File reading behavior in large contact sheets

[jkm]

I just accidentally quit PM due to the stupid Chrome browser which doesn't quit in one Command Q, so trying to quit it with a second quit, accidentally quit PM as well instead. (Obviously, the worst possible UI mistake Google could make was requiring a double quit to quit.)

But then on reopening my contact sheet, which thankfully was properly saved as per my preferences, the behavior was extremely sluggish. Like a 0.75 second delay after rating each photo instead of a snappy, instant response like it was doing just 20 seconds before.

I checked Activity Monitor and PM has been reading files at about 200 MB/sec constantly for minutes. And continues to do so as I try to cull, which is clearly the reason for the sluggish behavior.

But I am currently on photo 21,000 out of 22,000. I have zero need for PM to be reading the prior 21,000 photos.

Shouldn't PM be preemptively reading photos **ahead** of where I am in the contact sheet rather than **behind** where I am? At least not to read photos behind where I am with such a degree of intensity that it slows down my progress in continuing through the contact sheet from where I was already?

[jkm]

I have already noticed this behavior more of course, and have usually just left PM open for a while before even starting to work in a big contact sheet. But if it's closing in on midnight and I have work to submit, and I accidentally quit PM, this behavior because especially frustrating as there is no workaround and it seriously slows progress.

[Kirk Baker]

22000 images in a single contact sheet?

That's way beyond what PM was designed to handle without the images handled by the PM+ plus database.

-Kirk

[jkm]

I'm using PM+.

[jkm]

It's a bunch of photos from a dance showcase with 35 dance teams and about 500-1000 photos from each team.

They are in a few folders, within one main folder, but to go through them chronologically they have to be opened recursively from the main folder in a single window.

It's not the norm, but a fairly typical use case for me.

[jkm]

And a related question, I have sort cache enabled to the max possible amount that it can be, no expiration date or anything.

But when I do something like sort by file size (to go through any RAW photos first, so they can be turned over to a RAW editing process), it still takes a long time to build the file size sorting data, despite having the window already open for an hour.

What would solve this issue is if you had a checklist of image file extensions within the current window (like your checklist of star ratings) that could be checked or unchecked to instantly filter down to certain file extensions. Then I could choose ARW and still have that grouped with the HIF file paired with it and turn those photos over for RAW editing while I continue to go through the majority of the photos in non-RAW format.

[jkm]

FYI, *.ARW files cannot be found for some reason by the Find tool, hence my attempt to find them by sorting by file size.

Btw, the Find tool is almost useless to use anyway, because any operation that refreshes the window deletes the Find results since the Find operation just selects photo files instead of truly being a filter for the window, like the Tagged filter or the Star filters.

[Kirk Baker]

You should be able to use the File Type filter in Photo Mechanic Plus to view only your ARW files.  You can filter on other criteria too and get down to a more manageable set of images.  Are you working with folder-based contact sheets or are you making queries of your catalogs?

And yes, Find is not a filter.  It never was intended to be a filter.

-Kirk

[jkm]

Can you explain how to use the File Type filter in PM+ briefly?

I have been using it for almost two years, and have never been able to find this option.

-- feel free to ignore the details below and additional question below--I just will be happy to know how to do the file type filter, not just find by file name contains and then enter an extension.



I have 949,728 documents in the default catalog, and the catalog total size is 254.79 GB.

I spent many days importing several months of old folders into the catalog when I first bought it, and I assumed new photos would be cataloged as I went along.

But I guess not?

Do I need to keep adding every folder I open of photos into the catalog?

[jkm]

Never mind, I never realized that to get to the catalog there is an icon at the top left of the folder view.

I always wondered why folders never had any type of label to show whether they had been cataloged or not, and the only options were always include in catalog or exclude. Because of that I assumed the catalog was somehow operating in the background and making everything faster.

But I guess I have never even been using it at all.

[jkm]

And worse, apparently nothing has ever been added to the catalog except for the original few months of old folders I scanned to the catalog.

You might want to make accessing and using the catalog a little more obvious to busy users who don't have time to do anything but use their software all the time.

And you urgently need to label each folder in the folder view as scanned in catalog or not scanned in catalog, even if in folder view.

You owe this to anyone who spends the extra money on PM+.

[jkm]

My only question now is--how do I move the catalog to an external SSD so that I have room to scan everything to the catalog?

I have already taken over 696,507 photos this year so far in 2025, including over 7,000 photos today.

None of which are in the catalog, like I had mistakenly thought they were, except for a few months of photos over a year ago that I added to the data when I first bought PM+.

[Kirk Baker]

Can you explain how to use the File Type filter in PM+ briefly?

I have been using it for almost two years, and have never been able to find this option.

-- feel free to ignore the details below and additional question below--I just will be happy to know how to do the file type filter, not just find by file name contains and then enter an extension.

https://docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48001077464-using-the-filter-tool-in-photo-mechanic-plus

I have 949,728 documents in the default catalog, and the catalog total size is 254.79 GB.

I spent many days importing several months of old folders into the catalog when I first bought it, and I assumed new photos would be cataloged as I went along.

But I guess not?

Do I need to keep adding every folder I open of photos into the catalog?

If you use Ingest to get your images from your camera card onto your computer, Ingest offers an option to add the images to your catalog.  Some users would rather make a culling pass through their images and add the best images to their catalog later.  So it's optional.

https://docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48001078324-introduction-to-catalogs-in-photo-mechanic-plus

[Kirk Baker]

My only question now is--how do I move the catalog to an external SSD so that I have room to scan everything to the catalog?

I have already taken over 696,507 photos this year so far in 2025, including over 7,000 photos today.

None of which are in the catalog, like I had mistakenly thought they were, except for a few months of photos over a year ago that I added to the data when I first bought PM+.

https://docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48001252554-moving-a-catalog

[Kirk Baker]

And worse, apparently nothing has ever been added to the catalog except for the original few months of old folders I scanned to the catalog.

You might want to make accessing and using the catalog a little more obvious to busy users who don't have time to do anything but use their software all the time.

And you urgently need to label each folder in the folder view as scanned in catalog or not scanned in catalog, even if in folder view.

Every image in the contact sheet that you're browsing indicates its catalog status.

https://docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48001252555-offline-or-missing-media