Smart Albums including foreign images from OUTSIDE Session
I was organizing a recent Session and noticed that photos that were not contained in any of the Session Folders started to show up in my Smart Albums. 😕
This was quite bizarre so I selected one of the foreign photos and chose 'Show in Library' - I was taken to a folder in my file system that I had once designated as an Output Location, but is not part of the Session. I went to the Output Location tool and double checked that the Output Location was currently set to the Output Folder in the Session, and it was. Just to be doubly sure I reset the tool again, but this did not solve the problem - the foreign photos were still showing up in my Smart Albums. I tried deleting and recreating Smart Albums, but each time I did, the foreign photos would return.
It seems that somehow this folder I once designated as an Output Location was linked to my Session and I needed to figure out how to remove it. I used the System Folders tool to navigate to the source of the foreign photos and tried to remove it from the Session, but to my shock and frustration, it DELETED IT FROM MY FILE SYSTEM. 😲
Luckily this folder was relatively unimportant and thanks to Time Machine I am able to recover it but, geez... – could have just as easily been a folder of original files... WTF, CaptureOne? 😡
Despite the folder having been deleted from within Capture One, the foreign photos are STILL being referenced in my SmartAlbums – but because they were deleted I am seeing the missing photo ❓ icon in their place. I'm guessing that once I recover the deleted folder the foreign photos will return – which means that my Smart Albums STILL aren't clean. 🤬
Does designating a folder as an Output Location permanently associate it with a Session?
If so, is this a feature or a bug?
❓ How do I break the connection between my Session and the non-related folder so that my Smart Albums work properly again?
Capture One Pro 11.1
Mac OS 10.13.6
iMac 27-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB RAM
This was quite bizarre so I selected one of the foreign photos and chose 'Show in Library' - I was taken to a folder in my file system that I had once designated as an Output Location, but is not part of the Session. I went to the Output Location tool and double checked that the Output Location was currently set to the Output Folder in the Session, and it was. Just to be doubly sure I reset the tool again, but this did not solve the problem - the foreign photos were still showing up in my Smart Albums. I tried deleting and recreating Smart Albums, but each time I did, the foreign photos would return.
It seems that somehow this folder I once designated as an Output Location was linked to my Session and I needed to figure out how to remove it. I used the System Folders tool to navigate to the source of the foreign photos and tried to remove it from the Session, but to my shock and frustration, it DELETED IT FROM MY FILE SYSTEM. 😲
Luckily this folder was relatively unimportant and thanks to Time Machine I am able to recover it but, geez... – could have just as easily been a folder of original files... WTF, CaptureOne? 😡
Despite the folder having been deleted from within Capture One, the foreign photos are STILL being referenced in my SmartAlbums – but because they were deleted I am seeing the missing photo ❓ icon in their place. I'm guessing that once I recover the deleted folder the foreign photos will return – which means that my Smart Albums STILL aren't clean. 🤬
Does designating a folder as an Output Location permanently associate it with a Session?
If so, is this a feature or a bug?
❓ How do I break the connection between my Session and the non-related folder so that my Smart Albums work properly again?
Capture One Pro 11.1
Mac OS 10.13.6
iMac 27-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB RAM
0
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Two thoughts.
Firstly when you head into the System Files from Capture One you are in the System Files via the OS, as far as I understand things. What you do in there is System related NOT Capture One related. C1 merely facilitates a quick access rather than forcing you to start over through the System interface once you have identified the folder you need.
Secondly - have you checked your "Favourites" folders listed for the session?
If the images in an Output folder are showing as selections in a Smart folder is suggests that at some point that output folder has been associated with the session as a "Favourite" folder - perhaps for some sort of editing activity that you may have forgotten about or not recognised at the time.
That would be something to check as a starting point.
If not there may be some other, similar sort of association in play.
Failing that run a Verification activity against the Session to see if that produces and messsages that offer other ideas.
HTH.
Grant0 -
Thanks for taking time to help me address this issue.
First, I have noted your explanation about the quick access to System Files. Thanks!
Second, about Favourites folders - I have never used that feature, don't even know why I would use it but on your advice I checked in the Session and as expected, there were no folders at all listed in Session Favorites tool.
Note that since posting my original issue I restored the deleted folder from Time Machine.
I ran a verification and the database failed. I repaired it and then visited one of my Smart Albums. Sadly, the foreign images are still turning up in there. Apparently the folder is still associated with my Session somehow, someway. 😕
Is there some other way that the foreign folder may have become linked to my Session?0 -
Al I can suggest is to check the following:
Session Folders.
Capture
Selects
Output
Trash
If you are using the default session file structure you will have a folder called Capture BUT the 'Capture' referred to in the Session Folders section of the library is a LINK and might possibly point elsewhere. It would be worth checking where it is pointing if only for completeness.
The same goes for Selects.
Output, so far as I know, is not automatically included as a searched folder whether it refers to the Session's Output folder or some other folder.
Trash by default points to the session trash folder BUT can be directed elsewhere and as I recall (I rarely use session trash) is still included in searches/smart albums if using the "All Images" special smart album.
Session Albums.
All Images - is a smart album that selects All Images 'known' to the session UNLESS there is additional filtering in play.
Five Stars - is an example Smart Album that only selects images tagged as 5 stars.
After that you will see any Albums or Smart Albums that you have created PLUS any albums that C1 has created when importing images to the session. (Do you use the Import option?
The C1 created import albums will may have titles but the default is to create an album named "Untitled Album" in the expectation that users will want to provide their own names. These albums point to a collection of images rather than a folder. Import may be used to distribute images into many folders and the Album provides a way to reach all of the images selected for import in a single import process batch.
After that in the library comes the Favourite folders section but if you don't use that then that section should be empty.
How many sessions do you have?
Are they all affected by this odd association?
I'm not a Mac user so if there are any odd quirks of the Session Database file that might be in play (its not impossible that ones computer has managed to create some incorrect internal database links in some way that results in you seeing this apparent anomaly - I have had it happen before with Windows but extremely rarely) I'm not the person to offer help to work out a resolution.
The fact that the verification process spotted a problem may or may not be relevant to this particular matter.
If there is someone with Mac experience who could help you double check you session file that would be great. Otherwise I would suggest that you create a Support Case and get the Capture One Support Team involved. They may be able to spot something odd happening by reviewing the Log files.
It seems likely that C1's database thinks the rogue folder is connected to the session and available for searching but the question is why.
As a matter of interest, given this only started a short time ago, which release of Mac operating system are you running?
Grant0 -
Thanks again for the thoughtful reply.
My Capture folder is pointed to the correct place - otherwise I would have no relevant photos in the session - I did double check, just in case.
Selects Folder: never really use this one, but verified that it is using the default.
Output Folder as I said has been reset, but had at one time temporarily been set to the folder that is now inexplicably associated with my session. By the way, this temporary reassigning of Output folder is something I do regularly, as I process some photos directly to DropBox, others to local folders for various purposes, etc.. Don't recall having this problem where a non-default Output folder gets stuck. Due to this issue, I think I will be using sub-folders in my process recipes from now on and keeping everything in the default Output Folder
Trash is also default and appears to be functioning.
Session Albums: the Five Star and All Images Session Albums are definitely referencing photos from the foreign folder, as are some of the Smart Albums I created (which the problem which prompted the original post).
How many sessions do I have? I don't really know... dozens.... nearly 50 i suppose. I've created a new session for each new shoot since spring of 2017.
None of my other Sessions have this problem (that I am aware of). I opened an older version of the Session that is giving me the trouble, one from my weekly backup drive (last backed up 4 days ago) and this out of date version of the Session did not exhibit the foreign photo problem, however I have made significant changes to the Session in the last 4 days and it is not worth undoing the last days work to go back.
I listed my OS version and info about my machine in the original post - copying below for reference:
Capture One Pro 11.1
Mac OS 10.13.6
iMac 27-inch 2.93GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB RAM0 -
Re. OS Version - sorry, forgot to double check as I had in mind it was not previously mentioned.
It's difficult to know what else to suggest at this point.
Hands on in front of a screen some ideas might come to mind but realistically I think raising a Support Case might be your best option. It's a pity we have the weekend ahead - you probably won't see a response until next week. However the sooner you create a Case the sooner you are likely to get to a resolution.
Defining Output Folders in the Process Recipe is certainly my preferred approach ... but I don't know of a way that simply assigning a folder as the Output Folder for a session would make it a permanently connected folder. That's not to say is does not happen; rather it's not something I have come across and I certainly would not expect it to persist as a known connection once the link had been further amended.
Grant0 -
I believe I may have just 'fixed' the issue.
Searching for clues, I right clicked on the Output Folder in the Session Folders tool and selected "Show Info." Below the folder path in the info box was a dropdown menu that showed "Relative to session" as being selected. I switched it to "Absolute" then back to "Relative to session" and the foreign photos disappeared.
I have no idea why this worked, but convinces me that the problem related to my temporarily switching of the Output Folder in the Output tool tab.
Doesn't explain much but at least my issue has been resolved.0
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