Wish I'd never upgraded to IMatch 6

[LindaRD]

I recently replace my dinosaur of a computer with a new model and had to upgrade all my software to work on 64bit. I used IMatch extensively on my old PC and looked forward to upgrading to a newer version, never dreaming that the differences between the 3.* version I was using and the 6.* version I upgraded to were so vastly different. I cannot do with this version what I did with the older version. I don't even know where to start. I was able to make databases, but Categories is very different. I can't use my own keywords it seems. I was not using IMatch for photography but for other graphic files. Now it seems that IMatch is dedicated strictly to photos. I wish I had done more research before purchasing this upgrade. I feel that I have wasted money that I could have used to get a program better suited to my needs. At this point I don't know what to do. The program is not useful for me as it is. It doesn't read most PDF files, which I have a lot of. In the older version it was fairly easy to make categories and assign my graphics to them. Honestly, If I could get my money back, I'd dump the program, erase it from my PC, and move on to something else. 

[Mario]

Between IMatch 2017 (there is no version 6 of IMatch) and IMatch 3 are about 5 years of continuous development.
Most users migrated to IMatch 4 in 2014, almost 3 years ago.

IMatch 3 was only images. IMatch 5 and IMatch 2017 manage all file formats.

Nothing substantial has changed in the category concept of IMatch in the past 10 years. Categories just got more powerful.

The program is not useful for me as it is. It doesn't read most PDF files,

IMatch 2017 supports PDF files out of the box. If you mean by "doesn't read" that you don't get thumbnails...please make sure that you have a current version of Acrobat Reader or another PDF reader installed. IMatch produces thumbnails for PDF files using the installed "shell extension" in Windows, which is usually provided by Adobe Acrobat Reader.

In the older version it was fairly easy to make categories and assign my graphics to them.

Not much has changed with that. I cannot remember IMatch 3 anymore, but to assign categories to files in IMatch 2017 you use the Category Panel.  There are also five or six other ways to assign categories to files. Whatever works best for you.

Did you read the For IMatch 3 Users topic in the help yet? It is a bit dated (most users migrated from IMatch 3 to 5 in 2014) but it should be very helpful if you have used a legacy version of IMatch before.

Your post is a bit unspecific about what you actually want to achieve. If you give us some more details, I',m sure we can help.

[Aubrey]

Hi Linda,
Sorry to hear of your troubles.
I've been using IMatch for must close to 10 years. I made the change to IM 5 a long time ago.
I now store all my technical PDFs with IMatch and really appreciate it.

Please post  your issues here and ask for assistance, we are a friendly and helpful community and will guide you through the transition.
Best wishes,
Aubrey.

[jch2103]

Linda -

Aubrey speaks for many of us here who are always ready to help other users.

[Laurent]

Linda

It looks as though you use IMatch in much the same way as I do, that is to say, in a basic, no-frills way for organising PDFs and in my case, photos as well.  I don't have the time and have no need or interest in using scripting or many of the other more arcane features provided by IMatch 2017, but the basic features provided will reward the effort put into becoming familiar with them.   I moved from IMatch 3 to IMatch 5 and now to IMatch 2017.  I have not regretted it.  If you're moving directly from IMatch 3 then there will perhaps be a little culture shock, but the Help and instructional files provided, and the assistance offered on this forum, are excellent.

Please stick with it - it's worth the effort.

[kirk]

I  have both imatch 3 and 5 installed on my PC and while Imatch 5 does have a lot of extra great tools and cool things to work with keywords, map, gps data etc.  still it's  imatch 3 where I keep track and manage my own psd files and use as my main DAM.     Imo Imatch3 has a very nice balance of simplicity and flexibility. Something in that balance makes it very easy to use straight away.   And with Imatch5   I had to read the help again and again every  few months. 

I believe it's something in too much of a cross dependency in Imatch5, a feature works if you have something on or off in other parts of a screen  and once you forget to check in something  nothing works at all.   You look at empty search result and trying to figure out where  is that extra thing you had to  check in yesterday or what mistake did you do in property panel so nothing is appearing anymore.

I am a texture and 3d artist working for CG industry. I have to say that very same problem is so common for all so called "pro" CG soft too;   Max. Maya , Houdiny etc.   It's literally a huge piles of features accumulated after decades of  extensive feature writing  you have to spend your whole life digging through like an archaeologist researching culture plasts or psychologist studying special programmers way of thinking.    That's probably a reason I prefer to model things in open source Blender which is simple  like a hammer.

I don't offer to make one more useless toy  like Apple "Photos" , just believe interface elegance and work simplicity  are probably more important  than total number of features.

  I would gladly buy some "light"  modern version of imatch where I wouldn't have to read the help every single day and still do all basic things + keywording and map features. Something on pair with Lightroom  but more category/keyword/search oriented  rather than RAW processing.

[Jingo]

Well - I would highly recommend IMatch Anywhere for a very simple user interface to just "find your stuff".  So long as you have tagged your times sufficiently - the UI in IMA gives you a really fast look into your database for nearly any device.  Personally - I love browsing my catalog on my couch using my large TV to find specific images and share them with the family... imagine this would very valuable to locate assets as well... drag/drop right into your software too.

[Mario]

As Jingo points out, the easy user interface is what I have done for IMatch WebViewers. It reduces the feature set drastically and presets an UI that is easy to use, even for people who have never used IMatch (or another DAM before).

This will not work for IMatch itself. As you explain yourself, if you use a software only every couple of months, it is impossible to use it efficiently. And from your problem description I think you have just one problem: Understanding the scope.

When you use the file window search bar, it will search the current scope - which is all the files you have in the file window. If you look at the files in a folder, IMatch searches within the files of that folder. If you look at all files in the database (by selecting the Database node in the Media & Folders View), IMatch will search all files in the database. Simple. But when you use IMatch 5 only every couple of months, you give your self any chance to forget how it works.

There are many simple 3 button image managers around. This is not my market. I used the Apple approach "Dumb it down by removing features" for IMatch WebViewer successfully. But this approach will not work for the IMatch user base. I teach "IMatch" occasionally and I know from firsthand experience that it can be learned real quick. I don't know much users forget when they don't use IMatch for several months. But that is rather unusual.

[jch2103]

Imo Imatch3 has a very nice balance of simplicity and flexibility. Something in that balance makes it very easy to use straight away.   And with Imatch5   I had to read the help again and again every  few months. 

Interesting. My reaction on switching from IM3 to IM5 was quite the opposite. I found IM5 much easier to use (once I understood the basic concepts) and the user interface much more like other modern Windows programs.

[kirk]

Imo Imatch3 has a very nice balance of simplicity and flexibility. Something in that balance makes it very easy to use straight away.   And with Imatch5   I had to read the help again and again every  few months. 

Interesting. My reaction on switching from IM3 to IM5 was quite the opposite. I found IM5 much easier to use (once I understood the basic concepts) and the user interface much more like other modern Windows programs.

I believe I understand the basic concept too and read help several times still I constantly stuck up with imatch 5 and it drains my time.   I use it to categorize our photography team photos  and here is my process : I already have my and their keywords and categories set and need to find something . I choose a keyword and see nothing I really expected or nothing at all. OK I think. it should be something in the top panel, no everything is fine, no "pause", nothing ,  so maybe it's something in keywords panel.  No, not at all.   Oh,  it should be something in Filter manager which I have to scroll down.   Oh ok , found it.     Finally !!!  

And this is my evry time experience with imatch5, very tiresome.        It's what I call too much cross-dependency.   I love how iMatch3  just has two different screens  . One for categories and another one for filters , "selections".   And in Category screen  I just see things straight away without any extra puzzles.   I don't use imatch all day long every day. It's my auxiliary tool and I don't want to solve  puzzles every time.

ps. I does use iMatch  much more often than every  couple of months. I think I use it once in every couple of days. Mostly Imatch3 although.    Imatch5 gives me that kind of micro stuttering every time I see that annoying blue/magenta bar on the top.  Would it has an option to switch it off with a single click over it anyplace or rather being auto switch-off once you chose  next category, it would probably solve all my problems with imatch5. 
I know,  there is  "funnel"  button . It's exactly that sort of thing I have to recall every time  "Where is that  button  I pushed last time?"   Imatch3 works perfectly ok without that.  It doesn't force you to keep all that redundant  buttons in your memory to be usable. 
  I admit, I feel a kind of protest deep inside me for memorising such things.   I  just have to learn too much every single day and solve to many puzzles   in my main  work area to keep some extra free place in my brain for an auxiliary tool which I expect would be working just on intuitive level.     I hardly read the help  of  imatch3 for example. Imo it's just self explanatory.       

[Mario]

I choose a keyword and see nothing I really expected or nothing at all. OK I think. it should be something in the top panel, no everything is fine, no "pause", nothing ,  so maybe it's something in keywords panel.  No, not at all.   Oh,  it should be something in Filter manager which I have to scroll down.   Oh ok , found it.     Finally !!!  

To find files, use the search bar in the file window toolbar. Just type in what you are looking for.  Just like in Windows Explorer or Apples Finder.

To quickly locate files with a specific keyword(s), use the Category View, and there the @Keywords categories.

If you use the Filter Panel, you can either use the categories filter (you don't need to scroll most likely if you hide filters you don't use) or use the Metadata Filer. It will show you all keywords used for the files in the file window. You can then just pick from the list.

Different users prefer different ways to search for things. Pick the workflow you prefer and stick to it. Ignore other possibilities offered by IMatch.