The batch media plug-in works somewhat like a plug-in for
Photoshop, in that you run this little program from within TMS, but of course
it has a very different functionality.
To use the plugin, you simply populate a MS Access table (that comes
with the plug-in) with information about the images you want to link to from
the TMS database (incl. object number, filename, and path where the image can
be found), and their thumbnails. You
save this Access database to the TMS Plugins folder, where the plug-in itself should
reside, and then use the TMS media module to run the batch media plug-in. The media loader asks you to load in
your Access table, at which point it is equipped to create your media objects,
link to a thumbnail, and link the media object to an object record.
Keep in mind that the batch media plug-in does not “load”
images onto the server, nor does it create or convert any images at all, as I
understand it – it just deals with the database. But if you have, say, a digital image,
and a thumbnail already created for it (which the TMS image conversion tool
does, of course), and you tell the media loader where these image files are, then
the media plug-in will create a media object for you (we created it with a
rendition number equal to the corresponding object number), link that media
object to its thumbnail, and link that media object to the appropriate object
record. The batch media plug-in is
not really designed to add metadata, it seems, although it will add certain basic
media object information.
As I mentioned, the batch media plug-in is a great tool once
you get it to work properly. We run
TMS on an Oracle database, and Gallery designed the media loader to work with
SQL originally, so your experience with the batch media plug-in may be even
more seamless than ours was. But make
sure you consult your DBA or the Gallery support team to get started. Good luck,
Educational Analyst, Emory ITD
404-727-5115
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask]
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: Linking Images
I am
very interested in the batch media plug in. Does it work like a plug-in to PhotoShop?
What are the benefits? All in all,
is the prep time consuming? Do you
have step by step example of several images I could try?
Larry Giacoletti
Registration Dept.
212.570.3661
212.570.3681 fax
-----Original
Message-----
From: David Lower
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]
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To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Linking Images
We just used the batch media plugin at Emory today in
order to link about 10,000 images, and it worked very well. It needed a little massaging to function
properly, so I definitely recommend consulting an IT person to configure things
correctly, but once operational it is a very handy tool. We plan to only link images using this
tool, since it gets laborious to manually link every image.
I'd be happy to talk with you about our experience
with this tool if you want to know what we've done, although we found Dimitry
in Gallery
David Lower
Educational Analyst, Emory University ITD
404-727-5115
-----Original Message-----
From: The Museum System (TMS) Users [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Mary Ellen Guerra
Sent:
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Linking Images
Hi Suzanne,
I'd love to see your manual on linking images to
TMS. Has your brilliant
Larry Giacoletti figuered out how to use the batch
upload plug in?
Thanks,
Mary Ellen Guerra