Folder structure: Should I separate raw/jpg?

[Jesperben]

Hi

I know it's an old question, but I couldn't find many answers - maybe they were in the old IDI-forum.

Should I separate my raw and jpg-files in two different folders?

I use the directory structure Top->1980->1981->01 (Top->decade->year->month) as my pictures are mostly old. Almost all pictures are in two files from the scanning company or from the camera - raw (or tiff) and jpg.

- Should I separate the raw/tiff and jpg in separate folders?
- Which type should be in the subfolder?

And another issue:
- After importing and cataloging the files, should I make the raw-versions read only?

Thank your for your help.

[G8DHE]

Not sure that there is a specific answer.
A lot will depend on your workflow, you can always choose what type of file to display using the filter options if they are all in the same folder.
There might be an argument to say that if you can separate the RAW and processed images onto physically separate disks there might be a small improvement in resilience should a physical disk fail, but failure rates are pretty low these days as it is.

[Mke]

Should I separate my raw and jpg-files in two different folders?

That's my preference. That way I keep easily select from only those images of a specific type - or all of them - without filtering within PSU, and I also find it useful when processing them (with DXO, in my case):

|
|-Processed JPGs
|......|_RAW
|......|_DNG
|......|_etc.
|

- After importing and cataloging the files, should I make the raw-versions read only?

I don't, because I always want to write metdata to the RAW file (because the risk of the metadata becoming separated from the image over historical timescales is huge).

But you'll find another group who will only save metadata to sidecars and therefore may well lock their RAWs (because they fear data corruption).

[Jesperben]

Thank you Geoff and Mike

I'll follow your advice, since I have to do some reordering anyway. This must be an opportunity to separate those filetypes.

Rgds
Jesper