RFC: IMatch Anywhere Web Metadata Editing

[Mario]

This might be of interest for many. Comments welcome.

The upcoming release of IMatch Anywhere WebViewer (the browser-based IMatch version) for the first time offers features to view and modify  metadata, keywords and categories directly in the browser. Whether you run the browser on your PC, tablet, smart phone or TV set.

I call this feature FileLens. IMatch WebViewer users access this feature by selecting one or more files in the file window and then clicking on the new File Lens button or pressing <E> on the keyboard.
The FileLens then opens and presents this view:



The FileLens gives direct access to rating, label and collections with the controls at the top (large enough to be used on touch-only devices).
It supports single / multi-edit, similar to the old IPTC editor used by IMatch 3. You can change tags for individual files or for all files currently loaded in the FileLens at the moment.
Per-tag undo is implemented (undo changes for any tag), access to "recently used" entries and also the thesaurus is available for each tag.

When the "Data" tab is selected (as in the screen shot above) one or more sub-tabs (pages) are displayed. These pages present different 'aspects/views' of the metadata for the file. Similar to Metadata Panel layouts used by IMatch, if you will.

In order to support devices with smaller screens like smart phones, tablets or TV sets, I want to keep the number of metadata elements displayed on these sub-tabs small. I also want to limit the number of sub-tabs to a maximum of 3 or four. Currently I have "Standard", "Copyright" and "Camera Data".

Currently I'm trying to figure out a "best" default set of metadata tags. This is where you come in.

+ Which metadata tags would you like to see and edit?
+ How to divide these tags into pages?

See the attachment below for a first, rough, outline of tags. Remember: The key is simplicity  - because many IMatch Anywhere users are not IMatch users!

Note: The IMA Admin can setup a custom layout with custom tabs. This means that the FileLens can be easily customized for corporate requirements.

[jch2103]

Re "best" default set of metadata tags.

+ Which metadata tags would you like to see and edit?
- Your initial picks for Standard and Copyright look pretty good, especially given the ability to edit the tag list. However, user understanding of dates and times may be confused due to vague metadata tag names so the exact description is important. I'd like to see date/time created and date/time digitized (it's not clear which specific tags you're proposing); date digitized is likely to be important/useful for users who deal with scanned images.
- The Camera Data tab seems to be data that users will view and/or search for but not be likely (or be able) to change. Should tags that can't be edited be shown with different formats? Also, users who use multiple camera models may want to see that information (manufacturer/model).
- You might want to consider adding Location tags; I can imagine a scenario where being able to add/edit location names (country/state/county/city/location) could be useful, but I don't have a good idea if this is justified by the numbers (i.e., telemetry data).

+ How to divide these tags into pages?
Looks good (with changes above), especially with customization options.

[Mario]

The panel uses the standard tag names, the same as IMatch. This can be overwritten in the config file by me (for the default) per language and in the user-config by the Admin.
This is currently a rough sketch and I doubt I will include the date/time tags in writable mode in the default layout. To dangerous for the typical user base in corporations and institutes.

Camera Tags are for information only in the default layout. This data is not designed to be edited by users anyway.

Read-only fields look already different (no button on the end etc.) and they are not clickable. IMatch tells the browser to use 'read-only input fields' - the look and rendition of these fields varies between browsers and platforms.

I have a default set for Location, but I'M not sure about the presentation. Most IMA users are not IMatch users and they have no clue about metadata or location.
Especially in corporate and institutional environments (as far as I can tell) GPS data and location info is not really important.

Furthermore, location fields must be all set correctly (setting only a country is not valid), which cannot be guaranteed without a lot of machinery, input validation etc.
Reverse geo-coding is the best way to do this, but this technology is currently unavailable in IMatch WebViewer.
The Map Panel in IAWV is also read-only currently. Maybe when I refactor the UI and add a editable Map Panel like in IMatch this can be added.

Currently I always vote for the simplest solution for the user, reducing complexity as far as possible. This is paramount for IMatch Anywhere and WebViewer.
Considering the ratio between sales and support cases for IMatch Anywhere and IMatch Anywhere WebViewer, its users need virtually no support at all. Which is great.

[sinus]

I do not use IMatch Anywhere, hence I cannot comment a lot.
But looks for me nice.

What I use often are the fields
headline
Description
City
State
Subloc

The most use is, I guess, Headline and Description. And the field Title maybe (in use for different things).

[Dasym]

The screenshots look good. I think the default tags you suggest on each of the tabs for viewing would be fine. The only items I'd like to be able to edit are label, rating and flags.

[Jingo]

Same here..  can't imagine doing anything more complicated via IMA for keywording beyond what you have already shown.  For me, Description, title, caption, keywords, rating, label is about all I'd ever do "from the couch".  The only item I could see myself also looking for is the map panel.. but even that seems a bit advanced and may not be necessary.

[Mario]

(...) the only item I could see myself also looking for is the map panel.. but even that seems a bit advanced and may not be necessary.

The Map panel in the WebViewer currently allows people to see the files on the map. And, from the feedback I have received, this seems to be pretty much what people want. I could transplant the IMatch Map Panel into the WebViewer if there is sufficient demand. The core technology is the same.

But the recipe for IMatch WebViewer was always simplicity. Which seems to work well and I plan to keep it that way.

Requested features for IMA 2018 were downloading files in different resolutions / formats (done!), an easy way to edit rating/label/collections in the Viewer (done!) and a way to input basic metadata directly in the browser (done!).

The Admin can setup a custom FileLens layout if the default does not work for him. Its all controlled via a simple JSON text file. The tags are specified using standard IMatch syntax, and there are options to make a tag read-only or to set a custom name. This should work for virtually all usage scenarios.

If not, users usually tell me what's missing 

[Jingo]

(...) the only item I could see myself also looking for is the map panel.. but even that seems a bit advanced and may not be necessary.

The Map panel in the WebViewer currently allows people to see the files on the map. And, from the feedback I have received, this seems to be pretty much what people want. I could transplant the IMatch Map Panel into the WebViewer if there is sufficient demand. The core technology is the same.

But the recipe for IMatch WebViewer was always simplicity. Which seems to work well and I plan to keep it that way.

Requested features for IMA 2018 were downloading files in different resolutions / formats (done!), an easy way to edit rating/label/collections in the Viewer (done!) and a way to input basic metadata directly in the browser (done!).

The Admin can setup a custom FileLens layout if the default does not work for him. Its all controlled via a simple JSON text file. The tags are specified using standard IMatch syntax, and there are options to make a tag read-only or to set a custom name. This should work for virtually all usage scenarios.

If not, users usually tell me what's missing 

Agree... if IMA is meant to be kept simple, then I see these as the major items... a slideshow feature (with transitions and the ability to store settings), etc would be a nice addition down the road as well. 

[Mario]

A basic slide show in form of a time-controlled auto-advance in the Viewer has been implemented.

Developing a slide show module with transitions, a timeline etc. would be a large project and I don't see a reason. There are probably several dozen free and paid slide show applications out there, in form of Windows applications, web-based generators or self-hosted solutions. Even Windows 10 has a built-in slide show solution (pretty basic, though). Trying to re-implement one of these already existing solutions could take several weeks or even months of my time.

[mastodon]

What I use often are the fields, like sinus:
headline
Description
City
State
Subloc

But I agree whit Mario that location might be inconsistent with more users. And to avoid this one must integrate a lot of automatism and checking.
And I use facetags (annotations), it would be nice to have a radio button to show/hide them. I know it would be more difficult to make that field editable than location.
I think slide show module with transitions is not a need, that is a different project. BUT a simple slide show might be a good solution for digital frames. Mom and dad would see new/old photos, or it would be lovely for a "picture" at a schools/sport clubs lobby room.