Need Advice From Fellow Users [and Mario :-)] on Windows Folder Structure

[Wow]

As I am starting to use iMatch I'd like to develop a system that I don't end up wanting to redo later on. I have a pretty good grasp of iMatch's metadata capabilities which are incredibly powerful. With all that power, what degree of organization do you still employ using Windows folders? Theoretically you could do anything between having one Windows folder with 100,000 photos in it and do ALL categorization with iMatch (probably not a good idea), and on the other extreme have a folder system that is several levels deep with some folders having hundreds of siblings.

How did you decide on the right balance? Suggestions appreciated and some basic examples would be great too.

Thanks

[PandDLong]

My situation is amateur hobby and family historian use.

For me the main pivot point was determining whether I would only access photos through iMatch or would I use Windows Explorer at times.    Once I realized that Windows Explorer would still be used, then a decent folder structure and file naming convention was needed.    (Note that in my case Windows Explorer is primarily used by others to access photos - I do a copy of my iMatch managed folders onto a shared drive for others to access.  This copy also serves as a backup.)   After this decision, I also realized this helps future-proof my situation should I stop using iMatch.

I decided to organize chronologically and have a set of top-level folders for each Decade and within each Decade the 10 folders for years.   Within each year folder I have further sub-folders but none of these have further folders (so the structure is three folders deep).  Each year has a couple standard sub-folders for consistency across years (and to catch photos that belong nowhere else in that year) and a set of sub-folders that are typically based around events or a photo-rich period of time in the year - the goal being to have a reasonable number of photos in each sub-folder - it is typically ending-up between 50 and 250 per folder.

It is still early days - only about 5000 photos have been processed - but so far so good.  On the plus side, I have also come to appreciate some of iMatch's capabilities that would probably enable me to setup a new folder structure and have iMatch move most everything over to it - in that sense I do not feel trapped in my decision.

Michael

[Mario]

Theoretically you could do anything between having one Windows folder with 100,000 photos in i

The more files are in a folder, the slower Windows (Explorer) becomes in processing it. 100,000 files in a folder would probably let Windows Explorer explode

Most users (me included) use a simple YEAR|MONTH|DAY folder naming schema.
This gives a top-level folder per year (e.g. c:\images\2023) and below that sub-folders per month and day.
Easy. Effective. Organizes your files sufficiently for all applications you use.

You can download your files into folder-based structures (the Windows Photo app can do that, for example) or you use the Renamer in IMatch to move your files into date-based folders.

[sinus]

I do exactly, what Mario explained, a Year/Month/Day-structure.
And basically the same for file-naming.

And this order (NOT e.g. day/month/year) is also very good for sorting, year first, then month, then day. 

[stefanjan2]

I drag photos into imatch "import" folder where I cull. I then use renamer to move the files into a structure like this: "e:\yyyy\yyyy-mm-dd | "
I then edit the folder name to add a descriptive suffix.

[Jingo]

Another vote for the Year/Year-Month folder structure... I only keep processed/final JPG images in my IMatch database with my RAW/originals in a mirrored drive using the same Year/Year-Month folder structure.  It enables me to quickly and easily reprocess any RAW items I would like while having the convenience of only JPG's in my database.  Always easy to find an image outside of IMatch if I know the approximate date!

[Mario]

I drag photos into imatch "import" folder where I cull (...)

For new users, some explanation:

This means you create a folder named Import (or similar) and add that folder to your database.
When you download new files from cards, smart phone or transfer new files by other means, you do that into the Import folder. IMatch automatically picks up the new files and indexes them.

Once indexed, you have the full power of IMatch available to review/cull the files in the Viewer, rename the files, move them automatically into dynamically created folders etc with the Renamer etc.

[StanRohrer]

Another fan of the year-month-date approach here. E.g. folder P:/photo_archive/2023/20230214 Valentines Day Party. This keeps folders and files in a chronological structure and a reasonable group of files relating a specific event or outing. Reviewing and editing each folder/group is easy to keep a status and is working among all the possible similars for the best shots to keep/use. The YYYYMMDD structure also sorts well in Windows File Manager.

I have an always setup Downloads folder where the Canon file mover (EOS Utility) can place a the camera files on download. The utility can be set to make a folder by YYYYMMDD for each download. In iM I rescan in (import) and add text to the folder name. Other parallel folders, parallel to Downloads, include: Keywording, Process. I drag the event folders through these major workflow steps. These physical folders are on my fastest NVME SSD so iM can work at the fastest speeds. After processing (and uploading relevant stock photos to stock photo sites) is done, then the event folder is dragged to my archive drive which is a very large, but slower, mechanical spinning drive.

I rely heavily on keywording and searches to pull items from my library. However, the awesome virtual Categories can be easily used for grouping of like subjects. I tend to use Categories for status of files relative to what stock agencies they may or may not be in. I also keep virtual Category status of files queued or already used in photo clubs and/or other display/sales locations.

I've been using iMatch since about 2002 and currently have over 201,000 files in a single iM library.

Once downloaded to the Download folder and imported into iM, I only use iM for access and file handing/moving. Windows File Manager is only occasionally used if I'm troubleshooting some issue. In my early days with iM, chronological support was not quite as available as today. So the chronological physical filing structure was helpful when trying go find specific dated events. It still is quite useful today - albeit iM has great tools. The import processing of new files assigns a Category of "To Review" in my workflow system. With my work flow, it is also paramount to do at least generic (event name, location) keywording very early (first thing after iM import) in the processing.

[digedag]

Photos that are worth keeping for me will gradually move (from various other folders) into the database. My archive.
The naming scheme is time based. See attachment

Folders: YYYY-MM-MMM --- Example 2017-07-Jul.
However, it's not out of the question that I'll have to extend this to DD (days), so we'll see. With RENAMER this is done quickly.

Files: YYYYMMDD_XXXX.EXT, where XXXX is taken from the original file.
From the original: _DSC0243.NEF --- becomes 20210714_0243.NEF in IMatch


Bernhard

[JohnZeman]

I'm glad Wow started this topic because it finally motivated me to do something I've wanted to do with my IMatch database folder structure for quite awhile.

For many years I've had the simple basic structure of Decade\Year and it's worked.  However since I've switched to DxO PhotoLab to process my raw photos, when I tell PhotoLab to load folder 2016 (for example) where are about 15,000 total files it takes PhotoLab a small eternity to load them all.

Now thanks to the IMatch Renamer tool I've changed my IMatch database folder structure to Decade\Year\Month where the months have both the 2 digit number followed by the full name (April 2023 is D:\Mine\Photos\Years\2020-2029\2023\04 April).  Doing it this way keeps the months in chronological order.

With this new structure PhotoLab should load my folders much quicker.

[jch2103]

@johnZeman - Be aware that using IM plus PhotoLab as a Favorite allows you to use IM to select multiple images in a folder (or multiple folders) and then open just those images in PL. Can make using PL much more efficient, as only the selected images get loaded into PL (as External Selections) instead of loading an entire folder.

[jch2103]

For a slightly different perspective, I (as an amateur, not a professional) use a slightly different date-based folder structure: 

I use a folder for the specific camera with subfolders using a date-based system: [Camera model]\YYYY-MMDD. (Sometimes the folder includes multiple days, but the folder name reflects the last date of the images therein.). I mostly use PhotoLab, and keep both raw and jpg images in the same folder, which IM handles w/o issues. IM's metadata capabilities allow this to work effectively. I usually but not always rename the images (e.g., 2021-10-11 12-19-53 NIKON Z 6.NEF or .JPG) but even if I don't rename, IM handles the images w/o issues (I'm aware of the potential for naming conflicts). I'd adjust this system a bit if I were a pro shooting multiple sessions per day. 

[Wow]

Thanks everyone for your input, very helpful. So I take it that for those of you using the year/month/day schema, that after placing photos in the appropriate folder, generally speaking you never use Windows folders at all to browse/organize etc. After that everything is done in iMatch?

[JohnZeman]

@johnZeman - Be aware that using IM plus PhotoLab as a Favorite allows you to use IM to select multiple images in a folder (or multiple folders) and then open just those images in PL. Can make using PL much more efficient, as only the selected images get loaded into PL (as External Selections) instead of loading an entire folder.

John thanks and yes, I am aware of that but I've been taking advantage of PhotoLab's new project organization and to configure my PhotoLab projects I first need to load all images that will go into that project.

Up until now that meant loading an entire year's worth of photos, now I'll be able to do that on a month by month basis.

[JohnZeman]

Thanks everyone for your input, very helpful. So I take it that for those of you using the year/month/day schema, that after placing photos in the appropriate folder, generally speaking you never use Windows folders at all to browse/organize etc. After that everything is done in iMatch?

Yep, you got it!

[sinus]

Thanks everyone for your input, very helpful. So I take it that for those of you using the year/month/day schema, that after placing photos in the appropriate folder, generally speaking you never use Windows folders at all to browse/organize etc. After that everything is done in iMatch?

That's it! I do almost everything in IMatch. 
Search for a photo? IMatch.
Search for a pdf, txt, video? IMatch.

So basically I do everything in IMatch.
Of course there are exceptionis, but they are rare.

If, as an example, I write some texts that I want to send today but that I will not keep, I save them in the short time on my desktop or in a folder that is not managed in IMatch.

I have a folder that I have labelled "short-term data"; I usually save such data there so that the desktop doesn't become a mess.

Or data that someone sends me and that I don't want to keep.

But screenshots that I want to keep, for example, also go into IMatch.

[stefanjan2]

I use imatch for all my image browsing. I process images in photolab by selecting a range of images. I export from photolab processed jpegs back to a "Processed" sub folder of the original folder.

Occasionally I will open the sub folder in windows explorer by right mouse clicking in imatch  to drag and drop into another app like Facebook.

[jch2103]

Occasionally I will open the sub folder in windows explorer by right mouse clicking in imatch  to drag and drop into another app like Facebook.

Yes, I sometimes do that also. At some point, I was able to load photos directly into FB from IM, but something changed (in FB, I think) so now I do need to open Windows Explorer to load images. 

[Mario]

Yes, I sometimes do that also. At some point, I was able to load photos directly into FB from IM, but something changed (in FB, I think) so now I do need to open Windows Explorer to load images.

I can drag and drop files from IMatch directly into several "upload" forms provided by various web sites and vendors.
What is the problem Facebook is giving you?

[jch2103]

I can drag and drop files from IMatch directly into several "upload" forms provided by various web sites and vendors.
What is the problem Facebook is giving you?

If I try to use the FB 'upload' option (see screenshot), a drag and drop just opens the image(s) in a new Chrome tab but doesn't load them into FB. As I noted, this used to work but doesn't seem to anymore. Still works w/ other websites.



ps - I tried attaching a screenshot here; I can see the code if I edit the post, but image doesn't seem to appear...

[StanRohrer]

Occasionally I will open the sub folder in windows explorer by right mouse clicking in imatch  to drag and drop into another app like Facebook.

Yes, I sometimes do that also. At some point, I was able to load photos directly into FB from IM, but something changed (in FB, I think) so now I do need to open Windows Explorer to load images.

Apparently there are a couple of underlying formats in Windows to drag and drop files. In iM, if the drag and drop doesn't work correctly, then try holding down the Alt keyboard key while dragging and dropping. The Alt key method works for me from iM to Facebook.

[Mario]

See the notes on <Alt> here: Keyboard Shortcuts

[jch2103]

Thank you, @StanRohrer and Mario - Alt works great w/ FB. 

[Mario]

Occasionally I will open the sub folder in windows explorer by right mouse clicking in imatch  to drag and drop into another app like Facebook.

IMatch 2023 allows you to drag folders to other applications. The default operation is copy, which is safe.

[sinus]

Occasionally I will open the sub folder in windows explorer by right mouse clicking in imatch  to drag and drop into another app like Facebook.

IMatch 2023 allows you to drag folders to other applications. The default operation is copy, which is safe.

IM2023 will have such a lot of new or updated things, that I will have to read the release notes / manual very carefully.