File listing including assigned categories

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samvise
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File listing including assigned categories

Post by samvise »

Hello, is there in "Create" -> "File listing" an option to export all the categories assigned to a certain file next to the filename itself?

For instance, having the file "Puppy.zip" (so not necessarily an image, with the IPTC/XMP options grayed out) and the associated categories "Animals" and "Dogs", i would like the output to be something like
Puppy.zip Animals Dogs
or
Puppy.zip Animals,Dogs

If this is not there, I think it would be extremely useful! (even without keeping the Hierarchy, for the time being...)

Thank you very much for your help!
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m.Th.
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by m.Th. »

What do you want to achieve?

Which is your HUMAN problem which you want to solve?

(the program supports already the XMP standard)
m. Th.

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samvise
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by samvise »

I have used XnViewMP to assign Categories (i.e. "tags") to many files of every kind (e.g. .zip, .pdf, .mp3, etc...)
My goal is to create an index of all the categorized files with, aside, all the categories assigned to that file.

That is, saying that I have the three categories "Animals", "Dogs", "Cats", getting at the end something like:
Puppy.zip Animals Dogs
Browndog.zip Animals Dogs
Cat.zip Animals Cats
Horse.zip Animals
...

The program is awesome in doing both the categorization and the creation of the index of the files (via the "File listing" function).
Unfortunately, it seems that the list of parameters that one can add to the file listing (e.g. Filename, Foldername, ..., EXIF and IPTC data, etc...) does not include the Categories.
Am I missing something?
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m.Th.
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by m.Th. »

My goal is to create an index of all the categorized files with, aside, all the categories assigned to that file.
:) :) :)

Ok, but why? This is a way, a tool to achieve ...something. We need that 'something'. You can filter by categories in XnView MP much better than in such a list.

Hint: It isn't by accident that the categories aren't there. Because one can have more categories to a file (it is an "0-to-n" Master-Detail relation - technically speaking) this means that the program must "gather" all the categories and "append" them to that list which can become pretty wide. Besides that, the code can be very time-consuming (depending on the size of your catalog) defeating the main purpose of the list.

Generally, people avoid degenerated Master-Detail relationships because they cost a lot and the benefit is minimal.
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samvise
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by samvise »

Ok, but why?
...because the next step would be importing such index in Excel and having it printed / sorted / analysed / stored / shared... "the old fashion" :) :) :)

Actually, going through the program features, I realized that there is something that does almost what I am looking for: the Categories -> File's Categories -> Export feature (Is it relatively new? I did not notice it before...)
If it exported only the selected subset of files (as for the File listing feature), that would already be good enough! :wink:
Now it seems a global export.
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m.Th.
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by m.Th. »

samvise wrote:
Ok, but why?
...because the next step would be importing such index in Excel and having it printed / sorted / analysed / stored / shared... "the old fashion" :) :) :)

Actually, going through the program features, I realized that there is something that does almost what I am looking for: the Categories -> File's Categories -> Export feature (Is it relatively new? I did not notice it before...)
If it exported only the selected subset of files (as for the File listing feature), that would already be good enough! :wink:
Now it seems a global export.
Yes - you can use that one.

Excel (at least Excel 2013 which I have) will make for you a normalized table from the exported XML. You can filter, sort, Pivot Table etc. If you really want, it will be your job to denormalize the table (strongly NOT recommended). :)
m. Th.

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samvise
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by samvise »

Great! Would it be possible, maybe, to have this function implemented also for an active selection of files? (e.g.: in a folder, from Search, from filtering...)
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m.Th.
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by m.Th. »

samvise wrote:Great! Would it be possible, maybe, to have this function implemented also for an active selection of files? (e.g.: in a folder, from Search, from filtering...)
Yes.

Disclaimer: I don't know the code but, yes, normally it can be doable. However, I'm thinking now at how big the feature impact would be...
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Sirio
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by Sirio »

Hello
If I understand well, what you want is this? (I love print screen mod :D )
Listing-Categories.png
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helmut
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by helmut »

I might be wrong but think it's already there:
When forcing XnView to store the categories as IPTC data in the image, you can use the field "{IPTC:Keywords}" to export the categories in the file list.
samvise
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by samvise »

If I understand well, what you want is this?
Yes, this is what I originally asked for, and it would be the best.

On the other hand, something simpler - and also good - would be the following:
File-category-listing.png
When forcing XnView to store the categories as IPTC data in the image, you can use the field "{IPTC:Keywords}" to export the categories in the file list.
If you are referring to Browser -> Metadata -> "Export DB Category to XMP Subject and IPTC Keyword" -> "Create IPTC Data", I agree, it should.
Problem is that I did not manage to have it working and that XMP/IPTC options are not available for non-image files - which I massively tag.

Am I missing something?
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m.Th.
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by m.Th. »

samvise wrote:
If I understand well, what you want is this?
Yes, this is what I originally asked for, and it would be the best.

On the other hand, something simpler - and also good - would be the following:
File-category-listing.png
When forcing XnView to store the categories as IPTC data in the image, you can use the field "{IPTC:Keywords}" to export the categories in the file list.
If you are referring to Browser -> Metadata -> "Export DB Category to XMP Subject and IPTC Keyword" -> "Create IPTC Data", I agree, it should.
Problem is that I did not manage to have it working and that XMP/IPTC options are not available for non-image files - which I massively tag.

Am I missing something?
Yes - he is referring to the fact that XnView has the possibility to embed the Keywords in files themselves (ok, in a XMP sidecar if the file format does not support this feature).

Then, you can use Create | File List on a selection of files, but:

1. It will be slow
2. It will be denomrmalized (in fact this is your original request to have a comma separated string of tags)
3. I am quite reticent that it will work with sidecars. Test it.
m. Th.

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samvise
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Re: File listing including assigned categories

Post by samvise »

Yes - he is referring to the fact that XnView has the possibility to embed the Keywords in files themselves (ok, in a XMP sidecar if the file format does not support this feature).
I am aware of that... Indeed, the first workflow I put together used the .XMP sidecars to create the index I needed (with a bunch of utilities and a script).

Needless to say, it takes ages. :|
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