I have been using Photo Mechanic to add keywords that can be read by applications such as DXO.
I reread my own post. I synchronize the image directories. So with the dop files. The jpg and tiff files are written to \jpg subdirectory and synchronized to.
George
The ability to add and edit keywords is relatively new to PhotoLab and those who wanted keywords before that had to resort to whatever app did the job. Most people stick to proven techniques⌠I still like Lightroom because of its asset management functionality and the plug-ins I get for it. I also like PhotoLab, but it can not replace Lightroom yet.
I have not started PL3 ever again but when I use PL4 to browse my folder which has the unwanted virtual copies it now says (translated from German) âthis folder does not have any picturesâ. There are 973 raw files in the folder, all have been developed, is my work all lost now? What can I do no minimize the damage done? Iâm certainly blaming PL for this!
Ok first.
Are there dopfiles in the folders of your raw files?
If so, your work isnât lost.
It can be the database which is corrupt.
Close dxoplv4.
Copy the v4 database to a folder and then delete the v4 database in the original dxo folder. (keep a backup so to speak.)
Reopen dxoplv4.
Database is rebuild.
See if your imageâs are back.
Thatâs the shortest summary of the problem Iâve seen yet. 
Not a summary, as such, but a truth, and even shorter! 
But it is possibly an exception in that it only stores them in the database.
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Could be. I donât know.
Building a dam based on a database always includes the possibility that the references to the files are wrong due to actions outside the dam.
Iâve 2 pcâs with pl and synchronize them and the nas. In pl the references are âLoad from dopâ and âread from dopâ so I donât make use of the database for that.
I load the images on the pc with the use of a cardreader, put them in a new directory in my image directories system, rename them with VieuwNx (I use there algorithme) and add keywords to them. Edit the pictures if wanted, export them to a subdirectory when wanted, synchronize the two pcâs and nas. And everything is working.
George
This is actually a âsafetyâ feature - not a bug or unexpected behaviour.
It occurs when PL encounters a sidecar/.dop file that does not correspond to the exact same set of corrections as is held in PLâs database ⌠and, so, as PL has no idea which set of corrections are supposed to be the current set, it retains both sets of corrections; as separate virtual copies.
John M
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Then I should have virtual copies all the time. I donât.
George
It seems to happen a lot more randomly than that for me, and outside the context of changing versions of Photolab.
For various reasons in my workflow I need to apply different export settings to photos based on their edited/cropped size. Photolab on windows does not provide a way of filtering on this, so I have been forced into doing this processing / sorting using scripts on my computer. Effectively the scripts take copies of .dop files and the original raw files and place them into new directories based on edited size. Then I run Photolab and add the new directories containing the copied files. Sometimes, but very rarely, when I do this Photolab creates virtual copies in the new directory for the new files. If it does this then I can remove the new files and directories and try again and it usually works, so it seems to be some kind of timing issue in the softwareâŚ
I can kind of see why this could be happening, as the copies of the .dop files have the same UUIDs as the original that is in the database, but as the files are in a different directory, personally I do not expect there to be any issues.
That said, I wholly accept that my use case may be breaking some of the Photolab ârules/assumptionsâ, which is why I have tended to ignore this as a minor aggravationâŚ
However as there seems to be confusion as to how/why this is happening with other peoples work flows, maybe what I have discovered while messing around like this will help shed some light on what could be happening in other peoples use cases.
Your process seems pretty sound to me, Alun.
Yes - itâs when the UUIDs are (perceived to be) different that PL throws its hands in the air and creates separate Virtual Copies (JIC).
John
Why, George ?
John
Because Iâve pl installed on 2 pcâs and synchronize them . And no virtual copies. As mentioned before.
George
Synchronised them how ?
John
Just read my posts. Nr. 5,9,11,17,19,21 if Iâm right with the numbers.
George
When I try to copy one file to another location in Windows and a file with the same name is already there, Windows asks the user what to do: Do nothing, replace or keep both. Basically all software I know has that logic. How can PL dare to always âkeep bothâ without even asking and have the user clean up the mess afterwards - possibly thousands of unwanted virtual copies? I completely disagree with this behaviour, it doesnât allow the user to have any control. @DxO please fix this!
I only see 'overwrite yes or no".
Asking again: what does the preferences say? Post 7.
George
Post 7 mainly refers to the situation where a user has 2 versions of PL on the same computer. This is one of my use cases but is not what I complained about in post 35 - I donât have to copy .dop files if itâs the same computer. I have to copy them between different PCs and obviously I want to be able to edit on both PCs.
I am using âdefaultâ settings in PL4 on both computers: âSave settings in sidecar file automaticallyâ and âLoad settings from sidecar file automaticallyâ are ticked, not in PL3 but in PL4 on both computers. As said, I want to have one instance of PL4 on every computer with which I can edit. In case I decide to copy a .dop file from one PC to another I want it to be used without the creation of a virtual copy.
I donât understand the situation of pl3 and pl4.
I have pl4 on both pcâs, load and save from sidecar files on both and no problems. I just synchronized them and watched the synchronized pictures: no virtual copies.
Donât use pl3 and pl4 at the same time. That might give you problems. Why 2 versions?
George
correct.
v4 and v4 does no virtual copies because dopfile is leadend over database.
(make a dop file copy it in a subfolder, change dopfile and close v4 replace dopfile form sub folder on the changed one. open v4 and your back in time.
@juerg The problem is v3 has different version of dopfile then v4. so the version gets updated not the adjustments settings.
Thatâs why you need to set v3 preferences on read only or no dopfile read write.