Use

This program is used to merge two or three pictures collections into a single one. It is meant for adding selected pictures from two different sources to a destination folder, which may not be intially empty. For example, it might help making a single pictures collection from yours and a friend's after a common trip.

The program defines three collections displayed as lists of thumbnail pictures. The left hand and right hand side collections reflect the contents of selected files folders, which may be changed several times in the same session. Conversely, the contents of the middle list reflects the unique result of previous merges and deletions and it can be initialized only once (if required).

All transfer operations are immediately shown in the three lists, but no actual data transfer happens before the program exits. Audio comments*, if present, are moved around together with their associated pictures.

* a file of the same name with a .wav extension is considered to be the audio comment of a picture.

Launching

The "java -jar Selector3.jar" or "javaw -jar Selector3.jar" command lines, run from the installation directory, should do the job, assuming your path variable points to the java/bin directory. Windows® and Solaris® users may just double-click the jar file.

Directions for use

Note that transfer commands (>>>, <<< + >>> and <<<) apply to the selected pictures groups: selected pictures of the different lists are displayed framed in a thick red rectangle and complex multiple selection is always possible using the Shift and Ctrl keys in the usual way.

Button Action  
Open Choose the source directory for the left hand or right hand side collection.
The selected file determines the pictures files extension to use for this collection: only files with the same extension as the chosen file are considered.
Target collection Choose the destination folder for the new collection.
If the middle list is not empty when this command is issued, you are prompted to confirm the operation, since it will discard all transfers and edits done thus far.
If the destination folder is not empty, the program asks for the extension of the files to import. The options include all extensions found in the directory plus "all files" and "no extension". If you do not want to import any file, don´t use this command: you will be able to choose the destination folder of your new collection with the [Save and exit] command.
This button is deactivated as soon as the target collection has been defined.
<<<
>>>
Transfer buttons.
The selected pictures of the corresponding side list are transferred to the middle list.
If no element of the middle list is selected, then the new pictures are added at the end of the list. Conversely, if at least one element of the target collection is selected, the pictures are added in front of the first selected element and the newly added pictures are automatically included in the selection range.
<<< + >>> Remove the selected elements from the target collection.
If several selected elements belong to one of the side lists, they are transferred back to their original location (if every element is transferred to and fro between a side list and the target collection, the pictures order of the side list remains unchanged, irrespective of the precise transfers sequence).
Save and exit Compile the target collection by actually copying, moving and deleting picture files (and their associated audio comments). If no target collection has been imported (using the [Target collection] command), the user is prompted for the destination folder.
This command opens the Save collection dialog box to collect the following data:
  • should files be copied or moved to the target directory?
  • which files already present in the destination folder should be deleted?
  • what prefix should be used to rename the resulting collection files?
    (the new names are such as to ensure identity between the collection pictures order and the ascending alphabetical order of the file names)
This command is only active after the target collection has been modified.
Exit Exit without saving (confirmation required if the target collection has been modified).
Equivalent to the Close box and command of the main window.
? Displays an About dialog box, which, in turn, gives access to the help displaying window.

A right-click on any displayed thumbnail picture opens a zoom window for this picture (note that it does not display the full resolution, but only a ~4× higher resolution picture than the thumbnail).

According to whether an audio comment has been found or not for a given picture, the program displays the or icon in the lower right corner of the list element. A right-click on any icon will make the program sound the corresponding comment.

Note on pictures loading

Pictures are loaded asynchronously by a thread managed by the application itself, using the newest Java 1.4 image APIs, for performance reasons (the daemon thread used by the older image APIs is far too slow). The thumbnail pictures are cached for better efficiency.

Recognized formats: jpeg, gif, png (depends on your Java toolkit's capabilities).

Disclaimer and distribution policy

THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS (INCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE) ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. FURTHER, THE AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. IF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS ARE DEFECTIVE YOU, AND NOT THE AUTHOR, ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.
THE ABOVE IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THAT IS MADE BY THE AUTHOR.
THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT, EVEN IF HE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

This program is freeware and may be freely copied if all files (see hereafter) are distributed simultaneously, without any modification.

Files in the package:

File Use
Selector3.jar The program.
infowin.jar API package fr.free.palbou.infowin (Copyright (C) Pierre Albou, 2002-2004. All rights reserved)
readme.txt Directions for use.