New to imatch - Version problem

[Carbo69]

Hello,
I am discovering imatch and so far I am very impressed by its power. I had tried last year but I wasn't ready yet

I have a small problem with the versions:
- I defined a relationship with my raw as master and my jpg as version
- I defined the jpg "as visual" and "Version stack visual"
- the detection is done correctly, I have the indicator and the jpg is displayed as thumbnail (easy to see because the raw is not rotated)
- my problem is that the jpg is not used in the viewer.
On the other hand, it is used correctly in the quick view and in the slideshow

Any idea?

[JohnZeman]

Sounds like the use the Visual proxy option in the viewer isn't enabled.

To toggle it on while you're viewing a master/version image in the viewer try right clicking the image > Display Options > Toggle Visual Proxy (keyboard shortcut T,X).

[Mario]

That would also be my guess. The Viewer (and the Quick View Panel) can display the version proxy or the original image, depending on what the user needs.

See Visual Proxy

[Carbo69]

That's it !

Thanks for the quick  answer !

A new related question. With my previous software, I was only using jpgs so it's them which have all tags.
If I use IMatch with raw as masters, is there a way to propagate tags from version to master just once after the import ?

[JohnZeman]

I did this once a few years ago when I decided to start using RAW & TIF masters and JPG versions instead of just having JPG files in my database.

I'm not sure I'm remembering this right but I think I temporarily changed my file relations configuration so the JPGs were masters and the RAWs and TIFs were versions.

Then I believe I selected blocks of images one at a time and manually propagated the metadata from the JPG masters to the RAW and TIF versions.  Afterwards I believe I changed the relations back to RAWs and TIFs as masters with JPGs as versions.

If you decide to try this I'd test it on a few images first because I'm not 100% sure I'm remembering this correctly.

[Mario]

This would be the way to do it. Make the JPG (temporarily) the masters for the RAW files.
Then select the masters and use Commands menu > Relations > Propagate data to versions. Or <F4>,<P>

I recommend to propagate selected XMP data only (title, descriptions, copyright, rights, keywords etc.).
Do not propagate EXIF or legacy IPTC or GPS. Metadata is complex, and copying native metadata between different file formats is usually not a good idea.

Also, there is no rule that the RAW must be the master.
Some user consider the final image (in TIF or PSD or DNG or JPG format) as the master, and the RAW just as a input.

Especially when you don't use the simple RAW -> processing -> output file workflow, but you use a composite workflow where multiple RAWs are used to create the final image, the final image is what's important, and the RAWs used as sources less so.

IMatch does not care as long as your file relations are set up correctly and it is always clear which files are master files and which files are versions.

[Carbo69]

It's funny that you offer this solution because I wanted to ask about potential problems to have jpg as masters !

Currently jpg are clearly my main versions. I have one camera which shoots raw but I also take a lot of pictures with my phone (not a professional  ). My camera is set to shoot jpg + raw and it's only when the raw needs to be processed (about 10% of the time) that I m using it.

I wanted to import raw inside imatch only to make easier the link between files and especially when I delete unwanted pictures.

So Mario answered my question that making jpg as master is doable so I'll try that. I think I'll try to set a buddy relation.

Thanks again for the support

[Mario]

You should set a buddy relation. Otherwise, when you copy, move or rename the master, the version does not follow.

BUT, when you create a buddy relation it will also (and has to) apply delete operations. If you delete the master, the buddy file(s) will also be deleted!

If you plan to only delete the master (or the version) at some point, you'll need to keep this in mind.
Temporarily disable the buddy relation in that case (Edit > Preferences > File Relations and uncheck the box for your buddy relation).
Or maybe first move the file you want to delete (while keeping others) to a folder that is no longer 'grabbed' by the buddy relation and breaks it.

But such workflows are rather rare.
Most users either manage RAW and derived images or just manage the final images in IMatch.
It all depends on your workflow and what you expect to do now (or later).

From experience, I know that answering these questions and figure out the best workflow for you may take a few days.
IMatch has an (initially overwhelming) feature set and is very flexible. It does not enforce a specific workflow or file layout. Instead, it gives you tools and features to chose from, to do things you want in the way you want.

It is a good idea to setup a small test database which manages a couple of folders with copies of the files you usually want to work with.
This way you can do experiments without any risk real database or real images.

File relations, copying metadata around with propagation, testing buddy file rules etc. are considered advanced features and require some experience and testing.
With a separate test database you can do that and don't risk anything.

[Jingo]

From experience, I know that answering these questions and figure out the best workflow for you may take a few days.

Or Years!  I started out in IMatch using versions for RAW+JPG for many years... then, realized I hardly ever go back and re-edit a RAW file (I have too many new images to process and deal with).  So, for the past 5 years, I've moved to a JPG only database and couldn't be happier.  My Finalized JPG folders/filenames 100% match my RAW folders/filenames so if I ever did want to re-edit a RAW - it is easy to find outside of IM or use an APP to launch the RAW file using the JPG as reference.

Flexibility and functionality = IMatch!