Have there been Database rebuilds?

[Aubrey]

Has there been any need to rebuild the database with any of the releases of the beta 5.0? I think it is pretty sable from reading the bug reports.. .
The reason I'm asking is that I am considering moving to 5 for my work. I generate about 200 images a month so if a database rebuild becomes necessary then its not too onerous.
I will simply leave my Imatch 3 database and when IMatch 5 is finally commercially released use the migrator (which I expect comes with the commercial release) to smoothly move to my archive to 5.

Thoughts?

Aubrey.

[Richard]

I consider having image files on a hard drive as risky. Therefore I backup my files to other drives and to other media to lessen that risk. Anytime one opens an image file in an application, the risk increases. Opening an image file in an application that is still in Beta testing is more risky. There are steps, in addition to backups, that we can take to lessen the risk but we still have a chance of lost time and effort. How hard would it be for you to recover should some or all image files be damaged? If you take the steps to save your work often, recovery should not be all that hard for 200 files/month. One of those steps is to export your category assignments. Another is to backup your database often so that you can revert to one from a day, week, or more ago.

I do all my image work in IMatch 3. Then copy the files to my test folder for IMatch 5 where I can see the results and learn IMatch 5. One way or another, I recommend that IMatch users work in IMatch 5. Doing so adds to the number of persons testing IMatch 5 and it gives one a chance to learn IMatch 5 before the commercial release. There is risk but proper prior planning can reduce the risk.