Catalog Filter Pane - File count for categories

[Pepelu]

Hi,

I am using XnView in Linux (Ubuntu) and recently the file count on the categories in the Catalog Filter Pane have disappeared. I am not sure if this was a settings item that I changed, but I am not able to find it if this was so.

So, my question is, how do I get the file count back on the categories filter pane?

Thanks.

[xnview]

Now category count following the context (current/recurse/global) in match

[Pepelu]

Thanks,

Now I see that I get the count when it is set to global. There is no count for current or recurse, is this correct?

[jkm]

There are counts for current or recurse, but you have to have matching files in that folder for it to be counted, since the number is the count of the current scope. Get it?

If you have the scope set to current directory, the count of your Dogs category will be zero if there are no images tagged Dogs in the current directory. Zero counts are not shown. Tag one file with Dogs, and you will see the count go to 1. Set the scope to Global, and the count for Dogs will be the number of images tagged Dogs in your entire catalog. It's that simple.

Counts do not update instantly when you assign a category; they update when you change the selection - like clicking on a different file, or a different folder.

Just try tagging some files and see what happens. Nothing is wrong with the software.

Hopefully this helps...

[Pepelu]

Well, it doesn't work for me like you say.

All my pictures are categorized in someway, and i only see a count when the category filter is set to global.

I am not saying that anything is wrong with the software, I think it is a great software, just that I don't see the count on my categories when the selection is current or recurse.

Could it be some sort of "hidden" setting that needs to be set?

If you have the scope set to current directory, the count of your Dogs category will be zero if there are no images tagged Dogs in the current directory. Zero counts are not shown. Tag one file with Dogs, and you will see the count go to 1. Set the scope to Global, and the count for Dogs will be the number of images tagged Dogs in your entire catalog. It's that simple.

I must be doing something wrong if it is that simple, because it doesn't work for me. I have also tried tagging with a new category, to see if that would work, but it didn't. I have "dogs" in the folder to see if the count for dogs would still be shown in the different configurations. And dogs only show in global.

[jkm]

I'll try and help you get to the bottom of it…

What version of the app are you running? Should be 1.10.5, the latest. If there is a bug, it's something that's affecting Linux not Windows.

I'd try a couple of things:

1. Make sure everything is checked in Settings:Metadata for import/export and update when file is changed.

then
2. Select a few tagged files and do an "Update catalog from files", then change folders and go back in the browser to see if the counts update.
or
3. Select some tagged files and do "Update files from catalog" (yes the opposite of #2). Then outside of xnviewmp, copy those files to a brand new directory.
3. Now browse in XnViewMP to that new directory with the copied files. The app should see them as new files, import them and thumbnail them. Check if it sees the categories.
4. If you don't see any counts in step 3, please post one of the tagged files.

You could also try closing the app, making a backup copy of your XnView.ini, then delete xnview.ini and start the app. It will create a new ini file with defaults. See if you still have the issue then.

I would also recommend you post a single screenshot that shows all of the following:
-Your catalog filter set to current folder, scrolled to the categories and showing missing counts
-Your browser sitting on a folder with tagged images that should show in the count.
-One of those files selected, in the browser
-The categories pane, indicating that the category is in fact applied to the selected image

[Pepelu]

This is a test. I am unable to post a reply as the forum asks me to log in again and deletes all that is written.

[Pepelu]

Screenshot from 2026-03-24 16-57-07.png

Done all that. No luck.

Here is a screen shot. You can see that selecting the tag, in this case Madrid, we can see in the browser the files that have this tag in the current folder, in this case 13 photos. You can also see that there is no count next to the category in the pane. This goes to show that the filter is working fine as it is showing the photos with the correct tag when selected. Just the count number doesn't appear.

If I now select the filter to global, then we see the count, and all the photos in the catalog with this tag, in this case nearly 13K.

Screenshot from 2026-03-24 17-01-50.png

I cannot attach one of the pictures as they are too big for this forum.
Thanks for all your help.

P.s. by the way, I have tried in windows on a new installation of release 1.10.5 and have the same issue.

[jkm]

We are making progress. I think the answer may be revealed if you provide the screenshot I asked for. These unfortunately did not meet the criteria:

I would also recommend you post a single screenshot that shows all of the following:
-Your catalog filter set to current folder, scrolled to the categories and showing missing counts
-Your browser sitting on a folder with tagged images that should show in the count.
-One of those files selected, in the browser
-The categories pane, indicating that the category is in fact applied to the selected image

You missed the last 2. So please redo the screenshot and actually show the Categories Panel this time (View->Panels:Categories). The Categories pane is different from the Catalog FIlter pane. I don't care about the Info panel that you're showing on the right.

So we see that you are using Hierarchical Subjects (categories).

For the screenshot, expand the Madrid tree so we can see the subcategories. Then actually select one of the jpeg files in the browser (it will highlight blue). The Categories pane will show checkboxes next to what is assigned to that image; scroll it as necessary to reveal the checkboxes.

Then take the screenshot.

Based on what you've shown so far, I'd also like to see a screenshot of your Settings:Metadata page.

[Pepelu]

Screenshot from 2026-03-24 21-03-29.png

Catgories pane

Screenshot from 2026-03-24 21-04-16.png

Settings Metadata

[jkm]

Thanks...

Other than it probably being advisable to check "Write categories into images as hierarchical keywords" I don't see a problem with your settings. And that setting is not required for counts to work.

So what I did is I spun up a Linux VM and installed 1.10.5 using the Linux Appimage 64bit package, to test on your behalf.

All the counts worked fine. Counts showed on both the parent category and on the subcategories. I saw no issue whatsoever. So I can confirm counts do work correctly "on Linux" at least for small databases/number of categories.

So unless there is an undiscovered bug triggered by the number of categories you have defined (over 12000 just for Madrid), I would guess one of the following is the issue:

-#1 An issue with your specific version of Linux (I tried Zorin, as I didn't have Ubuntu handy)
-#2 An issue or corruption with your db/catalog

If you want to pursue it, I'd try making a backup of your XnViewMP configuration, and then totally blow away the db and configuration and start fresh. Then just create a couple of hierarchical categories, and tag a couple of files, and see if you get counts. If you do, it's #2. If you don't, it may be #1.

If you can reproduce the problem with less than 100 files total in your database, then if you upload an zip of some (tagged or with XMP files) along with all the configuration files I can import them and see if I can reproduce; if I can't then that will indicate it's Ubuntu specific. Or if you have the means to try on a differ OS (like using a VM) then you should do so.

That's about all I can do for you given practical considerations.

[Pepelu]

Thanks.

I've also tried Windows with the same files, same result. I'll try deleting the catalog and creating it new from the files, and see what happens.

[jkm]

I've also tried Windows with the same files, same result. I'll try deleting the catalog and creating it new from the files, and see what happens.

Then it’s probably not your Linux, And I certainly don’t see the problem on Windows…

Make sure you try with a small number of files, like 5 not 5000. Test the concept before testing the scale.

[Pepelu]

Windows

I have tried windows first as I didn't mind if it got screwed. I have now turned to Ubuntu for managing my photos.
I deleted all the catalog, and the categories, and have loaded the photos again. Now the count of files in each category works fine. You can see it in the screenshot belew.
I don't know what it was, maybe the catalog got corrupted somehow when I moved from Windows to Linux.

Captura de pantalla 2026-03-25 190109.png

Thanks a lot for your help. I will try Linux later or tomorrow, and revert with feedback.

[jkm]

Good.

Remember, if you ensure all the metadata (categories, etc) is properly written to the images or sidecar files first, when you re-import them into a new database it should all be there and you shouldn't lose anything.

Good luck...