Externally renamed folder and duplicated information

[Mike]

The help system warns us at: https://www.photools.com/help/imatch/rmh_dlg_scanfolder.htm?dl=h-10

"If you have renamed or moved a folder outside of IMatch, do not add it again to your database using the methods explained here. This would duplicate the information and IMatch would have two folder objects in the database for the same physical folder (one for the old location/name and one for the new location/name).

Instead use the Relocate command ..."


Does one of the following actions remove the duplicated information you describe, if we don't use the relocate command?

a) Rescaning the parent folder of such an externally renamed subfolder?
b) Compacting & Optimizing the database?
c) If none of them, what step is required for a cleanup?

[hluxem]

If you don't use any categories, attributes or other data just stored in the DB and all your data are in the metadata of your files you can use a rescan with the option remove offline files and folders enabled.

Be careful, it's a powerful option and one command can wipe out a lot of work.
Definitely backup your database and try out with only a handful of folders. I disabled the option to remove offline files. I don't want to accidently delete information when a drive is offline, and I do a rescan.

Compacting and optimizing doesn't do anything, the database doesn't know.

If you use categories or attributes, you can go back to a backup of your database before you did the rescan and relocate the folders. 
If you don't have that backup, backup the database first. Then rescan the folders with the option remove offline files and folders on. I suggest disabling it afterwards to be safe. You can also select the folders and use the command remove offline files and folders. Unfortunately, the relocation has to be done folder by folder.

This may not be applicable, but if you have a pattern in the folder names you could create a version relation and propagate data from master to version. Not sure if propagation works with offline files.

[Mario]

a) Manually rescanning the parent folder will remove off-line files and folders, including all associated information (categories, metadata in the database etc.).

b) No

You rename folder A outside of IMatch to B.
Now you add B to your database.
A is marked as off-line but the database holds all the info about the folder and the contained files.

You now relocate A to B.
IMatch updates the database and all the information and file metadata for the former A folder and the files remains and is now linked to the folder B and the files it contains. This is the proper operation.

If you instead want to get rid of A and all associated data, rescan the parent folder of A, or, when parent is a top-level folder, use the "Remove from Database" command.

[Mike]

Thanks for the reply Mario, I feel more confident now.

Since no hidden "corpses of information" remain after the rescan (or manual removal from the database), I don't have to worry about an unintentional "dirtying" of the database.

To hluxem: I also thank you for your answer. I am very aware of the consequences for in-database annotations and structures in case of renaming actions. With big actions coming up in the near future, I wanted to understand where I could make some compromises to save time.