[Digikam-users] How to work on mobility on a copy of database

[Manuel Bock]

Hi Laurent,

digikam has the ability to write most of the database stored information into the picture file itself or into a side cart *.xmp file of the same name. This can be configured in the settings dialogs. If you have that enabled, you could use another functionality to exchange pictures and even albums between two computers using an external drive.

My mobile workflow for your challenge looks like this:

1. I have setup digicam on both computers with local collections and the „store meta data into picture or xmp":enabled, the powerful pc holds the whole collection here, the laptop has usually just an empty collection at the start of a trip.

2. both have configured a collection on an external ssd-drive, that I connect via usb3

3. the disk holds a common picture (just white noise or whatever you like) tagged with ALL my tags to make sure, the tags tree on both computers is in sync. Whenever I modify the tags tree on one computer, I make sure, that all new tags get marked for that picture

4. On the way I usually work on the local collection of the laptop, moving all albums/folders to the shared drive at the end of that trip (I usually have one main subfolder per trip)

5. Simply connect that drive to the PC. Digicam detects the new pictures and folders on that mobile collection. Now you can move that folders into your main collection by simply dragging it over (If it was a long trip, go and have [some] coffee ;-)

bells and whistles to look for:

a. I don’t use face tagging on the laptop - that tags are - as far as I remember - stored in a different kde database

b. I don’t add folder information like icon, folder category or comments on the laptop - this is not stored on the disc, just in the local database and I didn’t find a way to transfer that without having to export/adjust/import database information

(c. Just, because I read about geotagging bug recently: I usually geolocate my pictures based on an external GPS track file on the PC. In theory that is stored in the meta data as well and should be imported into the main collection’s database automatically, if done on the laptop.)

Good luck!
Manuel 

> Am 10.01.2016 um 10:01 schrieb Laurent Hugé <root at hugeworld.eu>:
> 
> Hi everybody,
> 
> Please be gentle for my English...
> I've tried and found an solution for my problem, but I'm beginning to wonder if Digikam is able to work in my way (and that could be my end with that wonderful tool, sadly)...
> 
> At my work, I use to work on Digikam on a powerful computer, enough to work fast on pictures.
> But for professional reasons, I'm obliged to travel a lot, and I want to work on a copy of the Digikam directory (in case my laptop is stolen, of course, but also because I use an internal drive at work, which can't be extracted).
> To synchronise the two directories, I use Unison, but I think it doesn't matter.
> 
> But I can't propagate the modifications of my database on my computer at work : event if the database is copied, it keep displaying the older flags and notations...
> Googling a while, I've understood that the UUID of the drive is recorded in database, but in my case the UUID doesn't change.
> 
> Is there's a way to copy the database from one drive to another so that Digikam use it correctly ?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> -- 
> Laurent Hugé
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