Multi-Dimensional Browsing: Time, Location & People
The three most natural dimensions of photo management: When was it taken? Where was it taken? Who is in it? Photocatalyst automatically extracts these three types of information from EXIF and AI analysis, allowing you to browse the entire library from any dimension without manual organization.
1. Timeline View
The timeline organizes all photos by year, month, and day, ideal for reviewing works from a specific period and tracking shooting frequency.
Annual Heatmap
The core of the timeline page is the annual heatmap:
- Green intensity indicates the number of photos per day (lighter green = fewer, darker green = more)
- Click a day to view all photos from that day
- Click a month label to view the entire month
- Hover to show
YYYY/MM/DD + photo count
The heatmap lets you see at a glance which periods had the highest shooting frequency — those dense dark green areas are often important projects or trips.
Auto Grouping
Enable the "Auto Grouping" toggle to group photos by year/month/day hierarchically; click to expand and view.
Quick Time Filter
| Option | Range | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Default | All | General browsing |
| Today | Today 00:00 ~ 23:59 | Same-day shoot review |
| Yesterday | Yesterday 00:00 ~ 23:59 | Previous day review |
| Last 3 Days | Within 72 hours | Short-term project organization |
| Last 7 Days | Within 168 hours | Weekly project wrap-up |
Custom Date Range
Click the calendar icon to select start and end dates:
- Intelligently displays formats like "March 2024" or "2024-03-15 ~ 2024-03-20"
- Useful for retrieving photos from a specific project period or shooting itinerary
Right-Click Quick Time Search
Right-click any photo → "Find photos from the same time" → Year/Month/Day to quickly jump to the corresponding time period.
2. Location View
Automatic GPS Aggregation
The system automatically extracts GPS coordinates from EXIF and groups nearby shooting locations into location clusters:
- Each location group displays the photo count
- Click to view all photos at that location
- Location names are user-defined (e.g., "Shanghai Bund", "Huangshan Bright Summit")
Manually Add Location
For photos without GPS information (e.g., camera GPS was off, EXIF lost during post-processing):
- Click the add location button
- Enter latitude and longitude (format:
longitude,latitude, e.g.,121.4737,31.2304) - Enter the location name
- Confirm to associate with photos
Editing & Management
| Action | Method |
|---|---|
| Rename location | Right-click location → Rename |
| Edit coordinates | Right-click location → Edit |
| Write to EXIF | Right-click location → Write EXIF tags (batch write GPS to photos) |
| Merge locations | Merge into another location |
Location Rebuild
If GPS aggregation is inaccurate, click the refresh button to rebuild the location index.
3. People View
Automatic Recognition & Clustering
During indexing, the system automatically:
- Detects faces in each photo
- Extracts facial visual features
- Clusters similar faces into the same person
- Generates a dedicated album for each person
People Browsing
The People page displays all recognized individuals in a grid:
- Person cover photo + name
- Total photo count for that person
- Search people by name
People Management
| Action | Method | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Click person → Enter name | Supports Chinese names |
| Merge | Select multiple people → Merge | Merge the same person that was incorrectly split |
| Split | Enter person details → Select faces not belonging to this person | Remove or create a new person |
| Set Cover | Person details → Right-click face → Set as cover | Choose the best portrait |
| Delete | Right-click person card → Delete | Remove the person label |
Unclassified Faces
The system lists faces that have not been successfully assigned to any person:
- Manually assign to an existing person
- Create a new person based on unclassified faces
- Supports batch selection operations
Face Reassignment
In preview mode, right-click an incorrectly recognized face box → "Face Reassignment" → Select the correct target person.
4. Folder Tree Browsing
Unlike the AI-driven browsing methods above, the folder tree reflects the actual physical directory structure on your hard drive.
Two Browsing Modes
| Mode | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Current Only | Shows only photos in the current folder | View a single project folder |
| Include Subdirectories | Recursively shows photos from all subfolders | View an entire client/yearly directory |
In-Folder Operations
- Search/sort/filter same as the full library
- Full right-click menu available
- Drag-and-drop to add new folders
5. Multi-Dimensional Combinations
The best way to use the three dimensions is in combination, not isolation:
Scenario: Find "portrait photos of Li Si taken in Shanghai during summer 2023"
→ Timeline → June-August 2023
→ Location View → Filter "Shanghai"
→ People View → Select "Li Si"
→ Display intersection results
Dimension Use Case Quick Reference
| Need | Preferred Dimension | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Find photos from a specific date | Timeline | Precise to the day |
| Organize photos from a trip | Location | Grouped by destination |
| Client selects shots by person | People | Grouped by subject |
| View shooting frequency distribution | Timeline Heatmap | Intuitive visualization |
| Organize project folders | Folder Tree | Faithfully reflects disk structure |
| Fix missing geolocation tags | Location View | Manual add/edit |
| Annual review | Timeline (Auto Grouping) | Natural review by year/month/day |
Related sections: Chapter 6: Multi-Dimensional Browsing | Chapter 3: Photo Browsing