[kkww]

I've been using downloader for years with satisfaction, but recently it's been striking me that I frequently download a card which has several days of unrelated different activities on it, and therefore needs totally different IPTC settings (as well as folder settings).

Generally what happens is that I'm downloading for an important purpose, so I set the data for that, but then all the other activities end up labelled and named that way, in other folders for other dates, and often I don't go and have a look at them right away, so they probably stay that way, mis-labelled and mis-named ... and therefore hard to find.

If DLpro could display all the thumbnails first, so you could put them into groups, and put different IPTC data on each group, then I wouldn't have to go re-IPTC most of the files afterwards.

The only other solution I've thought of is to stop putting in IPTC data in the first place, because then I could search for all photos that don't have any, and know those are the ones I need to label. If they've already got incorrect data that's hard to search for, and that's what happens now.

Just a note on implementation: the power of DLpro comes in setting it running and going away. So it's important to set the groups and the data once at the beginning, and then just leave it running. Using the current "download" button after selecting a subset wouldn't work: set data for one set, download that subset, then when that's finished change the data, download the next set, etc etc.... that would lose the point of using DLpro. No duh.

This is obviously a non-trivial feature request.

Keith

[Chris Breeze]

I think it would be very difficult to come up with a good way to do this because everybody's requirements would be different. One way to avoid the problem is to try to use a different memory card for each event, although this obviously isn't always possible or convenient.
You can sort images in DLPro by date and then select different groups to be downloaded (if you're using a card reader double clicking on an item will display a thumbnail to help identify each subject).

[DavidB]

Thanks to Chris for drawing attention to the 'double click' viewing facility; I had not picked this one up.

I'd also like to express support for Chris's reluctance to implement a full 'view and manipulate' capability in DL Pro. In comparison with other programs, Canon Camera Window for instance, what seems at first like a penny plain approach without all the eye candy soon reveals itself as a lean and powerful user interface, and I'm sure I am not the only one who hopes it will stay that way.

In addition to Chris's suggestions, you can use pre-saved data (load an .ipt file) in the DLPro IPTC dialogue box. With several pre-saved templates, you could save yourself a bit of data entry as you switch between groups of files to download