Creating and Assigning Hierarchical Keywords

You can add keywords to your files, and build a hierarchy from those keywords. These groups are maintained in the keyword tree. Select the Organize tab in the Properties pane to create, rename, delete, and move your keywords.

You can also access the keywords pane by choosing Panes | Keywords.

You can view all images assigned to specific keywords by clicking specific keywords in the Keywords group in the Catalog pane.

Creating Keywords

Creating New Keywords:

In the Properties pane, located to the right of the File List pane, do one of the following:

  • In the Organize tab, at the bottom of the Keyword group, right-click Keywords, and then select New Keyword from the context menu.
  • Type a keyword into the field at the top of the Keyword group and press Enter.

Assigning Keywords to Files:

  • Select one or more files, then check the boxes next to the appropriate keywords you wish to apply.
  • Select one or more files, then click the Easy-Select bar on the left side of a Keyword to select it. Multiple Easy-Select bars can be selected at the same time. Press Assign Selected Keywords.
  • Select one or more files, then right-click the keyword. Select Assign items from the context menu.
  • Select one or more files, then drag them onto the keyword.
  • Select one or more files, then select a keyword from the Quick Keywords set. The keyword will be assigned to your file and also added to the tree.

In the Keywords group in the Catalog pane, you can:

  • Select one or more files, then drag the keyword from the tree onto them.

To Establish a Hierarchy, Do One of the Following:

  • In the keyword field, type the lesser or more specific keyword, followed by the less than symbol, followed by the greater or more general keyword.

Example:

  1. Owl < Bird
  2. or
  3. Madrid < Spain < Europe
  • Right-click an existing keyword, then select New Keyword. The new keyword will automatically become a child to the existing keyword.

When assigning multiple keywords to a file, it is important to note that separating keywords with commas will not generate a hierarchy.

Managing Keywords

To Manage Your Keywords:

Select a keyword in the Organize tab, and do one of the following:

  • Right-click the selected keyword and choose Unassign Item.
  • Click on the Easy-Select bars to the left of any keywords you wish to unassign, then press Unassign Selected Keywords.
  • Click off the checkbox for any currently assigned keyword to unassign it.
  • To edit the keyword, right-click the selected keyword and choose Edit.
  • To delete the keyword, right-click the selected keyword and choose Delete.
  • To duplicate a keyword, right-click the selected keyword and choose Copy, then Paste where desired.

In the Keywords group in the Catalog pane, you can do any of the management actions above, as well as:

  • To edit the keyword tree, click and drag the keyword to other parts of the tree.

To Unassign All Keywords:

You can unassign all Keywords assigned to your currently selected images by pressing Unassign All Keywords in the bottom-right of the Keywords section.

Selecting All Keywords and Clearing Selections:

All keywords can be selected at once by pressing Select All Keywords .

All keywords can be cleared at once by pressing Clear Selection .

To Delete Keywords:

In the Properties pane, located to the right of the File List pane, do one of the following:

  • In the Organize tab, at the bottom of the Keyword group, right-click on the Keyword you wish to delete, and then select Delete from the context menu.
  • In the Organize tab, click on the Easy-Select bars to the left of any keywords you wish to delete, then press Delete Selected Keywords.

In the Catalog pane, located to the left of the File List pane, perform the following:

  • Right-click on the Keyword you wish to delete, and then select Delete from the context menu.

To Delete all Unassigned Keywords:

Keywords that do not have any assets assigned to them can be deleted quickly with the Delete all Unassigned Keywords option.

  • Click Tools | Metadata | Delete All Unassigned Keywords.

To Filter Keywords:

In the Properties pane, keywords can be filtered within the Organize tab by clicking in the Filter Keywords text field and typing any word. The keywords displayed will filter dynamically as you type.

Creating Quick Keywords

You can use Quick Keywords to keep organized and to streamline your workflow by creating a group of related keywords that hold an association for you. This is ideal for keywords you would like to be easily accessible, rather than buried in the hierarchical tree. You can create multiple groups and choose between them based on the photos you are viewing at the time. ACDSee comes pre-loaded with a variety of usable sample Quick Keywords sets. You can also add these keywords to your tree.

Example:

Italy

Florence Venice Lake Como
Rome Milan Verona
Genoa Bologna Naples

To Assign a Keyword from Quick Keywords:

Select one or more files, then click the keyword.

To Create Quick Keywords Sets:

  1. On the Organize tab, in the Keywords group, select New Quick Keywords Set... from the drop-down menu. The Quick Keywords dialog box opens.
  2. Customize the number of rows and columns for your set by selecting values from the Rows and Columns drop-down menus.
  3. Enter up to 250 associated or commonly-used keywords in the open fields. To create a hierarchy within a field, use the pipe key. Example: A|B|C.
  4. Click the OK button.
  5. In the New Preset dialog, enter a name for your set. Click OK.
  6. Apply keywords from your set by selecting a file and clicking the applicable keyword from the Quick Keywords Table. The keyword will be added to the tree. If you specified a hierarchy in the keyword set, the parent keyword will appear in the tree with the child under it. The text of the keywords in the table will change color to indicate that the keyword is assigned to the currently selected files, and will display in italics if assigned to only some (but not all) of the currently selected files.

Quick Keyword sets are saved in the Presets folder under ACDSee in your AppData folder, which you can find using the following path: C:\Users\<Your Name>\AppData\Local\ACD Systems\Presets

Importing and Exporting Keywords

You can import keywords into ACDSee from other users. You can also share your keywords by exporting them. Keywords are imported and exported as .txt files.

You can import Adobe® Lightroom® keywords.

To Export Keywords:

  1. Choose Tools | Metadata | Export Keywords...
  2. Browse to the location of your keywords file.
  3. Enter a name for your keywords file.
  4. Press Save.

To Import Keywords:

  1. Choose Tools | Metadata | Import Keywords...
  2. Browse to the location of your keywords file.
  3. Select your file and press Open. The keywords within your file will be loaded into the ACDSee keywords tree and listed alphabetically. Conflicting keywords will be merged.

See also: