Major Category Delete

[StanRohrer]

I'm scared. Please help me make sure I don't do something stupid.

With 24,344 categories I think it is time for some cleanup.

Attached is a partial screen shot of my Categories. I believe the category (highlighted) IPTC Keyword are leftovers from IM3.x before I upgraded to the current system of  IM5.x data driven Keyword categories. Can I just right click on IPTC Keyword and Delete? Can I do this without affecting the keywords already in image files?

IM v5.8.2 on Win 10.
Thanks for helping me reduce my heart rate!

[Mario]

1. Make a backup copy of your database. Just copy the file in Windows Explorer.

2. The IPTC Keyword category in your screen shot looks like a normal category to me (not a data-driven category).

Note: The only category for which IMatch mirrors changes back into the keywords in your files is @Keywords. And you cannot delete @Keywords anyway.

3. Delete the IPTC category. May take a bit, depending on the speed of your computer.

4- Afterwards, run a database diagnosis and then a Compact & Optimize to reclaim the disk space used by this large category set.

[StanRohrer]

Thanks Mario.

[StanRohrer]

24,344 categories reduced to 12,721. IM start time of 22 seconds (database and some files on solid state disk) reduced to 16 seconds.

I suspect going from the Folders tab to the Categories tab will now be a bit quicker but I forgot to take a "before" reading. That trip was getting to be a bit long on my otherwise fast system.

Thanks again!