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Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
I just had a thought on the organization of images on my disk drive. If I
have my hard copies organized very well, then I would think that the images
would be organized nearly identical. This would make it relatively easy to
find the opposite location if I know one. For example, if I use a file
cabinet for the hard copies and folders within the file cabinet, then the
equivalent on the soft copies would be the drive and directories. The only
difference with the soft copies is that they have some kind of name (file
name) associated with it. So, this can broaden the question (AND hopefully
get more response) to, what are your experiences and opinions on organizing
photographs, certificates, records, census information, etc. (whether
talking about hard paper or images on a computer).
Thanks,
Thomas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas B. Lerman" <Thomas_Lerman@yahoo.com>
To: <paf@innernet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 20:30
Subject: Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
> Thank you for trying to stir things up a little Cheryl. I would not
suggest
> advocating the devil <big grin>. So far, it appears to be a very quiet
list.
> An example would not contain all of the different options, just one of
each
> (directory and file) option such as: c:\images\death\r0047.tif indicating
a
> death certificate for RIN 47. I guessing you were being a little
facetious.
>
> Thomas
>
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Sinclair
To: paf@innernet.org
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 22:58
Subject: RE: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
My method is to have sub folders under the main folder for my PAF data and
put each type of item in them ie.-
/portraits (individuals), /groups (obviously groups of persons), certs
(certificates etc), others (buildings etc), /maps etc etc, /sound (wav files
of interviews) etc
each file is named rinXXX_01, rinxxx_02, rinxxx03 etc
groupings such as family gatherings I nominate a 'Primary' interest person,
say the oldest and name that rinxxx_XX and then for others in the photo link
back to this allocated primary number.
Peter Sinclair
Hamilton New Zealand
----- Original Message -----
From: <klary-jr@hannaford.com>
To: <paf@innernet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 07:04
Subject: Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
>
> I simply put all the scanned images in a single directory with the surname
> and an incrementing number as the filename (Parkman1, Parkman2, etc.) I
> then entered the filename and pertinent data about the scanned image
> (contents, date, who from, etc.) into a spreadsheet to track them.
>
> I decided that there were too many things that could go wrong with trying
> to give the files a name that would always be meaningful. When I needed
to
> find an image, I would simply "look it up" on my spreadhseet.
>
> Although I didn't use them, there are software packages that help you
> organize and index scanned images. You may want to look for one of them.
>
> Personally, I would not try to organize scanned images based upon any
> designation in a genealogy software package. You would be tying yourself
> to only that package and version. When it got upgraded, or if you needed
a
> more robust package, you might end up with file organizations that are no
> longer pertinent.
>
> Kenneth "Chip" Lary
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cheryl Singhal" <csinghal@CapAccess.org>
> To: "Thomas B. Lerman" <Thomas_Lerman@yahoo.com>
> Cc: <paf@innernet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 1973 18:15
> Subject: Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
>
>
> > On Wed, 28 Feb 2001, Thomas B. Lerman wrote:
> >
> > > Thank you Cheryl and Dave for your comments. Here are my thoughts on
> your
> > > comments and I am still looking for more comments.
> > >
> > > I feel that disk space is cheap enough that I can include scanned in
> images,
> > > yet keep hard copies. This has the advantages of both worlds. At this
> point,
> > > my options seem to be the following:
> > > 1) No soft copy of many things (Cheryl)
> >
> > No, not quite. I have lots of "soft" copies which were made for the
sole
> > purpose of e-mailing to someone or putting on-line. And occasionally,
> > one *can* twiddle the contrast enough to make an almost-illegible
> > document almost-legible. I discourage the practice now epidemic of
> > keeping ONLY digital copies. It isn't a question of IF something goes
> > electronically wrong, it's only a question of How Soon.
> >
> > And then there's the issue of the social value of sitting with an album
> > in your lap paging through it with the grandkids. Somehow kids actually
> > do notice that this photo is more yellow than that, or that one is on
> > heavy cardboard. That is lost on a monitor. And, having all too
> > frequently needed to look up something within minutes of turning the
> > computer off, I can only imagine how frustating it would get to have to
> > have the computer on to recheck a death certificate.
> >
> > (You see, when we first got a scanner, I actually tried a lot of this;
> > lost 85M of digital data when a ZIP disc developed amnesia, another 120M
> > when something technical went wrong with a disc partition during defrag;
> > I currently have, I think, 5 copies of 20 photos cluttering up the HD
> > because I keep forgetting to dele 'em from the scanner directory and not
> > remembering what name I saved 'em under -- or if I saved them. I am not
> > looking forward to sitting there while each file loads, writing down the
> > name and description, and then loading another file, so I can see if
it's
> > the same file. Unless you are 1000% organized, and NEVER EVER have to
> > leave something in the middle (say the phone rings, or the smoke alarm
> > goes off, or the spouse needs you to hold the ladder, or the drier
> > buzzed), you will sooner or later end up doing massive amounts of
> > housekeeping.)
> >
> > > 2) Everything in one directory
> >
> > Makes it easy to find.
> >
> >
> > > 3) Directories divided up by surname (actual surname or soundex?)
> >
> > Depends. Do you have any surnames that share a soundex? If not, and if
> > you're back at least 6 generations, Soundex has possibilities. But ...
> > an awful lot of surnames share a Soundex -- Crosby, Cresap, and Crazy
> > Bull all turn up in the same Soundex code.
> >
> > > 4) Directories divided up by image type (photographs, birth
> certificates,
> > > marriage certificates, etc.)
> >
> > OK, maybe regimented is a better word than organized. (g)
> >
> >
> >
> > > Then after the directory, come up with a filename format that contains
> the
> > > following elements:
> > > 1) Individual or family (marriage identification)
> > > a) RIN or MRIN (Dave and actually is what I am currently doing.
> However,
> > > the thing that I am concerned about is if during merges or anything
> else,
> > > the RIN/MRIN changes. Also, this may not make any sense to anyone
else).
> > > Family information would probably be stored with a MRIN.
> >
> > It's the merges and upgrading that will kill this. ESPECIALLY if you
> > have to use GEDCOM to migrate data for any reason.
> >
> > > b) Surname and/or firstname (either actual or soundex)
> > > 2) Image type. Such as photo, birth/marriage/death certificate,
> social
> > > security application, immigration/naturalization record, etc.
> > >
> > > Any thoughts??? Yes, I am trying to get more response from this.
> >
> > Hmmmm.... so a typical path might go:
> >
> > C:\images\birthcertificates\thomas\MRIN4325ThomasSteve.tiff
> > or
> > C:\images\immigration\RIN4371\GetzdannerGustav1.tiff
> >
> > Or worse yet
> > C:\paf5\data\THOMAS\images\birthcertificates\ThomasSteve\R8765Minn.tiff
> >
> >
> > Yes, I'm being Devil's Advocate here, hoping to stir the rest of you up
> > some. (g)
> >
> > Cheryl
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas B. Lerman" <Thomas_Lerman@yahoo.com>
To: <paf@innernet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 21:44
Subject: Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
> Thank you Cheryl and Dave for your comments. Here are my thoughts on your
> comments and I am still looking for more comments.
>
> I feel that disk space is cheap enough that I can include scanned in
images,
> yet keep hard copies. This has the advantages of both worlds. At this
point,
> my options seem to be the following:
> 1) No soft copy of many things (Cheryl)
> 2) Everything in one directory
> 3) Directories divided up by surname (actual surname or soundex?)
> 4) Directories divided up by image type (photographs, birth
certificates,
> marriage certificates, etc.)
>
> Then after the directory, come up with a filename format that contains the
> following elements:
> 1) Individual or family (marriage identification)
> a) RIN or MRIN (Dave and actually is what I am currently doing.
However,
> the thing that I am concerned about is if during merges or anything else,
> the RIN/MRIN changes. Also, this may not make any sense to anyone else).
> Family information would probably be stored with a MRIN.
> b) Surname and/or firstname (either actual or soundex)
> 2) Image type. Such as photo, birth/marriage/death certificate, social
> security application, immigration/naturalization record, etc.
>
> Any thoughts??? Yes, I am trying to get more response from this.
> Thank, Thomas
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cheryl Singhal" <csinghal@CapAccess.org>
> To: "Thomas B. Lerman" <Thomas_Lerman@yahoo.com>; <PAF@innernet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 1973 06:58
> Subject: Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
>
>
> > Sorry, I don't know what happened last time
> >
> >
> > On Wed, 28 Feb 1973, Cheryl Singhal wrote:
> > >
> > > The voice of VERY bitter experience speaks here: Do not EVER under
ANY
> > > circumstances have two files with the same name on the same (a) floppy
> (b)
> > > tape (c) ZIP (d) physical hard drive or (e) CD. I don't care how
> > > carefully constructed your directory structure is, or how many virtual
> > > partitions on the physical drive, sooner or later, something will go
> > > wrong and mom2.tiff from C:\paf5\data\Smith\images\ will try to
> > > cross-breed with mom2.tiff from d:\images\Westkov\Summer99\ Or the
> > > computer in its infinite wisdom will arbitrarily decide these are the
> > > same files and dele one of 'em.
> > >
> > > That said, and dropping in to visit the unparanoid world (g), you'll
> > > find that an image of a birth certificate large enough and at high
> enough
> > > res to be legible scarfs up incredible amts of space in the "best"
> > > format. Even in the lossy jpeg format, you can fill a 10G HD in a week
> or so.
> > > Additionally, there's the tech issue of longevity and data migration
...
> > > paper copies haven't changed much in the past 40 years; digital copies
> > > have changed in the past 40 days, certainly during the past 40 wks at
> the
> > > consumer level. So unless you'll willing to spend a significant chunk
> of
> > > your time over the course of a year moving images from this format to
> > > that, or this media to that, you will one day in the not too distant
> > > future wake up to discover that there's only one place in the state
> where
> > > you can convert a .pxl file to a .gif and they're charging $20 per
file
> > > -- but no, we can't handle a CDR we need it on (insert media here),
and
> > > the Other Company on the other side of the state can copy your CDR
onto
> > > (other media) for only $15 a CD.
> > >
> > > Or your HD has a head crash. Before you commit too much to your HD,
> > > price data-recovery for it. As a starting point, a few yrs ago our
> son's
> > > 2.1G HD was just shy of the biggest one on the market; he had a head
> > > crash; LOW estimate was $1500 even if the disc proved unrecoverable.
> > > Mind, now that's the only (knock wood!) head crash we've had on any of
> > > our computers since 1986, but it's still a lot of money.
> > >
> > > I like hard copy. (g)
> > >
> > > Cheryl
> > >
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dave Hinz" <dhinz@execpc.com>
> To: <paf@innernet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 06:14
> Subject: Re: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
>
>
> >
> >
> > > "Thomas B. Lerman" wrote:
> > >
> > > I am about to start scanning in things that I am just starting to get.
> > > Before doing so, I would like to get experienced opinions on how to
> > > organize the images.
> >
> > Hi, Thomas & List.
> >
> > What I've started to do, after struggling doing it by surnames
> > as you mentioned, is to tag the item by the RIN or the MRIN of
> > the (person or marriage). This covers individuals, as they all
> > have an RIN in my database, it covers wedding photos as that's
> > the MRIN, it covers single-family photos (mom, dad, & kids),
> > as I put that under the MRIN of the parents.
> >
> > This system doesn't work when you have a picture of several families
> > together, so I have a few called "Hinz gathering", "Christiansen
> > gathering",
> > etc. Or, "Hinz/Kobs gathering".
> >
> > I've found it to be reasonably succesful, but would also welcome
> > reading about others' ways of doing this. There doesn't seem to be
> > any one way to do it which is "best", so it always helps to pick and
> > choose.
> >
> > Dave Hinz
> > http://www.davehinz.com/genealogy/
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Thomas B. Lerman
> To: PAF@innernet.org
> Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2001 00:10
> Subject: [PAF] Multimedia files organization
>
>
> I am about to start scanning in things that I am just starting to get.
> Before doing so, I would like to get experienced opinions on how to
organize
> the images. Obviously, I will have photos, but I will also be scanning in
> birth/marriage/death certificates, census sheets,
immigration/naturalization
> records, social security applications, and anything else I can get my
hands
> on. Obviously, some things (especially photos) can span across surnames. I
> can think of several ways to organize it all, but like I said, I would
like
> some opinions so that I can learn the best way to do it. My question is:
> what the best method or organizing the images . . . both directory and
file
> name??? I am using PAF5 on a Windows environment. You help is greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thomas
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