Adding a few Directories at a time for Testing (Need clarification on Process)

[kiwilink]

I am copying a few Directories at a time into Imatch 5 for testing (they exist in Imatch 3.6).  I need to understand the best process to do this.  Based on your advice (Mario) I added the directory and then I exported the Categories and this worked great to preserve my category links.  However, the next time I did it I wasn't sure everything was copied/linked as it should.  So, is there a way for me to undo the import into Imatch5?  What I'm worried about is if I do it again I start affecting things like unassigned files and uncategorized files, make and model, lens, etc. (all the numbers you see in parenthesis).  One time I just went and deleted the categories that I imported that had a zero in parenthesis but I don't think that was a good idea.  What is the best way to copy a few directories at a time (and add more and more over time for testing) and then export the category links from 3.6 and yet not mess up the Imatch 5 database counters because of all of the multiple importing from 3.6 to Imatch 5? 

Thanks!

Michael

[Sorted]

Just thought it worth clarifying that you are working with a set of copies of your images, not the originals. The advice is not to do the latter because of the risk of corrupting something irreversibly.

[Mario]

As outlined in the Beta Tester Guide in the IMatch help and the Beta announcement, you should only work with copies of your images in IMatch 5. IMatch 5 is still in Beta test and this means there can be data corruption, deleted images, invalid metadata written to your files by accident etc. If you only work with copies of your images, nothing bad can happen. If something goes wrong badly, just delete the copies, copy over a fresh set of files and you're back in business.

You can run a category import any number of times in IMatch 5. When you add more and more folders with files categorized in your IMatch 3 database to your IMatch 5 database, you have to re-import the categories after adding each folder. Better to add the folders you want to work with during your tests first, and then import the categories once.

Tip: You can remove a folder from your database via the command with the corresponding name available in the context menu of each folder. This will not delete the folder on disk, just remove it and all associated data from your database.

[kiwilink]

Thanks for all the replys.  Yes, I am working with copies only.  I have been adding just a few directories at a time so I can test with a small set.  I got confused as to whether or not I could run the export from 3.6 and the import in Imatch 5 multiple times without causing problems.

As I mentioned,  What I'm worried about is whether or not multiple imports will affect things like unassigned files and uncategorized files, make and model, lens, etc. (all the numbers you see in parenthesis). 

Thanks for the help 

[Mario]

No. IMatch will automatically re-create data-driven categories after the import. And it will not create duplicate categories or assign files multiple times. You can run the category import as often as you like.

[claudermilk]

As Mario indicated, the counts are dynamically-generated. When I rebuild a test db, I usually run a category import first just to verify that the category tree is there (probably not necessary any more), then I import the files, then re-run the category import. Since I've rebuilt so many times I now have a category export with file links for the test images, but the CRC method should work for an import of newly-created test directories copied from the live archives.