Cataloging Options

Unless you indicate otherwise in Edit > Preferences, Portfolio displays the Cataloging Options dialog box whenever you drag and drop files or folders into an open catalog. Whether or not the Cataloging Options dialog is displayed, the current Cataloging Options settings are checked any time that you add items to a catalog or update the items in a catalog.

Tip: The important Cataloging Options when updating are: Thumbnail Quality, Thumbnail Size, Updating options on the Update tab, and Mappings tab options. Other Cataloging Options settings have no effect on the updating process.

Cataloging Options - General tab
Option	Choices	Description
Modification Method*	Add	Adds a record to the catalog for each item being added, if a record does not currently exist. Ignores items if a catalog record already exists for the item.
	Update	Updates items only if there have been changes. Ignores changes in pathname if a copy of the source file exists at the previously cataloged location.
	Add & Update	Adds items if a record does not already exist, and updates records if the items exist but have changed.
	Add Unconditionally	Adds a record for the item even if a record already exists.
	Update Unconditionally	Updates records even if the item source file exists in the previously cataloged location. Allows you to copy source files to a new location and have the catalog updated to the new location.
Path as Keywords	None	Filenames and pathnames are not added to the keyword list.
	File Name	Adds the item’s filename to the keyword list.
	File & Folder Name	Adds the item’s filename and immediate folder name to the keyword list.
	Path Name	Adds the item’s filename and all of its folder names, but ignores the volume name.
	Path and Volume	Adds the item’s full path, including volume name.
Path as Categories	None	No folder hierarchy is created on the Categories palette.
	Selected Folders	Creates a hierarchy on the Categories palette based on the directories of files added. For example, if a cataloged folder contains 3 items, a folder would be created on the Categories palette with those 3 items associated with it. If only the files are cataloged, their immediate parent folder is used.
Thumbnail Quality	High	Creates a high resolution thumbnail using minimum compression.
	Medium	Creates a medium resolution thumbnail using medium compression.
	Low	Creates a low resolution thumbnail using a higher level of compression.
Thumbnail Size	112x112	Generates a 112 x 112 pixel Thumbnail.
	256x256	Generates a 256 x 256 pixel Thumbnail, even if a smaller thumbnail exists

Modification Method

When you add items to the catalog, or update existing items, you can select from the following options:

• Add

• Add Unconditionally

• Add & Update

• Update

• Update Unconditionally

Which method you select will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are only adding items, choose “Add” or “Add Unconditionally.” If you are only updating items, choose “Update” or “Update Unconditionally.” If you know that you are both adding and updating, or if you want Portfolio to intelligently add or update as necessary, select “Add & Update.” “Add & Update” provides the most flexibility, and is a good choice if you want to automate the process as much as possible (in this case you might also want to prevent the Cataloging Options dialog from being displayed each time items are added or updated—you can disable this option in Edit > Preferences).

Add: Adds item files to the catalog as new records if Portfolio determines that the files do not already exist in the catalog. If a matching record already exists, the file is skipped.

Add Unconditionally: Adds files to the catalog as new records, regardless of whether a record for the file already exists in the catalog.

Add & Update: Performs both the Add process and the Update process. Portfolio adds a new record to the catalog if it determines that the file does not exist in the catalog. If a matching record is found, Portfolio updates the record.

Update: Updates existing records in the catalog if Portfolio determines that the files match existing records. If no matching record is found in the catalog, the file is skipped.

Update Unconditionally: Updates existing records in the catalog looking only at the filename and ignoring record criteria used in the normal Update logic. Specifically, Portfolio does not examine file dates and paths when determining whether the file matches an existing record.

More About Update Unconditionally

Update Unconditionally determines a source file match based only on filename only, not pathname. This can be useful when updating the catalog record from a copy of the source file.

Update Unconditionally is also useful when you want to update the catalog record but the file has not changed, such as to change catalog thumbnail size. (In this case, if you select Update rather than Update Unconditionally nothing will happen, since the file has not changed).

Note: Exercise caution when using Update Unconditionally. This is a powerful and useful tool, but it has the potential to effect unwanted changes: When you catalog two files by the same name located in different directories, Portfolio differentiates between the two records using their different pathnames. When you Update Unconditionally, Portfolio discards the pathname in its record search and updates the first record with the selected filename that it comes to. For example, assume that C:\Artwork\Box.jpg and C:\Photos\Box.jpg are both cataloged in the same catalog. You select Update Unconditionally in order to enlarge the catalog thumbnail for C:\Photos\Box.jpg. Portfolio searches the catalog records for “Box.jpg” and finds the record for C:\Artwork\Box.jpg, which it updates. This replaces the thumbnail in the record for C:\Artwork\Box.jpg with the thumbnail for C:\Photos\Box.jpg.