AlanH Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 I recently installed Daminion (standalone) and am evaluating it as part of my photo management/processing workflow. Totally impressed with it so far. My only (possibly unfounded) workflow concern my be the location of the catalog and thumbnails. The online documentation states that: "The only requirement is that the catalog’s .dmc file should be stored in the same folder as the imported files. This folder will also contain thumbnails and version folders..." How flexible is the "...should be stored..." requirement? My ideal workflow is to import, cull, and post process photos on a laptop with a smallish 256GB SSD (using C:\Users\Alan H\Pictures\...). Once processed or identified as "keepers" the photos are backed up/archived to two external USB 3.0 drives (G: and H:- a mirror of G:). The photos are then deleted from C: (for space saving reasons). Experimenting with a small sample of folders and files this seems to work: the catalog and thumbnails in C:\Pictures with the Folders Tree tag pointing to the photos in G:\Pictures (H:\Pictures is just a redundant mirror/backup). Before I commit to any large scale use of Daminion, are there (or could there be) reasons not to keep the catalog and thumbnails in the same folder as the photos as I've outlined above? Performance? Reliability? Data integrity? Are there any pros/cons to placing the catalog and thumbnails in G:\Pictures? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rene Posted August 30, 2016 Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 Hello AlanH, I would consider using the Server version installed on a server, this normally is much faster than the standalone version. As for the performance with the the standalone version I can't give you too much info, since I only use local catalogues when traveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted September 1, 2016 Report Share Posted September 1, 2016 I use Daminion in a very similar way: photo files on a large 8TB HDD, catalog (and thumbnails) on an internal SSD. No problems so far. If the drive letters change, you can show Daminion new locations. Main benefit: very fast scrolling through long folders. -- M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted September 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2016 Rene, Mariusz, thanks. For those considering a similar scheme, and to be absolutely certain before starting out on a rather large cataloging exercise, I contacted Daminion. The support person verified that the catalog file and the thumbnail folder can be on the C drive and the photo archive on an external drive. The only caveat being that if (after files have first been imported into Daminion) the external drive is offline/disconnected one would not be able to write tags to metadata nor view images at their original resolution (only thumbnail resolution). When the external drive is online/connected you have full functionality. As a side note, in addition to being a great application (sophisticated yet relatively easy to use) for my purposes, Daminion support has been very supportive and prompt with regard to my inquiries. What a great and rare company to deal with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted September 5, 2016 Report Share Posted September 5, 2016 ... if [...] the external drive is offline/disconnected one would not be able to write tags to metadata... I think it is still possible to work with thumbnails. I would turn off sync in Daminion (use the "Sync" button on top right) and add tags/metadata to thumbnails when the external HDD is offline. When the HDD is online turn sync on and enjoy a coffee break. You can also consider the Item > Actions > "Write tags to file" command to write database metadata to photo files. -- M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utfifa2016 Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 I use Daminion in a very similar way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Barrett Posted September 24, 2016 Report Share Posted September 24, 2016 I have Daminion app installed on my SSD, the catalogue on my local HDD and the images on a Synology NAS drive. Even with auto-sync turned on, performance is very respectable. Mind you, PC and NAS are both gigabit and hardwired through a Gigabit switch. I wouldn't try it over WiFi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coxycrew Posted November 20, 2016 Report Share Posted November 20, 2016 I have just found this program and an so excited. This is exactly how I would like to use it too but I am so new.. is there somewhere which steps me through exactly how to set this up please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uwe Posted November 20, 2016 Report Share Posted November 20, 2016 I have just found this program and an so excited. This is exactly how I would like to use it too but I am so new.. is there somewhere which steps me through exactly how to set this up please? Hello coxycrew, welcome. Would you like to write your question(s) in a new post please to avoid mixed topics. On the Daminion page is the menu Support->Online documentation to get a first overview/detailled description. We have to know which version of Daminion do you want to use: Standalone or Server to continue to help you. Regards, Uwe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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