Thank you for Archive Creator

[Don Race]

Like most I keep putting off the inevitable--- archiving my images in their original state plus copies of images that I have minipulated. My backups have been spotty at best and have been looking for a program that created an indexed archive of these images onto CD or better yet onto DVD (DVD is not yet an AC feature) . Over the weekend I heard about Archive Creator (AC) by Michael Tapes--- I downloaded the demo, that only creates a single cd, to see if it was compatable with my computer-- it was so I purchased the pre-release version for $30--- what do I have to loose except my entire library that is on a raid 0 array (If I loose just one disk of this array the entire logical drive is capoot!)

I have images that go back to 2000 and quickly found that I had over 36,000 images according to AC (I'm a pack rat, I keep everything I shoot). The first big mistake I made was having AC archive all my images at once, it was very slow and the index file was 380meg that gets copied onto every CD and took up over half the storage of the 700meg CD and was going to take over 136CDs for my archive..... I sent off a note to Michael and he asked me to phone him to discuss.

I called and talked with him and I have to tell you Michael is very passionate about this product and explained how AC works in detail and told me to split the archive up into more manageable sessions. I did so and in my case I am archiving by year--- not only is the index smaller but it cycles CD burns faster. Michael then went into some of the upcoming changes as a result of all the feedback he has received including putting the index on the first CD only. The index contains an HTML viewer of thumbnails/preview images that are burned by AC onto the CD's.

Anyway AC, as I told Michael, is a gap killer and with all the knowledge he has on the technical aspects of the media and CD ISO standards this product will only get better. I should be done in the next day or so archiving my images and will include this as a regular part of my D60 workflow.... I will sleep better now that I know the images of my growing family will be around for years to come and I highly recommend AC. I might also add that I have no affiliation with this product and I just met Michael on the phone for the first time this morning!!!

For more info:
http://www.pictureflow.com/

 

[DavidP #28649]

I had to talk with Michael (he suggested the phone call) because of problems I had getting one of the later versions of YP installed on my XP machine.

Very nice guy, and very willing to help out where he can. (Not to mention all his help on creating my business card).

As you've seen, he's very willing to consider changes to his programs, too.

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

['Ozy']

I tried the demo last week and it worked great. I bought it last night as well and used it to archive out this weekend's event for my other photogs to have a copy. Worked like a charm!!! I can't wait to see all the improvements that is added.

Thanks for making my archive management nightmare no longer a nightmare!

Like most I keep putting off the inevitable--- archiving my images
in their original state plus copies of images that I have
minipulated. My backups have been spotty at best and have been
looking for a program that created an indexed archive of these
images onto CD or better yet onto DVD (DVD is not yet an AC
feature) . Over the weekend I heard about Archive Creator (AC) by
Michael Tapes--- I downloaded the demo, that only creates a single
cd, to see if it was compatable with my computer-- it was so I
purchased the pre-release version for $30--- what do I have to
loose except my entire library that is on a raid 0 array (If I
loose just one disk of this array the entire logical drive is
capoot!)

I have images that go back to 2000 and quickly found that I had
over 36,000 images according to AC (I'm a pack rat, I keep
everything I shoot). The first big mistake I made was having AC
archive all my images at once, it was very slow and the index file
was 380meg that gets copied onto every CD and took up over half the
storage of the 700meg CD and was going to take over 136CDs for my
archive..... I sent off a note to Michael and he asked me to phone
him to discuss.

I called and talked with him and I have to tell you Michael is very
passionate about this product and explained how AC works in detail
and told me to split the archive up into more manageable sessions.
I did so and in my case I am archiving by year--- not only is the
index smaller but it cycles CD burns faster. Michael then went
into some of the upcoming changes as a result of all the feedback
he has received including putting the index on the first CD only.
The index contains an HTML viewer of thumbnails/preview images that
are burned by AC onto the CD's.

Anyway AC, as I told Michael, is a gap killer and with all the
knowledge he has on the technical aspects of the media and CD ISO
standards this product will only get better. I should be done in
the next day or so archiving my images and will include this as a
regular part of my D60 workflow.... I will sleep better now that I
know the images of my growing family will be around for years to
come and I highly recommend AC. I might also add that I have no
affiliation with this product and I just met Michael on the phone
for the first time this morning!!!

For more info:
http://www.pictureflow.com/

--
Ozy
http://www.carandmodel.com
1D, D60, 70-200L f2.8 IS, 16-35L, 28-135 IS, & 50 f1.4, 550EX

 

[Wally Jarratt62951]

Nope.

I am not on Michael Tapes payroll. But I downloaded the program, ran a test on a several hundred photos (and folders), and immediately returned to http://www.pictureflow.com and purchased the program.

There are features that I still wished this program had...but as I understand it, they are coming soon.

If you haven't tried this program...I highly recommend it.

And one last comment about the smaller companies filling our niche for digital photography programs...It amazes me the level of support and courtesy these companies provide. Programmers like Michael Tapes of Pictureflow.com, Mike Chaney of Qimage Pro, Chris Breeze of Breezebrowser, and Igor Kokorev of PicturestoExe constantly show their dedication and enthusiasm for helping digital photographers with their workflow. KUDOS to you all.

Wally Jarratt

--
Wally Jarratt
http://www.searcysports.com

 

[MichaelT]

Like most I keep putting off the inevitable--- archiving my images
in their original state plus copies of images that I have
minipulated. My backups have been spotty at best and have been
looking for a program that created an indexed archive of these
images onto CD or better yet onto DVD (DVD is not yet an AC
feature) . Over the weekend I heard about Archive Creator (AC) by
Michael Tapes--- I downloaded the demo, that only creates a single
cd, to see if it was compatable with my computer-- it was so I
purchased the pre-release version for $30--- what do I have to
loose except my entire library that is on a raid 0 array (If I
loose just one disk of this array the entire logical drive is
capoot!)

I have images that go back to 2000 and quickly found that I had
over 36,000 images according to AC (I'm a pack rat, I keep
everything I shoot). The first big mistake I made was having AC
archive all my images at once, it was very slow and the index file
was 380meg that gets copied onto every CD and took up over half the
storage of the 700meg CD and was going to take over 136CDs for my
archive..... I sent off a note to Michael and he asked me to phone
him to discuss.

I called and talked with him and I have to tell you Michael is very
passionate about this product and explained how AC works in detail
and told me to split the archive up into more manageable sessions.
I did so and in my case I am archiving by year--- not only is the
index smaller but it cycles CD burns faster. Michael then went
into some of the upcoming changes as a result of all the feedback
he has received including putting the index on the first CD only.
The index contains an HTML viewer of thumbnails/preview images that
are burned by AC onto the CD's.

Anyway AC, as I told Michael, is a gap killer and with all the
knowledge he has on the technical aspects of the media and CD ISO
standards this product will only get better. I should be done in
the next day or so archiving my images and will include this as a
regular part of my D60 workflow.... I will sleep better now that I
know the images of my growing family will be around for years to
come and I highly recommend AC. I might also add that I have no
affiliation with this product and I just met Michael on the phone
for the first time this morning!!!

For more info:
http://www.pictureflow.com/

Don,

Thanks so much for the kind words and nice to meet you this morning on the phone. I enjoyed our conversation. There is always knowledge to share in both directions.

I might mention that while, as you determined, that the archiving 36,000 file in one Archive Set is not the best method to do your archive, it is a testiment to AC that it is able to churn through thsoe files, making 2 images of each one along the way, plus an HTML page. A total of over 120,000 files were involved and over 90,000 would be written to each CD in your set. While we do not recommend such an Archive set, as you have learned, the program was designed to be very robust and handle most anything that is thrown at it. And this is the pre-release version. It will only get better.

Thanks again for your kind words, and also remember that you can leave an archive session after buring a few disks, shut off your PC, amd come back the next day and contiue on from where you left off. The last archive set is remembered so that you can continue or burn another set of disks (always a good idea...and on 2 different high quality media...and have the verify function on).

Enjoy..
--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com

 

[MichaelT]

Nope.

I am not on Michael Tapes payroll. But I downloaded the program,
ran a test on a several hundred photos (and folders), and
immediately returned to http://www.pictureflow.com and purchased the
program.

There are features that I still wished this program had...but as I
understand it, they are coming soon.

If you haven't tried this program...I highly recommend it.

And one last comment about the smaller companies filling our niche
for digital photography programs...It amazes me the level of
support and courtesy these companies provide. Programmers like
Michael Tapes of Pictureflow.com, Mike Chaney of Qimage Pro, Chris
Breeze of Breezebrowser, and Igor Kokorev of PicturestoExe
constantly show their dedication and enthusiasm for helping digital
photographers with their workflow. KUDOS to you all.

Wally Jarratt

--
Wally Jarratt
http://www.searcysports.com

--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com

 

[Don Race]

Yes it's refreshing knowing that your suggestions are being seriously considered at a personal level.

I had to talk with Michael (he suggested the phone call) because of
problems I had getting one of the later versions of YP installed on
my XP machine.

Very nice guy, and very willing to help out where he can. (Not to
mention all his help on creating my business card).

As you've seen, he's very willing to consider changes to his
programs, too.

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[DavidP #28649]

I didn't know that. I was wondering why the program seemed to leave a lot of files hanging around after it was done, though.

Thanks again for your kind words, and also remember that you can
leave an archive session after buring a few disks, shut off your
PC, amd come back the next day and contiue on from where you left
off. The last archive set is remembered so that you can continue or
burn another set of disks (always a good idea...and on 2 different
high quality media...and have the verify function on).

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[Taz61703]

Michael:

Maybe I overlooked it...but will Archive Creator run under Win 98SE? I looked for OS info and could only find that it would run under Windows without specifying which flavor.

I DID however find the OS info for PS Script Builder and noted that Win 98SE wasn't included. :-( Any chance this OS might be supported by PS Script Builder in the future? (I realize this is an "outside" product, but thought you might have the inside scoop.)

And yes...before everyone jumps on me and pounds me unmercifully for sticking with an old, outdated, and clunky OS...I DO understand that I'd probably benefit greatly by upgrading. However, I've got everything set up like I like it on my computer, and it runs so smoothly with very rarely a crash or a BSOD, that I just hate to make any changes. Kinda like a comfortable old pair o' slippers...kinda shabby but it gets the job done in a very comfortable fashion.

-Taz

 

[MichaelT]

Thanks again for your kind words, and also remember that you can
leave an archive session after buring a few disks, shut off your
PC, amd come back the next day and contiue on from where you left
off. The last archive set is remembered so that you can continue or
burn another set of disks (always a good idea...and on 2 different
high quality media...and have the verify function on).

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

Yes...the temoindex folder is left there so that the burn process can continue the next day or another copy can be burned. This is by design.

The point Iwant to make here, is that it is non-accumating. I do not want people to think that we are bulding a mess of files in their AC folder. The next time you process an Archive File Selection List, the old TempIndex folder is deleted and replaced by the new one.

In a future version, these TempIndex folders are planned to be copied to a master Index folder so that you have a Master index of ALL your archives..if you want it. This will be very very cool. (to use your words)..

--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com

 

[MichaelT]

Michael:

Maybe I overlooked it...but will Archive Creator run under Win
98SE? I looked for OS info and could only find that it would run
under Windows without specifying which flavor.

I DID however find the OS info for PS Script Builder and noted that
Win 98SE wasn't included. :-( Any chance this OS might be
supported by PS Script Builder in the future? (I realize this is an
"outside" product, but thought you might have the inside scoop.)

And yes...before everyone jumps on me and pounds me unmercifully
for sticking with an old, outdated, and clunky OS...I DO understand
that I'd probably benefit greatly by upgrading. However, I've got
everything set up like I like it on my computer, and it runs so
smoothly with very rarely a crash or a BSOD, that I just hate to
make any changes. Kinda like a comfortable old pair o'
slippers...kinda shabby but it gets the job done in a very
comfortable fashion.

-Taz

Taz,

As noted in our system requirements (on-line help file) we do support W98. Sometimes a file or 2 has to be added to the system to get things going, but once that is done (once) AC should be fine under W98. Of course burn speeds might be affected and the use of a Burn-Proof drive is recommnded, but not mandatory.

Regarding PSSB...my guess is that it would also be fine, but you should check with them to be sure...

--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com

 

[danks]

I also run Win 98SE and have no intention whatsoever of upgrading until I absolutely have to. I run it on four machines. The XP version would cost a lot of money or require that I successfully network them together.

I object strongly to the way XP is marketed and the draconian registration procedures it entails if you add/subtract hardware frequently the way I do. There is also the extreme likelihood I would have a battle to get all my peripherals to work under XP, especially the Polaroid SS 4000. I do not enjoy the "DLL shuffle and the driver update rag" at all! So I'll stick to 98SE for as long as I can. At the moment, my computers ain't broke and I don't intend on fixin' 'em!!

AC works fine on my SE machine so far, BTW.

Michael:

Maybe I overlooked it...but will Archive Creator run under Win
98SE? I looked for OS info and could only find that it would run
under Windows without specifying which flavor.

And yes...before everyone jumps on me and pounds me unmercifully
for sticking with an old, outdated, and clunky OS...I DO understand
that I'd probably benefit greatly by upgrading. However, I've got
everything set up like I like it on my computer, and it runs so
smoothly with very rarely a crash or a BSOD, that I just hate to
make any changes.

--
Terry Danks
Nature & Wildlife (Hummingbirds!) Photography
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/n1dcmc78/home.htm

 

[danks]

I have already had communication from Michael as to why LZW compression is not supported in AC, at least not yet. I do not want to consider any lossy compression scheme. However I do need a format with compression. I already have about 40GB to archive and would prefer to keep the # of CDs to a minimum. I am not keen on archiving CRW files only . . . many of my shots have a lot of post processing work on them and most are still from 4000 dpi slide scans. Of course that will change as all my new stuff is digital but there are still many older slides to be scanned.

So, what format are you folks archiving in? How many GB do you plan on archiving?

--
Terry Danks
Nature & Wildlife (Hummingbirds!) Photography
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/n1dcmc78/home.htm

 

[JohnE]

I purchased AC last week after running tests on my machine (Gateway) with a after-market CDR drive (the original fried) with the eval version of AC. AC works great.

I have about 80+GB of D30 RAW, PSD format, 1D RAW Tiff's and JPEGs. As soon as the Mitsumi Good CD's addrive, I'll start burning.

I've been putting off doing these back ups for too long. I hated having to break up a day's worth of images into several folders before I could cut a back up CD. Now, AC will make this a breeze.

John

I have already had communication from Michael as to why LZW
compression is not supported in AC, at least not yet. I do not want
to consider any lossy compression scheme. However I do need a
format with compression. I already have about 40GB to archive and
would prefer to keep the # of CDs to a minimum. I am not keen on
archiving CRW files only . . . many of my shots have a lot of post
processing work on them and most are still from 4000 dpi slide
scans. Of course that will change as all my new stuff is digital
but there are still many older slides to be scanned.

So, what format are you folks archiving in? How many GB do you plan
on archiving?

--
Terry Danks
Nature & Wildlife (Hummingbirds!) Photography
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/n1dcmc78/home.htm

 

[BWan]

Seems to be a fine and useful utility!

But what is file format of the "Backup Set"? I tried to find out on the home page but I must have missed the info...?

Are the image files stored in a proprietary file format/compressed archive that requires the same software to be restored?

O are they stored in their native picture format, i e the files are stored individually and possible to read back without any special software?

If the "Backup Set" is a special archive file, I wonder how I can restore the files on the computers/os/programs that exist in the year 2020...?

:O)) Bo W

 

[MichaelT]

I have already had communication from Michael as to why LZW
compression is not supported in AC, at least not yet. I do not want
to consider any lossy compression scheme. However I do need a
format with compression. I already have about 40GB to archive and
would prefer to keep the # of CDs to a minimum. I am not keen on
archiving CRW files only . . . many of my shots have a lot of post
processing work on them and most are still from 4000 dpi slide
scans. Of course that will change as all my new stuff is digital
but there are still many older slides to be scanned.

So, what format are you folks archiving in? How many GB do you plan
on archiving?

--
Terry Danks
Nature & Wildlife (Hummingbirds!) Photography
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/n1dcmc78/home.htm

Terry,

I know that we have discussed this on the AC forum, but just to make it clear to others....

Archive Creator can archive ALL file formats. ALL file formats.

The issue of compatability that we discuss only has to do with which formats that we make thumbs and viewing images for in the Web Style Index. So for a format that we do not support (Like LZW TIFF... based on patent issues), it just means that inthe index there will not be a thumbnail of the image. There will be an icon and the filename. With a supported file (almost all image types including most RAW...Nikon, Canon, Fuji, etc), the index will include a thumbnail and a viewing image (if you select these ooptions).

So ALL file formats archived...ALMOST all formats can have thumbs and viewing images in the Index written to the CD.

I hope that this clears the issue up for those who might have mis-understood.

--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com

 

[MichaelT]

Seems to be a fine and useful utility!

But what is file format of the "Backup Set"? I tried to find out on
the home page but I must have missed the info...?

Are the image files stored in a proprietary file format/compressed
archive that requires the same software to be restored?

O are they stored in their native picture format, i e the files are
stored individually and possible to read back without any special
software?

If the "Backup Set" is a special archive file, I wonder how I can
restore the files on the computers/os/programs that exist in the
year 2020...?

:O)) Bo W

Bo W,

Your point is a good one and very important.

The Archive set contains the following files:
--Copies of ALL source files in their native format
--Thumbnails (JPEGS) of the source files (if format supported)
--Viewing Image (lJPEGS) of the source files (if format supported)
--HTML (no JS or Java) Index to read the index

So in the year 2020, you will put a CD in the super-duper dirve of the day, and with an HTML compatable browser be able to read the index

And with just a Windows compatable OS, you will be able to copy the source files.

The point of Archive Creator is to provide as compatable an Archive Set as possible and that is what determines our decisions.

We require NO software (not even AC) to be present to read the index or copy the archived files from the CD. Just the Windows OS (which includes IE).

Please let me know if you would like any futher information on this topic.

--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com

 

[wov]

hi,

I downloaded the eval version of AC and burned the first Test CD. Seems very nice so far. Only one thing at the moment I don´t understand: The buttons called "File" and "Folder" below each picture in the Index don´t do anything. I think they are supposed to show the original picture and the path is OK, but I can´t see the pic ?!?

OK, sorry, false alarm. Only working in IE. I´m using Netscape. I hope this is only a temporary problem. As I´m quite sure that this piece of SW will improve I will order the key now and when this is done I will send a kind list of wanted improvements to the programmer. Can´t wait for the weekend to start organising my 20.000+ images.

regards, wolfgang

 

[elequin]

This may be off-topic for the Canon DSLR forum, but fits in with this discussion a bit.. I'm looking forward to trying Archive Creator this coming weekend, and will probably end up purchasing it so that I can back up my over 40 gigs of images...

I want my backups to last, to burn right the first time, etc. I have a Yamaha 24x CD-R, and was wondering.. What media do people recommend that's rated at a high speed, is 800MB, and is of a quality to last a very very long time? What is considered "the BEST" CD-R media? I don't want to unknowingly make a coaster and end up losing data because I cleared off my hard drive later...

BTW, thanks Michael T for your active participation in these forums! This is a major reason I'm considering AC.

• Eric

 

[MichaelT]

hi,

I downloaded the eval version of AC and burned the first Test CD.
Seems very nice so far. Only one thing at the moment I don´t
understand: The buttons called "File" and "Folder" below each
picture in the Index don´t do anything. I think they are supposed
to show the original picture and the path is OK, but I can´t see
the pic ?!?

OK, sorry, false alarm. Only working in IE. I´m using Netscape. I
hope this is only a temporary problem. As I´m quite sure that this
piece of SW will improve I will order the key now and when this is
done I will send a kind list of wanted improvements to the
programmer. Can´t wait for the weekend to start organising my
20.000+ images.

regards, wolfgang

wolfgang,

Thanks for the kind words... While we use Windows IE as our main development target for the Archive Set, we are stiving for as much compatability with both Windows Netscape as well as Mac IE and Netscape as possible. We are tweaking the indexes to ensure as much compatability as possible. It is not easy because there are so many versions of Netscape and there is Windows and the Mac. But recent changes in the lab code look like we will be able to achieve a greater compatability than we have in our pre-release version (no surprise). So best thing to do is to archive this weekend, and then do it again after V1.0 so you will have a better index and you will ehn have 2 archive copies as you should always have. And use good media. I will issue some notes about media in the next day or 2 on our site in the FAQs.

Enjoy..

--
Regards,

Michael Tapes
http://www.YarcPlus.com
http://www.ArchiveCreator.com
http://www.michaeltapes.com