Means to search for files

[CarolC]

I am looking for a search programme using keywords. I do not like Lightroom and Bridge is just too slow. Can anyone recommend one please.

[Manfred M]

Lightroom is fairly fast because the data is in an internal database and searches are reasonably fast. Bridge is slow because it has to go through the entire disk, file by file and build up the search request from scratch.

If you are looking for Lightroom-like catalogue functionality (included a raw converter), you might want to look at Phase One's highly regarded Capture One software. https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products...ighlights.aspx

[george013]

I am looking for a search programme using keywords. I do not like Lightroom and Bridge is just too slow. Can anyone recommend one please.

May I expand your question and also looking for a function of an overview of the keywords used. I hardly believe people know the used keywords after a while.

George

[CarolC]

May I expand your question and also looking for a function of an overview of the keywords used. I hardly believe people know the used keywords after a while.

George

[CarolC]

Thank you for the reply. I do not need a full programme of functions as I use Camera Raw and Photoshop just the facility to find pictures in my library.

[george013]

Thank you for the reply. I do not need a full programme of functions as I use Camera Raw and Photoshop just the facility to find pictures in my library.

You can try IView, it has a search tool. Also slow, I just can't compare it with others.
Maybe you misunderstood me. I was suggesting a list of the used keywords in your collection. So you know which keywords are used.

George

[Black Pearl]

Thank you for the reply. I do not need a full programme of functions as I use Camera Raw and Photoshop just the facility to find pictures in my library.

How is your library organised - is it organised?

Are your files: Named - Numbered - Dated - Key-worded?
Are they organised - split into sub-folders or dumped in one huge folder?
Do you use Windows or OSx?

How do you search a file at the moment?

[NorthernFocus]

As others have pointed out, organizing and keywording files is the key. Without that no program yet written is going to help you. You might as well just use a browser.

[CarolC]

My images are all keyworded in folders and I just need to search programme to find these via the keywords.

[davidedric]

Carol, can you tell us how you keyworded your images in the first place? That might help to get you more suggestions.

Dave

[CarolC]

Thank you Dave. They have all been keyworded in Bridge. I search at the moment in Lightroom but I donot use it for anything else. I use Camera Raw then Photoshop. The images are stored on external hard drives so need to be plugged to Lightroom. Sometimes it works, sometimes it comes up with the question mark saying it can't find the files. I close Lightroom and open it up again and it works ok and they are there. When I have the files, I then collate them and send them over to my usual system. Some of the files have now come up completely black so I can't see the picture. I just hate the system!
Carol

[TonyW]

What operating system do you use?

On my Mac, I use Bridge to keep a list of keywords and to assign them. Like you I found that Bridge did not find files by keywords properly. I simply use the finder program (equivalent to Windows explorer) to search for files by keywords using what the Mac calls a smart folder.

For me, the biggest problem is disciplining myself to assign the keywords when I should.

[mastamak]

Thank you Dave. They have all been keyworded in Bridge. I search at the moment in Lightroom but I donot use it for anything else. I use Camera Raw then Photoshop. The images are stored on external hard drives so need to be plugged to Lightroom. Sometimes it works, sometimes it comes up with the question mark saying it can't find the files. I close Lightroom and open it up again and it works ok and they are there. When I have the files, I then collate them and send them over to my usual system. Some of the files have now come up completely black so I can't see the picture. I just hate the system!
Carol

Hello Carol,
Can I be so bold as to suggest that your issues with Lightroom may be related to your lack of understanding of how Lightroom operates. Once you set up a Lightroom catalogue you can no longer move folders within your operating system. All file movements must be done within the Lightroom catalogue. The issues that you mention (? marks, missing images, etc.) are the way the catalogue reacts to files that have been moved from the location where the Lightroom catalogue expects to find them. Typically this occurs as a consequence of you having moved them in Windows File Explorer or the Mac equivalent.
All is not lost, however. You can right click on your uppermost Lightroom folder and check "synchronize folders". This will find all images that are not in the catalogue and give you the option to import them. Alternatively, Lightroom automatically creates a collection called "missing photographs" under the main Catalog listing (upper left and corner - Library Module). Or, you can "optimise" the catalog which is an option found in the File drop down menu.
The Lightroom catalogue is a very powerful tool for managing large volumes of photographs as it is designed exactly for that purpose. Spend a bit of time learning how Lightroom works and I am sure many of your problems will disappear. There are plenty of resources on the internet and here is one method of organising your catalogue that I have found particularly useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDtv...ature=youtu.be

In summary:
(1) Create your Lightroom catalogue and organise it as described above.
(2) Always start your day's work in Lightroom and move over to Photoshop or whatever alternative editor you are using by right clicking on the image and selecting "edit in photoshop"
(3) At completion of the external edit "save" the image and the edited image will automatically be added to your LR catalogue.
(4) If you use "save as" in your editor, then back in Lightroom you have to synchronise the folder you saved in so the image is added to your catalogue.

In this way you will keep your catalog nice and tidy and the problems you have described above will disappear.

I hope this is some help to you, Carol. Don't give up on Lightroom as I am confident that when you get familiar with it you will never regret the effort in coming to grips with this invaluable photographer's management tool and, as an added bonus you will soon find that you no longer want to use Bridge

Grant

[CarolC]

Hi Tony, very interesting. I can only locate files if the word is in the title not in the keyword. Can you go into this and advise how to locate them via keywords, please. I am using Windows explorer.

[rpcrowe]

I do just fine with Bridge and I am not keen on Lightroom (operator problems I am sure).

However, OnOne Photo 10 (AKA: Perfect Photo Suite 10) "BROWSE" Plug-In is touted as being faster to use than either Bridge or Lightroom
https://www.on1.com/apps/browse10/

This is just a portion of the suite of plug-ins from OnOne....

[Mike Buckley]

I am using Windows explorer.

I just now used it to find all of my image files that have the keyword, wine. It displayed hundreds of images within about three seconds. I limited the search to the Pictures directory. The word, wine, is not in the filename or any other metadata field.

I'm using Windows 10. Explain which version you're using.

[CarolC]

I am using Windows 7. I went to windows explorer - computer - library - top right hand side box labelled 'search Samsung (f) and put in the word. I only received 9 images and there are hundreds. Please tell me what I am not doing. I also tried opening up the library and highlighting the first and last folder and the images were the same.
Carol

[Manfred M]

I am using Windows 7. I went to windows explorer - computer - library - top right hand side box labelled 'search Samsung (f) and put in the word. I only received 9 images and there are hundreds. Please tell me what I am not doing. I also tried opening up the library and highlighting the first and last folder and the images were the same.
Carol

Windows Explorer will find files, not keywords that are embedded in the.xmp sidecar files by Bridge (or Lightroom if you chose do store data this way), so what you are trying to do won't work. Any photo file management tool has to open and read the data in these files. This is the reason Bridge is so slow in doing this type of search and why people use image management tools like Lightroom (LR) or Capture One (C1).

Lightroom and Capture One store this information in a database (or catalogue as Lightroom prefers to call it). Databases make for fast searches, but only if the data is there. This is where these tools break down; the moment you move the files with a tool like explorer, the data in the catalogue no longer matches what is on the disks. This means you need to use the catalogue tools to move files around (LR if you use LR and nothing else, C1 if you use C! and nothing else). You must stay away from Window Explorer or similar tools as they work outside of the data that is stored in the file management software, although you can relink it manually..

[CarolC]

Thank you very much. This is really essential information and I appreciate you answering my query.

[Mike Buckley]

Windows Explorer will find files, not keywords that are embedded in the.xmp sidecar files

Windows 10 Explorer will find the keywords embedded in .xmp sidecar files of Nikon NEFs and it will display thumbnails of the .xmp and the corresponding NEF. If the keywords are embedded in the NEF rather than its corresponding .xmp, I believe it will also find them and display the thumbnail but I have not confirmed it. It will also find the keywords embedded in JPEGs and will display those thumbnails. I assume though have not confirmed that it will work the same with TIFFs, DNGs, and other file formats. Once returned in the search, the image files can be displayed in the viewer of your choice.

I don't remember about earlier versions of Windows.