Importing Properties from iMatch 3.6

[JasCarter]

I'm having some difficulties transferring my user-defined properties from iMatch 3.6 to 5.5.6. I've created a small test database, as suggested, and the categories and IPTC data have migrated fine via the Database Converter tool. I would also like to transfer a few iMatch 3.6 'Properties', which I understand have become 'Attributes', and the xmp data for Ratings (stars) and Labels (colours).

For the Properties, I've followed instructions in various posts and exported the 3.6 Property schema as an .imps file. If I open the .imps file in Notepad, I can see that the correct Property content for each file is there. I then dragged the files in the database onto the 5.5 import/export panel and mapped the 3.6 properties to corresponding 5.5 Attributes. In Edit>Preferences>Edit Attributes I can see that the program has created the appropriate attributes, but if I then select 'Import iMatch 3 Property Schema' and select the exported file I cannot see the attribute contents anywhere in the 5.5 database. The 'Attribute' filter is missing from the 'Filter' panel, and a search for attribute content that should be there if the 3.6 properties had been transferred comes up with a blank.

I'm having similar frustrations with the xmp Rating and Label transfer. In 3.6, I ran the command to process all pending xmp updates, but none of this data seems to be readable by 5.5. I know there is a workaround for this issue (as described in http://www.photools.com/3152/migrating-xmp-rating-label-imatch-3-imatch-5-processing-pending-updates/), but I'd like to understand why the process isn't working as it apparently should!

Many thanks for any help you can give. I can see that 5.5.

James Carter

[Ferdinand]

It's been a while since I did a 3.6 -> 5.x conversion, but my recollection is that this all just worked.  It's my recollection that Properties were just converted to Attributes automatically.  Attributes are viewed in the Attributes panel - have you opened this and looked at it?  Attributes don't appear in the metadata panel, since they're not strictly regarded as metadata.  I'm not sure what effect your attempt to import something that already should have been there may have had.

So long as you had processed any pending XMP updates, then the XMP metadata should be in the files and IMatch 5 should read it all in.  There is a small potential catch for JPG and TIFF files.  It's possible that you have configured IMatch 3.6 to write XMP into sidecar files, whereas IMatch 5 expects it in the file.  Is this possible?

[Mario]

I'm not sure that I understand exactly what you did.

The database converter automatically converts IMatch 3 properties into IMatch 5 attributes.
Did you use the converter? Because in this case the attributes are already in your database. And since you can see them in Edit > Preferences > Edit Attributes, this seems to be the case. When you import your properties again (as you explain) you're duplicating the data...

Please open the Attributes panel via View > Panels > >Attributes and check if the attributes are there.

The Attributes filter is not shown in the Filter Panel by default, only the most frequently used filters are. To show the Attributes filter, click on the "Gear" icon in the Filter Panel toolbar and select "Attributes" from the menu.

[JasCarter]

Many thanks, Ferdinand and Mario, for your help. I misunderstood the database conversion process: I thought Properties had to be manually transferred, like xmp-based ratings and labels. I had also not appreciated the commands needed to display Attributes in their own or the Filter panel.

I have now done some more experiments, and Properties are being correctly converted to Attributes, as Mario said. I still can't get the xmp data to transfer by embedding it in the files, but the workaround using data-driven categories works well and looks like an elegant solution.

I've been an enthusiastic user of 3.x for a long time and somehow missed the upgrade to 5 until now: I think I may have been waiting for the new version to mature a little  . I can see that it has a lot of new functionality, and a learning curve is always interesting even if it takes a little time.

Thanks again.

[Mario]

IMatch 5 automatically picks up the metadata contained in your files, this includes XMP data like rating and label.

It just cannot read it from the IMatch 3 database because of the different concepts used by IMatch 5 and IMatch 3.
This is why you have to ensure that XMP data has been written back to the image files in IMatch 3 before you start the conversion.
If you have written the XMP data, the rating and label is in the file and will be used by IMatch 5 automatically.
The work-around is only for people who don't want to write metadata to all their files.

If IMatch 5 does not see the XMP rating and label in your files, we need to investigate. Let us know.

[JasCarter]

OK, I think I've got it sorted. The problem was in the way xmp preferences were set up in 3.6. I created another test database and used the following settings before running the update xmp process in 3.6:

Use asynchronous - Yes
Favour external sidecar xmp - No
Always store xmp data in external sidecar - No
Auto import legacy IPTC data - Yes
Auto import EXIF data - Yes
If the xmp record has no rating/label, use the one allocated by iMatch - Yes (in my previous experiments this had been set to No)

I then performed the database conversion to 5.5, and all ratings and labels are there.

I might still use the 'trick' workaround, because it sounds as if it will take less time, but thank you for your perseverance!

James