Having trouble with separators in text export

[OffPeak]

I have the export set up as shown in 01_Imatch_Export_Text.jpg.

Because I've been having trouble, I test it in VarToy as shown in 02_Imatch_VarToy.jpg.  (Shows semicolon separators.)

When I open the output of the Text Export, I get what's shown in 03_Imatch_Export_Text_results.jpg, no semicolons (separators appear to be underscore, which I use in some category names).

Where are the semicolon separators ?

What am I doing wrong ?

Thanks for any help!

[Mario]

For tags or variables with multiple elements, IMatch uses the default list separator in Windows ( to separate the elements.
You are using ; as the field separator in your text export. So IMatch has to replace the ; with an _ to not break your output format.
You cannot use the same character ; to both separate elements and fields in the output.

You did not explain what you actually want to achieve. That would have been helpful.

If you want to output the categories as a list in a field in your output, make sure you either use a different field separator than ; or that you replace the ; IMatch uses to separate the categories by something else, for example by a comma: {File.Categories|level:leaf;replace:~;==,}

[OffPeak]

Mario:

Your explanation and example solved my problem (I used vertical bar instead of comma for field separator).

It was kind of hard to describe what I was doing in the first place; it was kind of a work in progress, and I was testing different ideas.

Now that I think I'm done, I think I can describe it:

I wanted to send a sub-set of photos to a relative;
It's not practical to expect him to buy or understand Imatch for this small project.
I wanted the relative to be able to see the categories I assigned to the photos, and maybe even sort to manipulate the selection;
Made the Text Export, read in with Excel, and with a fair amount of manual work, I arrived at the attached spreadsheet, including hyperlinks to the photos.
If there's an easier established way to do this, I'm all eyes!

Thanks !

[Mario]

Except for the ability to "edit" the categories, consider Design & Print as an easy alternative.
Just print a PDF and send it to your relative.

Design & Print allows you to output all kinds of text and data nearby the images, including categories of course.
If your relative needs to "review" the categories, print a sequential number next to each image. He/she can then just send you back "Image 1: add these categories..." or something.

[sinus]

Except for the ability to "edit" the categories, consider Design & Print as an easy alternative.
Just print a PDF and send it to your relative.

Design & Print allows you to output all kinds of text and data nearby the images, including categories of course.
If your relative needs to "review" the categories, print a sequential number next to each image. He/she can then just send you back "Image 1: add these categories..." or something.

I can only stress this proposal of Mario, Design & Print gives you excellet possibilities, I do this often and all my relatives can read pdfs.
And a pdf they can even look with tablet or handy.
Design & Print offers also to output pictures (jpg ...), for some cases this could be more interesting.
I use this sometimes, to create a jpg from a Design & Print and go then to some of these "photo output machines" what a lot of stores does offer, for print out paper-prints myself.

[OffPeak]

Thanks for the suggestions for Design & Print, but I actually wanted to send the full-sized files to my relative, not just a "print".

This leads me to a couple other questions, primarily about exporting categories, which I will attempt to add to previous threads.

I think my ultimate question is "How do I pass on my years of work to my descendants?"
Imatch takes some dedication to understand (I'm probably only understand 20% of it, and I've been using it on and off for years!), so I can't expect my descendants to use Imatch.
Also, many of them have swallowed the Apple Kool-Aid.
I'm thinking that Excel is a usually understandable tool all could use.
Also, maybe a web-based database tool, however, I am far from an expert in databases.

Thanks again,
Carl

[thrinn]

If your main goal is that your categories travel with you photos, did you consider to use Keywords instead of "traditional" IMatch categories? In IMatch, they behave in many aspects similar to Categories. But they can easily be embedded into you photos. That leaves the question if your relatives use some kind of viewer that is able to display XMP keywords, not to speak of hierachically display them.

[Mario]

That's what I would recommend too. Data should live in the image file itself, which includes keywords but also rating, label, titles, descriptions, dates and times...
IMatch by default does all that. I keeps your precious data independent from IMatch, in the image (or XMP sidecar file). Easy to transfer, travels with your images.

The special @Keyword category makes keywords actually stored int he image as easy to use as IMatch categories.
IMatch categories have many advantages over normal keywords, but for interop and archival purposes, keywords are better.
The IMatch help has more answers.

Note that various Apple or "mobile" products have only very limited support even for standardized metadata like XMP that is around for 20 years.
There is always lack for standards, in favor of proprietary solutions which make it easier to lock users in...
But XMP metadata as maintained by IMatch is the best bet now and in the foreseeable future.

[OffPeak]

Thanks Thrinn and Mario for your responses.

Your responses reveal to me (and probably others) that I don't even have the knowledge or language to properly phrase my issues!

Yes, I want the categories, descriptions, etc, to travel with the photos, and have begun embedding some items.
(I'll have to research @Keywords further.)
One thing I've done (which was pretty advanced for me!) is to name all scanned files by date and time (many guesses).
I then loaded Metadata:Date Created with that info.

However, I also want a selection process independent from the files.

WARNING: Attempt at defining what I want:
I think if I could create something like Imatch Anywhere that would travel with the files, it would achieve my ultimate goal.
Put everything on a memory stick, and send to the relatives, with instructions on how to load on their computer (for speed).
This would be a static database; I wouldn't be able to update what I've sent.
I would have to resend the stick if I changed the database significantly in the future.
I'm getting old, and at least this would preserve what I've done so far!

Carl

P.S. I've read Mario's "What if Mario gets hit by a Bus" posting; What if I get hit by a bus ?

[ubacher]

OffPeak: I have the same concerns as you. I want to pass on many (10 thousands) photos to the local
municipal photo archive. They do not have any special software for images.

I already figured out how to write my categories as keywords into the images.
But how can (non Imatch) users find photos of interest based on the keywords?

So what we are looking for is a simple software which searches the photos using keywords.

I think single (non-hierarchical) keywords can be searched in Windows. Anyone out there who has
any experience with that?

A brute force approach I could suggest to OffPeak would be to write a directory of images for each keyword.
If there aren't to many keywords one could probably tolerate the overhead (multiple copies of files).

Another possibility, very limited, would be to add the keywords to the end of file name. I still have some of my first digital
images where I had used this method. (Pre-Imatch days).

[sinus]

Thanks for the suggestions for Design & Print, but I actually wanted to send the full-sized files to my relative, not just a "print".

In this case you could use the Batch processor from IMatch!?

I do not know of course your relatives  ... I have made some expieriences with my relatives (about 20 people):

I am sure, almost all of them, it they would see your excel, they would not use it, too complicted (ony MY experiences)
Start a database: no interest
Showing a web-based solution: so far the best interest.

But really, the best of all interests I got with a printed booklet, in my case designed by Design & Print. (a mix of timeline (sorted) and big one-page pictures).
The older they get, the more they liked it. They can take it in the hand, look at it with a coffee, put it into the lady's handbag (that is why I do use a A5-format), show it further and so on.

But of course, your relatives can be completely different, it is only my experience.

[jch2103]

Showing a web-based solution: so far the best interest.

This might be your best option, depending on where you host your photos. I believe many of them allow metadata to be shown. Among other advantages, this allows you to to do updates at any time. (I use Smugmug, but there are certainly other choices.)

[Mario]

I have a "Pack & Go HTML Image Gallery" on my to-do list for a long time...
Something that you can ZIP and dump on a web server, or send to somebody via email.
Pure HTML and CSS, no executable. All that is needed is a browser.

Jingo has written a fine gallery app which does this.
You can download it from this community: https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=9370.0

But I doubt there is really a need. And looking at the download counts of the surely fine gallery app, I'm quite sure now.

We've had something like that in and older IMatch release. Based on an external gallery library.
I discontinued it because there was apparently only minimal demand. If at all.
I shipped it accidentally with a showstopper bug (gallery was not created at all) but nobody reported it for over a year.

Most people these days just upload their files to something like WordPress, Smugmug or Flickr or Instagram or Facebook or ....

The Batch Processor in IMatch makes it easy to produce exactly the required image size and format needed.
It can add selected metadata, watermarks, text boxes on either side and much more. Even QR Codes!
This makes it an ideal tool to prepare images for this kind of upload. Just add all the metadata you want to the image file and maybe even "print" the most important data somewhere outside the image in one or more text boxes.

This makes the data accessible for people who just know how to open a folder with images in the Windows Photo app. Because the description, title etc. is shown in or outside the image.
And Windows Explorer can search and sort the files based on the embedded metadata.

For more complex layouts (like mosaics or collages), IMatch Design & Print is great.
It cannot only print files or produce PDF, but also output pages as perfectly rendered images. Ready to send or to take to your local old print shoppe.

[Jingo]

Jingo has written a fine gallery app which does this.
You can download it from this community: https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=9370.0

But I doubt there is really a need. And looking at the download counts of the surely fine gallery app, I'm quite sure now.

I was just about to mention the App... it is how I share my images with family and friends.... super simple to use and simple as can be for family to browse images.  But, I do agree... seems most folks just don't share images this way any longer... Facebook and Instagram are all the rage and online galleries/albums have all but disappeared.  Based upon the download rate and number of questions I have received about the app - I tend to agree that a gallery option would be a waste of development effort Mario.

But - the script is fairly simple once you setup the back end details on your web host and I'm happy to assist anyone who is interested!

[Mario]

What I had in mind was a 'local' gallery, just consisting of images in various sizes, thumbnails and some JavaScript and CSS to glue it together.
Something that can be run from a folder / stick / ... by just double-clicking on the index.html file. No server, no active components etc.

But, there is virtually no demand for this.

Batch Processor and D&P do a great job for typical presentation forms these days.
Run the Batch, upload the results to FB, Insta, Twitter, My Heritage or whatever.

[sinus]

What I had in mind was a 'local' gallery, just consisting of images in various sizes, thumbnails and some JavaScript and CSS to glue it together.
Something that can be run from a folder / stick / ... by just double-clicking on the index.html file. No server, no active components etc.

But, there is virtually no demand for this.

Batch Processor and D&P do a great job for typical presentation forms these days.
Run the Batch, upload the results to FB, Insta, Twitter, My Heritage or whatever.

Hm, interesting.
Well, I had a look at Andy's (Jingo) app some time ago. But to be honest, when I read the (good) installation-steps, I thought, too complicated for me.
Although it is in fact, I guess, not very complicated.

Yes, the beauty of Design & Print is:
-I can select some pics
- I can use a template or create one
- I have access on the headline, description and date
- Finally I print it as PDF
This pdf I can send with mail, I can put it on a stick, I can send it via what's app and look it on a pc, tablet, handy ...


That is, why I would like to create a timeline (or another design), I would finally be able to do the same like create a pdf with Design & print:
- select some pics
- select some templates (timeline and some other templates) to arrange the selected images
- in these template I can at least use my headlines, description and date
- finally create a folder with all necessary files, what I could send to a friend, clients, relatives or put it online, and they can simply open the folder, click on a file (maybe html) and see the pictures like I choosed them in the template.

Thats' all.

If I could do this, it would be great, I would have a lot of possibilities, with IMatch as the source of images and text.
On this way I could select the birthday of Joe, the wedding-weekend of Cathrin and Peter.
Then I would think, hmm, should I create a pdf or a small "html-show".
Joe likes to print out things, I will send him a pdf, created from Design & Print, no problem.
And for Catrin I will create a "web-show", I will give it to her on a stick, and the images will be with headlines and description.

In older versions of IMatch we had someting like this. And the last, if I do remeber correctly, was with the app "Juicebox", what was quite nice, but a bit complictated, but very good.
Nowadays there are some possibilities out there to create galleries or something like this, like Wordpress and so on.
But often they do not support to have access to the text within the images (metas) and that is akward (in D&P use a variable and that is it).

Hm, I should look at the app from Jingo, yes. 

[Mario]

You are describing one of the problems of such a solution: Different users have totally different demands.

Some users may want to organize the "gallery" based on categories.
Some users may want to use some sort of time-line.
Some users may want to create a specific order or grouping of the files.
Some users may want slide show features. With thumbnails of sorts etc.
Some users may want lots of metadata, others want none.
Some users may want a way to access the original files (maybe converted to JPEG) from inside the gallery.
...

Making a simple solution will probably work only for a handful of users.
Making something that can handle most of the above requirements will be really complex and time consuming.
And then maybe 10 or 50 users will ever use it...

It's just not worth the effort to build something.
There are so many online tools these days and online ways to share and present photos.

My time would (if I would have any free time left) be much better spent to produce "Publishing App" of sorts, which makes it easy to share images directly from IMatch to popular services.

I have added some enhancements to IMWS in the area of image processing - which is one of the key features needed for publishing. I did create these for the download images feature in IMatch Anywhere WebViewer, but they can also be used by IMatch apps (still undocumented at this time).

All this is part of a larger concept I'll be working on this year. But now I'm concentrating 100% on the next IMatch release and get all reported bugs fixed.
The release after that will bring some additional people-related features.
Then I will work on IMatch Anywhere 2020.
Then we'll see.

[OffPeak]

After thinking about it overnight, I was wondering if this idea would work.
(I don't know how popular it would be, or if it's worth Mario's time.)

We already have Imatch Anywhere.
(I don't know if Imatch Anywhere uses it's own database, or calls on Imatch.)
We already have a categorized collection of files.

Maybe this should go under "New Feature Request", but since it has been started in this thread...

NEW FEATURE/PROGRAM

IMATCH SUBSET EXPORTER

1. Select files to be exported by Categories and/or Keywords.
2. Choose export type of: Imatch Database, or Read-Only intra/internet (html?) database with Imatch Anywhere selector.
   (I'm not sure if I'm using the right terminology for the Read-Only part.)
3. Choose location for export (likely a stick, if Read-Only is selected).
4. Export Only Selected Categories and Keywords.
5. Maybe allow watermark on photos for commercial users.
6. Could allow selection of Metadata categories to be exported based on which are used in the selected files.
7. The program would export everything in one click required to access the selected files.

My goal is to be able to send a collection of the actual files that anyone can easily sort/select and view.
Imatch Anywhere is that friendly, except it's not easily accessable from outside computers.

Carl
"What if I get hit by a bus ?"

[Mario]

(I don't know if Imatch Anywhere uses it's own database, or calls on Imatch.)

IMatch Anywhere uses the same "engine" and IMatch Anywhere WebServices as IMatch.
You cannot run it without installation. And you cannot give it away to others - this would violate your license and would make me very angry.

Imatch Anywhere is that friendly, except it's not easily accessable from outside computers.

This has nothing to do with IMatch Anywhere. I repeat myself here.
It is all about security.

When you open a port in your firewall (port 80 or 441 if you use SSL with IMatch Anywhere), everybody can access your IMatch databases via their web browser. You only need to tell them your IP or use a static IP.
This takes maybe 10 seconds and you can invite all your family to fire up their web browser and browse your files.

BUT, opening a port in your firewall will also allow malicious bots to probe your network. And IMatch Anywhere. And the embedded web server in IMatch Anywhere.
Typically the ports of your firewall are scanned hundreds or thousands of times a day - from bad bots trying to find a way in.
Thousands of computers and devices get hacked that way every day - and then serve as SPAM sources, for denial of service attacks and worse. Or your disks are encrypted with WannaCry and you have to pay a ransom of hundreds of dollars to maybe get them back...

Not even the big companies like Google, Facebook or Adobe can always keep their systems safe. And certainly no normal person can secure an PC open to the Internet.
I still get SPAM mails to an adobe@... email address I had used with my Adobe account. And which was stolen, with several million other email addresses, when Adobe was hacked the last time.

I know there are many (even popular) applications out there which tell you to open a port in order to share your whatever collection of PDF files or MP3 files.
These applications are careless, sometimes malicious. And usually bury the danger of opening port somewhere on page 90 of their license agreement. In very small print.
Because telling Tom Normal that opening a port bears a great risk for his PC getting infected with a virus, abused or all disks encrypted beyond recovery is bad for business.
But I care about my users.

IMatch Anywhere can be safely accessed from the "outside" if you setup a VPN or if you put it in a DMZ behind a hardened proxy server. Or hire a Windows machine in the cloud for a couple of bucks and let it rebuild itself once a day from scratch.

A VPN is easy to setup, very safe and you can let all your friends and family access your PC over the Internet.

[OffPeak]

Don't worry Mario, I wasn't even thinking about giving away Imatch !

[Jingo]

Hm, interesting.
Well, I had a look at Andy's (Jingo) app some time ago. But to be honest, when I read the (good) installation-steps, I thought, too complicated for me.
Although it is in fact, I guess, not very complicated.

Hm, I should look at the app from Jingo, yes. 

Hi Markus - if you have access to a web host - the setup takes about 20 minutes total... pretty quick considering.  Once that is all set, it really is just a matter of selecting images in IM and following the steps in the APP to create an album/sync an album/add to an album and upload the images.

Lots of other options out there in the wild for creating simple JS albums as well... so you could also just export the images in IM to a folder and then run the html code locally to general a web page... if you have a host, upload that to the site and share the link!

[sinus]

Hm, interesting.
Well, I had a look at Andy's (Jingo) app some time ago. But to be honest, when I read the (good) installation-steps, I thought, too complicated for me.
Although it is in fact, I guess, not very complicated.

Hm, I should look at the app from Jingo, yes. 

Hi Markus - if you have access to a web host - the setup takes about 20 minutes total... pretty quick considering.  Once that is all set, it really is just a matter of selecting images in IM and following the steps in the APP to create an album/sync an album/add to an album and upload the images.

Lots of other options out there in the wild for creating simple JS albums as well... so you could also just export the images in IM to a folder and then run the html code locally to general a web page... if you have a host, upload that to the site and share the link!

Thanks, Jingo
Hm, yes, I have access to a web host, though I do not use it often, because I do not like this (still) complicated stuff for me.
But as soon as I have time, I will give your app a try, finally I know, that you writes very good apps  ... and that you are very helpful, if I have a problem.

I have to fight also (like others of us, I guess) with the daily restriction of this f.... corona-virus, but I am sure, I will have the time (and energy) to look at your app.
Thanks also to upload such a fine app!