First AutoSort session walkthrough

Using AutoSort for the first time:

1. CHECK THE OPTIONS:
   
   First have a look at the options. You can do this by using the [Options] » [Options...] menu item. It is important that you choose your preferred storage options now. Although these can be changed anytime, you'll need to convert your existing storage folder to reflect the new settings and this takes a lot of time to complete.
   For more information, see Options .
   
   
2. IDENTIFY FILES:
   
   Start an identification session by selecting the [File] » [Identify Files...] menu item. You'll be asked to select the folder which contains the files that are to be identified. You may also choose to process only this folder or all sub-folders as well.
   
   For more information, see Identifying Files.
   
   

   Once the identification has finished, you should have a tree view containing three sections.

   Figure 1:
   
   

   Matched Files: This section contains the files for which AutoSort has identification suggestions and this is the section of interest. More on this later.
   Unmatched Files : This section contains the files for which AutoSort has no suggestions. This section is of little interest for the average user.
   Rejected Files: This section contains the files that do not contain useful information and therefore cannot be identified automatically. This section is of little interest for the average user.
   
   For more information, see The Main Widow.

3. OPEN THE MATCHED FILES SECTION:
   
   Expand the Matched Files section by clicking the little [+] beside it and have a good look (Figure 2), you will find that files are further grouped by series of similar file names. Series can be distinguished from actual file names by their bolded text and bluish icons. Actual files are represented by green icons and normal text. You will also notice that each file has one or more identification suggestions, each with a little check box beside it.
   For more information, see The Main Window .
   
   Hint: Take a moment to explore the various popup menus that appear as you click the right mouse button on the series, files and celebrity names.  Some of those options are very usefull.
   
   

   Figure 2:
   
   

4. MARK SUGGESTED CELEBRITIES:
   
   Now comes the part where you need to do a little work, you need to put a check mark beside each correctly suggested celebrity. This can be done by clicking in the check box available beside each celebrity. (Figure 3) Note that some celebrities will be selected already, it is good practice to verify that those selections are correct.
   
   Hint: For series containing several files, mark suggestion(s) only for the first file and then use the popup menu (right click) on the actual file and select [Repeat Selection(s)].
   
   Hint: To view the actual file, double click on it to open it.
   
   Hint: If a file has no proper suggestion, you can manually identify the file with the [Identify As...] popup menu option.  You can also add a new celebrity to the database with the [New Celeb From File...] or [New Celeb From Series...] popup menu options.
   
   Hint: You might want to move or copy files already marked by AutoSort before before doing your own markings, this will make the list of files shorter.
   
   Figure 3:
   
   
   
   
5. OPTIONNALLY IDENTIFY THE FILES IN THE OTHER SECTIONS
   
   You may optionnally identify the files int the Unmatched and Rejected sections by using the [Identify As...] and [New Celeb From...] popup menu option.
   
   
6. MOVE/COPY MARKED FILES:
   
   Now you can have AutoSort move or copy your files in their respective folders by selecting the [File] » [Move/Copy Marked Files...] menu item.
   
   You'll be asked to select a base folder where your files will be sorted.  This could be your main collection folder or some temporary folder.  Inside that folder, AutoSort will create sub-folders with celebrity names and will put your files in those as appropriate.
   
   For more information, see Moving/Copying Files .
   
   Things you should know:
   
   AutoSort will only move/copy files that have one or more check marks in their celebrity suggestions, other files will remain untouched.
   
   AutoSort will detect identical file names between your identification(source) folder and your collection(destination) folder and will compare the two files byte for byte to see if they are truly identical. If they are identical, AutoSort leaves the file in your collection untouched and deletes the file that was identified. Only one file is kept since those are true duplicates. If the files are not identical, the action AutoSort takes depends on the 'Overwrite non-identical destination' setting in the 'File Moving Options'
   
   Some file names may contain more than one celebrity name. The action AutoSort takes in this situation depends on the 'Allow Duplicate Creation' setting in the 'File Moving Options'. Allowing duplicate creation means that a file will be copied to all selected celebrity folders before being deleted from the source folder.
   
   For more information about the options, see Options.
   
   
7. THAT'S IT!
   
   Your files are now nicely sorted in folders bearing the celebrity's name.  Go have a look a your collection folder!