Field Defaults

When adding photos to your collection, you have probably found that for quite some fields you are always entering the same values.

For example, you may be setting the Owner field to your own name for every photo you add. And what if you always buy your photos online at Amazon? Do you keep setting the Purchase Store field manually for each and every photo you buy? And what about the Read It field (for books) and the Seen It field for movies? And what about that new camera you're using for pretty much each new picture you're adding to your collection?

Setting Field Defaults will save you from having to do these tasks manually, as it will automatically set initial values for added photos. This way you and save time and have your collection data up to date. Admit it: the more complete your information is, the nicer things'll look, right? Right.

Setting Field Defaults

Setting default field values is done in the Field Defaults screen. Open this screen by choosing Tools > Field Defaults from the menu.

Each value you set here will be automatically applied to all photos you add from that moment on, using either the Adding Photos Automatically or Manually feature.

For example, if you set the Country box to USA here, every future photo you add will have the Country field set to USA automatically.

Also, note the special "Set today as ..." checkboxes for date fields. These can be used to have Photo Collector automatically set the current date as the value.

Some useful tips

• Initially, while cataloging your existing collection, you are probably only adding photos you have (in case of a movie collection) already watched. So during that phase, it probably makes sense to have the Seen it field default to YES.
  However, after you have added your entire collection, you will probably only be adding movies you just purchased. From that moment on, it is probably better to have the Seen it field default to NO.
  (the same holds for the Read It field in Book Collector)
• If you buy all your photos at the same store, I recommend to enter that store's name under Purchase Store in the Field Defaults screen. Photo Collector will automatically fill the Store Field for every new photo you buy and add to your collection.
  (Even if you buy stuff somewhere else once in a while, this will still save time. You can always modify the Store field manually.)
• If you always add your new photos to your database immediately after purchase, then using the "Set today as the Purchase Date" will automatically result in correctly filled Purchase Date values.

Please note:
These Field Defaults will only be applied to new, future photos that you add to your collection. It has no effect on existing entries. However, if you want an efficient way to change multiple values for photos already in your collection, make sure to check out the Editing Multiple Photos section.