Categorizing a folder containing just folders

[Quin]

If I have a folder called, say, 'Sports Day' which contains just sub-folders (eg 'RAW Files' and 'PSD Files') and has no images whithin itself, just images in the sub-folders, is it possible to copy/paste this folder tree into a Category?
This is obviously a very simple example.
A more realistic example is where there is a folder tree for 'Years' and a sub-folder for '2014'. All the images for '2014' are contained within sub-folders, and not in the '2014' root folder.  This folder tree can obviously be quite deep.
It would be nice to be able assign all the files in this '2014' folder tree to a category say "Years.2014".
But how to do it?

[Richard]

From "Catogories" in Help.

Dropping and Pasting Files and Folders IMatch also allows you to drag files or folders from the Media & Folders view into the category view, in order to create new categories or assign the files to existing categories.

[Quin]

Hi Richard,
Am I correct in assuming that I can't do a 'straight' drag-and-drop (with the mouse) from Media to Categories, because both views cannot be present on-screen at the same time?
I am doing it by Ctrl-C on the root folder of the folder tree in Media, switching to Categories and then doing a Paste.  But no files are selected during this process.  To get files selected, I have to be in a folder that has files within it.
How do I drop an entire folder tree into a Category?
Best regards
Quin

[Mario]

You can only assign files to categories, not folders. If you select a folder which has no files (but sub-folders), the file window will show no files. This is because IMatch by default does not automatically include the files in sub-folders. Turn on the hierarchy mode in the file window (toolbar). See the help for details about how to display hierarchies in the file window.

If you see the files in the file window, it's easy to assign them to categories or process them otherwise.


You can drag files from Media & Folders by dragging them to the Categories tab and hold still for a second or two. IMatch switches to category view automatically, and then you can drop your folders and/or files to the category you want to assign them to.

[Quin]

Hi Mario,
Many thanks for your help.
Now, if I drag a folder containing only folders to the Categories tab, wait a bit until the Categories are shown, and then drop the folder on the Category that I want, and then do Folder Drop | Assign Images Recursively I get exactly what I wanted!  All the files in the folder tree are then assigned to that Category, even though the 'root' folder contains no images!
Wonderful!  Now I can promote IM5 among my friends with a confident heart, knowing that I have a DAM that does what I want it to do.
Best regards
Quin

[Mario]

Very good. Spread the word 

IMatch has many of such not immediately obvious features. Many of which may be very helpful for your workflow. Reading the IMatch help for the features you are using is usually a good idea. I tried to explain everything there.