Newbie

[poppyrob]

Hi folks. My name is Rob, I'm from Australia and this is my first post in the photools Community.

Several weeks ago I downloaded the trial iMatch software as a preview. I was about to leave on vacation so downloaded to both my desktop (Win7) and laptop (Win10). Having zero experience with iMatch, other than watching several tutorial videos, I must admit to being a little overwhelmed by the size and complexity of iMatch. But being over 60, I've learned not to let things overpower you, just understand what you need, and forge ahead.

With this in mind I took a 2TB external drive containing several thousand RAW images with me on vacation to see what I could understand using iMatch. At first I was quite confused, but I set up the interface and proceeded to import images into the newly created database. I maintained the hierarchical categories I've always used, YEAR, CATEGORY (birds, family, surfing, weather, etc), then individual folders within those categories for each and every shoot. Some of these child folders may contain 20 images, some may contain 500, pending the circumstance.

My aim is to keyword and/or categorize my image collection of almost 200,000 images so I can quickly locate specific photographs. So, still with little understanding, I proceeded to keyword, star rate and pin some 2000 images. The process was comfortable albeit a little slow while waiting for images to load "full screen" to enable rating. I rarely discard images unless they are out of focus, and with bird images it is essential to confirm clarity to rate correctly.

When arriving home, I ran my efforts through Pack and Go on the laptop, and proceeded to restore to the desktop. At this point I had not read the procedures necessary to do this successfully. So I was unsuccessful. I did not care though as I felt the practice was beneficial.

Since then, I have read and realized several things. I initially thought that it may be to my benefit to create individual databases for each calendar year. Not so advised Mario. Create a single database for ease and efficiency. Then I realized that due to the number of files and my storage platform, my images occupied several HDDs. And I also realized that although I had keyworded my "practice" images, I had not considered the iMatch CATEGORY availability. A huge mistake I feel.

So where am I at right now? My trial iMatch has passed it's 30 days but I intend to purchase the software soon. In the meantime I will purchase a 6 or 8TB desktop HDD and copy ALL my digital photographs to it to allow ease of operation for both myself and the software. When I begin to use iMatch I will use categories to associate all like images. I am yet to try this but will study up beforehand.

One question I do have is if/when I update my desktop computer it will almost certainly be to Windows 10. Will there be any issues when migrating the iMatch database to the new system or is this a straightforward procedure? Also, any tips or hints you may be able to provide a very inexperienced newbie setting up a new database would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Rob.     

[Mario]

Hi, Rob,

welcome to the IMatch community.

IMatch runs fine on Windows 7 SP1 and later versions of Windows. Windows 10 is the best platform of course.
Your database will run just fine on all Windows versions.

The process was comfortable albeit a little slow while waiting for images to load "full screen" to

This is because you work with RAW files. When displaying a RAW file for the first time, IMatch first has to create a cache image (see: The Cache). Depending on the computer speed, the installed WIC codec, file format etc. creating a cache image can take 0.5s or 10s. Once the image is cached, IMatch can load it in almost no time and you can just zap through your files in the Viewer as fast as you can scroll the mouse wheel.

Keywords vs. Categories

I recommend using both, with a primary focus on hierarchical keywords.
Keywords are stored inside your images (or XMP sidecar files) and are thus immediately (after write-back) accessible for other applications.

Categories offer many advantages over keywords, like speed, formulas, data-driven categories and more. Categories are an "IMatch thing" and stored in the database. They are not directly accessible for other applications.

The special @Keywords Category exists to give you the best of both worlds. All keywords in your files (and the keywords you add in IMatch) are automatically reflected in the @Keywords category and its children. This not only makes it super-easy to see all files with specific keywords, but also to rename/correct keywords globally, move files between keywords and more.

You can use regular IMatch categories on-top to group/cluster/organize your files using non-keyword related things.

It's best to start with a few thousand sample files and a test database (use copies of your images in a separate folder so you can try out anything without risk).
Play with keywords and categories until you find something that works for you. Since you do it in a test database, no harm is done when you make a mistake. Just restore the backup copy of your test database and start over.

Tip: You can create a new database with your trial version and it will work for 30-days in fully writable mode. Great for setting up a test database.

will purchase a 6 or 8TB desktop HDD and copy ALL my digital photographs to it to allow ease

Great,. But remember to buy a second disk so you can do proper backups (unless you already have a good backup procedure set up, which you should).

Note: Store the IMatch database on your fastest disk (SSD preferred) for superb performance.

[poppyrob]

Thank you for the tips and advice Mario. As I stated above, iMatch is very new to me at this stage and it will be a steep learning curve for a while. Your advice re practicing on a "dummy" set of images has been taken on board, and that is exactly what I will do. The HDD I took on vacation is a spare, and already loaded with many thousands of RAW images, so that will be my test database.

With this in mind, I will continue to practice on my laptop while I wait for my new 8Gb HDD for the desktop. So I need to purchase iMatch now. Should I remove the trial iMatch software from my laptop and desktop then reinstall, or should I leave it in place?

Thank you.

Rob.

[ubacher]

I would recommend to start out using only categories - this way you can rename/reorganize your categories
without having to rewrite many many files. Once you have a category system you are happy with you can then move
some categories to keywords. And then only if you need to access the keywords outside of Imatch.

Organize your categories in hierarchies!

[Mario]

I would not recommend this approach for average users. it adds additional complexity to the task of keywording/tagging files.

You can add and change keywords using the Keyword Panel and the special @Keywords category as easily and fast as normal categories.
But you can also built your thesaurus while you work, all keyword-related features will work as designed etc.

IMatch will not automatically write-back your keywords to your files unless you explicitly tell it to via the Write-back commands.
No disadvantage in using keywords.

[poppyrob]

OK. This is going to prove interesting. Lots of "feeling around" coming up! But I don't mind, it will be the best way to learn.

Now, I need to purchase iMatch. Is it best to uninstall the trial and start completely afresh with a new download, or is there a key provided to "activate" what I currently have on the computers?

Thank you.

Rob.

[Mario]

Just download the licensed version after purchase.
It automatically detects the installed trial version and updates it to the licensed version.
Your settings, databases etc. will work.

The same procedure is used when IMatch updates are released (IMatch will tell you). Just install, Windows will automatically replace the installed version with the latest version of IMatch.

Regarding keywords:

There are probably as many approaches as there are users.

• Some users add 3-5 keywords to a file and use fairly flat hierarchies.
  
• Some users add up to 100 keywords to a file and extensive hierarchies.
  
• Some users use 5W WHERE-WHO-WHEN-WHY-WHAT top-level categories and then apply keywords from each set. This can be easily combined with color-coding so you can see at a glance if you have assigned a keyword from each category. See: Use Visual Clues to Improve Your Workflow
  
• Some users work happily with the default thesaurus provided by IMatch.
  
• Some users install their own controlled vocabulary
  
• Scientists often have very deep keyword hierarchies with 20,000 to 50,000 keywords (taxonomies).

What I want to say with that: It all depends on your requirements and preferred workflow.
IMatch offers powerful tools to help you with keywording your files, but it pays of to spend a day to make up your mind and try different things.
Having keywords in files is important, but it is even more important to having reliable and consistent keywords (use the same keyword for the same thing).

There is no rush. Setup a set of keywords in the IMatch thesaurus you want to use for your files. Add new keywords as needed along the way.
Getting into too much detail is usually not productive. You can also add a title, headline and description to each file for more detailed info.