Review Tropy Metadata Before Merging Research Photo Items
By ImgHeal · Updated
Before merging Tropy items, compare their descriptions and decide which values should survive. Combining photos changes their shared item record, so a convenient drag can also hide a conflicting caption. Preserve the disagreement in a note before making a structural change to the project.
Explore this topic: Organize a photo archive
Establish that a merge is appropriate
Use merging for captures belonging to the same research object, such as the two sides of one print. Do not merge unrelated objects just to group them by family surname. Inspect stable IDs, image contents, and source locations. Open the competing metadata fields side by side or copy them into a temporary review note. A field containing a confident name and a field containing an uncertain name are not equivalent values. Record the evidence behind both descriptions before choosing a shared item description.
Choose the retained record deliberately
Tropy documents different retention behavior depending on the merge method: a drag targets one item, while a selected-item merge retains values according to its documented ordering. Read the current instructions for your installed version before acting. Decide which record is the intended destination and make a small test on an appropriate project copy if necessary. Do not rely on the visible order of thumbnails as an explanation of what will happen to every field. Preserve disputed values explicitly rather than expecting the merged item to narrate the conflict for you.
Inspect every affected field afterward
After combining, open the result and verify that all expected photos are present, including backs and contextual captures. Compare its metadata with your pre-merge notes. Check fields that were populated on only one record as well as fields that disagreed. Correct the shared description to preserve uncertainty where appropriate, then retrieve the item by its object ID. Keep the project recovery copy until the result has been reviewed. A restored viewing image from ImgHeal should remain a clearly identified derivative within this arrangement, not a reason to overwrite the earlier source description.
Check this workflow
- Confirm both records concern the same object.
- Save conflicting field values before merging.
- Compare all resulting metadata against the review note.
Sources and further reading
- Tropy: Combine photos into itemsDocuments item grouping, retained metadata during merging, and splitting combined items.
Questions about this restoration task
Will merging automatically preserve a readable history of disagreements?
Do not count on it. Record the alternative descriptions and their sources before merging, then verify what the combined item actually retains.
Continue with a related guide
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