Understand

[cthomas]

Please help me understand what happens? I have all of my images on a hard drive in a folder named: My Pictures. In side of that folder I have another folder named: !Ingest. Should I copy or move my images into my !Ingest folder?  Next in IMatch I goto Commands > Add or Update Folders to Index and Assign my images into IMatch. Next I open my !Ingest folder and assign all of my images. I next move my images into into folders by date.

[hluxem]

Hello Carl,

It looks like you have the 2 folders !Ingest and Assigned Images indexed in your database. Make sure you move the pictures to your !Ingest folder. Imatch will then pick up the new images and you can assign categories to them. If you copy the pictures you will end up with a lot of duplicates and sooner or later that will be a big mess.

Happy Holidays,

Heiner

[jch2103]

You may be making things too complicated.

All your files are already in your database, and don't need to be added again. Normally, an Ingest folder would be used only when you are adding new images to your database from your camera; you'd categorize them there and then move them to other folders under My Pictures. There's no need to re-add files already in your database (i.e., all the other folders under My Pictures) back into the Ingest folder.

Instead, you can simply go to each existing folder and categorize your images however you want.

It appears you want to reorganize the folders you already have in your database in a date-based naming system. This is certainly something you can do, but I don't think there's any benefit to adding data-based folders under your Ingest folder. Instead, one would usually put them all under My Pictures. But remember that you already have available the Timeline view in IMatch, which will show you all your files in date order.


You might want to take a look at a video on IMatch I did several years ago that gives an overall (if somewhat rough) introduction to IMatch 5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC3APmK1SV0&feature=youtu.be

I also did a draft video about IMatch Categories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSbLPrURgzk

[cthomas]

I have about a thousand or so images that I have shot over about ten years. Now I want organize IMatch. All of my images are randomly stored in a folder on my drive D: in a folder named My Images. My work flow is: Move about 50 images in my My Images into my !Inges folder. Then in IMatch I go to Commands > Add or Update Folders this adds my images into my IMatch database. Next I go to my !Ingest folder and Assign all of the images to at least two categorizes(When and Where). I then move each image into a folder named 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and etc.. My question is:  can I get my images back on my hard drive? How?

John thank you for the videos. For me they are worth more then I can put into words. I wish you are someone would do some more. I suspect that Mario doesn't have the time.

[jch2103]

John thank you for the videos. For me they are worth more then I can put into words. I wish you are someone would do some more. I suspect that Mario doesn't have the time.

I'm glad the videos were helpful. Mario has recently acquired the equipment needed to produce videos. Not surprisingly, he's focused the new videos he's producing on the new IMatch Anywhere which he's just released.

I have about a thousand or so images that I have shot over about ten years. Now I want organize IMatch. All of my images are randomly stored in a folder on my drive D: in a folder named My Images. My work flow is: Move about 50 images in my My Images into my !Inges folder. Then in IMatch I go to Commands > Add or Update Folders this adds my images into my IMatch database. Next I go to my !Ingest folder and Assign all of the images to at least two categorizes(When and Where). I then move each image into a folder named 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and etc.. My question is:  can I get my images back on my hard drive? How?

I'm still not clear exactly what you have in your IMatch database. From screen shots you posted previously https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=6180.msg42688#msg42688, I believe you have already added your My Pictures folder (and therefore all the subfolders, including the Ingest folder) to your database. Is this correct? If you haven't done this, you should, as it will make working with your images much easier.

To repeat what I said previously, if My Pictures and your Ingest folder are already in your database, you don't need to do Commands > Add or Update Folder when you add new images; IMatch will recognize the images. And actually, if all your images are already in your database, you don't need to move them to the Ingest folder at all to categorize them; you can categorize images in your existing folders and then when done you can move them wherever you want. 

Your screen shot in https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=6225.msg43026#msg43026 shows you've been moving images to date-based folders under the Ingest folder. I think instead what you want to do is move these folders to be under My Pictures; that way you'll be creating a date-based organization of your files folders, directly under My Pictures. Everything in your IMatch database is already on your hard disk! What you see in the Media & Folders tab is just a view of what's on your hard disk, except IMatch gives you better tools to work with your images, including the ability to move folders.

ps - You should move rather than copy images unless you want to create a lot of duplicate files on your hard disk. Although IMatch has tools to find and manage duplicate files, it's much easier to avoid creating duplicates in the first place.

[cthomas]

John I hope the attachment will help you understand what I'm doing. My question is how can I keep a copy of my images on a local hard drive?

[JohnZeman]

Carl it appears to me you want to do something that you have already done.

As the other John (jch2103) said......
Everything in your screen shot is already in your IMatch database.
Everything in your screen shot is already on your hard drive.
Everything in your screen shot is on your D: hard drive.
And probably in subfolders of your D:\My Pictures\ folder.

[jch2103]

And also to repeat: Add your My Pictures folder to your IMatch database. It will then include your Ingest folders and also every image you have in your My Pictures folder and subfolders.

[cthomas]

The help system for IMatch is great but it is very hard for me to follow. The best way for me to learn though is videos and probably a whole lot more can learn more through videos. I hope Mario and/or some one will make some more videos.

[Jingo]

Videos are a good tool.. but the best way to learn software is just to play... start small - like 100 images and go from there.  I strongly do encourage you to read the help files... the help system in IMatch is one of the best I've ever come across... up there with XYplorer.  Its a complex piece of software so you need to just play with a bit at a time, get comfortable and then expand to another area.  Think about what YOU really need out of the software - don't worry about features you might never use and learn the ones you will by playing with those 100 images.

Once you are ready - smoke the DB, load some real images and have at it!  Enjoy...! - Andy.

[cthomas]

Videos are a good tool.. but the best way to learn software is just to play... start small - like 100 images and go from there.  I strongly do encourage you to read the help files... the help system in IMatch is one of the best I've ever come across... up there with XYplorer.  Its a complex piece of software so you need to just play with a bit at a time, get comfortable and then expand to another area.  Think about what YOU really need out of the software - don't worry about features you might never use and learn the ones you will by playing with those 100 images.

Once you are ready - smoke the DB, load some real images and have at it!  Enjoy...! - Andy.

"but the best way to learn software is just to play"  I agree with 100%.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and I know you will have a good New Year.