Comments

JohnnyRoy wrote on 2/20/2008, 2:10 PM
You back up the media manager with the Back up Media Manager option on the Media Manager menu. Tags can be saved with the media with a Right-Click then Save Tags and Properties to File(s) options and it is strongly recommended that you do so. This allows you to create new media manager database and import you media with the tags intact.

~jr
VirtualSki wrote on 2/20/2008, 3:45 PM
Thank you. If I'd been smart enough to click the "Media Library Actions" icon, I would have had my answer. But, I tried to find the answer the dumb way: Using the software Help.

Help > Contents and Index > Backup didn't offer an answer nor
Help > Contents and Index > Media Manager Options

Hmmm....I wonder where that info IS in the Help documentation. Thanks again, Johnny

VirtualSki wrote on 2/20/2008, 3:55 PM
Johnny, REF: "Back up Media Manager"

That's the same as "Backup Media Library"?

I found Help for your suggestion regarding "Save Tags to Files". Does that mean saving tags belonging to files or saving tags that are part of a file? Sorry, I was an analyst in my previous life....and you know what the first four letters spell....

I think I need clarification on the difference between Tags and Keywords before I have time to make a mess ;)
JohnnyRoy wrote on 2/21/2008, 9:36 AM
> That's the same as "Backup Media Library"?

Yes, my bad. It's actually "Backup Media Library".

> Does that mean saving tags belonging to files or saving tags that are part of a file?

It saves the tags in the metadata of the file so that the tag stays with the file. This doesn't work for files that don't support metadata like GIF. But most media files support metadata and so this saves the tags with the file. Then you can import that file into another media library and the tag will show up correctly in the Media Manager. The other advantage is if your library gets corrupt and you don;t have a backup, you can simply re-import the files and the tag tree will be automatically rebuilt saving you hours of work.

> I think I need clarification on the difference between Tags and Keywords before I have time to make a mess ;)

Tags are properties that you give to files. They usually categorize the file in some way. It is just a word association with a piece of media.

Keywords are words that you use for searching but there isn't anything called a "keyword". When you do a keyword search, it searches all of the attributes of the file including tags, comments, path names, filenames, etc. So a tag is just one thing that can be searched for by keywords.

The great thing about tags is that they are kept in a hierarchical tag tree. This makes them easy to find. You can also perform a search simply by clicking on a tag and the media manager will return every piece of media that the tag has been associated with. This makes the media easy to find.

~jr
VirtualSki wrote on 2/21/2008, 12:51 PM
JR - I'm very grateful for the generosity of your time and advice and hope I'm not belaboring the point. I want to begin using Pro correctly and not discover months down the road that I was using keywords and tags incorrectly. The main reason I bought Pro was for the media manager to catalog my m2t files.

> there isn't anything called a "keyword".

I missed that. I've been assigning keywords to the Keyword Field of my videos. The intent to be able to search for, say, all my videos of Bigfoot.

At the moment, Tags and Keywords seem interchangeable to me and I'm sure that's not how they're meant to be used. On the other hand, since I'm only thinking about video, and not other types of media files, that may be causing my confusion.