Is the Label Assignment Panel alone sufficient?

[jstartin]

That would work, MikeP, but I was actually thinking of something else that would be easier. In V5, the Image Details panel has an icon that allows you to copy all details of a selected image to the clipboard and an icon that then allows you to paste that information to all selected images. If that capability also exists in Supreme, that would be another way of quickly copying catalog labels (keywords) from one image to other images. Unfortunately, I haven't even imported any images into Supreme so I don't know if that capability exists.

PSU doesn't appear to allow copy and paste of Image Details, or not obviously. Save and apply profiles is there, but for copying labels from one image to a few others that really seems like a sledgehammer to crack a nut. CTRL+SHIFT+C etc is so convenient in IDI.

[Mike Buckley]

as far as I can see synonyms are only relevant to use of the text-based search box. My difficulty with having only the "flat" LAP are not overcome.

That's correct. However, I've got one more idea: Review the image posted earlier in the thread by MikeP. That is a screenshot of the V5 LAP. The exact same capability is also built into the V5 Catalog Label dialog menu, which is automatically accessed when you create a new catalog label from within the LAP. If that same capability exists in Supreme (I don't know if it does), that might provide a workaround for you.

[jstartin]

I have found a tree-based labeling procedure that I think will be helpful if I switch to PSU (still "on trial" here).

Lars mentioned drag and drop from the collection viewer - a method I had overlooked completely. Thanks Lars.

Now, I want to label thumbs from a physical folder, using By Folder view to put them in the collection viewer, but I cannot use By Folder and By Category at the same time. IDI had Catalog Folders in the Catalog Tree view so I could scroll between folders and labels without "switching" anything, and expand or contract either.

Lars suggested multiple instances of PSU which doesn't appeal to me, but also the Image Basket. For me the Image Basket turns out to be the enabling feature. It has a permanent button, its contents are persistent across sessions, within a session the user can switch to and from it without losing the selection, and drag and drop from the basket to the Catalog tree works beautifully.

The full workflow I came up with, for anyone who wants step by step instructions, is:

Select "By Folder" view
Select a folder
Apply "Label Filter" = "With No Labels" - optional
Select thumbs and place in Image Basket
Select By Categories view
Expand/contract category nodes in tree - double clicking is fine even though it dismisses the Image Basket from view
Click on categories to review what images are already assigned, if desired
Click on Image Basket
Drag and drop single or selection of thumbs to catalog label/s
Review what is "in" label/s, if desired, and return to Image Basket, or just stay in Image Basket
Either: Change "Label Filter" to "No Active Filter" and then reselect "With No Labels" to filter out the now labeled images
or: look for "Orange+0" for images that still need labeling
or: delete the just-labeled image from Image Basket with the - button

Unfortunately too much drag and dropping exacerbates an old RSI-type problem I developed many years ago when I spent much of each working day doing just that with an unergonomic mouse, so it is short sessions only now. I also drop in the wrong place quite often if the target is small.

For reduced error rates, long sessions, application of multiple labels to an image selection etc, I would still much prefer a tree-view with check boxes. But I have a workable alternative to the LAP .

[tstoddard]

The Maximized Mode is not a hidden feature. It is available in the View button

Hert, I was, at first, embarrassed that I had made such an omission but I now realize why I did. You are only partially correct in saying that the Maximized Mode is not a hidden feature. It is only true if the user is currently in Catalog View Mode (I think this is what you call it when looking at a collection of thumbnails). If you double click on a thumbnail and open one image in "Preview Mode", the View button is no longer available. I understand why; because it contains options that aren't relevant in Preview Mode, but, this then makes the Maximized Mode essentially a "hidden feature" when in Preview Mode. The only way to switch to it is through a keyboard shortcut.

I typically work through my folders one image at a time when I'm assigning image specific labels and rating my images. Since this is when the Label Assigning Panel is most important to me, this is when I first went looking for a way to hide the explorer tree panel on the left. I couldn't find a way to do that, which is why I came to the conclusion that Maximized Mode was hidden. This is another good example of why a top level View Menu makes sense. Regardless of what mode the user is in, the view menu should still be available.

[snowman1]

I can't really add much to what has been said but fwiw I also find the LAP very useful in V5 - especially the way it presents, and narrows down the choices as per the Belgium exam given above. I too stopped using the CE in assignment mode once the LAP became available, because of the risks (and one can always use drag and drop).

I have found a good workflow is to use the calendar to select a day's worth of shooting. I find this is a good atomic unit of pictures to do at one time. It usually represents one event, and is few enough that I can complete it in a reasonable time, so it avoids me wondering where I'd got up to - I only start on a day if I can finish it. It avoids the flicking between catalog folders and labels - as the calendar panel effectively takes the place of the folder panel. A separate labels panel would solve the problem, I just offer it as a workround and (for me) a useful way of working. Not sure if PSU works the same way.

[jstartin]

Thanks for all the comments, pointers and reassurances posted above. Now, with another week of (part time ) experience, I am pleased to report that I am getting more comfortable using the PSu LAP.
To answer my own question: yes, it is sufficient to get the job done. However, I don't think it is ideal for all circumstances; for me drag and drop from the Image Basket to the Categories tree does still provide a valuable alternative but even this combination falls a bit short of "Supreme". It is a pity that even the "View all labels" "flyout" facility of IDI V5 was dropped in PSu, but I really do think there would be even more value in a LAP "tab" to provide access to check box label selection in a hierarchical tree view. The check box approach seems to me to be the most efficient way of assigning a number of labels to each of the first few images of a labeling session when nothing in the MRU section applies.
There are a couple [EDIT: now just one] of possible new features that I think might be helpful when using the LAP, but it is hard to be sure without having them to try!
"Reset" the MRU section to remove all entries if the current session requires a completely different set of already existing labels to the last one - different place, different subjects, etc. ("Declutter" and start with a "clean slate".)
EDIT: Forgotten to explore "Label Sets" which covers this beautifully: [A "Favourites" section for labels that are very frequently used]
Do these ideas appeal to anybody else?

[InTheFlow]

...[A "Favorites" section for labels that are very frequently used]
Do these ideas appeal to anybody else?

Absolutely, Jim!! I've added some screenshots of how I envision it possibly working. I started a thread for Label Assignment Panel Requests, feel free to add your ideas too!

Cataloging is the #1 focus of PS and the LAP is the main way to do so. I'd like to see it refined further but its all I want. We are hopefully only seeing the surface of what it can and will become.