idat not working when sorting

[mike999]

I have adjusted a load of dates in scanned images from the dates the images were scanned to the dates when the images were taken.

Although all the dates are shown correctly when you view the images in PMplus when you try to sort using capture time some of them do not sort correctly.

So I have customised the sort to sort by IPTC date (idat) and this gives very strange results mostly just showing the images in alphabetical order of the filename.

When looking at the images in the browser some show the corrected dates and some show the old dates even though all show the correct dates when you look in the IPTC pane. The images have been scanned at different times by different scanners and have been processed via a variety of software.

pmplus build 7285. If this is a bug then perhaps it may not be fixed as it is now an 'old' version of the software but it would be useful to know if it is indeed a bug or if I am simply doing something wrong.

[ahoward]

You'll need to provide sample files of files that have the issue and screenshots of the order they appear on your system.

[mike999]

The attachments show the issue with screen shots.

I have not uploaded the original files as some are very large over 100mb, I could upload them if needed and there is a way to do it.

I have done the idat sort but it has not actually done an idat sort but a sort by filename (it should have sorted by the IPTC date as shown in the screen shots).

You can also see that the two Achillea files have the same IPTC month and year but the month and year shown on the file thumbnails are different, one is the date that file was scanned and the other is the IPTC month and year that I had set. I had set the same month and year on the file using PMplus.

[ahoward]

Can you send a screenshot of how you've set up the 'Custom Sort' Primary (and Secondary) field? If there is not a valid variable in the field, it does seem to default to sorting by filename.

[mike999]

I think you may have solved part of it. Now doing it again I realised I had typed idat into the name field but not also into the primary field. Now I have typed it into both and it does seem to work. I have used custom several times before for other variables but had forgotten this time to type it into both places.

It does not explain why the IPTC date appears on some thumbnails and on others the date scanned is shown but I am assuming this is something to do with windows or something else in the metadata. I am not so bothered about that since the sort itself is seeing the IPTC date that I set rather than the scanned date.

[ahoward]

I think you may have solved part of it. Now doing it again I realised I had typed idat into the name field but not also into the primary field. Now I have typed it into both and it does seem to work. I have used custom several times before for other variables but had forgotten this time to type it into both places.

It does not explain why the IPTC date appears on some thumbnails and on others the date scanned is shown but I am assuming this is something to do with windows or something else in the metadata. I am not so bothered about that since the sort itself is seeing the IPTC date that I set rather than the scanned date.

What variables are you using in the Label 1 field in the Contact Sheet section of Photo Mechanic's Settings?

[mike999]

{mnn3} {day} {year4} {time} S#:{snum:-3,3}
which is the default as I don't remember ever changing it. Presumably I could change this to reflect the IPTC settings more, however I have mostly more recent digital images so how would that affect them?

[ahoward]

{mnn3} {day} {year4} {time} S#:{snum:-3,3}
which is the default as I don't remember ever changing it. Presumably I could change this to reflect the IPTC settings more, however I have mostly more recent digital images so how would that affect them?

Put the IPTC Date variables on the second line of labels on the contact sheet and you'll easily see if there is a difference between the "IPTC Date" and the "Capture date".

In most cases, the two things will be the same, especially if they were updated with Photo Mechanic, but if they're different, and you are sorting by {idat}, and you want to see what Photo Mechanic is using to sort them, you should display the date variables that start with "iptc"