I would like to import only the files marked with the key from the card for editing - is this possible?

Software darktable
1

I would like to import only the files marked with the key from the card for editing - is this possible?
Like that ingest on photo mechanic…

thanks an answer
Cheers,

2

Hello and welcome!

What is “the key” exactly? How can you tell what files are keyed and which are not?

3

I think OP means protected files.

4

yep, sure! Thanks the correction.

5

yes, protected files in Canon cameras.

6

So, is this possible? I do not want to all of 6432 photos to upload my laptop.

7

Not by darktable itself, but you could write a script to find the protected files via metadata, and then import them into darktable.

1 Like
8

that idea is great - but I am only a simple user… not much. :slight_smile:

9

I too am a Canon user. I wonder if it would be possible to rate the images in the camera and if DT can then read the camera’s rating. If this is possible then even if you had to copy/import all images you could then post import delete all the images that where unrated. I am not sure if this is possible. I am just letting my brain work out loud, so sorry for the noise if this is not a helpful suggestion.

1 Like
10

What could be a good generic addition is to be able to filter images based on exif metadata in the files.
But that requires some changes in the import dialog and maybe in the import pipeline (need to read metadata before display).

11

Canon ratings are respected by darktable and applied on import (at least for 7D, 7DII, and R7).

2 Likes
12

Hm, how??
Thx

13

darktable reads the EXIF data on import and gets the value from the Rating field.

14

Does DT import all the images, or can you make images in the camera and have them be not imported?

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darktable doesn’t read the EXIF information until after the image is imported (or while).

It’s possible to create an import filter using lua and have it run exiftool or exiv2 against every image and then only import the desired ones. It could be really slow depending on where the images are (on a card in a camera).

16

That would force darktable to open each and every file in order to access the metadata, which would slow down the process. Selecting on file properties like name or creation time only requires access to the directory (i.e. one file to be read for the whole directory).

So just looking at time spent, I think importing all files, then remove the ones not fitting the EXIF criteria would be about as fast. And you get the possibility to visually check the selection before deletion…

As I have had some pleasant surprises from files I initially thought worthless, I prefer just importing all images and then cull. Camera screens are much too small to use for culling.

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Yes, they are basically only useful for checking the composition and that you haven’t missed the focus too badly.