Chapter 6: Multi-Dimensional Browsing

Photocatalyst provides multiple dimensions for browsing and organizing photos, allowing you to view your photo collection from different perspectives.

6.1 Timeline View

The Timeline view organizes photos chronologically, ideal for reminiscing and finding photos from a specific period.

Calendar Heatmap

The core of the Timeline page is the annual heatmap:

• Color depth indicates the number of photos on that day
• Green gradient: from light green (few) to dark green (many)
• Click a date to view all photos from that day
• Click a month label to view that month's photos
• Hover display: YYYY/MM/DD + photo count

Auto-Grouping

After enabling the "Auto-Group" toggle, photos are grouped by time hierarchy:

• Group by Year: Displays photo counts per year
• Group by Month: Displays photo counts per month
• Group by Day: Displays photo counts per day

Click a group to expand and view photos from that time period.

Quick Recent Filtering

The "Recent" dropdown menu provides quick filter options:

Custom Date Range

Click the calendar icon to open the date range picker:

1. Select start and end dates
2. Confirm to apply the time range
3. The system displays all photos within that range
4. The time description is intelligently displayed (e.g., "March 2024" or "March 15, 2024 ~ March 20, 2024")

6.2 Geolocation View

GPS Location Aggregation

The Geolocation view automatically groups photos by GPS coordinates:

• Nearby shooting locations are grouped into the same location group
• Click a location group to view all photos from that location
• Location names are manually entered by the user

Adding a Location

For photos lacking GPS information, you can manually add a location:

1. Click the Add Location button
2. Enter latitude and longitude coordinates (format: longitude,latitude, e.g., 121.4737,31.2304)
3. Enter the location name
4. Confirm to save

Editing a Location

• Right-click a location group and select Edit
• You can modify the location name and coordinates
• Associated photos are automatically updated after saving

Rebuilding Locations

If location grouping is inaccurate, you can rebuild:

1. Click the refresh button to rebuild the location index
2. Wait for the rebuild to complete
3. Verify the grouping results

Batch Edit EXIF Location

You can batch write GPS information into the EXIF data of photos within a location group.

6.3 Person View

Person Browsing

The Person view displays all recognized faces grouped by person:

• Each person shows a cover photo and name
• Displays the photo count for that person
• Supports searching persons by name

Person Management

See the person management operations in Chapter 5's "Face Recognition" section.

Person Search

• Click a specific person on the Person page to view all their photos
• In preview mode, right-click a face box to search
• Supports face search upload functionality

Person Album Operations

• A person can be converted to an album with one click
• Person photos can be exported and shared

6.4 Folder Browsing View

Folder Tree Navigation

Browse the real folder structure on your computer via the folder tree:

1. Click the target folder in the sidebar folder tree
2. The view displays photos in that folder
3. Supports recursive browsing of subfolders

Browsing Mode Toggle

In-Folder Operations

• Search: Search for photos within the folder
• Sort: Sort by time/name/size
• Right-click menu: Full photo operation menu

6.5 Folder Albums

AI Folder Auto-Classification

Use AI to intelligently classify photos in folders:

1. Enter the Folder Browsing view
2. Click Folder Album Classification
3. The system uses zero-shot classification technology to automatically group photos
4. Multiple sub-albums are generated

Folder Album Overview

View all classified folders and their classification results:

• Sidebar → Folder Album Classification entry
• Lists all completed classifications
• Click to enter and view photos of each class

6.6 Duplicate Files View

Detection Modes

Exact Match (Content Hash):

• Exact matching based on file hash values
• Finds completely identical file copies

Similarity Match (Content Feature):

• Matching based on image visual features
• Finds visually similar but not identical photos

Duplicate Handling

1. Enter the Duplicate Files page
2. Select the detection mode
3. The system lists duplicate photo groups
4. Use the image comparison tool to assist judgment (see Chapter 10)
5. Choose to keep or delete

Auto-Deduplication

The system provides automatic deduplication functionality:

• You can set retention rules (e.g., keep the earliest file)
• Automatically selects duplicates to delete
• Batch processing after confirmation

Next: Read Chapter 7 to learn about album creation and management.