Can you easily add individual files (not folders) to your database?

[lnh]

Maybe this will turn into a future feature request, but my novice status leads me to post here first...

I'd like to add individual files rather than a folder to the database, and can't figure out an easy way to accomplish this even after read the comprehensive help files. The "add or update folders..." does exactly what it says. Dragging and dropping individual files from the windows explorer to IMatch seems to take all the files which are in the folder you've dragged from (including the ones you haven't selected) and adds them to the database (I thought there might be a way for it to just copy the selected files into the folder you've dropped them on, but can't figure out how).  You could always make an empty folder and just add the files you want and add that folder and then move the files (from within IMatch) to the desired destination. Or you could move the new files into some existing folder which already exists in the IMatch database using windows explorer and then do a rescan from IMatch. This last approach seems counter to the help recommendation that you always do windows file operations related to the db through IMatch rather than windows explorer. Is there another way I just haven't discovered yet?

[Ferdinand]

I think the answer to your question is no - IMatch is folder based.

Files I want indexed by IMatch I place in the folder tree covered by the database, and files I don't want indexed I place outside that tree.  I generally create or place files into the folders where I want them and then import them into the DB with a rescan.

I read your post a couple of times and I don't understand what workflow creates the problem you seem to have.  It seems you want to import selected files in a folder into IMatch and then move them using IMatch?  If you don't want all files in the source folder indexed by IMatch then I'd move the files you do want indexed into the right place before IMatch ingests them.

[Mario]

IMatch is folder-based. You cannot add individual files.

[lnh]

...
I read your post a couple of times and I don't understand what workflow creates the problem you seem to have. 

It's certainly not the typical workflow, but then workflows sometimes have exceptions. Normally I'll dump a SD card to a folder on disk and import into IMatch, keyword, geocode, etc and then use IMatch to rename and then move the files to a NAS (database remains on a local SSD). However, sometimes I'll make a mistake and maybe delete a file I'll latter decide to reinstate, and have to go back to either the SD card or often I'll keep a backup of the SD card dump for a period of time. I'll want to place the file back in the established hierarchy rather than have a new folder indexed. Another example is getting a file for a secondary camera (e.g. mine, wife's, kid's) and just want to include an image or two from their set in the database. I'd like to easily drag and drop them to an existing folder (which would copy them to that folder) and have them included without snatching all the files on their card. None of this is life threatening and I understand how to work around it, but a straight forward way to add a file or two would be nice.

[jch2103]

...
I'll want to place the file back in the established hierarchy rather than have a new folder indexed. Another example is getting a file for a secondary camera (e.g. mine, wife's, kid's) and just want to include an image or two from their set in the database. I'd like to easily drag and drop them to an existing folder (which would copy them to that folder) and have them included without snatching all the files on their card. None of this is life threatening and I understand how to work around it, but a straight forward way to add a file or two would be nice.

If I understand correctly, you should be able to control-drag-and-drop files from Windows Explorer into the desired folders. That's what I do to copy files from an SD card into my IMatch database folders (usually to an _Import folder for first review, but sometimes directly into another folder).

[lnh]

If I understand correctly, you should be able to control-drag-and-drop files from Windows Explorer into the desired folders. That's what I do to copy files from an SD card into my IMatch database folders (usually to an _Import folder for first review, but sometimes directly into another folder).

Yes, exactly. You just have to do the entire operation from one windows explorer window to another outside of IMatch and then rescan inside IMatch. A control-drag-and-drop from windows explorer to IMatch is a shortcut for including the entire folder of not only the target pictures highlighted, but the whole folder. A nice shortcut in itself, but doesn't accomplish what I was looking to do.

[jch2103]

...
Dragging and dropping individual files from the windows explorer to IMatch seems to take all the files which are in the folder you've dragged from (including the ones you haven't selected) and adds them to the database (I thought there might be a way for it to just copy the selected files into the folder you've dropped them on, but can't figure out how).

...
You just have to do the entire operation from one windows explorer window to another outside of IMatch and then rescan inside IMatch. A control-drag-and-drop from windows explorer to IMatch is a shortcut for including the entire folder of not only the target pictures highlighted, but the whole folder. A nice shortcut in itself, but doesn't accomplish what I was looking to do.

No, I don't think I understood correctly what you were saying. If I control-drag-and-drop from Windows Explorer directly into an IMatch folder, I don't see any evidence that anything other than the selected files are added (either by Windows or IMatch). IMatch will detect and add the new files in an existing folder to the database without the need to rescan the folder (depending on your Edit/Preferences settings), although it's not instantaneous (IMatch depends on messages from the Windows file system that new files are present).

[lnh]

No, I don't think I understood correctly what you were saying. If I control-drag-and-drop from Windows Explorer directly into an IMatch folder, I don't see any evidence that anything other than the selected files are added (either by Windows or IMatch). IMatch will detect and add the new files in an existing folder to the database without the need to rescan the folder (depending on your Edit/Preferences settings), although it's not instantaneous (IMatch depends on messages from the Windows file system that new files are present).

I think we are on the same page now, but my experience doing these same operations has a different result compared with yours. Is there some preference or setting needed to make this happen? To illustrate what I'm seeing, I did a simple test with 1 folder with 1 file already in IMatch as a starting point. I then went to add a single file from a folder which had 10 files using control-drag-and-drop from the Windows Explorer window to the folder in IMatch which only had a single file, and ended up adding the entire second folder. It's curious as Mario has said that IMatch is folder based, so what I'm seeing makes sense. There must be some subtle difference between what I'm doing and your operation.

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[Gerd]

Hi,
why so complicate ...

I download everytime all pics from the storage-card into the folder-structure on my pc: YYYY \ MM \ YYMMDD \ pics

The pics are getting extra infos: YYMMDD_HHMMSS_orig_name.ext

This is all is done automatically via FastStone. This freeware I use also to make a quick selection. Later, I import in IM or rescan in LR. Pics, I do not need now, are not beeing categorized.

I do  not care about having pics 2x or 3x (due to development) on my pc, storespace is so cheap ...

For me it is important to save time for all this photo-organizational work.

[Ferdinand]

No, I don't think I understood correctly what you were saying. If I control-drag-and-drop from Windows Explorer directly into an IMatch folder, I don't see any evidence that anything other than the selected files are added (either by Windows or IMatch). IMatch will detect and add the new files in an existing folder to the database without the need to rescan the folder (depending on your Edit/Preferences settings), although it's not instantaneous (IMatch depends on messages from the Windows file system that new files are present).

I think we are on the same page now, but my experience doing these same operations has a different result compared with yours. Is there some preference or setting needed to make this happen? To illustrate what I'm seeing, I did a simple test with 1 folder with 1 file already in IMatch as a starting point. I then went to add a single file from a folder which had 10 files using control-drag-and-drop from the Windows Explorer window to the folder in IMatch which only had a single file, and ended up adding the entire second folder. It's curious as Mario has said that IMatch is folder based, so what I'm seeing makes sense. There must be some subtle difference between what I'm doing and your operation.

If you have a folder not indexed by IMatch which contains ten images, and you drag one of those files direct to IMatch, you're going to index that file where it is, and that will mean indexing the whole folder since IMatch is folder based.  IMatch won't ingest and move at the same time, by dragging from Windows Explorer to the target folder in IMatch, at least not using drag and drop (I think the renamer can do something like this).

What we're suggesting is to drag and drop the file you want to index to a folder that is already indexed by IMatch, and do the drag and drop entirely in Windows Explorer (or some other external file management program).  IMatch will then index it in its new location once it rescans that folder.

[jch2103]

There must be some subtle difference between what I'm doing and your operation.

I think I see what's happening for you.

From your example, it appears you're dragging-and-dropping the file from Windows Explorer into the Media & Folders panel to a specific folder. If instead you control-drag-and-drop the file into the File Window for the target folder, you should find that just that one file is copied.

(The 'Include sub-folders recursively' option was a clue as to what was happening; you don't see that when you control-drag-and-drop a file into the File Window.)

[lnh]

I think I see what's happening for you.

From your example, it appears you're dragging-and-dropping the file from Windows Explorer into the Media & Folders panel to a specific folder. If instead you control-drag-and-drop the file into the File Window for the target folder, you should find that just that one file is copied.

(The 'Include sub-folders recursively' option was a clue as to what was happening; you don't see that when you control-drag-and-drop a file into the File Window.)

Perfect! Thank you! From a UI perspective I'm not sure why a drag-and-drop operation to a specific directory in the media & folders should act differently than dropping directly in the window associated with that directory, but I'm glad you've helped me understand this subtle difference. Good knowledge to tuck away in my mental IMatch toolbox.

[Ferdinand]

Hey, I didn't know that you could do that either!  Still not to old to learn something new every day it seems.

[Mario]

Dropping a folder or a file to the Media & Folders Panel will add the folder (or the folder containing the file) to the database.
Dropping to the File Window causes a copy/move operation for the dropped files.

[jch2103]

I sent feedback on the Help topic for this point.