Define event by file name filter only

[Carlo Didier]

I'd like to define an event ONLY by a file name filter, without a date range.

Right now the only way to do this is to enter, for example, a start date of 01-jan-1900 and an end date of 31-dec-3000 and then add a file name filter.

[Mario]

Why would somebody want to create an event from all JPEG files in the database? Or all RAW files with a specific file name?
And as you say in your post, you can already do that if you really want. I don't think we need yet another option or event type for this.

[Carlo Didier]

Why would somebody want to create an event from all JPEG files in the database? Or all RAW files with a specific file name?

Because my events are all defined by the range of file names, regardless of Metadata timestamps (which may not be within a defined range)

I already explained this some time ago in another thread. My naming convention inludes the date and thus allows me to
a) be independent of unreliable metadata
b) easily group together (by file name) original and derived images (which may have completely different time stamps!)

Someone else might have named all images for certain events by starting with the event name or a project name or ID. If any derived images keep the same naming, it's easy to find all mages related to that event by file name alone, regardless of metadata.

I think this would be extremely useful (right now I still do it with scripts that assign images to event categories by file name range and it would be much nicer to do that automatically).

[Mario]

I anticipated that you store date and time information in file names but apparently not in metadata, where it belongs.

Why do you keep the time stamps only in the file name and don't copy it into the time stamps IMatch maintains for you (TimeWiz or a MD Template)?.
This would not only support all features in IMatch which work with date and time (from sorting to searching to filtering to the timeline) but also make everything work nicely with events - without the need for additional features or event types to handle your file naming convention.

[Carlo Didier]

I anticipated that you store date and time information in file names but apparently not in metadata, where it belongs.

Why do you keep the time stamps only in the file name and don't copy it into the time stamps IMatch maintains for you (TimeWiz or a MD Template)?.
This would not only support all features in IMatch which work with date and time (from sorting to searching to filtering to the timeline) but also make everything work nicely with events - without the need for additional features or event types to handle your file naming convention.

I never said that I didn't store time stamps in metadata. I only said that metadata is unreliable, especially as not every software I use or may use in the future is guaranteed to correctly maintain the metadata. But the filename is something I am always certain of, because I make it.

Exampe: An event happening from 1.-3. January 2020. Some time later (let's say in March), I create derived images (HDR, panos, focus stacks, collages, ... whatever) using any odd software I want. Nobody can guarantee then that all the images retain the necessary correct time stamps! But all these derived images belong to the event. So the only way to be sure they are all assigned to the same event is by the filename.

[grafton84]

Another reason to consider is this; I have over 7,000 images scanned from negatives, slides and photographs. The image timestamp is the scan date and time. If I knew the exact date for each image, I could put that in metadata, but if I don't (which is true for 99% of these images), date fields can't handle partial dates, like year only or year and month only.

Currently, the only way to create Events for these images is statically.

My 2 cents...

Rob...

[Mario]

date fields can't handle partial dates, like year only or year and month only.

The established solution is using the 1. or 15. day, based on your guess. Same for month: 1, 4, 8, 12 to approximate the month.
This is usually sufficiently accurate and immediately allows you to use your files in all applications which work with date and time.
Maybe add a keyword or a caption or similar to record that the date is approximate.
This makes your life a lot easier. I have encountered this several times in project work and it always worked well. For historic images and more modern images without any usable metadata.

In IMatch, If you really have to, use a data-driven category hierarchy to group your files by y/m/d using the photools.com file name tag.
You can use the "use part of value" to address y/m/d, depending on whatever custom scheme you have used to encode date and time information in file names.
Then you can produce events easily for some or all of these categories.

But I would really advise to consider copying your incomplete date and time from your file names into the proper date and time fields.
This will work so much better with all date and time oriented features in IMatch.
You can use the TimeWiz for this, and variables to deal with the missing information in your dates.

[Carlo Didier]

But I would really advise to consider copying your incomplete date and time from your file names into the proper date and time fields.
This will work so much better with all date and time oriented features in IMatch.
You can use the TimeWiz for this, and variables to deal with the missing information in your dates.

True, but its more manual steps when a DAM should automate as much as possible.

[Mario]

True, but its more manual steps when a DAM should automate as much as possible.

Honestly? A DAM should out-of-the-box understand whatever naming schema users have cooked up, including partial dates encoded somehow, all possible separators, formatting convention, date formats?
We recently had a case here in the community where a user has used ExifTool in the past to include date and time in file names, using abbreviated month names like 'May' or 'Dec' directly in the file name. Much fun to parse this. It can be done with IMatch, though. In several steps.

Show me a DAM that makes it as easy to migrate information from file names into metadata as IMatch. I say: TimeWiz, Metadata Templates, Metadata Wizard.
I'll study it and maybe I can learn something and then improve IMatch.

[Carlo Didier]

True, but its more manual steps when a DAM should automate as much as possible.

Honestly? A DAM should out-of-the-box understand whatever naming schema users have cooked up, including partial dates encoded somehow, all possible separators, formatting convention, date formats?

That's not what I said. The user should be able to configure it once for his needs and from then on it should work automatically with those parameters.

[Mario]

You can do that either as a Metadata Template or the Metadata Mechanic. Whatever you find easiest. Both allow you to setup once and then recall.

[Carlo Didier]

You can do that either as a Metadata Template or the Metadata Mechanic. Whatever you find easiest. Both allow you to setup once and then recall.

recall = manual

[Mario]

You can run Metadata Templates automatically when IMatch rescans folders. For new or updates files separately.
Assuming you need to deal with the file name mess only once, that's how to do it. Automatically.

[Carlo Didier]

Assuming you need to deal with the file name mess only once, that's how to do it.

no mess at all, but my own trusted, thought through and proven consistent naming system. Not going to change that for > 100000 files!
Worked perfectly from since I use iMatch (version 3, where my event driven basic scripts did everything that iMatch couldn't do itself back then; those scripting possibilities were the main reason for my decision to use iMatch)
I haven't used templates yet as I never saw a need, but I may have a look at them now. Can I use regular expressions with them? Even if, I can't imagine how it would work.
My scripts check simply (!) if the file name is in a specific range, like "D20190725001*" to "D20190727999*" to decide if it belomgs to a certain event. The events are defined by their name range.
The template would have to compare a file name with all the ranges of my events and then assign it to the correct one.

[Mario]

This kind of purpose-built logic cannot be handled by Metadata Templates. This was not the question.
The question was how to transfer date and time info kept in file names into the proper metadata fields, so all date- and time-related functions in IMatch (and other applications) can use it.

Events can be defined by folders, categories, time ranges and custom selections of files.
I have no plans to define events based on file names.