Photo Mechanic Plus > Feature Requests
Show only relevant folders, not Folder Path (automatically "trim the tree")
syncrasy:
Did someone already request this? If not, here's the request:
Automatically “trim” the folder path “tree” in the Browse pane to show only the folder(s) that contain cataloged images, i.e., just display the folder, not the path. (This would eliminate the tedious process of navigating the folder path/tree to see the name of the relevant folder.)
Kirk Baker:
Mark,
--- Quote from: syncrasy on July 30, 2019, 04:39:30 PM ---Did someone already request this? If not, here's the request:
Automatically “trim” the folder path “tree” in the Browse pane to show only the folder(s) that contain cataloged images, i.e., just display the folder, not the path. (This would eliminate the tedious process of navigating the folder path/tree to see the name of the relevant folder.)
--- End quote ---
Hmm, if we only display the leaf folders of the tree then there could be some confusion when the same name is used in multiple paths.
2017/12
2018/12
2019/12
Would turn into:
12
12
12
-Kirk
syncrasy:
Ahhh... I wasn't envisioning displaying all subfolders at the top level. I meant to say the catalogued folder(s), i.e., Location(s) associated with a catalog, would be displayed at the top.
Let's say I have this path on my computer:
My Computer
My Documents
Business files
My business photography [catalog #1 location folder]
Raw files
2017
12
2018
12
Personal files
Family photographs [catalog #2 location folder]
Raw files
2017
12
2018
12
Then the Folder Path in the PM+ Browse panel would look like this:
>My business photography
>Family photographs
That's more or less how Media Pro does it. It trims the tree so that the folder that's the immediate parent to the highest folder with a catalogued image is the top displayed folder. In Media Pro the UI represents a single catalog that can contain multiple "locations" catalogued folders, while in PM+, as I understand it, each catalog is tied to a single location,, while PM+ is a little more complex since the UI is used for multiple catalogs and their folders, but I think the result would be essentially the same, visually speaking.
Does that make more sense? Is that doable in a PM environment? Obviously there still could be an issue with similar or identical folder names, but at those higher parent levels, users should be using more descriptive names anyway.
But I'd also step back for a moment and take a look at a the PM+ UI overall. I think the Navigator and Organizer: Browse areas are doing duplicative work. I'll have to play with PM+ some more to state this with confidence, but I suspect the Favorites section and the Browse panel are in all likelihood redundant. I'm trying to envision a scenario in which my catalog folders were not my favorites, or vice versa, but I can't think of one. If I have to specify my catalog folders/locations by browsing for them using the Catalog Manager anyway, I don't need to see three separate representations of my folders or folder structure (Favorites, Navigator, Folder Path). One is enough. Yes, I know, "PM+" literally means PM "plus" catalog/organizer, but I don't know if I would use the Navigator to find an uncatalogued image somewhere on my computer, so I suspect the current UI might appear to be a compromise to veteran DAM users expecting a streamlined catalog experience. Of course I can just ignore the Navigator tab, so I will leave the product philosophy discussion for another day :)
Hayo Baan:
This sounds like an unworkable request; with a PM+ catalog there is no single “root” folder so what you're asking can't be implemented. What could work though is that PM strips the common root path to all folders in the catalog. In your example that would mean "My Computer\My documents" would get stripped leaving you with "Business files" and "Personal files" as unique roots. Not exactly what you want, but close. This could be an advantage since it saves having to expand levels without differences.
--- Quote from: syncrasy on July 30, 2019, 09:43:18 PM ---In Media Pro the UI represents a single catalog that can contain multiple "locations" (catalogued folders), while in PM+, as I understand it, each catalog is tied to a single location, but I think the result would be essentially the same, visually speaking.
--- End quote ---
No, unless I misunderstood your remark, the catalog in PM+ is absolutely not tied to a single location; you can have items from multiple folders and even drives in a single catalog…
--- Quote from: syncrasy on July 30, 2019, 09:43:18 PM ---But I'd also step back for a moment and take a look at a the PM+ UI overall. I think the Navigator and Organizer: Browse areas are doing duplicative work. I'll have to play with PM+ some more to state this with confidence, but I suspect the Favorites section and the Browse panel are in all likelihood redundant. I'm trying to envision a scenario in which my catalog folders were not my favorites, or vice versa, but I can't think of one. If I have to specify my catalog folders/locations by browsing for them using the Catalog Manager anyway, I don't need to see three separate representations of my folders or folder structure (Favorites, Navigator, Folder Path). One is enough. Yes, I know, "PM+" literally means PM "plus" catalog/organizer, but I don't know if I would use the Navigator to find an uncatalogued image somewhere on my computer, so I suspect the current UI might appear to be a compromise to veteran DAM users expecting a streamlined catalog experience. Of course I can just ignore the Navigator tab, so I will leave the product philosophy discussion for another day :)
--- End quote ---
There is a huge difference between the Favourites/Navigator and Browser/Filter/Collection parts! The first is for navigating through your images that may or may not be in any catalog, the other is just for images that are in a catalog. An essential difference, they need to be both there! It doesn't matter if your favourites folders are always in a catalog (for me they aren't), how would you navigate your images that aren't in a catalog without the navigator? If you only want to browse what's in your catalog, stay in the catalog mode, and don't switch to the Favourites/Navigator mode.
As you said yourself, PM+ is not just a catalog it's PM + a catalog. This, I think, is one of the great things about PM+ and sure doesn't feel like a compromise to me! There will be images that you will never want as part of a catalog but still want to be able to work on. That's one of the issues e.g. with LR: that's simply impossible, you must add to the catalog, always (which is just plain stupid for some images).
Kirk Baker:
Mark,
--- Quote from: syncrasy on July 30, 2019, 09:43:18 PM ---Ahhh... I wasn't envisioning displaying all subfolders at the top level. I meant to say the catalogued folder(s), i.e., Location(s) associated with a catalog, would be displayed at the top.
Let's say I have this path on my computer:
My Computer
My Documents
Business files
My business photography [catalog #1 location folder]
Raw files
2017
12
2018
12
Personal files
Family photographs [catalog #2 location folder]
Raw files
2017
12
2018
12
Then the Folder Path in the PM+ Browse panel would look like this:
>My business photography
>Family photographs
--- End quote ---
Thank you for the clarification. Hayo's response echoes my thoughts as well.
If you want to live entirely in the Catalog space, feel free to ignore and not use the Favorites and Navigator. For many other users, PM+ is a browser first and a Catalog system second and they will use both interfaces at various times during their workflow.
-Kirk
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