> I use LR 2, and I don't use keywords at all. I didn't like > it in Elements > organizer, I don't like it in LR. I have it just reflect my > files on disk. So > one doesn't HAVE to use keywords, collections or metadata. > (I prefer not to > have to know TWO files organization systems -- I know how I > organize my files > on disk). >
Using keywords is not an organising or a storage strategy, it is a retrieval strategy. The real benefit of keywords compared to hierarchical organisation is that it is a much more flexible way of searching, retrieving and grouping. A hierarchy is usually just a rather rigid way of grouping things, and is usually severely limited when it comes to searching and retrieving. With keywords it doesn't matter where your data is stored, or how you've organised your filestore. For example you could store everything in one folder. If you need a hierarchical grouping, for example one based on subsets such as Animalia.Chordata.Mammalia.Canine.Fido, whereby you may want to retrieve all Chordata, keywording doesn't prevent you from doing that, and some system, including LR, provide a way for you to define it once only. One the other hand, if you have a picture which includes Fido along with your pet bacteria, a couple of plants and your holiday cottage on Galapagos which you share with your friends the Grizwolds, having one hierarchy is probably going to cause you some problems. One solution to that would be to have a system which makes it possible to include the same picture in multiple hierarchies, but as soon as you do that you are in effect keywording. It's obviously a matter of opinion, but I hate hierarchical file systems, and I loathe having to know how things are organised on the disk. This may be because I'm something of a purist about relational theory, but I started programming at a time when you literally had to decide exactly which platter, sector, cylinder etc. of which disk you wanted to put your file on, and later read it from, so all that nonsense seriously got in the way of doing what you actually wanted to do it, namely store and retrieve some data. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
