New App Idea

[Mario]

I will include a new small app in the next release.

The Recent Files app just keeps track of the past 50 (or maybe 100) you had focused in the file window. It shows the thumbnail and in the tooltip the fully-qualified file name. The thumbnail size can be selected between xs (40 pixel) to xxl (160 pixel) so everybody should find a good setting. Clicking on a thumbnail jumps to the corresponding file in the Media & Folders view.

Quite handy to quickly jump back to an image you've recently worked on from another view.

The app demonstrates

+ how to monitor IMatch events (file window focused file changed),
+ how to manage files in an array (push in, remove, limit to a maximum number of elements)
+ How to dynamically add/remove elements to a masonry grid
+ How persist data in the IMWS database (the settings are stored)
+ how to react on button clicks
+ Using Bootstrap CSS classes for a clean look
+ Using IMatchTranslate for translating an app

It uses an external JavaScript library for the masonry. This is an elastic and responsive grid layout which automatically adapts to the size of the app panel and automatically produces a neat layout. Can be used for many things and is very useful if the displayed items are of different width or height.

[BanjoTom]

I haven't even begun to explore app creation myself, but this sounds like a VERY welcome addition even for those of us who will not be writing custom apps by ourselves.  Thanks, Mario!

[Mario]

That's the idea!

Writing an app is much faster than writing a 'built-in' function for IMatch. A lot of copy / paste is usually the key.
It took me less than one hour to create this app from scratch, and this includes creating a vector icon in Affinity Designer (5 minutes):



Once you've learned the basics, it's really quick and fun.

Axel yesterday provided an app that allows you to open a selection of files directly in Geo-Setter. Awesome!
Maybe we can see more small but useful apps from others soon. I have about a dozen app ideas floating around and many of them will be usable in IMatch as well as in future IMatch Anywhere versions.

The next step (in planning) will be an App File Window. Basically these apps will run in the space usually occupied by the file window. Most likely you can choose an app like you can choose a file window layout. Having this amount of space will allow for awesome features...

Think about a time-line like in IMatch WebViewer. An "Album" View maybe.
A "true" lighttable view.
Visualization of file relations as "graphs" (with lines between files) or maybe even a new IMatch features for n:m relations - to properly model and view Family Trees.

JavaScript and modern web browsers come with a massive graphics power and can play video and audio files (in selected formats). I plan to use this to enable my users to do things faster, better. Or to do things which are not possible today. While still having the rock-solid IMatch back-end running under it.

[sinus]

Cool!!! 

This reminds me at your cool Tiles-app.
And this reminds me to create a memory-game with the selected files and highscore.... play in the family with family-pictures a nice game. 

phew, so a lot of interesting ideas. 

IF I could create such an app like Mario did in one hour, phewww, I would create a lot of apps! 

Thanks, Mario!

[Jingo]

I'm just finishing up some very large design projects for some clients and then plan on jumping full steam into app creation again... if anyone has ideas for some apps, I would love some targets to try and hit!  Thx...

[Mario]

IF I could create such an app like Mario did in one hour, phewww, I would create a lot of apps! 

I have lot's of practice  Just look at C:\ProgramData\photools.com\IMatch6\webroot ... 

[Mario]

if anyone has ideas for some apps, I would love some targets to try and hit!  Thx...

Since IMatch WebServices now have learned how to update IMatch databases, I can now enhance IMatch WebViewer to allow users to change metadata, ratings, labels, categories - in their web browser, from anywhere. This will be very welcome for many.

We can now use the same scripts (apps) to work with both a local IMatch and a remote IMatch WebService.

When I have some spare time I will look into all the cloud-based (Saas) A.I. tools available today (from Google, Microsoft, Algorithmia and others). I'm especially interested in tools which do feature and face detection in images - to automate or help writing descriptions, adding keywords and stuff like that. Features that save my users time and speed up their workflow.

Being able to do this and to keep up with the quickly changing frameworks out there was one of the main reasons so invest so much time into the new app framework in IMatch. There is a technical aspect (usually the easiest to handle), a financial aspect (how much does it cost and who pays for it) and a very important privacy aspect attached to using cloud-based services. All three aspects need to be considered carefully.

[sinus]

I'm just finishing up some very large design projects for some clients and then plan on jumping full steam into app creation again... if anyone has ideas for some apps, I would love some targets to try and hit!  Thx...

Hm, I have not a lot of time, unfortunately, but out of my brain  some ideas, but not thought about them very good:

1) a "game-app", like the "tiles" what came with IMatch in version 5, but as a game: select some images and the script would then create a memory - game, where each image is twice there, hidden behind boxes. The user must try to get all pairs in low time (or/and low tries). I tried once, but with not a lot of success, the difficult thing is create a highscore-list

2) OK, something what I will try, but this takes time and I am a really really bad "scripter": pull some metadata-fields and attributes out of a file and put it into word (doc)

3) What I had in mind since a long time, but was never able to do so (a bit like number 2 above): Select some images, and the script would take some metadata-tags like Headline, Description, City and filename (best even additional some attributes-fields) and let put this with a small image (say 60x60) into Word directly or (Mario suggested this in reply 22 of https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=6636.msg46140;topicseen#msg46140) in Html or whatever. The target would be, that I could create with some images a nice looking delivery note (or even bill) with a image for every event.

4) if we go to gaming we can have also some ideas. For example, show an image and the persons must say as soon as possible the year of tooking the image. The next button would show the answer.

5) or a kind of "fun-test": we could select some images and each person could go through the test in a multiple-choice - manner: date of the image, (3 possibilities, one is correct), City, Prename and so on.  The answers could be pulled out of the metadata-fields, the date could be only the year and so on.

6) Select one metadata-field and let IMatch show all files, where this field is empty

7) The ability to calculate different attributes-fields (or metadata). So we could create bills or simply some nice numbers. For example we have 10 fields and  in a table I could choose for every field, with what field it should do what for a calculation.  The answer would be written in 10 other fields.
Like field 1 do add to field 8.
Field 2 do divide through field 6.
and so on.

Puh, I am sure, I could write more such more or less nonsens  for scripting ideas.  but I must think about it 

As I said above, maybe all this ideas are stupid or is even native in IMatch or is simply not doable.
But they are ideas. 

[Mario]

No games from me, sorry 
I'm still having to play through Doom and Rise of the Tomb Raider and I don't have even time for that.

6) Select one metadata-field and let IMatch show all files, where this field is empty

You can do that with the Value Filter in the filter panel. Select "Files with values" an invert. This gives you all files without value in the given tag.

7) This sounds a bit like excel. Putting "formulas" into Attributes to calculate them dynamically based on other Attribute values. Maybe request a "special" attribute field type named "variable" which holds a variable. This could then be enhanced to do what you need. I just don't know if this will be used by more than a handful of users...
In apps you can of course do this easily.

2) OK, something what I will try, but this takes time and I am a really really bad "scripter": pull some metadata-fields and attributes out of a file and put it into word (doc)

See the HTML report example. This is very similar.

[sinus]

No games from me, sorry 
I'm still having to play through Doom and Rise of the Tomb Raider and I don't have even time for that.