Sorting in search results not working

[srphoto1]

Hi,

I've got 3 catalogs, one per archive drive, totalling around 1 million images. When I do a search that returns images from all 3 catalogs I cannot sort them. It doesn't matter what I choose from the sort drop-down, they are always mixed up in a seemingly random order. Sorting in the browse tab works fine.

I re-indexed all 3 catalogs after the last beta update.

Simon

[srphoto1]

OK, I've noticed a pattern - I have drives setup as follows - #1 contains images from 2001-2014, #2 contains 2015-2019 and #3 contains 2020.

If I search across all 3 drives I get images in this kind of order : 2008, 2020, 2015, 2008, 2020, 2015, 2008, 2020, 2016 etc.

So it seems to showing images from Catalog#1, Catalog#3, Catalog#2..., 1, 3, 2, etc

Simon

[Kirk Baker]

OK, I've noticed a pattern - I have drives setup as follows - #1 contains images from 2001-2014, #2 contains 2015-2019 and #3 contains 2020.

If I search across all 3 drives I get images in this kind of order : 2008, 2020, 2015, 2008, 2020, 2015, 2008, 2020, 2016 etc.

So it seems to showing images from Catalog#1, Catalog#3, Catalog#2..., 1, 3, 2, etc

Yes, they're interleaved.  We will likely add the ability to do a final sort when all of the results arrive.  But the sort will take time to complete since all of the metadata does not yet exist in PM.  Sorting is currently only 'correct' when you're working with one catalog.

-Kirk

[srphoto1]

Hmm, OK that's good to know. Obviously the current situation is not ideal. If the interface is giving you the option to sort then they should actually be sorted! The current functionality is pretty much useless with a large set of search results. I'm happy to wait for the sort to happen - hopefully you can add this soon :-)

[Kirk Baker]

Hmm, OK that's good to know. Obviously the current situation is not ideal. If the interface is giving you the option to sort then they should actually be sorted! The current functionality is pretty much useless with a large set of search results. I'm happy to wait for the sort to happen - hopefully you can add this soon :-)

It's on our list.  Do understand that if you have search results that number in the thousands, tens of thousands, or even a million, the local sort could take a significant amount of time.  It could take an hour or more to get all of the metadata in order to perform a perfect sort across multiple catalogs.

-Kirk

[Kirk Baker]

This issue should be solved with the beta 19 version of Photo Mechanic Plus.

-Kirk

[srphoto1]

Working great! Thanks!