Adding Items

If metadata are the bones of a Portfolio catalog, items (also called records) are the its meat. As Editors, Publishers, and Administrators, you will be able to add and delete items from Portfolio catalogs. Any changes you make will be permanent, so be careful! Back up your catalogs and understand what you're doing.

There are five ways to add items to a Portfolio catalog. You can add items by dragging and dropping from the desktop or Finder; with the Add button; via the Catalog menu; using the Background Cataloging feature; or using a feature called FolderSync. Do not use FolderSync! Chances are it is not what you need, and it will likely complicate and possibly disrupt your cataloging.

Using the Add button

The Add button lies at the upper left corner of the gallery window. Clicking it will open a window that allows you to browse through the folder hierarchy of your computer. Use this window to find the image or folder of images that you wish to add to your catalog. Select the image or the folder and click Open or Select (either will do). If you want to include the contents of any subfolders, make sure you have checked the Include Subfolders option in the lower left.

After you choose the images you wish to add, Portfolio will display the Cataloging Options window. Within this window, you can dictate metadata information that Portfolio will assign to the record of each image in the batch. You may also choose to move or copy the images when you catalog them. If you copy folders, your original folder hierarchy will be preserved in the new location.

A Note About Cataloging Options

You can open this window and modify its contents without adding items by selecting Catalog > Cataloging Options. You would do this chiefly to control the metadata that Portfolio's various automatic cataloging features add to the new records they create.

Choose the options and fill out the data you desire, and click OK to let Portfolio catalog images.

Using Catalog > Add Items...

Instead of using the Add button to add items to your catalog, you can choose Catalog > Add Items. This function works in exactly the same way as the Add button.

Dragging and dropping.

Dragging and dropping items from a folder into your catalog also works a lot like using the Add button. Simply select the items you wish to add, then drag them into the main portion of any open gallery window. The now-familiar Cataloging Options window will open; fill in any data you desire, click OK, and let Portfolio do its thing.

Background Cataloging.

(Note: Extensis claims that Background Cataloging is buggy, so be careful with it.) You can instruct Portfolio to monitor specific folders, adding to your catalog any new files that appear in the folders. This is different from FolderSync. FolderSync synchronizes your catalog and your folders so that items in the folders and items in the catalog always match; it will add, delete, or move items within one to match the other. Background Cataloging only adds items and never deletes them.

Background Cataloging will add items to your catalog automatically, following any guidelines you've described and filling out any metadata according to the settings in the Cataloging Options window (see above).

To begin Background Cataloging, choose Catalog > Background Cataloging... (Command-B). This will open the Background Cataloging window. Click the New... button to open the Automation Settings window.

Enter a name for your task in the Automation Name text field and then select the Scan Frequency you desire from the Scan Frequency pull-down menu. Click on the small folder icon located under Watch Folder to browse through the folders on your computer and select one to watch. Click OK once you've selected a folder and you will return to the Automation Settings window.

There are two selectable options in the Automation Settings window: Include Subfolders and Run in Silent Mode. Toggling Include Subfolders will tell Portfolio to look in the selected folder as well as all the folders it contains; leaving it blank will tell Portfolio to look in the selected folder without looking in its subfolders.

Ordinarily, Background Cataloging will notify you when it adds items to a catalog while you have it open in Portfolio. Check Run in Silent Mode to hide such notifications. Click Done when you have finished configuring the automation and you will return to the Background Cataloging window.

In the Background Cataloging window, you will see that an item has appeared in the formerly empty list of automations. The list has three columns, two of which should be filled. Click in the empty checkmark column next to the name of the automation you just created to select it and turn it on. Then click Done to exit the window.