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Question

Software for finding images/files with tags in the network

Sep 6, 2017 8:46AM PDT

I work with a company that has thousands of images in different network folders. We want to find a way to easily search for images using tags, but in a way that searches in all drives at once and without taking forever. I've tried using the folder's tag system but it takes about 10 minutes to search in one drive, to search in all of them at the same time seems like would take over 30 minutes.

We use Lightroom for photo editing and exporting for web, etc. But we cannot have someone in a different computer search the catalog through the network.

Is there some any software/plug-in that would search for tags without having to import the files into it and/or disrupting the network folders that are already set up?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: tags
Sep 6, 2017 9:05AM PDT

I've never done it, and I don't know such software, but it shouldn't be too difficult to write something (a program, VB-script or Powershell-script, or a combination of those) that reads through all those images and maintains a database with all tags and the pictures that contain them. Once you have that, you need a program that searches in that database (takes a second at most) and shows all pics that you searched for,

Let your manager make a change request (or whatever the procedures at your company are) for the IT-department. When they have an estimate of the costs, make a business case, get the necessary permission and money and go for it.

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thanks
Sep 6, 2017 9:12AM PDT

That's not a bad idea. I'll run it through IT and see what they think.

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Answer
I know about the software but don't use it.
Sep 6, 2017 9:55AM PDT

It's Digital Asset Management or DAM. There are a lot of them out there but here's the deal. The first time it runs, it takes a very long time. Why is because it is doing all that work and collecting the information in a smaller database so searches are speedy.

More about the DAMs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_asset_management
And the link is there about images, vendors and more.

No budget? Open source (does not mean easy or much else.)
https://www.google.com/search?q=open+source+dam+windows