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Search for Top Level Files. Exclude Subfolders

HoudahSpot searches always go into subfolders. For example, when you search in your home folder, you can find letters saved to your Documents folder.

When you don’t want files from a subfolder to clutter search results, excluding the subfolder is easy: just drag the folder from the breadcrumb path at the bottom of the HoudahSpot window to the Locations/Exclude list.

You can repeat the procedure to exclude more folders. But if you want to see only results from the top level folder, it is easier to use the path filter to simply hide results from nested folders.

Continue reading Search for Top Level Files. Exclude Subfolders

Quick Tip: Return Focus to the HoudahSpot Search Field

After you start a search, HoudahSpot moves the keyboard focus to the search results. You can then navigate results using the arrow keys. Press return to open the selected files.

When the search brings up too many results, you will want to refine it. One way to do so is to add to the search field at the top of the HoudahSpot window.

You may now be tempted to reach for the mouse to click the search field. Don’t.

Continue reading Quick Tip: Return Focus to the HoudahSpot Search Field

Drag-and-Drop Photo Geocoding

When you remember where you took a photo, wouldn’t it be great if you could geocode it by simply dropping it on a map?

In HoudahGeo 5, you can do just that. In the video demo, I am geocoding a series of photos taken at Taj Mahal. I distinctly remember walking from bag check to the great gate. On the way, I took a few photos as the majestic site revealed itself.

Continue reading Drag-and-Drop Photo Geocoding

Adjust Photo Times to Match Local Time

This summer, we travelled to Florida. I did not bother to adjust the clock on my camera to match local time. I left it set to my home time zone: Central European Summer Time (CEST).

When the time came to geotag photos from the trip, I just had to tell HoudahGeo that the camera clock was set to CEST. With this extra bit of information, HoudahGeo was able to figure out at what exact time each photo was taken. It then matched these times to GPS track logs to find where the photos were taken.

This photo of a Key Deer was indeed taken on Big Pine Key, Florida.

Key deer at 4 PM EDT. Or as the camera had it: 10 PM CEST
Key deer at 4 PM in Florida. Or as the camera had it: 10 PM European time.

According to my camera, the above photo was taken at 10 PM. This is at odds with what we see in the picture: broad daylight.
Continue reading Adjust Photo Times to Match Local Time

What is the difference between geotagging and adding locations in Apple Photos?

The Places maps in Apple Photos is a great way to find and explore photos.

Geotagged photos taken with iPhone or another GPS-enabled camera are automatically added to the map. To add other photos, you can assign them locations in Apple Photos. You will, however, also want to geotag these photos.

How is geotagging different from assigning locations in Apple Photos?

Continue reading What is the difference between geotagging and adding locations in Apple Photos?

Geotagging for Apple Photos 2.0

The newly released macOS 10.12 Sierra includes a major update to the Apple Photos application. In Photos 2.0, the Places feature makes a comeback. The Places album lets you explore your photos on a beautiful world map. The new Memories feature also includes a map showing where the photos in the collection where taken.

Being able to organize and find photos by location is one of the best reasons to geotag all your photos.

Starting with Photos 2.0, it is now possible for HoudahGeo to update places information in the Photos library. This allows you to use the many options HoudahGeo offers for geocoding to add locations to photos in your library.

Continue reading Geotagging for Apple Photos 2.0

Fill Geotagging Gaps Left by Slow-to-Start GPS Camera

In order to save battery, many GPS-enabled cameras power their GPS receiver only once you turn on the camera. It then takes anyhwere from a couple of seconds to several minutes for the GPS to know where you currently are.

If you take a photo during this power-up phase, the camera is left with the option to use a previously recorded GPS location or forgo geotagging the photos.

At the end of the day, you will have a set of photos where some images lack geotags. This can easily be fixed with HoudahGeo.Geocoding gap left by GPS camera

Continue reading Fill Geotagging Gaps Left by Slow-to-Start GPS Camera

Incremental Photo Geocoding Using Maps

Manually geocoding a long list of photos can be daunting. With HoudahGeo it’s a snap. Follow the workflow outlined below and you’ll be done in no time.

The workflow takes advantage of the fact that the distance travelled between two photos is often rather short and easy to retrace. Once you have determined the location of the first photo, you just need to make incremental adjustments to geocode subsequent photos. It takes but a nudge to the map and a click for each photo.

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Find Files from a List of Names

Sometimes, you get a list of file names and need to find the actual files. You may be a photographer who sent out a contact sheet for photo proofing and got back an email listing the images to be printed. Or you may have sent friends messages with tiny photos and got a reply asking for larger copies of images 7359, 7365 and 7366.

HoudahSpot can help you work through such notes and collect the requested files. Continue reading Find Files from a List of Names

HoudahSpot: 10 Years of Successful Searching on the Mac

10 years ago, we released the very first version of what came to be one of the most popular search tools on the Mac: HoudahSpot.
Continue reading HoudahSpot: 10 Years of Successful Searching on the Mac