Combining databases W0MN

[WzeroMN]

I have an older version that has some photos and a newer version with s0ome photos. Each are a different database.
Is there any way to combine them so that all phots are indexed in one database. I hope so.

I am trying to decide about upgrading and am working with the 30 day trial.

[Mario]

IMatch has no features to 'merge' databases if this is what you mean. Way to complicated, tons of things that need to be considered and can go wrong.

Since IMatch databases can handle hundreds of thousands of files and have no  built-in maximum catalog size, there is not really often the need to split or merge databases.

The metadata IMatch 5 writes is stored inside your images. Just make sure you write back all files, then index the files in the "final" database.
If needed, you can export categories and attributes from the source database and then import it into the "final" database
This should give you what you want fairly quickly.

[WzeroMN]

Thanks, I will try that. What I would like to have one tree of files in this result.
Can I do this

Currently I have 2 trees of phot files indexed in 2 separate databases



Photos Root Folder
   Photos older Folder         These are all indexed and categorized currently
   Photos newer Folder       These are the added photos which would get indexed when I add to the tree

Import the exported category information

Now I have one tree of Photos and one database.

Am I understanding this correctly?

[Mario]

Just add the files you want to manage in your "final" database (to the files already indexed). This will bring in the files and metadata.

Tip: Make a backup copy of the database before you start. This way, you can roll-back and start over anytime.

After adding the images to the target database, export/import categories to bring the categories over from the source database.

You should end up with one database for all your files.

Note: IMatch manages database sizes with about 300,000 to 400,000 files comfortably on modern hardware. If you have more files, consider sticking with two databases.

[WzeroMN]

I have done the first part and now have all of the files in one database. The categories are all correct for the old data but of course none on the new data.

I changed the name of the root folder after the indexing was done. I did it from within Imatch.

I will export the categories from the old database by opening Imatch with the old data and database.

Now I should be ready to import the categories  but I have a question:

How does the program know what files to assign to the imported categories? Is it based on names, time of creation , or hopefully on a hash of the file. I am at a loss as to how this is going to work correctly. Of course if I get a very high percentage correct I think I will be happy.

I only have about 11000 images and am running W10, 12 Gigs with 10 free as 2 are used by video. The processor is an i7.
Most things are quick but I am surprised at how slow it is to open the database and that it takes 20 minutes for a full rescan and about that long to index the first time. There must be a lot of code here. :-)

[Mario]

If the folder/file names in the target database are not the same as in the source database (which is the case, because you've changed the folder name) you need to use the checksum import mode for the category import.

As always, it's explained in the IMatch help (<F1>) in full detail.

[WzeroMN]

I should have read help more carefully. I hope you have help in answering things on this forum.
I do not see an answer to the following in help.

When I do the import using the check sums ,which I will have to do, will the import simply add the imported categories without affecting current categories that are in the database? I suppose it could cause a collision if a category being imported has the same name but I hope it simply has a result of two categories with the same name which I could then change.

I have a lot of backups in case I mess things up.

[Mario]

The import just imports the categories and re-assigns the files. If the category already exists, it will not created again and files assigned to that category will remain assigned. Files not yet assigned will be added.

It's really just quite simple.
Make a backup copy of your database.
Run the import.
Check the results.