Migrating from IDimager Photo Supreme to iMatch 5

[n8vz]

I'm in the beginning process of migrating from Photo Supreme to iMatch.  I would like to learn from the experience of others.  Let me start with a few simple questions, and then I'll get more detailed as needed down the line.  Here are my opening questions:

1.  Do I want to try to transfer hierarchical keyword information (labels) from IDI?  If so, how do I do it?
2.  How do I get existing metadata (already inside files, mainly JPEG) to show up as categories in iMatch?
3.  What's the best method for importing photos from an SD card into iMatch.  (I really liked the way IDI did it.  I have a folder structure like this:  yyyy/mm/yyyy-mm-dd  Is there a way to duplicate this type of structure with an iMatch import script or other means?

I'm an amateur, not professional, photographer, but I'm fairly computer literate.   Thanks for any help you can give me. 

[ChrisMatch]

Hi

I can't help you with specific questions about PhotoSupreme but let me give you some general hints...

First of all, you may find the following post regarding Categories and Metadata interesting:
Getting Started - Keywords vs. Categories for Photographers https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=235.0
A Personal Perspective on Metadata Issues in Migrating to IMatch 5 https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=235.0

add1:
At least one way would be to let PhotoSupreme write the hierarchical keywords into the files themself or into sidecar files -> this way iMatch can pick them up
Also have a look at the settings in 'Metadata' and 'Metadata2' of the preferences which are relevant for e.g. defining the relevant keyword separator

add2:
same as 'add1' but don't confuse categories with keywords
(see the linked topic above)

add3:
At the moment there is no 'downloader' functionality in iMatch (this is an open feature request with low priority)

What you can do is:
- use Tools like DownloaderPro or Ingestamatic to do the job
- use simple Windows functionality (or the software that came with your camera) to copy the files to the harddisk -> let iMatch monitor this folder and use the mighty renamer to distribute the files into a structure of your liking
- I also tried to load the images directly from SD card into iMatch -> but had problems with locked files (didn't give it a second try).

Hope this helps to get started.

[Menace]

Hi n8vz,

maybe it help a short comparison between IDimager 5 Pro with IMatch (but this is written in German). https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=51.0

1. I wrote/saved my categories/keywords inside my files with IDimager 5 (hierarchical) and later with PhotoSupreme. After this, I import the folder via Drag and Drop in a new Database of IMatch. I did this with now 3 database, even huge one with all kind of files.

2. The hierarchical keywords are shown on the left side (inside @categories) automatically. If you want to see categories like camera model, there is a good description in the help file. Maybe if you ask for the special category you want to see, it's easier to explain.

[ericmuzy]

n8vz,

I'm coming from IDImager also, and from Photosupreme.
This is how I did the migration

1 - I saved everything in IDI/PSU with hierarchical keywords. Keep track of which separator you are using, there are a few possibilities in IDI. You will have to check later that this separator is tagged in IM5 and considered as a hierarchy separator. If not, IM5 will generate as many keywords as you have leaves, with the whole hierarchy. You may not like that!

2 - I was also using a lot the mapping feature in IDI, where you could map labels/keywords to very specific XMP tags. Whatever you did that way will not be reused at import by IM5. But no need to remove the data there neither.

3 - If you were using the "Location created" and "Location in the image" array in IPTC Extended, I'm not sure IM5 will process this properly, that did not work for me. But as I was also using the legacy IPTC tags for Country code, Country name, State, City and Location, I kept all my reverse lookup data. I did create a data driven driven category in IM5, so that gives me my "Location created" hierarchy automatically.

4 - I then created a new database in IM5.

5 - Check the IM5 import settings, and verify you have the separator character used in IDI turned on, so IM5 does generate the proper hierarchy from you keywords.

6 - I made a copy of all my files pictures, and had IM5 pointing to the core directory containing the copies, and that was it...
IM5 did the import, created the hierarchy under the @keyword section without a glitch.
My " location created" do appear below the @builder section. It is a 4 level data driven category, with Country name, State, city and location.



For importing, I'm using a software called "Downloader pro" . I put it in favorites in IM5, so i always call it from IM5. Downloader Pro allows you to create a folder hierarchy (I'm using YYYY-MM-DD-event)
You can also pretag your pictures (I do pretag "Copyright" "and "Photographer" at that stage)
The rest of my tagging is done in IM5.

I hope this helps.

[n8vz]

Thank you all very, very much.  Lots of good information here.  I'm currently away from home and experimenting with iMatch 5 on a VM (running Win7-64) on my MacBookPro.  Just before I left home several days ago IDI Photo Supreme started to crash once again and gave me all sorts of nonsensical error messages.  New imports had no thumbnails and the thumbnail creation routine would claim to create them but they wouldn't be there.  One could click on the blank where the thumbnail should be and the underlying photo would appear.  These are just a few of the problems that I've had with IDI products (IDI 5 and PSU).  Therefore, I decided I was going to make the jump to iMatch5 Beta.  I had exchanged emails with Mario about a year ago, and at that time I just wasn't frustrated enough to switch.  Now, I've reached that point.  In my experimenting thus far, and from what other users have said, iMatch is very stable.  I can see that there will be a learning curve here, but that's the price of progress.   I'll be home Tuesday of next week, and will hopefully be up to speed enough at that point to tackle the migration of my whole photo dataset.   

[picolo]

With my write settings in PSU (see attachment) I do not have any problems after importing all my files into IM5 (even with out of the box settings of IM5)
At this time, I use PSU only as a downloader and add "places" with GPS etc. (still a bit easier in PSU at this time) and tag people...
Everything else from there is done in IM5

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Mario]

GPS etc. (still a bit easier in PSU at this time)

What does IDI use for Geo-Tagging? Gogole?
If so, how does it handle the licensing? Any info on that?
Can you see the HTML file IDI used to connect to Google Maps (right-click on the map and choose Properties, for example)?

[picolo]

Mario, IDi is not PSU! They are 2 different products...
I can't say anything in regard of the "Geotagging" licensing in IDI (IDimager V5 is no longer developed). But I guess the licensing thing, is what keeps Hert from developing a more complex GPS tagging feature in PSU???
In PSU I can search for a address or a POI and then do reverse geocoding.
And if that does not work I do use geosetter...

I don't say I can not do the same in IM, but in PSU it is just a bit easier.
There I just create a catalog label (category) and fill it with whatever metadata I want.
And when I assign a catalog label, all the metadata included in the catalog label will be written to the image.
So, when I assigning a catalog label I can easily add lots of metadata - all with one click.

[pmbvw]

n8vz,
3 - If you were using the "Location created" and "Location in the image" array in IPTC Extended, I'm not sure IM5 will process this properly, that did not work for me. But as I was also using the legacy IPTC tags for Country code, Country name, State, City and Location, I kept all my reverse lookup data. I did create a data driven driven category in IM5, so that gives me my "Location created" hierarchy automatically.

I am new and  interested how you have defined the data driven category. Can you please upload a picture from the definition-page. thx

[ericmuzy]

I'm at work right now, I'll do that from home tonight.
I'm in Central Time US.

[ericmuzy]

This is what works for me, as well as a preview.
There are 4 levels, and there is really nothing fancy to it.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[pmbvw]

Thank you so much for your fast response.
I live in Germany, so I will test it this evening or tomorrow.

To have an example which is also important for me to use, is the best starting point to learn the data driven category.

[Mario]

The IMatch help contains an extensive chapter on data-driven categories. Well worth a read, it explains all the options and features available. Many samples, too.

IMatch creates a set of data-driven categories for each new database. Switch to the Category View and check out the IMatch Sample Categories top-level category. It contains sample data-driven categories for images, MP3 and PDF files:



[attachment deleted by admin]

[pajaro]

I'm in the beginning process of migrating from Photo Supreme to iMatch.  I would like to learn from the experience of others.  Let me start with a few simple questions, and then I'll get more detailed as needed down the line.  Here are my opening questions:

1.  Do I want to try to transfer hierarchical keyword information (labels) from IDI?  If so, how do I do it?
2.  How do I get existing metadata (already inside files, mainly JPEG) to show up as categories in iMatch?
3.  What's the best method for importing photos from an SD card into iMatch.  (I really liked the way IDI did it.  I have a folder structure like this:  yyyy/mm/yyyy-mm-dd  Is there a way to duplicate this type of structure with an iMatch import script or other means?

I'm an amateur, not professional, photographer, but I'm fairly computer literate.   Thanks for any help you can give me.

Hi,

I have successfully migrated from IDI to IMatch 3.6 (the whole database, more than 95000 photos) and also tried a smaller subset of photos (about 1000) to IMatch 5.0. Several people on the forum helped me (thanks!), you may find the old threads. My metadata in IDI were stored in sidecar files and had to be written as Ligthroom hierarchical keywords (this setting I had to change in IDI; it appeared to be critical!). The process was smooth, just a little slow for the whole database (my computer is old which does not help either). The metadata were automatically picked up by IMatch and appeared in @Keywords category (IMatch 5). I have no experience with Photo Supreme database migration but I believe it should be the same as for IDI.

[n8vz]

Thanks, again, for all the helpful comments.  I've routinely stored keywords in my files and not sidecars, so I'm OK on that score, I think.  Yesterday, I downloaded Ingestamatic (like Download Pro), and it seems to have solved my SD card upload problem.

[pmbvw]

This is what works for me, as well as a preview.
There are 4 levels, and there is really nothing fancy to it.

Thx again.
I have taken your screenshots and I was succesful immediately with my few testimages (see Screenshot)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[pmbvw]

The IMatch help contains an extensive chapter on data-driven categories. Well worth a read, it explains all the options and features available. Many samples, too.
IMatch creates a set of data-driven categories for each new database. Switch to the Category View and check out the IMatch Sample Categories top-level category. It contains sample data-driven categories for images, MP3 and PDF files:

Thx Mario, for your advice!!! I love these possibilities 

[n8vz]

Well, it's now been about 18 months, and I'm just getting around to the conversion.  When I was last working on this iMatch 5.0 was in beta and I wanted to wait until a release version was available.  I kept checking back for awhile for a release version and then kind of gave up waiting and went back to PSU.  I did, however, pay for iMatch at that time.  Now I'm in the process -- as we speak -- of importing my files into a new iMatch database.   I do appreciate all of the help that was provided by the folks who posted in this now year-and-half-old thread.  Better late than never they say! 

[sinus]

Better late than never they say! 

Very true! 

[pajaro]

Now I'm in the process -- as we speak -- of importing my files into a new iMatch database.

You will not regret it. I migrated from IDImager to IMatch and never looked back. I considered PSU, but I am glad I went with IMatch - it is just in a different league. And I am mentioning excellent support you get on top of the software  .


Pavel.