Universal Catalog

[cthomas]

Would somebody help me remember how to put the Universal Catalog in IMatch 6? I have the Universal Catalog.imcs.

[Mario]

The Universal Catalog is something from the old IMatch 3 days. I would not recommend to use it with IMatch 2017.

It's better to use keywords instead, because this makes your data also visible in other applications.
The standard thesaurus shipped with IMatch is based on the Universal Thesaurus so this is something you should consider using.

Check the Keyword Panel. If your database was created with the defaults, you should see all elements of the Universal Catalog in the Thesaurus.
If not, you can load the Universal Catalog into your Thesaurus via the Thesaurus Manager in the Keyword Panel:

[cthomas]

Would somebody help me remember how to put the Universal Catalog in IMatch 6? I have the Universal Catalog.imcs.

Mario what do I do at this point?

[Mario]

I don't understand the question. What do you want to do?

From the screen shot it looks as like you have imported the Universal Catalog into your Thesaurus.
Just start adding keywords to your files in the Keyword Panel.

If you have never used the Keyword Panel, I recommend watching one or more of the tutorial videos:

https://www.photools.com/imatch-learning-center/

[cthomas]

Would somebody help me remember how to put the Universal Catalog in IMatch 6? I have the Universal Catalog.imcs.

I think I still want to put the Universal Catalog into IMatch 5. I still don't understand how to use Keywords. I have tried to find how you showed how to do this but I could't find it.

[Mario]

To add keywords to your files you enter them in the Keyword Panel. Just type them in, or select them from your Thesaurus by ticking the box in front the keyword you want to add.

Did you watch the "How to use the Keyword Panel" video yet?
It shows you how to add keywords to your files, how to use the thesaurus etc.
There is also a video which explains and demonstrates the special @Keywords categories and how it is automatically filled from the keywords you add to your images.

[cthomas]

To add keywords to your files you enter them in the Keyword Panel. Just type them in, or select them from your Thesaurus by ticking the box in front the keyword you want to add.

Did you watch the "How to use the Keyword Panel" video yet?
It shows you how to add keywords to your files, how to use the thesaurus etc.
There is also a video which explains and demonstrates the special @Keywords categories and how it is automatically filled from the keywords you add to your images.

Yes I have watched "How to use the Keyword Panel"

Mario I want to add the Universal Catalog in IMatch 5 so I can use them as Categories Like I have before not as keywords. Thanks for your help. I will try to save the directions in Notpad so I will have it if I need it again.

[Mario]

IMatch 5 is an outdated software. No support is available anymore for IMatch 5.
But IMatch 5 had a category import feature too. You can import your universal catalog there.

If you don't have your IMatch 3 Universal Catalog file anymore, you can try with the attached file.
It may work or not. IMatch 3 and the Universal catalog for categories is sooo long ago...
Download the ZIP, extract and import into your IMatch 5 database.

No support.

Note: Using categories instead of keywords is not advised, because categories only exist in your IMatch database. If you use keywords instead, the information can also be seen and used in other applications. We have switched to a keyword into keywords approach many years ago.

Categories can be used in addition to keywords.
To organize your images in many ways, independent from keywords or file formats.
For formula-based categories and data-driven categories.
...

[cthomas]

Categories can be used in addition to keywords.
To organize your images in many ways, independent from keywords or file formats.
For formula-based categories and data-driven categories.
...

After I create a new database should I first import the universal catalog so I can create categories and then  import the Universal Catalog into my Thesaurus? Also how can I get my window to look like your inside of like mine?

[Mario]

IMatch by default imports the default thesaurus, which is based on the Universal catalog. The thesaurus and categories are totally independent. You use the thesaurus to assign keywords (which then will automatically be mirrored in the special @Keywords category). You can create categories in addition, when you need them.

Your Keyword Panel is empty because no file is selected. When you select a file it will chance and show the thesaurus etc.

Checkout the help for the Keywords Panel: https://www.photools.com/help/imatch/#md_keywords_panel.htm and the corresponding tutorial videos.