Feature request : hyperlinkable 'Resource' custom tags

[acorn]

Linking Daminion thumbnails to external data resource files.

 

Hi Daminion and the Forum,

1. Hyperlinks to 'Global Resource Files'

 

[My definition here of a ' Global Resource File' is a multimedia file containing data and/or data-links related to one or more Daminion images or other items. These resource files would be located/created/edited outside Daminion].

 

A powerful Daminion feature is the 'Custom Tags...' panel which allows the user to create custom tags with a choice of four special format fields - 'text','decimal','integer' or 'time'.

 

My request is for the addition of a new 'hyperlink' format to the current list. A 'Global Resource Tag' created by this option would appear in the Tag Tree and the name could then be double-clicked to open an external 'Global Resource File' in a new window. These names could be underscored to indicate that they are hyperlinks. The target filepath/URL for hyperlinked tags would be entered by adding a browser box to the 'Custom Tags...' panel or by drag/dropping a resource file to the panel.

 

Daminion catalogue items would be assigned a 'Global Resource Tag' in the same manner as existing tags -- e.g. by dragging the thumbnail item to the name in the tag tree, or selecting a resource tag name in the 'Properties' panel. Daminion can restrict custom tags to one tag name per catalogue item and to multiple items per tag name. This would also apply to 'Global Resource' tags so that a single catalogue item could link to only one 'Global Resource File' but a group of catalogue items, e.g. similar images, could all share the same 'Global Resource File' name.

 

2. Addition of 'Local Resource Files' to Daminion

 

Classic metadata tags allow the inclusion of a small descriptive text field within an image but there are many instances where the ability to link external multimedia data to the image would add considerable flexibility.

 

Such data could be accessed using the proposed 'Global Resource Tag/ Global Resource File' scheme but this would be overkill for those occaisions when the external resources are to be specific to just one single cataloged item. In this case a 'Local Resource File' might be more efficient.

 

The concept is that a Local Resource File would be a blank multimedia file (word, pdf, html etc.) created on demand in Daminion as a sidecar file with the same name as the catalogue item and stored in the same folder as the item. Daminion would create the sidecar file on request (see Browser Thumbnails). A further refinement would allow the user to load a blank or pre-formatted template file into Daminion for renaming and copying this as a Local Resource file.

 

The user would maintain the Local Resource File adding appropriate text notes, multimedia content and hyperlinks to other resources - all editing would take place outside the Damanian application.

Note: A Catalogue item could have both a Global Resource File AND/OR a Local Resource File. If both files were active then the Local Resource File would contain information specific to the item which would then supplement the resources in the Global Resource File.

3. Opening a resource file from the Thumbnail browser - Resource icon.

'Global Resource Files' could be opened in an external window by double clicking the name of the 'Global Resource Tag' but a 'Local Resource File' has no tag so requires a different method. The suggested method for both types requires the addition of a click-able 'Resource Link' icon to the Image Thumbnail border - adjacent to the top right 'Actions Menu' icon. The 'Resouce' icon would appear during a mouse hover and would also open a drop down 'Resource' menu. The icon might be a chain link image similar to other hyperlinks icons in common use.

 

Two Resource menu entries would open the 'Local Resource File' or the 'Global Resource File' - - entries to be greyed out if the files are not activated. Further menu items would create/delete the 'Local Resource' File. Other Resource menu items could be added where necessary - e.g. 'import users template file'.

 

4 . Other uses for Hyperlinks in Daminion tags

 

Could there be an advantage in adding a hyperlink option to certain other tags such as keywords? This could be used to access external user data - e.g clicking a 'Paris' city name tag in the city part of the tag tree might open a user's data resource file for 'Paris hotels, tourist information etc. '.

 

5. Typical Usage

 

I am a long time retired engineer and amateur photographer with an extensive archive of digital photos and older film negatives (waiting to be scanned). Many of my family photos have been shot in France during annual driving/camping tours and earlier ones include skiing trips around the Alps.

 

Daminion has finally (after my abandoning other products) provided the truly flexible means of tagging, geotagging and collating my collections.

 

For the past decades I have made extensive use of the internet, Google mapping, etc. to plan my trips and accommodation and now have a broad range of multimedia data which I would like to organise and link to photos in my Daminion catalogs -- hence the requirement and suggestion for hyper-linked resource files.

 

Ultimately I plan to use the powerful asset management features of Daminion to collate material for exporting to slideshow creation software such as ProShow.

 

I have been using the desktop version (3.7+beta) of Daminion for the last few months and am extremely impressed with the quality and versatility of this product and the fact that it is in active development. I hope this continues and look forward to watching it progress.

 

AlanTB