I find the use of the previous links of where I have been with Darktable as being very restrictive for browsing for files.
It would be really nice to have a directory tree structure shown that could be browsed more easily, just like in RAWTherapee and other software.
Thanks
Under the âcollect imagesâ tab (left sidebar), thereâs an option âfoldersâ (alternative to the default âfilmrollâ). But afaik, that only shows directories and files that have been imported in the dt database.
The import module is one of the things that is being worked on at the moment and, if Iâm not mistaken, will be part of darktable 3.6 that comes in July.
Donât hold your breath though.
RawTherapee and darktable differ at the core when it comes to importing, handling files and navigating directories. darktable will not be like RawTherapee due to this.
If you are able to run the latest development version you can have a look at how things are progressing and maybe you like the new way better. It will be different from what is offered in the current stable version.
I tried the folder icon in my searches of a way to do it but it is just a way to import a whole folder not to browse to an image.
@Jade_NL Thanks for the heads up about v3.6.
I will be very happy if this arrives then.
Even with 3.6, youâll still need to import files to darktableâs database.
@jknights If you only looked at a âfolderâ button, that must have been under the âImportâ tab. I was talking about an option in a drop-down list in the tab below the import tab, labelled âCollect Imagesâ.
I thought I mentioned that tab in my first messagesâŚ
@pehar, I havenât tested the recent development, but this dialog looks interesting. Is the folder pane on the left a full system browser? The âraw-1â folder seems like the top-level, so I guess not. Do you have to type in the path to browse? Or use the tiny icon in the top left? That seems very counter intuitiveâŚ
Clicking the tiny icon (top left) opens a dialog with the option to navigate the full file system. From this dialog you select your personal ârootâ folder for your raw images, here âraw-1â. The screenshot shows the folder structure below this preselected folder.
@pehar: but that looks like an import dialog to me (âimportierenâ), apparently not what OP requestedâŚ
I used âadd to libraryâ in my example, but you get the same dialogs when using âcopy & importâ.
Thanks for explaining. I really donât like the fact that such an important thing is tucked away with a tiny icon in a corner. I can get used to it, but my first impression is that people might not figure it out easily.
OK I will do a full import of all my images in a test directory before moving onto the 160000+ library.
It would be great to have a file browser where you can review images before import.
Apart from this one small problem Darktable is perfect for me!
Defining your personal ârootâ for raw-images only need to be done once. I remember several discussions between the developers at Pulse ¡ darktable-org/darktable ¡ GitHub and/or Issues ¡ darktable-org/darktable ¡ GitHub. For further information and proâs and conâs of different implementations you can search for âimportâ at this sites.
Thanks to all the input I have had from the people who have replied to this thread.
I have started the import of my 160k+ images.
Once this is done I will have a very good alternative to Lightroom Catalogs. I need to check and see the differences.
I have reviewed and tried to replicate all the various options and have decided that I still think a File Browser panel would be a wonderful addition as I dont always want to âImportâ my images to a catalog but still may wish to edit the odd image on the fly that lives in a separate folder or directory.
Thank you all for you very helpful and rapid response to my question. I look forward to Darktable v3.6 but at present I am very happy with v3.4
The shown example of the ânewâ import window in post #8 is already old. People complained about the top left icon + (expandable) directory next to it. This is in the pipeline, but hasnât been fully worked out and merged yet:
@quovadit has been working on this.
just to make clear: importing to darktable doesnât result in copying stuff. Your image stays in the directory imported from. If you delete the file after importing it, itâs lost even in darktable. (3.6 will be able to copy files during import, but also then just to another place on your file system where it will be further accessible for other applications)
Thanks Martin.
I had tested this before but it is good to have confirmation. 
I cant for the life of me understand why someone would want a proprietary db structure with the images inserted as blobs so the next time the database crashes you lose all your images. But seemingly some people think this is good. 
If you have side cars you are fineâŚI donât even use the database. I just use an option called memory which uses a virtual database each time populated by whatever files I want to edit. I donât do a lot of global DAM I just edit my files in their folder structure so I donât bother to maintain a databaseâŚat least the library database .
Also there is an equally small (I am not sure if any one mentioned it) arrow top right with a folder history so you can leverage that to some extent as well.
