PIXLpath User Guide

Importing Files From a Memory Card

If your files are on a memory card and require importing to a local drive, use the memory card icon located in the top-right of the Sidebar.

You will first be asked to choose the source of your import. You can add multiple sources if you have multiple cards to import. Next, choose the destination where the imported files should be saved.

Once the source and destination are set, you will be shown a list of media files available for import in the order they were created.

Select the files you wish to import from the list. To select all files, click a file in the list and then press Command + A.

If you wish to rename the files as they are imported, enable the Rename toggle beneath the file list.

On macOS, you can also enable Checksum Verification to verify that each file was copied correctly. PIXLpath calculates a checksum for the original file and compares it with the imported copy to confirm that their contents are identical.

Checksum verification adds additional time to the import because each file must be read again after it is copied, but it provides an extra level of assurance when transferring important files from a memory card.

After the import is complete, PIXLpath will generate catalog previews for the newly imported files.

Add Files Already on Your Drive

If the files you want to reference are already saved to a local drive, use the arrow icon in the Sidebar to add reference thumbnails to your catalog.

Alternatively, you can drag and drop files and folders directly from Finder into the Thumbnail Browser to add references and build thumbnails of the dropped files.

Be sure to only do this for files that have already been imported. Otherwise, use the memory card import workflow described above.

Saving and Understanding a Catalog

PIXLpath uses the same document-based saving system as Apple's Pages and Numbers apps.

PIXLpath was designed for cataloging individual shoots, projects, or photo collections rather than storing every image you have ever taken in one massive catalog.

Think of it like Pages: you would normally save each book, article, or project as its own document, not keep everything you have ever written inside one giant .pages file.

Your catalogs are saved to disk as .pixlpath documents. Each document contains preview images, catalog metadata, and references to the original files on your drives.

Under the hood, a catalog is essentially a folder of preview images and a database of your categorizations, such as Labels, Ratings, Tags, and other catalog-specific details.

You can change the size and compression settings for preview files in the app settings. By default, previews are 1,000 px on their longest side. Lowering this value will reduce catalog size at the expense of preview quality.

Rebuild an Asset

If an asset changes after you've added it to a catalog, you can refresh its thumbnail and metadata.

Select the assets you wish to refresh, then open the context menu and select rebuild assets....

Along with refreshing thumbnails and metadata, you can modify the dimensions and compression level to optimize the catalog for your use case.

For example, if you want smaller catalogs, you can choose smaller dimensions and higher compression.

Custom Catalog Settings

Each catalog can have its own display and thumbnail settings, allowing you to customize it independently from your other catalogs.

You can choose a unique appearance theme, adjust the size of stored reference thumbnails, and control thumbnail compression. These settings are saved with the catalog, so reopening it will restore the appearance and options you selected for that catalog.

Thumbnail size and compression affect the balance between image quality and catalog file size. Larger thumbnails and higher quality settings provide more detail when browsing and viewing images, but require more storage. Smaller or more compressed thumbnails can keep catalogs considerably more compact, particularly when working with large photo collections.

Catalog themes allow you to give different catalogs their own visual appearance. This can also make it easier to distinguish between catalogs when working with more than one collection.

Sidebar

The Sidebar serves as the primary tool for organizing assets into smaller collections.

Some elements in the Sidebar, such as Folders and Tags, are created by you. Other elements, such as Dates, Gear, and Drives, are created automatically based on the properties of your imported assets.

Collections can be expanded and collapsed to free up screen space by clicking the corresponding arrows to the left of the headings.

At the top of the Sidebar, you will find a search field. Type text into the search field to find assets with filenames matching your text.

At the bottom of the Sidebar, icons represent the various collection groups. Clicking one filters the Sidebar to that collection type.

For example, clicking the calendar icon shows only Dates. To display all elements again, click the multi-dot icon.

The heart icon at the bottom of the Sidebar represents a customizable collection view that can be adjusted in app settings.

Collections you never use can be hidden entirely, freeing up space in the Sidebar.

Thumbnail Browser

The Thumbnail Browser is where preview representations of your assets are displayed. Interactions are slightly different on macOS and iOS.

macOS Interface

• Enlarge asset
  Double-click a thumbnail to open the asset in the Enlarged View. If the asset is offline, its preview will be shown.
• Resize thumbnails
  Use the + or - keys to increase or decrease the size of the thumbnails.
• Select multiple assets
  Standard macOS keyboard shortcuts are supported. Hold Command while clicking thumbnails, or hold Shift while using the arrow keys to extend a selection.
• Context menu
  The context menu provides actions including Open in Finder, Rename, and Share. Right-click with a mouse or use a two-finger click on a trackpad.
• Rotate
  Use the [ or ] keys to rotate an asset. This rotation is non-destructive.

iOS Interface

The iOS version incorporates touch gestures for selection and other actions.

• Enlarge asset
  Single-tap a thumbnail to open the asset in the Enlarged View. If the asset is offline, its preview will be shown.
• Resize thumbnails
  Use the Size menu item on the top-right side of the toolbar. You can also toggle the thumbnail frame.
• Select multiple
  Swipe from left to right across thumbnails to select multiple assets. Swipe from right to left to deselect.
• Context menu
  Long-press a thumbnail to display actions including Label and Rating assignment, Copy, Rename, and Share.

Enlarged View

The Enlarged View displays a full-size version of an asset.

If an asset is offline, meaning the original drive is disconnected or the file was removed from its source location, the Enlarged View will use the embedded preview.

The asset filename and zoom percentage are displayed in the top-left of the Enlarged View.

The top-right contains controls to rotate, zoom, or navigate. The bottom displays the full file path on the left and assigned Labels and Ratings on the right.

Compare Mode

To compare images, click the 35-mm film icon in the lower-left corner of the Enlarged View. A filmstrip will appear displaying your thumbnails.

On macOS, hold the Command key and click a thumbnail to compare two assets side-by-side.

On iPadOS, long-press a thumbnail to compare it.

Useful Shortcuts

• Trackpad: Two-finger swipe left and right to move to the next or previous asset.
• Trackpad: Two-finger swipe up to return to the Thumbnail Browser.
• Trackpad: Pinch to zoom.
• Trackpad: Two-finger swipe to pan when zoomed in.
• Keyboard: Right and left arrow keys navigate to the next and previous asset.
• Keyboard: Up and down arrow keys zoom in and out.
• Keyboard: Escape closes the Enlarged View.
• Keyboard: [ and ] rotate an asset.
• Keyboard: Number keys 1–5 assign Labels or Ratings.
• Keyboard: F displays the filmstrip.
• Compare mode: Tab changes the highlighted image.
• Compare mode: Shift + Tab swaps the compared image positions.

Folders and Tags

In the Sidebar, you will see headings for Folders and Tags.

To create a new Folder or Tag, click the field labeled + create folder or + create tag, type the name you wish to use, and press Return.

If you want to create multiple items at once, separate each name with a comma.

To assign an asset to a Folder or Tag, select the assets in the Thumbnail Browser and drag them onto the Folder or Tag you wish to use.

Apple Intelligence Tags

On compatible Apple silicon Macs, Apple Intelligence can analyze your photos and suggest descriptive Tags.

Select the images you want to tag, then right-click to open the context menu and choose the tags & folders submenu. The Apple Intelligence icon appears in the top-right corner.

When analyzing your images, Apple Intelligence assigns a confidence percentage to each suggested Tag.

Use the percentage button to exclude Tags below your preferred confidence threshold. You can also click any Tag to manually include or exclude it.

This feature depends on the version of Apple Intelligence included with your macOS release. As Apple updates its intelligence models, new or improved Tags may become available.

Labels and Ratings

In the Sidebar, you will see headings for Labels and Ratings.

To assign assets to a Label, select them in the Thumbnail Browser and drag them onto the color you wish to assign.

To assign assets to a Rating, select them and drag them onto the number of stars you wish to assign.

Keyboard shortcuts are also available for Labels and Ratings.

In app Settings, select the Keyboard tab. The numbers 1 through 5 can be assigned to either Labels or Ratings. Your secondary assignment can be used by holding Command while pressing the corresponding number.

View Collections on Mac

To view assets assigned to a collection, click the collection name in the Sidebar.

When a collection is selected, its related assets appear in the Thumbnail Browser.

To deselect a collection, click it again.

To show items from multiple collections at the same time, hold Command and click each collection you want to include.

On macOS, all selected collections appear in the gallery search field in the toolbar.

You can also use the search field to select collections. As you type, PIXLpath shows matching items across all of your collections. For example, typing Ca will show anything beginning with Ca, such as Cats or California, across all of your collections.

Click a suggestion to select it, or use the Up and Down arrow keys to highlight one and press Return.

You can narrow a search to a specific collection type by prefixing the search with its shortcut.

• /l Search Labels
• /t Search Tags
• /s Search Ratings
• /f Search Folders
• /d Search Dates
• /g Search Gear

Filtering conditions can also be entered directly from the keyboard:

• /t Cats
  Show assets with the Tag Cats.
• /t -Cats
  Exclude assets with the Tag Cats.
• /t +Cats
  Require assets to have the Tag Cats.

Conditions on Mac

Once collections are selected, you can refine the results by changing each collection's filtering condition in the search field. For example, you might show assets with the Tags Birds or Ocean, then require those assets to also have a five-star Rating.

You can change a condition by highlighting a search chip, either by clicking it or using the Left or Right arrow keys when the search field is active. Then press the Up or Down arrow key to change the condition. You can also click the dropdown arrow on the chip and choose an option from its menu.

There are three filtering conditions:

• Any
  Show assets that belong to any selected collection. For example, selecting the Tags San Francisco and New York will display assets tagged with either location.
• Require
  Only show assets that also belong to this collection. For example, if New York is set to Any and Portfolio is set to Require, only New York assets that are also in the Portfolio Folder will appear.
• Exclude
  Hide any asset that belongs to this collection. For example, if Rejected is set to Exclude, assets in that collection will be hidden.

View Collections on iOS

Tap a collection in the Sidebar to select it.

You can select multiple collections at the same time. Each collection you tap is added to the current selection. Tap a selected collection again to remove it from the selection.

Your selected collections appear in the Filters bar above the Thumbnail Browser.

On smaller devices, the Sidebar may be hidden. Tap the sidebar icon to show it and access your collections.

Conditions on iOS

From the Filters bar, drag an item and drop it onto one of the available filtering conditions.

Open Files in Other Apps

There are two ways to open files from the catalog in other apps.

• Context Menu
  Your context menu can hold icons for your favorite apps. Select the files you wish to open, then click an app icon in the context menu. To add apps, go to Settings > Apps.
• Drag & Drop
  Drag an asset from the Thumbnail Browser onto the macOS Dock icon of the app you want to open it in.

Batch Rename Assets

To perform a batch rename, select the files you wish to rename in the Thumbnail Browser.

Choose the Rename menu item in the toolbar, or right-click and select Rename from the context menu.

Once a new naming convention is chosen, a live preview of the modified filenames is displayed alongside the originals.

PIXLpath checks for naming conflicts to help prevent overwrites. Click perform batch rename to complete the operation.

Copy and Move Files

Several options are available for copying or moving items between locations.

Select the files you wish to work with and choose transfer files... from the context menu.

• Copy Files
  The original file is copied to a new location. The catalog continues to reference the original file.
• Move Files
  On macOS, files can be moved to a new location on the same disk and catalog references are updated to point to the new location.

Disk Auto Sync macOS only

When assets are added to a catalog, their locations appear in the Sidebar under Drives.

A utility is available to synchronize your catalog with the source location of your assets. Right-click the folder you wish to sync and select Sync with Disk.

A window displays files that will be added or removed, files whose locations have changed, and files whose names have changed.

Two additional options appear beside the source drive:

• Include Subfolders
  In addition to checking the selected folder, PIXLpath can check its subfolders. This may be time-consuming depending on the size of the source location.
• Make Auto-sync Folder
  Creates a background process that continues monitoring the location after the initial sync and automatically updates the catalog when changes are detected.

Moved and Renamed Files

When a file is imported, PIXLpath stores a secure file reference, known by Apple as a bookmark, that helps it keep track of the file even if it is later moved or renamed. This allows Sync to distinguish a moved or renamed file from one that has actually been deleted and, when possible, update its catalog reference automatically.

These bookmark file references only work on the computer where they were created. If a catalog is opened on another computer, its existing bookmarks cannot be used to locate files. That means files missing from their original locations may be marked for removal from the catalog, while moved files will be detected as new additions.

If you open catalogs on multiple computers, it's more reliable to manually reconnect files or folders, or run Auto Sync on the computer where the files were originally imported.

File references also cannot reliably follow a file that has been moved or copied to another disk. In these situations, Sync will report the file as missing from its original location.

Files That Cannot Be Verified

If Auto Sync finds that a cataloged file is no longer at its expected location but cannot verify that the file was actually deleted, the catalog item is preserved. A reference to it is added to AutoSync Review → Possible Deletions so that you can review it manually.

During a manual sync, you can instead choose whether these unverified items should be removed from the catalog.

Back up important catalogs before using Auto Sync.

Reconnect Files & Folders

If a folder has moved to a new location, PIXLpath may be able to reconnect the contained files.

In the Sidebar, scroll to Drives and navigate to the original location of the folder you wish to reconnect.

Right-click the folder and select change asset locations. Navigate to the relocated folder and select it.

PIXLpath will display filenames from the relocated folder that match the offline files.

Matching is performed by filename, so compare the previews to make sure the files are the same.

Metadata Editor macOS only

Image files that support direct metadata embedding, including JPG, TIFF, HEIC, HEIF, PNG, PSD, and DNG, can be written to directly.

Most RAW formats do not support direct writing. For these files, PIXLpath uses an XMP sidecar. If an XMP file does not already exist, one will be created.

Metadata fields are separated into several sections:

• Info
  General fields including capture date, copyright, rating, title, and description.
• Creator
  Fields related to the creator of the work, including name and contact information.
• Keywords
  Add, remove, and manage embedded keywords.
• Location
  Set GPS coordinates using an Apple Maps interface.
• Ignored
  Displays selected files for which metadata writing is not supported. If all selected files are supported, this tab is hidden.
• All Values
  Displays existing EXIF and XMP values read from the file.

To set a location, zoom to your chosen location using the map or use the search field to find a location.

A large button with a yellow outline appears in the center of the map. When you are satisfied with the map position, click the button to set the location.

Advanced users can preview the ExifTool commands that will be used to modify the selected files.

Click preview command to display the files and their associated commands.

Once you are satisfied with your changes, use save changes to write them to your files.

Metadata Templates macOS only

If you frequently use the same image metadata, templates can store those values for reuse.

When you open the Metadata Editor, a Templates menu appears in the top-right.

This menu lets you select existing templates or manage and create new ones.

Hover over a template name to display a preview of its entries and an Apply Template button.

Apply Metadata at Import macOS only

By default, catalog values such as Ratings and Tags are kept separate from a file's embedded metadata.

Files imported into a PIXLpath catalog may already include Ratings and Keywords created by other apps.

To have PIXLpath read these values during import and apply them to the catalog, go to Settings > Imports and enable the options for embedded Keywords and Ratings.

Keywords are converted into PIXLpath Tags, and embedded Ratings are applied to the imported catalog items as Ratings.

Metadata Sync macOS only

Once assets are in a catalog, you may want to synchronize values between the catalog and a file's embedded metadata.

Several fields naturally correspond: catalog Ratings can sync with embedded Ratings, catalog Tags can sync with Keywords, and catalog Labels can sync with Finder color Tags.

Several synchronization strategies are available:

• Merge All
  Catalog values are added to existing file values, and file values are added to existing catalog values.
• Merge To File
  Catalog values are merged into the file. No values are sent back to the catalog.
• Merge To Catalog
  File values are merged into the catalog. No values are written to the file.
• Overwrite File
  Catalog values replace the corresponding file values.
• Overwrite Catalog
  File values replace the corresponding catalog values.

After choosing the fields to sync and their policies, click preview changes to review all pending modifications before committing them.

How Metadata Is Written

PIXLpath makes several choices intended to preserve compatibility across different applications.

• Keywords

  XMP Subject and IPTC Keywords are treated as a single set of keywords and are kept in sync when changes are written.

  Hierarchical keywords are written to XMP Hierarchical Subject, while each part of the hierarchy is also written to XMP Subject and IPTC Keywords. For example, Animals > Dogs is written as a hierarchy, while Animals and Dogs are also written as individual keywords.

  If you need to maintain these keyword fields independently, use a more specialized metadata editor or command-line tool instead.

• Mirrored Fields

  Some other related metadata fields are also kept in sync for compatibility. Rating is written to both EXIF Star Rating and XMP Rating, while copyright information is written to both EXIF Copyright and XMP Rights.

• Preview Commands

  The Metadata Editor includes a preview commands button that shows the exact commands that will be used to update your files. This can be useful for understanding or troubleshooting metadata behavior.