remove them from IMatch or update the system with their new location/file name via the relocate command if the files were moved or renamed externally. This preserves data in the database for these files.
User-configurable buddy file management to keep original and associated files together during move, copy, rename, and delete. Use-cases: keep different image versions together or manage ‘config’/’workspace’ files/folders from RAW processors.
On-demand checksum-based file verification to detect and report corrupted files.
XMP-compatible rating, labeling, including file rejection.

Metadata Features
Learn about how and where IMatch utilizes metadata in Metadata for Beginners.
Full support for legacy IIM IPTC, XMP IPTC Core, and IPTC Ext. View official test results on the IPTC.org website.
Comprehensive metadata support for XMP, EXIF, GPS, ID3 (MP3), PDF, Office and Open/LibreOffice, QuickTime, and more.
Automatic synchronization and migration between native EXIF/IPTC/GPS data and XMP during import and write-back processes.
Support for custom XMP namespaces introduced by camera manufacturers and other software vendors.
Handling of thousands of camera-specific maker note fields (for display, search, sort, filter, and export).
User-definable XMP labels and colors to manage varying label names used by different software vendors.
Adding, editing, and viewing GPS coordinates and related data.
Import GPS track logs to add GPS coordinates to files. Track log display on maps.
Advanced Map Display: IMatch supports Google Maps, Bing Maps, HERE Maps, and OpenStreetMap. For user freedom and privacy.
Reverse geocoding to generate location data (e.g., county, city) from GPS coordinates in image files. Supported services include GeoNames.org, Google, and HERE.
Unique user-configurable file versioning concept to automatically propagate metadata changes from master files to versions, ensuring consistency in keywords, titles, descriptions, etc.
Powerful and flexible features for viewing and editing metadata and keywords. Supports user-created and third-party controlled vocabularies via the thesaurus, with integrated quality and consistency features.
Metadata Templates for automatically filling, moving, or modifying metadata values. Can be automated on file import to populate stationary information like copyright and author details. Ideal for photojournalists with strict metadata requirements.
The IMatch TimeWiz simplifies the process of adding, modifying, or shifting metadata timestamps. Adjust for camera clock discrepancies or timezone differences with ease.
Integrated Metadata Analyst (MDA) tool to detect and display metadata issues. Helps address incomplete or non-standard metadata produced by various applications.
The Metadata Mechanic aids in resolving common metadata issues and tasks such as unifying, synchronizing, and correcting values.

Searching and Filtering
Integrated search engine with typically sub-second search times for up to 100,000 files.
Search for file and folder names.
Conduct searches across more than 10,000 metadata fields.
Search for specific Persons and Events.
Search within IMatch Attributes.
Find images containing a specific number of faces or in certain arrangements (pair, group, large group, etc.).
Utilize Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and parentheses expressions: "London AND 'Big Ben' AND night".
Support for regular expressions to handle complex search patterns.
Identify duplicate files (same image content, may differ in metadata) and exact copies (binary identical files).
Search for visually similar files based on shape and texture.
Perform searches based on a user-provided sketch (sketch match).
Locate files by GPS coordinates and find ‘files nearby’ using user-drawn outlines or radius.

Viewing Files in IMatch
Image display in IMatch is fully color-managed and hardware-accelerated for optimal performance.
The File Windows feature displays files in folders, categories, collections, timeline nodes, and for persons or events. IMatch supports user-definable layouts and allows users to choose from over 100 common metadata fields and more than 10,000 other supported fields, including proprietary maker notes. This is particularly important for technically inclined users and professionals like scientists who need to display uncommon metadata, such as XMP Darwin Core..
IMatch offers smart stacking to reduce visual clutter in File Windows, automatically organizing versions into stacks.
With the Filter Panel, users can filter files by a wide range of criteria.
The Quick View Panel provides an enlarged view of the focused file, supporting zoom, stacks, and annotations for enhanced review capabilities.
The Viewer displays files in full-screen or up to eight side-by-side, with synchronized zoom and pan. Ideal for efficient culling and review, it offers direct access to collections, ratings, labels, marking files for deletion, IMatch categories, and vector annotations. Optional overlays include collections, histograms, metadata, variable grids, a “diff” comparison view, focus peek, and more. It supports face annotations and a wide range of vector-based annotations for non-destructive file annotation.
The full-screen Slide Show feature in IMatch enables users to seamlessly play on-screen presentations, offering a range of useful options and customizable behaviors to enhance their viewing experience.

Sorting
IMatch uses a flexible concept called sort profiles to organize files in File Windows and other features such as export, rename, printing, etc.
Sort profiles combine multiple criteria like file name, folder, size, date & time, and various metadata fields including rating, label, title, description, keywords, persons, similarity, etc.
IMatch comes with several predefined sort profiles to address the most common sorting needs. Users can create custom sort profiles for specific requirements, such as organizing files by country, camera name, or individuals featured.

IMatch Attributes
The Attribute concept enables users to create a database within a database. Attributes store any amount of custom data for each managed file directly in the IMatch database.
Attributes are not limited by metadata standards and work across all file formats. This makes them ideal for custom data storage and interfacing with external systems or databases.
Attributes are fully integrated into IMatch. They can be searched, used for filtering and sorting, and displayed like any other metadata field or property that IMatch maintains.

IMatch Categories
This is a unique concept exclusive to IMatch. Categories can include any number of files without duplicating the physical file on disk. A single file can belong to multiple categories.
Users create category hierarchies tailored to their individual needs and assign files accordingly to organize them efficiently.
Data-driven (‘smart’) categories leverage metadata or IMatch variables to automatically organize files into hierarchies of any depth. For instance, categorizing files by camera name, lens or a country/city/location structure.
Formula-based categories enable the creation of dynamic categories from folders, collections, timeline nodes, persons, and events. Formulas are also used to combine two or more categories using Boolean logic.
Category aliases allow users to link identical sets of images into different parts of the hierarchy without duplication.
The special @Keywords category is linked to the hierarchical keywords stored in files, significantly speeding up typical keyword operations such as replacing keywords, globally fixing typos, or changing entire keyword hierarchies.
An included set of Standard Categories automatically organizes files by technical specifications like camera name, lens, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. MP3 files are categorized by artist and album, while PDFs are organized by author and title.
The standard IMatch Workflow Categories organize files based on quality-control criteria such as 'Files added Today', 'Files without Keywords', or 'Unrated Files'. Users can quickly identify files that require attention by reviewing these categories.
Files with location data are automatically categorized into a three-level Country/City/Location hierarchy.

IMatch Events
Events are another unique feature of IMatch, allowing users to organize their files by events on a timeline.
An event can be anything—a birthday party, a city trip, a two-week vacation overseas, a concert, or a studio session, among others.
Events can be created for specific time periods (e.g., the start and end date of a vacation). Users can also create events from folders, categories, or arbitrary selections of files. This enables users to reuse existing organizational structures.
Events have properties like name, color, and description. They can be enhanced by adding a location or associated persons.

The IMatch AI: Face Recognition and People
IMatch uses AI / machine-learning for a number of purposes. All running locally, no cloud .
Excellent face recognition technology with unique features not available elsewhere.
Face annotations are integrated into the general IMatch vector annotations concept. This allows to search for faces, sort using faces, view faces in the Viewer and Quick View panel etc.
IMatch automatically maps face annotations to and from XMP face regions for optimal interoperability with other software.
The unique People concept is built on top of face annotations. Users can add and manage persons, add data for persons and then use the information anywhere in IMatch. For display, sorting, filtering and more.
IMatch’s face arrangement feature groups images based on the number of faces (single, pair, group, large group, …)

Harnessing AI for Media: The IMatch AutoTagger
The IMatch AutoTagger supports a variety of cloud-based AIs, such as those from OpenAI and Mistral. We believe in giving users choices.
Additionally, IMatch offers support for the free Ollama software. This allows users to run powerful AI models on their own PCs with no privacy concerns or fees.
Regardless of the AI chosen, AutoTagger provides a consistent and user-friendly interface, along with an extensive feature set. Users can utilize custom prompts to tailor the style and length of AI-generated descriptions and keywords.
What distinguishes IMatch’s AutoTagger from other software is its seamless integration into the IMatch ecosystem. Existing database information, such as location details or names, can be leveraged to enhance prompts, providing context that improves AI-generated descriptions and keywords.
IMatch enables users to store descriptions and keywords in standard XMP metadata tags. For those who prefer separating AI-generated content from manually entered data, IMatch provides dedicated AI-specific tags. This feature helps prevent the contamination of user-entered data with AI-generated information.
The innovative IMatch Traits feature assists in categorizing images based on AI results. A trait combines a prompt with a custom metadata tag, allowing users to classify images by attributes such as lighting conditions, mood, or whether they are indoor or outdoor scenes, and even specific elements like animals, boats, or buildings. The possibilities with this feature are virtually limitless.

Converting, Exporting, and Printing
Batch Processor for converting and exporting files in various formats. Options for canvas, frames, text overlays, watermarks, QR codes, and image effects. Full control over the metadata exported, including dynamically added/removed metadata just for export.
IMatch Design & Print enables users to create prints, photo books, and collages. Output to printer, image files, or PDF documents.
Flexible Text Exporter to produce plain text, JSON, and XML files from any type of IMatch information or metadata.
Importing and exporting IMatch categories.
Importing CSV files (a common exchange format) to populate metadata fields or Attributes with external data.
Import controlled keyword vocabularies in multiple formats (including Lightroom format) via the Thesaurus Manager.
Attribute importer for importing metadata values into the IMatch Attributes database.

Time-Saver Features
Controlled vocabularies, keyword synonyms, and keyword links in the Keywords Panel to enhance keyword input speed and quality.
Keyword links allow adding numerous keywords and synonyms in various languages with a single click. Ideal for stock photographers or photojournalists facing tight deadlines.
Easy integration of external applications and tools via Favorites.
The Dashboard tracks all essential tasks, including user-defined quality management checks and alerts.
Keyboard shortcuts to open files in their associated application or Windows Explorer. Integrated Windows Explorer context menu.
Move/copy files and assign/unassign categories or keywords with a mouse-click or keyboard shortcut via Favorites.
Powerful Automation favorites to combine and execute multiple actions with a single click.
Batch operations for metadata, allowing quick addition, removal, change, or unification of values across numerous files simultaneously.
Metadata Templates for automatic filling, moving, or modification of metadata values.
Utilize the built-in scripting features to automate tasks and interface with other software and systems. The IMatch database is accessible from virtually any programming language via its REST API.

Extensibility
IMatch offers a programming interface via the integrated IMatch Anywhere WebService™.
Apps running in IMatch, seamlessly integrating into its user interface, can be developed using standard HTML and JavaScript.
Service apps operate in the background, executing tasks that require no user interface.
Any programming language capable of accessing REST services (e.g., C#, Python, Basic, Perl, C++, Java) can interact with IMatch databases. This facilitates the extraction of data from an IMatch database, importation of data from external sources, and manipulation of database contents.
The IMatch Anywhere WebServices™ API is fully documented and available.