Creating two sets of data on laptop and USB SSD
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johnbarrett
- Posts: 100
- Joined: 27 Jun 18 14:36
Creating two sets of data on laptop and USB SSD
I have a query on using Photo Supreme on my laptop. I have a tower with all images saved on it so a full catalogue on Photo Supreme on theta PC. My laptop is mainly used when I am away from home so only keep the current year on it. But for backups I have a SSD drive with all the images which I save the new data too as I go. It occurs to me I could use the full data when away with Photo Supreme BUT there would be two sets of data for 2025, one on laptop the other on SSD drive. I know if the SSD drive isn’t in place its contents will be marked but will as absent Photo Supreme deal with the two folders of the current year?
Re: Creating two sets of data on laptop and USB SSD
Yes, you can do what you what you want, but with care.
First, if you just plug the SSD into your laptop, Photo Supreme doesn’t know about the photos on the SSD so won’t use them. You would need to import the photos into the laptop Photo Supreme database but without moving the photos, easily done with “Import to Catalog”. The down side is this will take a long time depending on how many photos are on the SSD and as you already worked out, you will have two copies of the current years photos. Photo Supreme can handle the two copies but it will not be what you desire. This will definitely work, but not what you require as you will need to be careful which of the duplicate images you update when cataloguing, etc.
My suggestion is to do things differently. I would ditch the photos from your laptop drive and just use the photos on the external SSD. That way there are no duplicates and you still have access to all your photos. After the first time import of the SSD to the laptop Photo Supreme database, you would just need to do a “Verify Folder” on the SSD to get the laptop database up to date with the SSD latest files and cataloguing which should be relatively quick depending on the number of altered images.
When you go away with the laptop, you can view and catalog your images without the SSD plugged in based on the data in the Photo Supreme database. You will only need to plug in the SSD if you need access to the full size images. At some point, you will need to plug in the SSD and write any out of sync images (those you have catalogued) back to the SSD, at least when you get home. You then need to sync any changes you made to any image on the SSD to your desktop. There are plenty of sync programs which can handle syncing the files quickly and efficiently, and once synced to the desktop, a simple “Verify Folder” in Photo Supreme desktop will import the latest changes to the desktop database.
This is my suggestion on how I would handle this situation.
First, if you just plug the SSD into your laptop, Photo Supreme doesn’t know about the photos on the SSD so won’t use them. You would need to import the photos into the laptop Photo Supreme database but without moving the photos, easily done with “Import to Catalog”. The down side is this will take a long time depending on how many photos are on the SSD and as you already worked out, you will have two copies of the current years photos. Photo Supreme can handle the two copies but it will not be what you desire. This will definitely work, but not what you require as you will need to be careful which of the duplicate images you update when cataloguing, etc.
My suggestion is to do things differently. I would ditch the photos from your laptop drive and just use the photos on the external SSD. That way there are no duplicates and you still have access to all your photos. After the first time import of the SSD to the laptop Photo Supreme database, you would just need to do a “Verify Folder” on the SSD to get the laptop database up to date with the SSD latest files and cataloguing which should be relatively quick depending on the number of altered images.
When you go away with the laptop, you can view and catalog your images without the SSD plugged in based on the data in the Photo Supreme database. You will only need to plug in the SSD if you need access to the full size images. At some point, you will need to plug in the SSD and write any out of sync images (those you have catalogued) back to the SSD, at least when you get home. You then need to sync any changes you made to any image on the SSD to your desktop. There are plenty of sync programs which can handle syncing the files quickly and efficiently, and once synced to the desktop, a simple “Verify Folder” in Photo Supreme desktop will import the latest changes to the desktop database.
This is my suggestion on how I would handle this situation.
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johnbarrett
- Posts: 100
- Joined: 27 Jun 18 14:36
Re: Creating two sets of data on laptop and USB SSD
Thanks for such a detailed reply. It sounds just using the USB would work best. It occurs to be could I not copy over the database from the desk PC and get PS to accept the USB from that? John
Re: Creating two sets of data on laptop and USB SSD
Funny you should think that. I thought of the same possibility last night.
Yes, you could just copy the database from the desktop to the laptop. A simple copy of the database files will work or a backup/restore within Photo Supreme will transfer the whole Photo Supreme configuration, not just the database.
Once the database is copied, you can search, view and catalog your photos on the laptop without plugging in the SSD. If you need access to the full size images, you will need to plug in the SSD plus tell Photo Supreme your images are on the SSD rather than the desktop drive (Map to the correct physical folder...)
When you get back home, you will only need to copy the database back to the desktop if you have been cataloging your images. If you have written the metadata changes to the images on the SDD, you will need to also transfer the changed images back to the laptop. If you did not write the metadata back to the images on the SSD, you just need to write the out of sync images back to the image files on the database once the database is copied.
With care, I think copying the database back and forward may be the better option.
Yes, you could just copy the database from the desktop to the laptop. A simple copy of the database files will work or a backup/restore within Photo Supreme will transfer the whole Photo Supreme configuration, not just the database.
Once the database is copied, you can search, view and catalog your photos on the laptop without plugging in the SSD. If you need access to the full size images, you will need to plug in the SSD plus tell Photo Supreme your images are on the SSD rather than the desktop drive (Map to the correct physical folder...)
When you get back home, you will only need to copy the database back to the desktop if you have been cataloging your images. If you have written the metadata changes to the images on the SDD, you will need to also transfer the changed images back to the laptop. If you did not write the metadata back to the images on the SSD, you just need to write the out of sync images back to the image files on the database once the database is copied.
With care, I think copying the database back and forward may be the better option.