[KPhotoAlbum] KPA manual

Mon Feb 20 22:04:53 GMT 2012

On Monday 20 February 2012 06:11:26 Miika Turkia wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 12:22 AM, Johannes Zarl <isilmendil at gmx.net> wrote:
> > Apropos Workflows: has anyone a decent idea of how to use the
> > AutoStacking functionality?
> 
> I tried to add documentation on AutoStacking for new images:
> http://www.vaarin.kalsarit.net/KPA/manual/ch10.html
> 
> The autostacking of images under Maintenance menu is a different
> story. There you can stack images with same MD5 sum or images that are
> shot within specified time interval.

I don't have an autostacking entry in the maintenance menu...

> 
> If the first link does not clarify the autostacking properly, let me
> know and I'll try to improve the description (screenshot should be
> added for sure)

Ok, with the help of your text, combined with the "What's this" message and 
some trying out, I figured it out. I guess this feature could need some more 
documentation. Please add your ideas and suggestions:

"What's this" text
------------------
Should be split into several texts, one for each settings-field:

+ Checkbox "Try to detect multiple versions of files":
<p>When KPhotoAlbum searches for new files and finds a file that matches the 
<i>File versions search regexp</i> it is assumed that an original version of 
the image may exist. The regexp pattern will be replaced with the <i>original 
file replacement text</i> and if that file exists, all associated metadata 
(category information, ratings, etc) will be copied from the original file to 
the new one.</p>

+ Text field "File versions search regexp"
<p>A perl regular expression matching the modified file.
<ul>
<li>A dot matches a single character (<tt>\.</tt> matches a dot)</li>
<li>You can use the quantifiers <tt>*</tt>,<tt>+</tt>,<tt>?</tt>, or you can 
match multiple occurrences of an expression by using curly brackets (e.g. 
<tt>e{0,1}</tt> matches 0 or 1 occurrences of the character "e").
<li>You can group parts of the expression using parenthesis.</li>
</ul>
Example: <tt>^(.*)-modified\.(jpg|tiff)</tt>
</p>

+ Text field "Original file replacement text"
<p>A perl regular expression matching the original file. You can refer to 
grouped expressions of the <i>File versions search regexp</i> by prefacing the 
number of the group with a backslash (e.g. <tt>\1.jpg</tt>). </p>

+ Checkbox "Move meta-data (i.e. delete tags from the original)"
-> Should be documented (sounds dangerous?)

+ Checkbox "Auto-stack new files on top of old files"
-> Should be renamed "Put new images on top of the stack"
<p>If this option is set, newly discovered images belonging to a stack are 
added as the topmost image. I.e. the new image will be shown when the stack is 
collapsed.</p>

New startup tips
----------------

<tip category="KPhotoAlbum">
<html>
Sometimes it is useful to group several related images into an image stack. 
You can merge several images into a stack by first selecting them and then 
pressing <tt>Ctrl+3</tt>.

</html>
</tip>

<tip category="KPhotoAlbum">
<html>
When searching for new images, KPhotoAlbum can automatically put images 
into stacks by looking at their filenames. To configure this feature, chose 
"Configure KPhotoalbum..." from the Settings menu and set appropriate values 
in the "File Searching & Versions" tab.
Example: 
Suppose you often adjust images and save them under a different filename (say, 
FILENAME-adjusted.jpg). Afterwards, you merge the original and the modified 
image into a stack. 
In this case, you can let KPhotoalbum do the work for you:
<ul>
<li>Enable the checkbox "Try to detect multiple versions of files"</li>
<li>Enter a regular expression for you modified files: <tt>^(.*)-adjusted\.
(.*)</tt></li>
<li>Enter a regular expression for you original file: <tt>\1.\2</tt>
</ul>

</html>
</tip>

Misc. stuff: The term "file versions" sounds a little funny to me (but I'm not 
a native speaker, so maybe it's just me). 

I guess that's all for now ;-)

  Johannes