Drive name of image source changed (Mac)
I need to reconstruct the links to my files having cloned my images to a larger external drive.
Only the drive name has changed.
I’m using Mac with C1 vers. 11 and several hundred session albums. These session albums are left in place so that I can revisit edits or incomplete jobs. I don’t use the catalog function.
All proxies, thumbnails and cos files are kept on the external drive in the relevant folders, which is also where I send images after processing in C1.
I don’t use output, selects and trash folders.
So all original RAWs, processed files and C1 relevant files are kept on the external drive, which is now called 5TB instead of 4TB.
C1 doesn’t show the new external drive as being offline, but I cannot select individual albums to “locate†as the function is not shown. I can only remap images on an individual basis, which is an impossible time consuming task due to the quantity.
Is there a central “remap to this drive†function somewhere? It took me only minutes to do this using my DAM software. Surely C1 must have this somewhere, even if hidden?
Thanks in advance.
Only the drive name has changed.
I’m using Mac with C1 vers. 11 and several hundred session albums. These session albums are left in place so that I can revisit edits or incomplete jobs. I don’t use the catalog function.
All proxies, thumbnails and cos files are kept on the external drive in the relevant folders, which is also where I send images after processing in C1.
I don’t use output, selects and trash folders.
So all original RAWs, processed files and C1 relevant files are kept on the external drive, which is now called 5TB instead of 4TB.
C1 doesn’t show the new external drive as being offline, but I cannot select individual albums to “locate†as the function is not shown. I can only remap images on an individual basis, which is an impossible time consuming task due to the quantity.
Is there a central “remap to this drive†function somewhere? It took me only minutes to do this using my DAM software. Surely C1 must have this somewhere, even if hidden?
Thanks in advance.
-
I assume you work with a catalog, although I am not sure from your post.
Albums are not mapped, because they are virtual. Folder are mapped and located, or re-located, because they are physical.
In your catalog, go to the Library tool, and to the Folder section in that tool. Right-click on the old drive name (4TB) and choose Relocate. Browse to the root folder of your of your new drive (5TB) open it.
Once the new location is known to the catalog, all images in their albums will automatically link to the new location. -
I do not use the catalog function, I only use session albums. I wish I could post a screenshot to make it easier.
What do you mean that sessions are only virtual? I see many entries of a path name (to the old drive) in the CaptureOneIC.log file.
I cannot see 4TB, I can only see the internal drive and the 5TB drive under system folders, bottom left of screen.
Thanks. -
Correct, I do not use catalogs.
I hope these screenshots illustrate the situation? The first shows the right click options available for the albums.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5z53e1t84kozqks/Capture%20One%2011ScreenSnapz004.jpg?dl=0
The second shows some images from within one album which I have laboriously located individually. The others have not yet been located, as it would be an impossibly long task.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsgizyetxvw502o/Capture%20One%2011ScreenSnapz005.jpg?dl=0
The third shows where the albums are located on the C1 screen. The albums are all in one session.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rt8gaqs9plicnuz/Capture%20One%2011ScreenSnapz006.jpg?dl=0
Incidentally, the session name and the names of the underlying albums have not changed since swapping the drives. Only the drive name has changed. I could change it back temporarily if that would solve the problem.
Thanks. -
Hi,
I looked at the screenshots - thank you - and read your initial post again. This is an interesting case.
To summarize, you use a session in a way the catalog was designed for. And that is exactly the issue here.
In a session, there is no locate command because a session does not keep track of the files location. It is assumed to be inside the session's parent folder (you can technically go outside that folder, but that was not the design philosophy). The album is a kind of bonus feature to create different views of the images inside the session.
A catalog on the other hand, is great in handling images spread over countless storage locations, even disconnected locations. When you move images to another drive, just relocate them.
Albums are key to the catalog design as it is here where you create your own views, completely independent from the physical location of the images. If you move images and relocate them, the Album will never know. It does not care.
Now that you have countless albums in a session, and change the location of the files, you instantly run out of luck.
So what to do: either rename you drive back (short term solution) or start playing with a catalog. Ultimately, when you have reverted your drive swap, you could import the session(s) into a catalog, and then make the drive swap, relocate and done.
You just used the wrong tool for the job. -
[quote="Paul_Steunebrink" wrote:
This is an interesting case. To summarize, you use a session in a way the catalog was designed for. And that is exactly the issue here. You just used the wrong tool for the job.
As I remember Paul, Capture One was designed initially to use sessions and Media One Pro did not do a good job as a DAM. So I chose another DAM and used Capture One just for processing images in a session (& albums), which still my current workflow.[quote="Paul_Steunebrink" wrote:
So what to do: either rename you drive back (short term solution) or start playing with a catalog. Ultimately, when you have reverted your drive swap, you could import the session(s) into a catalog, and then make the drive swap, relocate and done.
I have been rethinking that strategy but imagine that I will “lose†all of those thumbnails when I revert to the original drive name. This problem will repeat every time a drive needs replacing.
As I mentioned above, I see a path name (to the old drive) in the CaptureOneIC.log file, which appears to be hard encoded. Is there nowhere to tell C1 when the location of the session (parent folder) drive? I only have one session, so is that not an easy task? -
[quote="NN635356811825979550UL" wrote:
Is there nowhere to tell C1 when the location of the session (parent folder) drive? I only have one session, so is that not an easy task?
With a session, image folders are relative to a session (mostly those that are inside the parent folder) or absolute (typically outside the parent folder).
Relative automatically updates when they are moved to another drive, absolute relations not. I assume your image folders are not relative to the session's main folder.
Please note, that even when relative to the session parent folder, I would make each folder a session favorite first, to make it known to the session.
Please backup your .cosessiondb file frequently, as it contains all information. This is a database file that holds track of the folder locations. There is no option in Capture One to update this location when using a session, only with a catalog.
Weird idea:
import your session into a catalog, relocate the missing folders, and export as session again.
Easier said than done, of course. -
[quote="Paul_Steunebrink" wrote:
With a session, image folders are relative to a session (mostly those that are inside the parent folder) or absolute (typically outside the parent folder).
Relative automatically updates when they are moved to another drive, absolute relations not. I assume your image folders are not relative to the session's main folder.
Please note, that even when relative to the session parent folder, I would make each folder a session favorite first, to make it known to the session.
I am trying to understand this... -
I find this confusing. I am using sessions (actually only one session) and many underlying albums. You have mentioned session but not albums. Is this what you mean when you write folders?
If you allow, I will try to clarify your post by adding comments in double brackets:
With a session, image folders <<are those the albums or the folders in my 'image directory' where all original images are located?>> are relative to a session (mostly those that are inside the parent folder) <<is the parent folder the directory where all original image folders are located?>> or absolute (typically outside the parent folder). <<Where are files found if they are not in the image directory?>>
Relative automatically updates when they are moved to another drive, absolute relations not. I assume your image folders <<see above>> are not relative to the session's main folder. <<I cannot answer that>>.
Please note, that even when relative to the session parent folder, I would make each folder a session favorite first, to make it known to the session. <<This might be clearer later>> -
When I wrote 'folders', I meant folders and when I wrote 'albums', I meant albums.
You can see folders in the Finder. Albums you can not see in Finder, only in Capture One.
Sorry about the confusion I have caused. The terminology 'relative' and 'absolute' are not used nowadays. In the past, it was visible in Capture One (must be long time ago).
If "My Session" is the parent folder of the session, the Capture folder is immediately below that parent. In macOS notation ../Capture, which means one level below. That location is stored in the session database.
When you move the session to another location, the relation of the Capture folder below the parent folder remains unchanged, hence relative (to the parent folder).
Folders outside the session's parent folder do not have such a relationship to that parent folder. That is meant with absolute and the relationship is broken once you move the session folder. -
Many thanks.
Until today it was not clear what a mess C1 creates as it does not allow “flexible paths†of files when using sessions. By “flexible pathsâ€, I mean being able to remap the location. If all images are on one drive and have identical names with an identical folder structure (i.e. a “clone of the original non-serving driveâ€), then it should be possible to re-map the drive. C1 will not even allow folders to be ‘located’, but insists on one selecting each image individually!
Everybody is going to have to replace their image drive at some time, but it’s impossible to plan for theft, damage or even a bad drive. I have had 2 bad drives from a great brand in 2019!
I have now labelled all sessions, so that the content is easier to find on the new drive. I have also started duplicate sessions with the same content and as all C1 settings are in the individual image folders, the edits can be seen. Probably now the original sessions can be deleted after verification.
However, it’s more complex and time consuming when a session is a compilation of images from various folders on the drive.
I would have to find my notes, but when I last tried years ago, catalogs were a disaster due to the way C1 handles metadata. That’s why my workflow was based around sessions and still is.
This process will start again when the new drive has to be replaced if the sessions still contain work-in-progress images. This is not a good solution C1, in fact it’s far from a solution!
Paul, thanks again for your help and a Happy New Year.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
11 comments