Quick Start

This chapter provides a quick overview of functions and possibilities of LCAMediabase

The main program-window has two 'screens' titled 'Import & Browse' and 'Database'.

The 'Import & Browse' screen is used to:

• browse your hard disk and CD's for files: use the folder tree on the left to select a folder and left click on the folder name to see the files in that folder. (Alternatively, right-click and select 'Scan Including Subfolders' to scan subfolders also).
  The type of the files is displayed in a color that indicates its content (audio, video, bitmap, document or other). For sound files (mp3, wma & mid), image files (jpeg & tif), MsWord documents and Web documents additional information (tags) is displayed in the tabsheet "Info" next to the folder tree. Press the button to display descriptive file information for all files.
  Files that are readonly are displayed in red and are protected against deletion (press Ins or Ctrl-Ins to mark/unmark as readonly).
  Files with names that are too long for the CD filing system are displayed underlined and cannot be added to the database (press Ctrl-R to rename them)
• select, preview, copy, delete files: Select files using left mouse button and Ctrl or Shift keys, copy or move files by dragging & dropping them on the target folder in the folder tree, delete files by pressing Del or Shift-Del (see Options dialog to enable Shift-Del). Create thumbnail-indexes by pressing Ctrl-T or the button. Display up to 4 images simultaneously.
• view your images. LCAMediabase provides a fast image viewer: Double-click on an image file or press enter to view the image in the image view window, then use the Up- and Down-arrow keys or mouse wheel to browse through your image files. Double-click again or press Shift to bring the LCAMediabase main window to the front. Read more about the image viewer here.
• run slideshows: start instant slideshows with images, or use the program as a jukebox to play audio files in Winamp. Just press the button
• import files into the database: press Ctrl-Alt-D to add files directly to the database (without copying them first), or drag & drop them onto the correct foldername in the folder tree (a dialog will show up to confirm the actions).

The 'Database' screen is used to (see also "Exploring the demo database"):

• find and retrieve items from the database: three ways to search for items:
  1. search for words in the text information that each item has
  2. search for phrases in the filenames of the items
  3. search for items that 'have' a certain keyword
• maintain the list of keywords in the database: add, edit or delete keywords that can be linked to items
• attach (link) keywords to items in the database: by doing this you create groups of items that all 'have' the same keyword. If the grouped items are images you have created a "photo album", if the grouped items are sound files you have created a "playlist".
• Also, keywords are used for creation of web pages.
• add textual information to individual items in the database: each database item has a free-text 'field' in which you can enter a (almost) unlimited amount of text. This textfield is divided in three parts: a title part, a description part and a 'secret' part that is not outputted to web pages