Beginner questions on versions

[reck]

Hello,

I downloaded the trial yesterday and i'm working my way through the instruction manual. One thing i've not managed to get working currently is the versions feature.

I use .ARW, .jpg & .afphoto files and i've managed to edit the file relations settings to include the .afphoto as a buddy file and this works ok, e.g. if I rename the arw file the related .jpg and .afphoto are renamed as well. However the 3 types of files are not being stacked as a version, if I open the versions pane it doesn't show that any versions are setup.

Should this be working or do I need to do something else? In the file relations setting I have a single [B ] Sony ARW definition that was automatically created for me, do I need to manually create a separate version definition to get iMatch to understand that these 3 types of files are versions of the same image?

Thanks

[Mario]

Buddy files and versions are separate. A file can be a buddy file without being a version (which is often the case).

To create a version relation, add a new version relation of that type (in Edit > Preferences > File Relations). Enter the settings to identify your masters and versions.

Note: A buddy file relation is indicated by a in the list, a version relation with a [V]

[reck]

Does using the versions feature require that you know regular expressions because if so i'm stuffed?

I've done as you suggest Mario and created a new version definition, I have no idea how to go about filling in the fields so I just copied the information from the buddy file definition which seems to have worked. However the various versions are still being displayed in the files view alongside the masters.

I've found out I can click the versions number on the thumbnail and select "toggle version stack" and this does the trick and hides all the versions except the master for that one photo, but how do I set it so all the photos are stacked? Isn't the purpose of this feature to hide all the different versions and de-clutter the files pane?

Does the versions feature serve any other purpose?

[Mario]

require that you know regular expressions

Yes. It is the only feature that can work with the usually complex master/version relations IMatch uses have.

But it is not that complicated. For example

\.affinity$

means: All files with the .affinity extension.

I've found out I can click the versions number on the thumbnail and select "toggle version stack" and this does the trick and hides all the versions except the master...

Sounds good to me. Everything is working. If you toggle a version stack (keyboard shortcut: T) all versions are hidden, only the master is shown.

for that one photo, but how do I set it so all the photos are stacked?

[/quote]

If you toggle the version stack, all versions are "stacked" and hidden, only the master is shown. What else do you want?

Note that IMatch also allows you to stack files without setting master->version relations. See "Stacking" in the IMatch help for details.

Does the versions feature serve any other purpose?

Oh yes. Lots!
Allowing to stack files is just a side-feature. The main feature of versions is to propagate metadata from the master to the versions. If you don't know about this, it may probably not something you want.

I recommend you read the help topic about versioning in the IMatch help to learn about whether or not you need this feature. Or buddy files. Or if all you need is stacking images, which is independent from versioning.

Open the IMatch help system with <F1>. Click on the Index tab on the left. Search for versioning to find the corresponding topic. To learn about regular stacks, search for stacking in the index and click on Auto in the results.

Versioning, Stacking and Buddy files are related but different things. 
From your first post I remember that you have setup buddy files, so you probably need this?`
But setting up versioning to get stacks is probably not what you want.
See the help to learn what versioning does (you may now have encountered such an advanced feature before in other software) and whether you need it or not. Of if a normal stack would do.

[reck]

I've found out I can click the versions number on the thumbnail and select "toggle version stack" and this does the trick and hides all the versions except the master...

Sounds good to me. Everything is working. If you toggle a version stack (keyboard shortcut: T) all versions are hidden, only the master is shown.

for that one photo, but how do I set it so all the photos are stacked?

If you toggle the version stack, all versions are "stacked" and hidden, only the master is shown. What else do you want?

I may have 2 or 3 versions of each photo so to help when scrolling and viewing files i'd like to hide (stack) all versions of the same photo except the master .arw files by default. I want to do this for every photo I have.

Is the best way to achieve this to select the @All Category, un-pause the file window, select all files and then press T to toggle version stack? What about when I come to upload new photos do I have to manually stack them all or is there a setting where photos are stacked automatically?

Also there are times i'd like to delete some .arw files but when i've deleted them it's also deleted all the versions of the same file as well such as the jpg and affinity photo files. I understand why it did this but how would I go about deleting a .arw in this situation?

[Mario]

Also there are times i'd like to delete some .arw files but when i've deleted them it's also deleted all the versions of the same file as well such as the jpg and affinity photo files. I understand why it did this but how would I go about deleting a .arw in this situation?

This is because you made these files buddy files - as per your initial post. Buddy files are exactly for that purpose. If you move/rename/copy/delete the master, the same operation is performed on the buddy file. If you don't want that, don't make the other files buddy files.

You use versioning if you want to automatically propagate metadata from the master to versions, e.g. rating, label, title, descriptions, Attributes and so on. I don't know if you need that, you did not answer my questions above.

If all you need is stacking, don't use versions. Use normal stacks. You can use the Auto-stacking feature (Commands menu) to automatically stack your files by various criteria.

If all you want is to hide files in specific file formats (e.g. you only want to see .ARW files) a file format filter is probably all you need.  You can setup a file format filter (in the Filter Panel) that shows only .ARW files, and then you can save this filter. This way you can quickly show/hide all non-.ARW files. with a single mouse click. No stacking. No versions. No buddy files.

[reck]

Mario thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It's not often that the developer is this good at helping their customers, or potential customer in this case.

I do want to use buddy filles and I am propagating the metadata down from the master file to the other files. This works great 99% of the time however on occasions I do need to delete the raw file and leave the jpg and affinity photo files alone. It sounds like I can't do both so I'll probably have to turn off the version feature and manage without it.

[Mario]

If this is only needed in 1% of your workflow cases, just delete the master file in Windows Explorer (You can open it via the "Open in Explorer" command quickly).
IMatch will bit propagate this deletion to the versions. This way you can keep using buddy files.

[reck]

I've switched it round so that the jpg are the master and the raw files the buddy files. This way I can delete the raw files when needed and still use the versions and buddy file feature.