(GrampsAIO64-5.1.3-2 - Window 10)
When do you need to mix relative and absolute path for media ?
Best regards.
It is best to keep all your media files with a media record within Gramps in the relative media path. Remember, in this Media folder, you can have sub-folders to organize your files. But it is this folder that Gramps expects to find these files and makes moving all the files to a new folder easy.
You can move this media folder to a new location on your hard drive. The only change you would need to make is to set the new relative media path.
So long as you have not made changes to a media fileâs checksum (edited or cropped the file) the Media Verify tool with find all of the files and fix the media recordâs path if/when you find the need to reorganize your sub-folders. My Census sub-folder was getting too âfullâ so I split the folder to Census by year. The Media Verify found all those changes and updated the media record for each file.
Note: If you you do a lot of âfixingâ of media files by cropping, etc, running the Check & Repair tool will update any changed checksums keeping the Media Verify tool happy. With a changed checksum, Media Verify will say the media file cannot be found for the record but will also say it found a new file that does not have a Gramps media record.
Remember, The Relative Media Path is unique to the database. So if you have another tree, it can have its own unique media path.
As of today, I have 22,894 media files and they all are in sub-folders in my relative media path. If I find a new file that does not âfitâ into an existing folder, I create a new folder for the file. And I do have other media files that I have not added to Gramps. These are kept out of the media path until such time when I add them to Gramps.
And with all that said, Gramps will accept any media files outside the relative path.
Thank you for your reply.
I probably asked my question incorrectly, sorry.
I could reformulate it like this:
- what is the point of being able to mix absolute and relative paths for media files? (as we can make this choice via a media by media checkbox when adding one).
Are there cases where it is essential (personally I do not see any, hence my question)?
And underlying it:
-
what is the point of using absolute paths (which have almost zero portability)?
-
wouldnât it be easier to impose the use of a relative path for the media?
In this case when adding a media Gramps would automatically and only display the relative path folder specified for the database in the files selection dialog box (or display an alert if the file is not in the mediaâs relative path specified for the database).
The âUse relative pathâ checkbox would no longer be necessary.
And, as already indicated in another post, it would also be nice for Gramps to display the relative path it uses by default when it has not been modified in Preferences (for now the field is empty in this case) and that it proposes to modify this path when creating a new database.
Best regards.
Actually, the Relative Media Path makes the media files very âportableââŚ
My RMP is c:\users\public\Genealogy\Media and I have 23 main sub-folders in Media which is what is saved in Gramps. I can move all those folders to a new folder and all I would need to do is set that new RMP and Gramps will see/find all those files in their new location.
And in a Gramps backup/export including media files (gpkg), when that file is imported by you or a relative, those media files are extracted to a common folder that it will be now easy to set the RMP for that folder. All the sub-folders are maintained. I do not know how a media gpkg backup treats media outside the RMP. I am sure the gpkg stores the media file. What I do not know is what happens when imported.
Personally, Yes! But I am sure you now realize that all the many users use Gramps in their own way. One of the major benefits to Gramps is it does not dictate how anything must be done.
There is no default RMP. Each Family Tree database can have their own RMP even if the trees are on the same computer.
I too am on Win10 and I just ran a test adding a media file when no RMP set on a new tree. Gramps assumed C:\User as a default assuming any userâs files would be in a user folder. Win10 does not like users storing information on c:\
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I donât use just one ârootâ folder for my files, so as long as I canât define multiple root-folders as media folders, there are no point for me to set a default and use relative path.
I have often media and files stored in different hierarchies based on projects that can cross multiple trees in Gramps as Gramps are not my primary tool for research.
Actually at the moment I h ave 8 root folders and each of them have an hierarchy with hundreds of sub and sub-sub-folders.
I store documents and downloaded sources on one physical SSD and photographs on another physical SSD.
And I store Video and Sound on separate disks to.
In addition I store all my generated reports and research documents on a separate SSD, but I often add them to different object in Gramps AND other archive and research software.
I have a separate laptop for when Iâm out on the road, but seldom have the files with me, but if I get new files on that, I have a similar structure, just on one disk, that when I connect to my home network again, copies to each of its locations, and first then do I actually add them to Gramps.
All my sources get registered in Zotero and metadata added BEFORE I even think about adding anything to Gramps, and most often I have 3-4 other software that I add the information to and run analyzes with before I add any data to Gramps, since Gramps donât have any actual analyzing capabilities, but are great for storing unstructured and structured data in a somehow structured wayâŚ
So how should I be able to utilize a default folder and relative path to all those folders?
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Ok, but I still donât see the point in being able to mix relative paths and absolute paths (unless you love headaches).
In addition, we quickly forgot to modify the type of path if ânecessaryâ by adding media in this case.
Very adventurous IMHO.
Maybe not impose the relative paths then but propose a global choice between relative paths or absolute paths.
Itâs what i was talking about.
No choice for you I think : absolute paths âŚ
Best regards.
And you are proving the point. There is not just one way that users must utilize Gramps. We each configure our databases to meet our needs and workflow. Think of the RMP as just another tool available to you. You do not have to make use of it.
One tool that definitely needs and uses the RMP is Media Verify. It searches the RMP looking for extra, renamed, moved files within this folder. Not sure what it would do absent this restriction. Probably search the entire hard drive. (I am not going to test it!)
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