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How do you use GAPS?

Welcome, Gentle User, to the confusion that is GAPS' interface. While the developer strives always to simplify and make intuitive, hopefully this documentation may serve in lieu of any real skill on the developer's part.

GAPS is at its heart, a keyboard driven application. While all of GAPS' features can easily be accessed with the mouse, GAPS' real speed comes out when you take the time to learn its keyboard functionality.

Sorting Actions / Keyboard Mappings

Ideally, GAPS uses the keyboard's numeric keypad to setup "sorting actions" that define which folders images should be moved into. By default, the keypad also gives some basic navigation options (previous/next), delete, undo, and random. GAPS' keypad can be customized to do anything. Additionally, any or all keys on the keyboard can be assigned to sorting actions or navigation.

See Preferences for how to configure GAPS key mappings.

Sorting Images

Once GAPS keyboard mappings and sorting actions are configured to taste, moving or deleting images becomes as simple as pressing a key or clicking the mouse. For mouse users, the grid of buttons at the top of GAPS sorting drawer represents each of the keys on the numeric keypad. Clicking those buttons has the same effect as pressing the corresponding key on the keyboard. For other sorting actions, a floating pallet (accessible from the Window->Sorting Panel menu option) provides mouse access.

As your sort or delete an image (by clicking the desired button or pressing the corresponding key), the file is moved or deleted and the next image shown automatically. The undo option will un-delete or move back the last image.

Sorting Duplicates

As image collections grow and new images are acquired, duplicate images are inevitable. GAPS has two ways of dealing with dupes. To scan your entire collection for duplicates, try Dupe Finder. During day to day sorting, GAPS' duplicate thumbnail view helps you find dupes before they get sorted into your collection.

When you attempt to sort an image into a location that already has a file of the same name, the existing file is displayed between the sorting buttons and the file list in GAPS' drawer. You may choose one of four actions while a duplicate image is displayed:

  1. Rename the new image and try to move it again with the new name. You can type any name you like in the box between GAPS' sorting buttons and the dupe image. That box is pre-filled with a number-based alternate for your convenience. After entering a new name, the Rescan button will search all your keypad-mapped folders for images matching the new name.
  2. Delete the new image and leave the existing image in its sorted location.
  3. Cancel duplicate display and return to the current image (at which point you could choose a new location for the image, delete it, or skip it and move on to another image).
  4. Overwrite the existing image with the newer one.

Key mappings for duplicate actions

When a duplicate image is displayed, all of the on-screen sorting buttons and most of your key mappings are disabled. You must take care of the duplicate (or cancel) before you can do anything else. In order to dispatch a duplicate image, you may one of the four on-screen buttons that appear above the duplicate image.

You may also use one the following key mappings to choose a duplicate action:

  1. [Any sorting destination] -- Any key you have mapped to sort an image to a folder will function as the 'Rename' action.
  2. Delete -- Any key you have mapped to 'Delete Current Image' will act as the 'Delete' action.
  3. Next Image -- Any key mapped to 'Next Image' will cancel duplicate display and return you to the current image.
  4. Previous Image -- Any key mapped to 'Previous Image' will overwrite the existing image with the new one.

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