Captioning question

[DaveG]

I've been going through a number of hockey images and realized that I frequently need the same caption for three or four photographs as their content is similar.  I'd like to select those four images, type in the caption once (using code replacement), and then have it apply to all of those images. Right now I'm having to copy and paste which is just time wasting drudgery.  Is there any way to to this easily and quickly in Photo Mechanic?

To be clear: I do use the Metadata (IPTC) template to make what I call a global caption that will apply to all images from that assignment and is applied on ingest.  What I'm talking about is later when I'm captioning the finalists with specific player names.

[Kirk Baker]

Dave,

I've been going through a number of hockey images and realized that I frequently need the same caption for three or four photographs as their content is similar.  I'd like to select those four images, type in the caption once (using code replacement), and then have it apply to all of those images. Right now I'm having to copy and paste which is just time wasting drudgery.  Is there any way to to this easily and quickly in Photo Mechanic?

You've already created a Code Replacement text file with the captions you want to use frequently?  Why not select the four images, press 'i' and then type in your code with delimiters and then the caption will appear.  Click "Save & ->" and do the same for the remaining three images.

Otherwise, I'd use the Metadata Template and only apply the Caption field to the four selected images.  The rest of the fields will be unaffected (you have to uncheck their apply checkboxes to the left of each field.)

HTH,

-Kirk

[DaveG]

I have player's names in a code replacement text file and I use them to fill in a caption that I'll write.  Perhaps I misunderstood what you've written but I won't create whole captions and save them as code replacements for just three more captions.  I'd just stay with copy and paste it from one image to the next.  Code replacement only makes sense when it's likely that the code replacement data will  be used over and over again, and that makes it worthwhile to make the effort to construct the code replacement text file.

[Kirk Baker]

Dave,

I have player's names in a code replacement text file and I use them to fill in a caption that I'll write.  Perhaps I misunderstood what you've written but I won't create whole captions and save them as code replacements for just three more captions.  I'd just stay with copy and paste it from one image to the next.  Code replacement only makes sense when it's likely that the code replacement data will  be used over and over again, and that makes it worthwhile to make the effort to construct the code replacement text file.

It sounds like I misunderstood what you meant by "type in the caption once (using code replacement)".  Either way, there is no way to have just the Caption field entered once in the Metadata Info dialog apply to the image and the next four images.  The Metadata Template is better suited for that.

-Kirk

[Graham1]

I'd like to select those four images, type in the caption once (using code replacement), and then have it apply to all of those images. Right now I'm having to copy and paste which is just time wasting drudgery.  Is there any way to to this easily and quickly in Photo Mechanic?

Unless I have misunderstood, can you not achieve what you want with Find and Replace?  Use the Metadata Template to set the caption for your entire batch of images and copy the text to the clipboard; then select the limited number you want to change, paste the text from the clipboard into the Find field of Find and Replace, type the replacement caption into the Replace field, then apply to the selected images, which is a one click operation. Would this not achieve what you are trying to do?

I do not often use code replacement, but if I have, for example, a series of pictures of a species of bird which I need to caption, usually one but a few instances of two, I will use the Metadata Template to set the caption of the entire collection of images to "xyz"; then select the small number of images that have two birds and run Find and Replace to replace the xyz caption with the caption applicable to two birds; then select all the images (which by now only have a caption of "xyz" if there is only one bird, so it is not necessary to select the sub-set of either one or two birds) and run Find and Replace again to find "xyz" with the Replace field containing the caption applicable to the images which only have one bird.  It is thus necessary to select the limited number of images with two birds only once, and their captions can be set without having to copy and paste to them individually.

Hope this helps, and apologies if I have misunderstood the original requirement.

Graham

 

[Kevin M. Cox]

As Kirk said, the "Metadata (IPTC) Template" is exactly what you want. Simply select the sequence of photos that need the same caption, hit Command/Ctrl I then caption. The Apply Template to Selected button will do exactly that and all photos will be done at once.

This is how I caption every sports assignment I shoot. I apply a color class when I caption this way so I can easily see which images have already been captioned and which haven't on deadline.