Product info
Photo Backup
Download
Overview
Features
Supported Formats
Versions History
About Photo Backup LE
Online Manual
News and Announcements

Typical uses
Archive Digital Photos
Photo Organizer
Backup Audio CDs
Index Existing Backup
CD Burning

Useful information
Enabling DMA Mode

Create an index for photos on CDs and DVDs

This application note shows how to create a thumbnail index of your archive using Photo Backup.
If you have several CDs or DVDs with backup of photos, music documents or any other type of files, you can use Photo Backup to create an index that will show where each file is stored.

Steps

1. Create a new backup session in Photo Backup
2. Use Include previous backup to scan all existing backup
3. Use Make index to generate an HTML index
4. Create an Index CD, to store the index on a dedicated CD

1) Create a new backup session in Photo Backup

Use the setup assistant to create new backup settings. You will be asked what file types are included in the backup (found on the CDs or DVDs). You can scan for all file types or specify certain types, which you are interested in.
Then, select the directory (or directories) on the hard drive where these files exist. If the don't exist on the hard drive any more, this step can be skipped.

2) Scan existing backup

Photo Backup keeps a database of which file is stored on which CD (or DVD).
The database includes file details, thumbnails and EXIF information.
In order to initialize this database, let Photo Backup scan existing backup. After all CDs are scanned, the program will know exactly where each file is stored.

(from the 'Manage CDs' panel, click on Include previous backup).

During the scanning, Photo Backup creates thumbnails and also reads EXIF information, so that photos on archive can be searched and browsed (most photo formats are supported, including RAW formats - see details).

This information can be used to continue making incremental backup, and automatically copy to CD only new or modified files, or just to create an index, showing what's on backup and where.

3) Use [Make index] to generate an HTML index

The HTML index, which is generated shows where each file is saved. The index includes two sections - text and thumbnails.
The text index is a list showing the source file names, the CD on which each file is stored and the path on the CD. Next time you need to find a file, just open the index, search for its name and you'll see exactly where it is located.
For graphical files (photos, pictures, etc.) you can also use a thumbnail index. This index includes thumbnails of all photos in the backup, and where they are stored on the backup. The thumbnail index is organized according to the folders on the hard drive, to make searching for a particular file quick and intuitive.

4) Store the index on a dedicated CD

Click on Index CD and the index is copied to a CD. You can use the same CD to write updates to the index.
When new files are archived, the index can be automatically updated. Photo Backup can also update the index CD to contain an up-to-date version of the index.

To view the index it doesn't need to be burned on a CD. The index can also be viewed from within Photo Backup. Burning the index is recommended to protect this valuable information in case the computer fails.

Getting started

So, what do you need to do to get started?

1. Download and install the program - you have a 14 days trial with no registration required
2. Setup a session to include all existing backup
3. Create an index and (optionally) burn it to CD
4. Continue making automatic incremental backup using Photo Backup

And, if you have any questions, contact us and we'll be glad to help.