epicflow
Users Guide
Release 1.2.1
October 25, 2005
epicflow
Users Guide
Release 1.2.1
October 25, 2005
epicflow enables the easy
transfer of images from your digital camera to your computer using a specified
naming convention. It then automates iView MediaPro to catalog your images
using annotations specified by you.
epicflow is distributed as
donation-ware. You are encouraged to donate
$15 (or more if you are so
inclined:) if you find the software valuable.
epicflow has been tested extensively using images captured by a Nikon D70s on a PowerMac G5 running Mac OS 10.4.2 and iView MediaPro 2.6.4. The software may run on other configurations, but your mileage may vary.
Installation is a snap. Simply mount the disk image and double-click on the epicflow package. It will walk you through a standard installation process to copy the epicflow application into the Applications folder of your computer.
If you wish for the application to automatically run when a camera (or external storage card) is connected, adjust the Preferences in the Image Capture application (Figure 1) to select epicflow to open when a camera is connected.
Figure 1
To begin the import of images, connect your camera to the computer or insert your memory card into the computer connected card reader. After a moment the disk should appear on your desktop.
You may want to quickly inspect the images to trash the unwanted ones before importing them into your computer. Eventually, this part of the process will be integrated into epicflow.
With a complete set of images ready for import, start epicflow. This can be done automatically for you when the camera is connected by selecting epicflow in the Preferences of the Image Capture application (see Figure 1) to open when the camera is connected.
When epicflow starts, it will scan the computer for a removable disk and search within that folder to find the first non-empty folder. It will then place the path to that folder in the source field on the Transfer page (see Figure 3). You may use this pre-selected path or select a new one by typing it in to the source field or selecting a folder in the dialog display after pressing the button next to the source field. Alternatively, you may drop a file or a folder on the epicflow icon in the dock. This will default the source field to the path of the file or folder dropped.
A destination folder must be specified. This is defaulted to a folder called Photo Library in your Pictures folder; if you wish another folder to be used, either type it in to the destination field or use the button next to the field to select one.
Before successful import of images, it is necessary to fill in some values on the Transfer page. It is required to fill in the fields for Event Annotation and Image Prefix. The Event field is used when cataloging entries in iView MediaPro and groups the images by what is specified in the Event field. It is also used in creating the destination folder. The Image Prefix is used for naming during transfer of the files to the computer. Also, a catalog must be selected from the Catalog drop down. The default is to use the "Topmost catalog", which would be the active one in iView MediaPro. Note that import cannot be complete until one catalog is active. To select another catalog, just specify one of those listed in the drop down.
You may desire only to import a fraction of the files on the removable device or camera for trial purposes. This may be accomplished by using the limiter on the Options page after selecting the source folder.
You may fill in the other annotation fields with appropriate values (see Figure 3 and Figure 4) and select the options (see Figure 5) desired for importing. When you are satisfied with your responses, press the Import button on the Transfer page.
The import process retrieves the files specified, names them according to the convention listed on the Options page and then imports them into iView MediaPro with the selected annotations. While the application copies files and imports into iView MediaPro, it displays a Progress dialog that shows the number of files remaining to import and the estimated time for completion.
Figure 2
During import of the images into iView MediaPro, epicflow is automating the cataloging of files. It is important not to disturb the process by accessing iView MediaPro in any way.
You may interrupt the process at any time by pressing the Cancel button on the Progress dialog or by pressing the Escape key while the dialog is active. Note that it may seem a bit finicky trying to interrupt the process while importing files due to the intensive disk i/o activity. You may need to click the button a few times until the process is interrupted.
After import is complete, you may repeat the process with another memory card, changing the values of the fields as needed.
For more information refer to the details for each option in
the following section named "Use".
Files are transferred to a subfolder of the specified destination folder and renamed according to the convention selected. This can be a time consuming process if there are a number of large files to be transferred. Because epicflow utilizes the Finder to perform the transfer, certain actions can be undone. For example, if the Delete files after copying is selected, those files are placed in the Trash and may be removed or restored if necessary.
Files will be transferred to a folder under the destination folder that is named according to the Event and the first file's capture date. Using the month and year of the capture date, the folder is named "<Event> - <Month> <Year>" with the appropriate values replacing the names in the angle brackets. This name is fixed and cannot be changed[1].
Once copied into the final destination folder, the files are renamed using the capture date of the file (or the file's creation date if the EXIF information does not exist and you have the Developer Tools installed on your computer with the following file: /Developer/Tools/GetFileInfo). If the file exists before transferring, the new file name will have a counter with a value one greater than the value of the counter of the existing file. If the option is selected to move raw files with image files, the raw file (file ending with the selected raw file extension) will be moved and named similarly to the image file, but placed in a subfolder named by the setting of raw folder name of the destination folder. This allows the raw images to be grouped together and easily accessible. See the section below on Working with Raw Files.
Some cameras capture both a raw image and a JPEG image and store it on the memory card; epicflow is designed to handle this scenario specially. When the option to move raw files with image files is selected, the raw file will be transferred to the subfolder named by the setting of raw folder name of the destination folder. This value can be set on the options page. This groups all raw images together and all other image files together. You may elect to catalog the raw files along with the image files by selecting the option index raw files. If you choose not to catalog the raw files, they will remain available in the raw destination folder with the same name as the image files, except it will have the appropriate raw extension. If you choose not to move raw files with image files, the raw files will be transferred, named and cataloged just like the other images files.
epicflow will catalog each of the files imported and set the annotations specified in the application. It will also perform some operations automatically. It will set the Event Date annotation to the capture date of the file. It will also set the Copyright annotation if none is specified to "©" followed by the current year and the Author's name (specified in the Author annotation).
It is assumed that many (if not all) of the images on the memory card belong to a single event and thus epicflow annotates each file with the event specified on the Transfer page.
After all the files were successfully imported, epicflow will save the catalog. At this point, images
will have been saved, cataloged and annotated accordingly and are ready to be
used in your own workflow.
Figure 3 depicts a typical screen from the Transfer page of epicflow. It is on this page where the required fields are located and some of the most important annotations. Once set up, this may be the only page used to interact with the application.
Figure 3
This drop down list is populated at the startup of the application. The first entry is always "Topmost catalog" and refers to the active catalog in iView MediaPro. The next section in the drop down is the list of open catalogs in iView MediaPro. The final section of the drop down lists all the catalogs (files ending with .ivc) found in the iView MediaPro folder in the Pictures folder.
Selecting one of these entries activates that catalog in iView MediaPro and enables the images to be imported into the specified catalog. Of course, you can always select the catalog manually and choose "Topmost catalog".
These are some of the most useful annotations and are entered for each image imported into iView MediaPro. These are listed here to enable single page action within epicflow.
Image Prefix and Initials are not annotations and are not attached to the imported entries but are used in the naming of the copied file.
The source entry is defaulted to the first non-empty folder it finds on a removable disk that is 4 GB or less. This value can be changed by typing in the full path to the source folder, selecting a folder in the Choose Folder dialog which appears by pressing the button next to the source field, or by dropping a file or folder from the Finder onto the source field. Every time the source field changes, it scans the directory to count the number of image files it will copy and changes the limiter to reflect that value. If typing in a folder location, this process will occur for each valid folder path, even if it is not the one desired, so choose carefully. If there are a large number of files in the folder specified, the application may appear to hang while this is occurring. Note that the limiter value is changed each time the source folder is changed. Be careful changing the source folder after limiting the number of files copied; you will need to re-enter the limit afterwards.
epicflow supports the dropping of files and folders on to either the source field or the application's dock icon to specify the source folder. Note that the only method possible to specify importing of a single file is either by typing its full path into the source field or dropping the file onto the application.
This page lists the rest of the ITPC annotations supported by iView MediaPro. You may enter values here and each imported image will have the corresponding annotations.
It is not yet possible to affect the custom fields in iView MediaPro from epicflow.[2]
Figure 4
Note that if left blank, the Copyright field will be defaulted to "©" followed by the current year and the Author's name (specified in the Author annotation), if the Author is specified.
On this page, options are set and can be retained through different invocations of the application (see the section on Sticky Values for details).
Figure 5
The following describes these options in more detail.
When selected, files will be transferred to the computer as specified in Working with Raw Files. When this option is not selected, the Index raw files option is disabled: raw files will be indexed just like other image files. Unselecting this option, yet indexing both regular and raw image files will likely break the correspondence between the image file and its associated raw file.
When selected, raw files will be cataloged in iView MediaPro along with image files. If not selected, the raw files will remain in the raw destination folder for later use.
Selecting this will remove the original files from the source folder. Those files are moved to the Trash and can be restored if necessary. Typically this is left unchecked and the files are removed manually after the import has completed successfully. Note that the files are removed immediately after transferring to the computer, but before the images are imported into iView MediaPro.
Checking this box will remove files in the destination folder before copying a file with the same name. This is often unnecessary due to file naming conventions: if a file with the same name already exists, the new file will get a unique name, that is one with an index counter one more than the previous. The index counter is the last two or four digits of the file's name. See the section on File naming convention for more information.
If the source folder has folders contained within, selecting this option will recursively scan through the subfolders and process each of the image files according to the options selected. If this option is selected, the resulting files are copied into a flat structure and the original hierarchy is not preserved. If this item is selected, it disables the file import limiter (see # images to import).
If this item is selected, the file's creation date will be set to the capture date, if the developer tool SetFile exists; if this tool does not exist, this option will be disabled.
If this item is selected, it uses the Application Image Events to generate a thumbnail image for the Finder. Unfortunately, the thumbnail image is not rotated to the proper orientation for vertical shots.[3]
If this item is selected, the thumbnail will be rebuilt in iView MediaPro after the import of the image is complete. This is sometimes necessary due to an undesirable black frame that may be generated around the thumbnail during the initial import. Selecting this will slightly affect the time to import the images and can be done manually in MediaPro by selecting the thumbnails and selected Rebuild Item from the Action menu.
This drop down lists the common extensions for raw files: CRW, NEF, RAF, RAW. This is the extension used during renaming of raw files when the option to move raw files with image files is selected. This drop down is not enabled if the move raw files with image files option is not selected.
There are three commonly used naming conventions offered for renaming files placed into the destination folder. Each convention specifies a two or four digit number to be placed at the end of the file name to make the file unique. The numbering starts at one and increments sequentially. When new files are added to the destination folder, epicflow scans the existing files looking for matching names. If it finds one, it adds on to the highest number found for the matching file.
If this convention is selected, a valid prefix must be entered on the Transfer page. Files will be given names starting with the prefix, followed by the year, month and day from the capture date of the image, followed by a four digit number to make the file name unique.
It is common to see many files with only a different index because many pictures were taken on the same day at a single event. Keep the prefix short yet meaningful, as the files will have lengthy names.
Files named in this fashion are easily grouped by event, if a viable prefix naming scheme is used.
If this convention is selected, files will be named consisting entirely of digits and dashes by the capture date, starting with the year, followed by the month, day, hour, minutes and seconds, respectively. A two-digit index follows the name and will only present problems if you can shoot 100 or more images per second.
Files named in this fashion are easily sorted by date.
If this convention is selected, initials must be entered on the Transfer page before the import can begin. Files will be given names starting with the year, month and day from the capture date of the image, followed by the initials and finally followed by a four-digit number to make the file name unique.
This convention offers support to groups of photographers
shooting the same event.
This slider and corresponding number input box limit the number of files imported by epicflow. Each time the source folder is changed, the application will count the importable images in the source folder and set the maximum value of the slider and the number input to that number. As specified earlier under Scan folders recursively, this item will be disabled if the scan folders recursively option is checked.
By selecting a value less than the total number of images, the file import will be limited to the specified number of files. Note that if the move raw files with image files option is selected, the count of raw files in the source folder does not affect the limit.
This specifies the location of the folder which contains the iView MediaPro catalogs (ivc files). epicflow will scan the folder each time the catalog popup is shown and display the catalogs in that folder. Currently, all catalogs must reside in the same folder for the application to display them for use.[4] The button to its right may be selected to display the choose folder dialog where the folder can be chosen and returned to this field. This field defaults to iView MediaPro under the user's Pictures directory, if it exists.
This specifies the name of the raw folder that is created under the destination folder when the option move raw files with image files is selected. If made empty, it defaults to Raw; otherwise you may specify a name that adheres to proper MacOS file naming conventions. This name must not include any colons (:) or slashes (/).
All options except for # images to import and certain annotations are assumed not to change often and thus the value of those fields is retained between invocations.
The following annotations are "sticky":
The following fields are "sticky":
The following options are "sticky":
Upon first use, all of the fields, annotations and options are set to default values which are either empty or off. It is important to set the appropriate options prior to the first import. At other times, the values saved from the last invocation of epicflow will be used for default.