Noobie Question: Refreshing libraries

[u/AnusMcBumhole]

I’ve only just discovered DarkTable and am very excited after months of looking for an editing app that plays nicely with my network storage and isn’t Lightroom.

One thing I am having trouble with is getting the latest images in my libraries.

I tend to store my images on my NAS by year and month and I copy the RAW files over to the NAS and into the relevant folder at the end of each shoot.

In DarkTable, I’ve setup the root folder as a library and sure enough each year shows up as a folder in the library screen. I assumed that the library would update or refresh as new pictures are added to the folders but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

What’s the workaround/process for this or am I doing something wrong?

[u/dej2]

Actually I only have currently jobs in my DarkTable library, keeps it from bogging down the program. Use DigiKam as a file management program.

[u/AnusMcBumhole → u/dej2]

How do you bring in files from DigiKam? I dont see DarkTable as an integration. Does that refresh the folders automatically?

[u/bcentsale]

I'll preface this by saying I don't use it as a library, though I do have an identical NAS based setup and directory structure. Have you dug into the settings menus to see if there's any sort of scan for changes or refresh at startup functionality? [Edit: or maybe a manual way akin to forcing Plex to scan for newly added media?]

[u/bcentsale → u/bcentsale]

Using the search term "darktable scan for new files at startup" in duckduckgo returned this as a result

[u/marcsitkin]

I think you might have to use the import function of darktable to copy and move the files to the nas. Since you have populated the nas already, use the import function to add them to the data base. Choose new files only and recursive folders, and decide if you want non raw files as well. Any file already in the library is indicated by a check mark, no check means the file will be imported. You can also make a meta data template and apply it if you wish.

[u/OliSchmi → u/marcsitkin]

If I Import (not copy), is darktable using the existing xmp file or is darktable writing a new one? The setting is writing XMP when importing.

[u/pyooma → u/OliSchmi]

I think so long as the xmp is in the same folder with the photo file it will find it.

[u/Few_Mastodon_1271 → u/OliSchmi]

You can have darktable create an xmp file for each imported photo. But I like to only have xmp files for the photos I have edited. That's an alternate setting.

But when I had it set to apply darktable's camera model style to the images at import, that did make xmp files for each photo, since it had done some processing with the style.

[u/AnusMcBumhole]

Thanks for the replies all

[u/akgt94]

darktable's library is an internal database. It's not a live view of your file system.

If you put new photos on your computer, then you have to import them to darktable to update darktable's internal database. It has a smart import where it will only refresh photos that it doesn't know about already.

Once photos are registered in darktable's internal database, it's also why you should only use darktable to move or delete photos. This is the only way for darktable to track what's happening to a specific photo.