Tagging multiple images in contact sheet

[rishid]

PMP 6.0 build 6496
Windows 10

Hello,

If I select multiple images (for example: Shift + arrow right) and then press T to tag the image. It does not tag all images, actually nothing happens. Single image select and pressing T, does indeed mark the checkbox.

It works fine with color marking but also does _not_ work for marking stars. I tend to sometime mark a bunch of images using the contact sheet versus the viewer to speed things up and would love for this to work with all three options.

Another oddity I would share to see if can be resolved: once you select multiple images in the contact sheet, there is no way to deselect them using the keyboard. Typical usage for example in Windows Explorer or macOS finder is click the arrow key and it will deselect your selection and move to item in panel.

Thanks!

[ahoward]

The shortcut to tag multiple selected images is Command-Plus (Mac) or Control-Plus (Windows)

The shortcut to add a color label to multiple images is Command-(1-9) (Mac) or Control-(1-9) (Windows)

The shortcut to add a star rating to multiple images is Control-(0-5) (Mac) or Alt-(0-5) (Windows).

The shortcut to deselect all items is Command-D (Mac) and Ctrl-D (Windows)

[Mick O (Camera Bits)]

For future reference, you can find more Keyboard shortcuts here:

Windows:
https://docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48000317837-keyboard-shortcuts-windows

macOS:
https://docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48000317772-keyboard-shortcuts-macos

Mick

[rishid]

Thanks for those details. That helps me get by.

Two follow ups:
- All I was trying to say is the inconsistent UX that changes if one image is select or multiple isn't friendly i.e. pressing T on a single image tags/untags but on multiple images it does nothing.
Similar with using stars (which I have selected as my single key shortcut under accessibility), press 1 marks the image as star, press 1 on multiple images, I would expect all to marked 1 star.

- Deselect: While deselect works and helpful. The behavior is a bit unfriendly, if you in the middle of a contact sheet (viewing a directory), it just resets the index to the top left image of the current view. Just not intuitive. It would be better if it moved the "next" pointer to the next image unselected.

[ahoward]

All I was trying to say is the inconsistent UX that changes if one image is select or multiple isn't friendly i.e. pressing T on a single image tags/untags but on multiple images it does nothing.

I think the goal of the shortcuts is to make it so that changing an attribute on a selection of multiple items always needs a 2-button shortcut to change a star rating, color label, or tag, to reduce the chances of an errant keystroke from updating a large selection of items.

If you prefer that the the single-key shortcut for tagging a single image is consistent with the multi-key shortcut for tagging multiple images, the + key will also add a tag to a single selected image.

The behavior is a bit unfriendly, if you in the middle of a contact sheet (viewing a directory), it just resets the index to the top left image of the current view.

I tested on both Mac and Windows and cannot reproduce what you are describing. When you say "resets the index" do you mean that it selects the top left image? All that happens for me is that it removes the selection, and it leaves the Contact Sheet exactly where it was. Whether the contact sheet should stay where it is, or should move to show the next image after the selection could probably be debated, but if it is indeed actually selecting an item after you "deselect all", I think most would agree it shouldn't do that. Am I understanding correctly that for you it both selects the item at the top left of the contact sheet and scrolls the contact sheet to make that thumbnail visible?

[rishid]

Okay I understand the reasoning for the two button flow.

Re: "resets the index"
The behavior you described is what I am seeing, "deselect all" is _not_ selecting an image as expected. What I would prefer in terms of behavior is "should move to show the next image after the selection" - that is what I was expecting and hoping for.  Maybe a quick description of my usage would help the reasoning:

While viewing contact sheet, I will see a group of photos I want to color code. I will use arrows to select first one, hold shift and use right arrow to select them. Ctrl + Num to color code. At this point there is no way for me to deselect this group and go to the next photo easily. In most Windows application, I could hit right arrow and it will deselect group and select next item the list. (Right now I end up reaching for mouse and left clicking next image to continue scrolling through photos)

Hope that makes sense and helps you understand the use case.

[Bob Russell]

If you click the thumbnail following the selected group, it will deselect the previous images and select just the clicked image. Now you can Shift-click another thumbnail to range select these images.  Does this help your workflow?

Best regards,

--Bob

[rishid]

Yep that is exactly what I am having to do. It just isn't a great UX as I have to move my hand from keyboard to mouse and then back again. It just slows me down.

Just as one more additional data point, if you compare the behavior of Photo Mechanic with Windows Explorer, macOS Finder or macOS Photos it just goes against the norm. If you hold shift and start selecting items with any directional arrow. As soon as you release shift and press that directional arrow again, it moves one item more and auto de-selects. This is the behavior I would like to see added as it is more natural and matches users' expectations.