On my previous Mac (initially OS Yosemite, then updated to High Sierra), I was using the 11.0.23 version of Tropy, which was the most stable version on my end. I have now got myself a M4 machine, running on the latest OS, and have installed the Silicon-friendly app.
I would like to move my project(s) with all their associated data, like lists and tags, but there is nothing on this in the user guides, unless I’m unable to find the right one - all I see relates to moving project images, which in my case are scattered all over my device, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s a consolidation issue, in case the image path on my new device is different.
How am I supposed to import tags and some such to a new machine with a fresh install of Tropy? do I just recreate the ‘project’ file location, plonk the project file there, and the tags reappear as if by magic? because I suspect all the project data I’ve entered isn’t stored in the project file - is it perhaps in the ‘Library’ folder? in which case how is it supposed to transfer to a freshly installed copy of the app?
when I open the project on my old Mac, and go to preferences, there is a box saying ‘export notes as HTML’, but nothing about lists or tags - does that mean I have to recreate everything?
A detailed guide, or a link to one, would be most helpful.
To move a project from one device to another, you need to transfer the project file (that’s a database file with all the metadata, tags, lists and modifications you made to the images) and the original files. If the images files relatively easy to move (i.e., they are all in a handful of folders that can be moved/copied) then that’s the best way to transfer the project.
If the files are really scattered across many locations and it’s not straightforward to move them all, the easiest solution would be to use the Archive plugin to export a ZIP file containing all your images and metadata. This file can be easily moved and imported into a new project on another device. The only shortcoming is that lists are not transferred this way. If you’d like to preserve the lists, you could, however, export a ZIP file for each list, re-create the list in the new project and import each ZIP file into the list in the new project.
ok, so I tried transferring one project file, and thankfully it preserves its structure intact, only that, as expected, images are broken due to changed paths.
speaking of which, if I re-organise my files and rename the folders, will the lists associated with them update - as in consolidate - automatically, or will I need to do it all manually?
e.g. if one list was for files in, say, _rootfolder, and I change it to rootfolder, will, nested lists auto-update?
The project file really contains all information about the project, but not the images themselves. In the project file, each photo has a reference to the image file on your disk and this is how Tropy will find the images. For this reason, moving the project involves moving the project file and all the images. Generally, how easy or difficult it is to transfer the images depends on where they are located on your computer.
If the paths to the photos change (because you move/rename the photos or because you transfer them to a new device) the paths stored in the Tropy project need to be updated: this is what happens when you consolidate photos. If you consolidate one photo via Tropy’s UI by selecting it again via the file picker, Tropy may afterwards be able to automatically consolidate all the other photos in the project. But this depends on whether or not the necessary changes can be inferred from the updated path. For example, if a common root folder has changed, other files should also get updated. On the other hand, if the file name changed, for example, there’s no way to automatically guess how to update other paths. Additionally, auto-consolidation will only work if you’ve already moved all the files beforehand.
It’s usually also possible to apply more complicated path changes in bulk by updating the paths directly in the project database file. This involves changing the database file using the sqlite3 command-line tool. Please make a backup copy of the project file before using it!
To list all the paths currently stored in your project file you can use the following command in the Terminal, using the full path to your project file:
$ sqlite3 project.tpy "select path from photos order by path"
And you could update, e.g., a common root folder in all paths with a command like:
The change above could be used if you moved photos from the Downloads folder to Pictures/Tropy for example. We can help you with the exact command if you tell us where the images were stored on your old device and where you want them to be on the new device.
oh, this is getting very technical, I think I’ll try the consolidation method first, before I fiddle with terminal commands. the vast majority will only be affected by changes in paths, not file names (based on previous experience, I find it easier to just re-upload the files).
I’m actually thinking of transferring all my project images to a portable USB key, or multiple even, as in a key for each project, and then getting a larger backup drive to archive them all, because having all my images stored internally is not really viable - at some point, I’ll just run out of space. presumably what this will mean in practice is that I’ll need to have the key plugged in when working, in order to be able to view the images it contains via Tropy, which is fine by me.
For storing everything on a portable drive it’s recommended to set the project to use paths relative to the project file. This way the paths will work regardless of where/how the drive is mounted in your device’s file system. You can enable the setting in the project preferences window, but you should only change the setting while all files are fully consolidated.
It’s directly relevant, yes, and you can keep the project file off the portable drive (this has the benefit that you can access the project even when the drive is not connected, though you wouldn’t be able to view the full-size images).
However, portable drives often have different mount points on different computers, so if you’re planning to access the project from different devices, the best practice is to set the project to store links to images using relative paths. And to ensure that these paths are stable across devices you would put the project file and the images in the same folder (or have them share a common root folder on the portable drive). It’s not a requirement though.
I meant irrelevant as in not mandatory. I don’t intend to access my projects from other devices, so I should be fine with the project file on mine, and project’s data on the key, but I will pop the project file on the key as a backup.