Recommendations wanted Photo cataloging software with keywords in custom fields.

[BoBman]

Hi,

I need a new file cataloging software, that does photos and ideally also non photos for PC inc its removeable media such as Cd DVD usb HDD etc.

Not £1000 a year or £70 a month but a one of 'affordable' payment, something like £100 or so.

For photos I had been using Extensis Portfolio but they have stopped the program and also the server version $6000/yr wont open the standalone catalogs. user forum closed and no tech support.  A very thorough kick in the teeth to users of the prog.

I have photos with a need for keywording with many KW's, I want to keep my keywords in user created fields such as villages, carTypes, AircraftTypes, EmotionalTerms, peopleNames and so on as done in portfolio (customFields).

Advantage being I can be aided in remembering what keyword to give by seeing it in a short list, else I have to remember the keyword before ploughing through thousands in one very long drop down list to find it. Especially useful if I wish to allocate a descriptive term such as Moody or Magical , seeing the list gives me ideas on what to tag the pic with. Reminds me of the name of someone else I have to remember the name before finding it in 1000's of keywords.

Ability to search on the KW'a using multiple methods 'and 'or' 'include' 'exclude' etc. then open the image full size on screen SAME QUALITY AS ORIGINAL.

 

What program is there that will do this, and indicate folders where content has changed and needs thumbnailing and keywording ?

 

To also have it catalog non photos, excel files docx pdf sound files, cad files, etc etc would be good as my catalog prog for those has ceased also.

 

BoBman

[Vincent Lowe]

Have a look at IMatch - I think it will do everything you want except user-created keyword fields, as iMatch conforms strictly to IPTC/EXIF standards.  However, one of the key features is 'Categories' - similar to keywords except these are stored in IMatch not in the image file.  You can have as many categories as you want in a hierarchical system as simple or as complicated as you like.

 

You can download a 30 day trial available to see if it meets your needs.  US$109.99 to buy.    www.photools.com

[scotstock]

Have a look at Thumbs Plus at http://www.cerious.com. We've been using it for many years and found nothing else that's anywhere near as good on PC. You can send photos to external programs such as Photoshop, and search in a variety of ways. Custom fields are no problem.

 

You can use the built-in MS Access engine or a proper client-server setup, either remote or local. We use a PostgreSQL server on the network.