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ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / ThumbsPlus: Great app, but it could stand to lose weight
« on: 2011-05-27 09:53:27 »
> Hi, Cerious!
>
> Love your ThumsPlus Pro V8, and I'm considering buying it. I've followed the program through its various incarnations over the years (I bought it once, years ago, and I'm sure I've lost the reg. key, so I won't even try asking for a free upgrade). Anyway, I've tried V.8 Pro, and I'd like to ask a quick question or two before buying if I may...
> For me, the chief attraction of the app is its editing functions.
> I definitely do not want or need the database functions. Frankly, it's a mystery to me why they are still included, given the speed and physical memory specs of today's typical home systems. Even though it seems to be designed to do so, I really don't need the app to store a huge, exhaustive thumbnail snapshot of all the
> thousands of images on my system between editing sessions, since I
> rarely work with more than a few images in one or two directories
> at a time, and my system specs are more than adequate for generating thumbnails on the fly when start a session. So, the questions are these:
>
> 1. Is Pro V. 8 the right version for me, or is there a more
> lightweight version that leaves out the database bloat but retains
> the very useful batch editing capabilities?
>
> 2. Is there a way to just switch off the persistent database
> thumbnail storage in V. 8 and force the app to read the directory
> structure and generate thumbnails on the fly when I point it at a
> particular directory?
>
> 3. I noticed as I used the app that it retains obsolte directory
> references even after i've deleted directories from the system. This is bizarre.
> The program seems to assume that users' systems are more static
> than they in fact are. I have lots of USB sattelite drives and
> other virtual devices that I'm constantly mouting, unmounting, hot-swapping....another reason not to try to maintain a big, static database. Do you have a leaner, more efficient version of your app?
>
> Thanks alot for your time in answering my questions....
> cheers
I would say then you are using the WRONG type of program... what you really want is simply an image editor/viewer - something akin to Bridge and Photoshop. The main benefit of a DAM application IS its database which is used for fast searching, tagging, editing, etc... if you don't have a catalog,, how quickly do you locate a: RED FLOWER taken with a 90MM lens in JUNE 2010? The catalog will enable you to quickly and easily search its database to locate this.... if you are not storing this info, then the program would need to pour through your images which takes a seriuosly long time - even on modern systems. Also, a good DAM program will allow you to email images, create web galleries, slideshows, edit images, store versions, complex searches, auto-sync XMP, perform scripting,, renaming, etc...
Idimager allows you to read your external media and create previews in the database (another reason for you to use a catalog). Then, the external media is still available for preview and search capabilities even without the original media...
>
> Love your ThumsPlus Pro V8, and I'm considering buying it. I've followed the program through its various incarnations over the years (I bought it once, years ago, and I'm sure I've lost the reg. key, so I won't even try asking for a free upgrade). Anyway, I've tried V.8 Pro, and I'd like to ask a quick question or two before buying if I may...
> For me, the chief attraction of the app is its editing functions.
> I definitely do not want or need the database functions. Frankly, it's a mystery to me why they are still included, given the speed and physical memory specs of today's typical home systems. Even though it seems to be designed to do so, I really don't need the app to store a huge, exhaustive thumbnail snapshot of all the
> thousands of images on my system between editing sessions, since I
> rarely work with more than a few images in one or two directories
> at a time, and my system specs are more than adequate for generating thumbnails on the fly when start a session. So, the questions are these:
>
> 1. Is Pro V. 8 the right version for me, or is there a more
> lightweight version that leaves out the database bloat but retains
> the very useful batch editing capabilities?
>
> 2. Is there a way to just switch off the persistent database
> thumbnail storage in V. 8 and force the app to read the directory
> structure and generate thumbnails on the fly when I point it at a
> particular directory?
>
> 3. I noticed as I used the app that it retains obsolte directory
> references even after i've deleted directories from the system. This is bizarre.
> The program seems to assume that users' systems are more static
> than they in fact are. I have lots of USB sattelite drives and
> other virtual devices that I'm constantly mouting, unmounting, hot-swapping....another reason not to try to maintain a big, static database. Do you have a leaner, more efficient version of your app?
>
> Thanks alot for your time in answering my questions....
> cheers
I would say then you are using the WRONG type of program... what you really want is simply an image editor/viewer - something akin to Bridge and Photoshop. The main benefit of a DAM application IS its database which is used for fast searching, tagging, editing, etc... if you don't have a catalog,, how quickly do you locate a: RED FLOWER taken with a 90MM lens in JUNE 2010? The catalog will enable you to quickly and easily search its database to locate this.... if you are not storing this info, then the program would need to pour through your images which takes a seriuosly long time - even on modern systems. Also, a good DAM program will allow you to email images, create web galleries, slideshows, edit images, store versions, complex searches, auto-sync XMP, perform scripting,, renaming, etc...
Idimager allows you to read your external media and create previews in the database (another reason for you to use a catalog). Then, the external media is still available for preview and search capabilities even without the original media...