BYE BYE IM3!

sinus · February 05, 2015, 08:33:40 AM

Well, today I made this, what is in the help-file of IM5:

If you are happy with IMatch 5, you can un-install IMatch 3 and delete your IMatch 3 databases and the IMatch 3 off-line cache folder to reclaim disk space.[/i]

I deleted IM3 and its database. Because I am sure, I will go with IM5.
And, after starting IM3 a last time, I was surprised, that I had to look and think quite a bit, to remember, what was my workflow.

IM3 has overtaken me quite quickly ... and I do not want miss it again.

So I say goodbye to IMatch 3, it was a good time and gave me a lot of fun and helped me, to organize my images and document and movies and what else.

Thanks IM3 and thanks to Mario!

Mario · February 05, 2015, 09:03:32 AM

The best of luck to you with IMatch 5, Markus.
May it make your workflow even faster and smoother.

sinus · February 05, 2015, 11:53:26 AM

Quote from: Mario on February 05, 2015, 09:03:32 AM
The best of luck to you with IMatch 5, Markus.
May it make your workflow even faster and smoother.

Thanks, Mario, for your kind words!

My workflow has (maybe in English "is") much improved, and a lot of my old scripts are not more necessary.
And I love a lot of the new features, specialy the possibilities to stacking (in my case automatically).
It makes fun to see 10 different masterstacks on screen, knowing, that behind each master stack are a lot of images.

I made the masterstack even more important, so that it is in my case a kind of "info-masterstack", because the masterstack shows me some important informations about the compressed memberstacks. For example the info-masterstack shows me, if there are important images in this stack or if this event is offset.

Mario · February 05, 2015, 12:33:17 PM

A lot can be achieved with Stacking and Versioning, depending on what a user needs and wants. One of the many cool and time-saving IMatch 5 features.

StanRohrer · February 05, 2015, 10:39:11 PM

I am happy with IM5. The crashes I originally had seem to have been fixed. I'm learning my way around IM 5 and currently am much more productive at the keywording and description tasks.

My one reason to not erase IM3 is the lack of a similar Contact Sheet tool in IM5. I use IM3 version on an occasional basis with a number of customized pages. Mario, any word on such a tool for IM5?

Mario · February 06, 2015, 08:57:02 AM

A generic printing module is on my 'major feature' for one of the next upgrades. This module, if implemented, will support all printers, Microsoft XPS, output to TIF and JPEG files, plus, via one of the good and free PDF printer drivers, also to PDF files. The module, if it is implemented, will not only allow single page output (or series of pages) but also to create entire 'books' (cover pages, separator pages, etc.) and it will fully integrate with IMatch - meaning access to variables for text boxes and captions, automatic pagination, support for grouping of pages based on folders/categories/collections and more. I cannot say if I will implement this (check out the 300 open feature requests) but it is definitely on my to-do list. As there are 'social media' integration, a generic uploader module for image communities like Flickr, smugmug etc. Or maybe an IMatch 'app'. Or an IMatch 'web server module'. There is always a lot to do, never-ending fun.

sinus · February 06, 2015, 11:12:45 AM

Quote from: StanRohrer on February 05, 2015, 10:39:11 PM
I am happy with IM5. The crashes I originally had seem to have been fixed. I'm learning my way around IM 5 and currently am much more productive at the keywording and description tasks.

My one reason to not erase IM3 is the lack of a similar Contact Sheet tool in IM5. I use IM3 version on an occasional basis with a number of customized pages. Mario, any word on such a tool for IM5?

Stan, you are right, this tool is at the moment lacking in IM5.
But as Mario pointed out in his answer, he will integrate such a tool for sure in IM5, hopefully as soon as possible.
Sounds promising, what Mario has in mind.

For me, this was also a reason to hold with IM3. But then I created my wordcontact - script, what does transfer images and some metadata in word, and since it works now very good, I could leaf IM3 for ever.

Nytewulf · February 06, 2015, 03:18:00 PM

+1 on the server module. :-)

Mario · February 06, 2015, 03:45:06 PM

Quote from: Nytewulf on February 06, 2015, 03:18:00 PM
+1 on the server module. :-)

How much would you pay for it?
Looking at the steep prices from vendors like Canto or FotoWare for their web server modules...

ubacher · February 07, 2015, 01:30:59 AM

No more IM3:
Interesting enough I have just switched back to IM3 on my laptop.
I just could not work reliably with it on my laptop.
I will have to wait until I get one which will handle IM5 OK.
Right now I do all my ingesting, renaming, culling, categorizing in IM3.
(Lightening fast - after working with IM5!) Then, when time permits I load the same images
also into IM5. So I can use the more elaborate features of IM5 for non-critical work.

( A small down side: When IM5 ingest file it rewrites them - which then causes a reread in IM3
and a re-saving by backup.)

Mario · February 07, 2015, 08:05:48 AM

If IMatch 3 is faster than IMatch 5, there is a problem.
The only thing that is slower in IMatch 5 is extracting and writing metadata. But a) IMatch 5 does that in the background and b) the produced metadata quality is much better, 'richer' and adheres to all current standards.

IMatch 5 does only write back files while ingesting when a) new metadata (XMP) is generated that requires write-back and b) you have enabled background write-back under Edit > Preferences > Background Processing which is not recommended because it works against the entire system and slows down everything.

I work comfortably with IMatch 5 on a Windows 8.1 tablet while on location!

ubacher · February 07, 2015, 11:09:54 AM

QuoteIMatch 5 does only write back files while ingesting when a) new metadata (XMP) is generated that requires write-back and b) you have enabled background write-back under Edit > Preferences > Background

I can show that this is not so:
I create a jpg and a dng file from a NEF file outside of IM5.
I record the sizes and the modified times.
I then ingest these files into IM5.
The sizes and modified times of the dng file and the jpg file changes.
(No background write-back), Metadata settings standard.

Mario · February 07, 2015, 12:19:48 PM

Show log file and ExifTool output panel output.
This will tell us if an what IMatch is writing, and why for your PC only the background write-back setting is not applied.

What other operations do you perform when importing files? MD templates? Scripts?

ubacher · February 07, 2015, 02:35:24 PM

I propagate "Maker Notes" and XMP w/o crs, Safe EXIF data from NEF to jpg.
No Metadata templates are applied.

It appears it is the exiftool which modifies the jpg file upon ingestion.
I do not get any exiftool output on the panel?

Why? Exiftool verbose logging set to YES.

Log file is attached: I start IM5 and reload the folder which holds the NEF file ...000.NEF and
which had added to it the jpg file .....000.jpg

[attachment deleted by admin]

Mario · February 07, 2015, 04:14:40 PM

Propagation of metadata is always carried out by running ExifTool. This is not done "in" the database alone. So your file relation propagation is what causing your files to update. Riddle solved.

ubacher · February 07, 2015, 11:27:00 PM

So it looks like your statement:

QuoteIMatch 5 does only write back files while ingesting when a) new metadata (XMP) is generated that requires write-back and b) you have enabled background write-back under Edit > Preferences > Background Processing

is incorrect.

I have managed to get exiftool output. Available if needed.

Being now more aware of the consequences of my propagation I will work on turning off as much as I can.
I can probably do with only propagating categories. This should speed up ingestion - and more.