Nick Hatton Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Help wanted! I have just accidently deleted the captions to around 1350 images, just wondered if there is any way of getting them back otherwise it is going to be a long winter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpics Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 As long as you hit "cancel" instead of "save" you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geogphotos Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 (edited) Try phoning Alamy first thing Monday morning and ask for a spreadsheet of your files before they do the database update. Not sure if that will work but it is what comes to mind. Edited November 21, 2020 by geogphotos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avpics Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Just now, geogphotos said: Try phoning Alamy first thing Monday morning and ask for a spreadsheet of your files before they do the database update. Sod's law that would happen tonight, on time for a change. If you hit the [send me my data] button now, I don't know whether that would record the information as it is currently on the database or at a point when someone is in the office. Still a huge job to repopulate though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 54 minutes ago, Avpics said: Sod's law that would happen tonight, on time for a change. If you hit the [send me my data] button now, I don't know whether that would record the information as it is currently on the database or at a point when someone is in the office. Still a huge job to repopulate though. Sorry but where would I find that button? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avpics Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Nick Hatton said: Sorry but where would I find that button? In AIM, highlight any image and it's at the bottom: "Download your data NEW If you would like a copy of all file names and related image metadata, then you can request a spreadsheet by clicking the button below. Please note: it may take up to 24 hours for your data to become available. Please check here for updates. Send me my data" As I say, it isn't clear at which point it freezes the data - when you push the button or when someone gets around to it. Edited November 21, 2020 by Avpics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 21, 2020 Author Share Posted November 21, 2020 16 minutes ago, Avpics said: In AIM, highlight any image and it's at the bottom: "Download your data NEW If you would like a copy of all file names and related image metadata, then you can request a spreadsheet by clicking the button below. Please note: it may take up to 24 hours for your data to become available. Please check here for updates. Send me my data" As I say, it isn't clear at which point it freezes the data - when you push the button or when someone gets around to it. Thanks so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnans Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 Alamy tech team may have a back up of databases which could be as of previous weekend or month end based on frequency they do backup. A call to Alamy contributors team on Monday may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 (edited) Hopefully your 'Download data' button worked (it doesn't for some) in which case you should have your data spreadsheet with your missing captions as the database wouldn't have been updated. In non-COVID times I believe that Alamy Support would be OK with re-importing your data rather than you having to do it individually for all 1350, it's certainly worth asking. The 'may take 24 hours' bit is a throwback to times past, the data download is available almost straightaway. Edited November 21, 2020 by Harry Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 Looks like download data button does not work for me just get an error message, will give Alamy a call in the morning, thanks for your help, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 51 minutes ago, Nick Hatton said: Looks like download data button does not work for me just get an error message, will give Alamy a call in the morning, thanks for your help, Do you have the captions on your images on your computer? If so get Alamy Lightroom Bridge and you can send the data to Alamy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Sally said: Do you have the captions on your images on your computer? If so get Alamy Lightroom Bridge and you can send the data to Alamy. No unfortunately I only add full captions in Alamy image manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tadman Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Sorry to hear about your problem. I hope you are able to recover the data. Without wishing to add to your misfortune, could you tell me how you managed to delete them all, if only to educate me and any others who are unaware from falling foul of the same problem? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 7 hours ago, Richard Tadman said: Sorry to hear about your problem. I hope you are able to recover the data. Without wishing to add to your misfortune, could you tell me how you managed to delete them all, if only to educate me and any others who are unaware from falling foul of the same problem? Hi Richard, quite easy really! I had the brainwave to add the tag outdoors to all my images that contained the tag countryside so I selected countryside in the search box that brought up 1300 of my images containing the tag countryside them instead of putting my new tag outdoors in the tag section I put it in the caption box and hit save , job done 1300 images with the caption outdoors! only plus is the fact I still have all my tags in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Nick Hatton said: Hi Richard, quite easy really! I had the brainwave to add the tag outdoors to all my images that contained the tag countryside so I selected countryside in the search box that brought up 1300 of my images containing the tag countryside them instead of putting my new tag outdoors in the tag section I put it in the caption box and hit save , job done 1300 images with the caption outdoors! only plus is the fact I still have all my tags in place. Nick, When I search for outdoors and your name in the advanced search > Contributor name box, I do not get 1300 images, but only 54. So the database has not updated yet. I would certainly try downloading from Download your data on the AIM page. It's super quiet at the moment, if it works, it's now. There is a warning: Your metadata is being processed and will be available for download here once complete. This could take up to 24 hours. So you have to wait for a couple of minutes. It then turns into a blue download button. So it's not about how fast your connection is, just how hard that server is churning. In my case it was like 4 or 5 minutes before the button appeared. This was on Windows using Firefox btw. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 2 hours ago, Nick Hatton said: Hi Richard, quite easy really! I had the brainwave to add the tag outdoors to all my images that contained the tag countryside so I selected countryside in the search box that brought up 1300 of my images containing the tag countryside them instead of putting my new tag outdoors in the tag section I put it in the caption box and hit save , job done 1300 images with the caption outdoors! only plus is the fact I still have all my tags in place. I thought that the maximum number of images you can edit at any one time is 500. So are you sure that the caption has changed for all 1300? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Ahh, Nick. Gosh darn it. So sorry. I’ve had that panicky feeling before when I’ve messed up. We all do it. Hope the suggestions work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 18 hours ago, wiskerke said: Nick, When I search for outdoors and your name in the advanced search > Contributor name box, I do not get 1300 images, but only 54. So the database has not updated yet. I would certainly try downloading from Download your data on the AIM page. It's super quiet at the moment, if it works, it's now. There is a warning: Your metadata is being processed and will be available for download here once complete. This could take up to 24 hours. So you have to wait for a couple of minutes. It then turns into a blue download button. So it's not about how fast your connection is, just how hard that server is churning. In my case it was like 4 or 5 minutes before the button appeared. This was on Windows using Firefox btw. wim Thanks wim, will look in to this later, you have given me some hope! sometimes its not a bad idea to re caption images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Just now, Nick Hatton said: Thanks wim, will look in to this later, you have given me some hope! sometimes its not a bad idea to re caption images. Sorry, too late now. When I do that search now I get 542 images for outdoors. The only good thing is that it's true that only 500 images at a time can be altered in one go in AIM. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 On 22/11/2020 at 09:56, Nick Hatton said: Looks like download data button does not work for me just get an error message, will give Alamy a call in the morning, thanks for your help, The least of your problems now I guess but that error message seems to be a problem at Alamy's end and others that have reported it to them have found that they seem to be able to fix it quite easily, usually as a by-product of sending you a copy of your data download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said: The least of your problems now I guess but that error message seems to be a problem at Alamy's end and others that have reported it to them have found that they seem to be able to fix it quite easily, usually as a by-product of sending you a copy of your data download. Thanks for your help Harry, I also saw 542 images but on my way now! not too bad many images can be grouped together for the same caption, lucky all my tags are intact they act as a good prompt to the caption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 31 minutes ago, Nick Hatton said: on my way now! OK, good luck, although I don't use it myself you might take a look at Alamy Lightroom Bridge that Sally recommended above and asking Alamy to fix your download data button wouldn't do any harm. Note that Alamy themselves say in their Keywording FAQ: Q. I have all my tags in a spreadsheet, can I send it to you to add to my images?A. Yes, no problem. Just send them to our Image Management team at im@alamy.com with your account details and we’ll apply the metadata for you. https://www.alamy.com/contributor/faqs/captioning-and-keywording/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 Pushed the button to download my data then forgot I had done it. Went back just now and saw the button had changed to "Download". Pushed the new button and whalla! I have my info. Now the fun starts. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Hatton Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 All sorted, not only have those wonderful folks at Alamy got my down load data button working they have re instated all my missing captions! Never have anything bad said about them again! 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Nick Hatton said: All sorted, not only have those wonderful folks at Alamy got my down load data button working they have re instated all my missing captions! Never have anything bad said about them again! Wow! That's great! wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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