Just to be sure we are reading the same page, the DT v3 manual is here: https://darktable.gitlab.io/doc/en/ (there are still v2 manuals going around).
> What I have discovered, by pressing the 'folder' button in import, is a > window labelled 'import film' ..wait!, what ? Please read the manual, it's defined there: https://darktable.gitlab.io/doc/en/lighttable_concepts.html#film_rolls > Ignoring this confusion I notice an entry in the last of places in this > window which says 'Home' and sure enough it takes me to C:\Users\<myuserid>\ > - where no Pictures folder exists. So how can DT import images to the default > location $(PICTURES_FOLDER}\Darktable ? And, indeed I find no 'Darktable' > folder within my E:\Pictures folder after an import attempt. Please read the manual: https://darktable.gitlab.io/doc/en/lighttable_panels.html#import, specially the last paragraph under "Import from filesystem". You're misunderstanding what "Import" means for DT. When you import a picture or folder into DT, you're just telling it where they are and making them available in the lighttable. DT will save an entry in its internal database pointing to the location of the picture and (optionally) create an xmp sidecar file for each one. But it will never* move or touch your files in any way, it will respect your folder structure (which is a good thing if you want to use it in conjunction with iMatch as you said, both programs do the same). *exceptions: if you import directly from a camera or use the lightable module to move the files. > What is one supposed to do with the symbolic addresses, like '$(HOME)' and > '$(PICTURES_FOLDER)' ? Should I replace them with actual addresses, like > 'E:\Pictures', as Bruce Williams suggests in his videos? That doesn't seem to > work either. As it says in the first paragraph of section 8.3 (https://darktable.gitlab.io/doc/en/session_options.html) "Session options" only apply to pictures imported directly from a camera, not when importing pictures that are already in the computer. For pictures already in the computer DT will respect your folder structure and won't move the files. For pictures imported from cameras, especially if your folders are not in the "standard" Windows locations, probably you're better off putting the actual address there to avoid confusions. > How do I find out what 'the home folder as defined by the system' means ? It means exactly what it says: when you press "Home" in your file explorer, it takes you to this folder. In Windows it's usually "C:\Users\<myuserid>\", although I think you can modify it somewhere. > What doesn't work even more, to my expectation, than the above is my attempt > to import from the SD card taken from my camera: I end up with a collection > which points to an F: drive - the drive letter that is assigned when a card > reader is attached to my system. Naturally then once the card is returned to > the camera, attempts to edit the imported images fail with an error message > telling me that the image is not available. This is completely different to > my expectation: that the import from an SD card would place a COPY of the > image somewhere on my harddrive and allow me to carry on using the card in > the camera. Why does it not do this in my system? It seems you're mounting the SD card before opening it with DT (https://darktable.gitlab.io/doc/en/darktable_basic_workflow.html#darktable_basic_workflow_importing_from_camera). Once the card is mounted in the system (meaning: you can access it with the file explorer), it will appear for all the programs as part of the computer filesystem, in your case as drive "F:". DT doesn't know that the F: drive is removable, so it just applies the same method it would use for any other system folder as I described above (and, of course, it will miss the picture files once you remove the card). You need to prevent the system from auto-mounting the card (I don't know how you do it in Windows, but it should be possible). Then, a new device should show under the "scan for devices" section on the import module (https://darktable.gitlab.io/doc/en/lighttable_panels.html#import_from_camera). However, this is a bit of a hit or miss, depending on your camera or SD card reader, operating system, drivers, etc. it may show or not. If it doesn't consistently show, you may be better off using a dedicated program for SD card import (my recommendation Rapid Photo Downloader is not available in Windows, unfortunately). To be clear: if you want Darktable to copy the images from the card or camera to the locations and with the file names defined in "Session options", you need to use the "import from camera" button, not the "folder" or "image" buttons. Best regards, Guillermo ____________________________________________________________________________ darktable user mailing list to unsubscribe send a mail to [email protected]
