Questions about restoring with Pack&Go

[dp7602]

Hi !

I intend to use Imatch on a laptop sometimes.
To do so, I export the database and the settings using Pack&Go on my desktop computer.
After restoring with the latest backup, I open the right database (for example in C:\Users\Pierre\Pictures\BDD-imatch\IMatch_20201209\Users\Pierre\Images\BDD-Imatch) on the laptop.

The question are : 

I bookmarked some files in order to review them and give them a rating. A big part of these files are digitalized negatives (from 60 to 130 Mb each), some are regular canon raw files (CR2), panasonic raw files (RW2) and olympus raw files (ORF).

After restoring, I don't see these files in the bookmark category. Is the bookmark tag supposed to be included in the database ? I imagine so.

Same with ratings and one keyword I added to the files : if ratings have been written in xmp, it's OK. If it's not, I don't see them after restoring of the database on the laptop.

These tags are not supposed to exist in the database ?
Is it mandatory to perform metadata writeback ? Problem : it's quite slow with big files.

There must me something I missed.

Thanks for helping.

Pierre

[Mario]

Bookmarks and ratings are stored in the database.
Please double-check where Pack & Go restores your data and that you have opened the correct database.
Pack & Go by default restores into the original folder structure.

Tip: The "Protocol" tab in Pack & Go lists what was restored and where.

[dp7602]

Hi Mario !

I've just checked and I open the right database (I made this error some months ago).
I even did another restoration in another folder (My document).

The result is the same : the bookmark collection does not contain any picture although it has more than 2500 when I use Imatch on the desktop.



Regards,
Pierre

[Mario]

This is very unlikely. Since the bookmarks are an inherent part of the database, they cannot get lost when you copy the database to another folder or computer.
No problem like this was ever reported.

The only reason for this I could would be that you somehow set bookmarks during import or via a Metadata Template, and IMatch runs an import on the other PC for the same files. A rather theoretical and contrived example.
Same for ratings. Ratings are stored in the database. They can only get lost when you re-import the files with a forced update or "reload metadata".

You can always copy the database manually in Windows Explorer.

[dp7602]

Hi Mario,
You have written : 
«Same for ratings. Ratings are stored in the database. They can only get lost when you re-import the files with a forced update or "reload metadata".»

Reading again your answer, I remember that when opening the database, there is a long time when Imatch reads (or reloads ?) metadata. It acts as if it re-imports the files.
Is there a way to change this ?
I use the same hard drive but on a different computer. So, using the same database, I imagine that metadata should be read quite instantly without the need to be reloaded.

Thanks for helping.

Pierre

[Mario]

IMatch only re-imports files when the "last modified on disk" timestamp reported by Windows has changed. Or when the user forces a n update.
If the file are on the same disk, no re-import is required.

If you are opening an old database, this might happen. Which would also explain missing ratings and bookmarks.
Ratings may get lost when a) a file is rescanned for some reason, b) the metadata of the file was not written back before, c) the metadata protection is in IMatch is off (Edit > Preferences > Metadata 2).
But bookmarks cannot get lost that way, unless you reset them during import by running a Metadata Template.

I recommend you copy your database once manually, in Windows Explorer. Then make sure you open exactly this database via the Database > Open command in IMatch.

[dp7602]

Hi !

In Preferences / metadata2 panel : 

Protect unwritten metadata is set to «Yes»
Protect rating and label is set to No
Protect existing xmp is set to Yes

Could the «protect rating and label» be the source of the problem ?

btw, I'm away from the desktop computer and I can't try the database copy / paste solution.
I'll try tomorrow.

I see that the best - more secure - solution is to write back metadata before performing the backup.
If only it was faster ! I know that Imatch with exiftool is performing secure metadata writing, not just «patching» metadata.
I really miss Lightroom's speed regarding xmp writing.

Regards.

Pierre

[Mario]

The protection actually prevents ratings from being lost when a file was modified externally before IMatch has written the metadata.
See the IMatch help for details.

IMatch writes files at about 1s each, with several files in parallel. This makes between 4 and 10 files written per second on a SSD, depending on your computer, number of processors.
Normal disks may take 20% to 100% longer. External disks are slower as internal disks. etc.

Show us your log from a session where you did some write-backs so we can see how long IMatch takes per file, if your computer has 2 or 12 processor cores etc.

I still think that you are opening the wrong database.

[dp7602]

Hi Mario,

I've found the explanation and you were right : I didn't open the right database because I did not save the right database.
My windows environment is in French and at the very first use of Imatch I put the database in the folder \Images.
When I performed a restoration some months ago, Pack&Go did it in a \Pictures folder.

I expected the database to be in the \Images folder so I backed up the wrong database and hence opened it on the laptop.
That's why I could not find the bookmarks I have set.

I've just did a test and it's OK.

The fact that Pack&Go creates a \Pictures folder during the restoration can be very confusing when you use another language in Windows.

The lesson to take from this experience is that one has to be very careful about the path of the database which is set in Pack&Go.

Thanks for helping.
Pierre