Edit Mapping dialog (v6)

This dialog menu is called from the Advance Cataloging Options Mappings tab. The same dialog is opened when either the Add or Edit buttons are clicked on the Mappings dialog:

Title. A text string describing the contents of the tagged data field. It does not have to match the actual tag title.

Code. The decimal number of the tag being mapped. You will need to work this number out if it is not already present in the supplied mapping. Most EXIF reading utilities will show the tag titles but not the number. They can be seen here. The tag numbers shown on that site are in hexadecimal and you will need to convert them to decimal. For those new to this conversion procedure, it is described here.

Action. Choose whether to Replace existing Field data or Append (add) to it.

State. Select the tick box to set the mapping to be 'on'. You must do this manually. Just adding or editing a mapping does not turn on the mapping - a mistake that is easy to make when you first use this feature.

Field. The Custom Field into which the mapped data is to be inserted. There must be at least one such Field per mapped tag. The drop-down shows the names of all the Custom Fields in the Catalogue - regardless of whether the Field is already mapped to. In general you should never map more than one tag to one Field.

You also need to choose the right Field data type for the data being imported. The site described under 'Code' above does give data types but not in terms of Portfolio type. Some raw tag data needs manipulation in order to show the data in human readable fashion. For these reasons you are strongly advised to use an experimental catalogue to diagnose Field types and mappings until you know the correct types/settings to use.

The is a useful free utility - sadly Windows only - called FilFolio that helps diagnose the tagged EXIF data present in your files. It uses a pragmatic approach, doing all the data manipulation needed, but importing it all as strings. this saves you the need to guess the data types needed in your Custom Fields. It should be used as an alternative to mappings - do not use both methods for the same tags. FilFolio is described here.

Question: Edit Mapping dialog (v6) [FAQ00303.htm]
Last Update:- 31 May 2006

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