Some questions about the PerfectBrowseCache
I am in the process of re-cataloguing folders from Scratch (as it were). Inadvertently, I disconnected the drive on which my images are stored and the catalogued folders were then greyed out. The only way I could get the cataloguing going again was to add the folders again and then delete the greyed-out versions. Maybe there was a better way to do this...
My question is: are the previously catalogued files still in the WatchedContent folder or are they deleted when something like this happens, or indeed each time an image is re-edited? if not, it does mean that the PerfectBrowseCache folder would get very bloated.
Another question is what's the difference between the WatchedContent and FastBrowse folders? I noticed this morning that the latter added some images when I opened a folder that has not been catalogued.
Just curious.
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You'll have to ask support for those answers Ray. I'm surprised to hear that when you reconnected your drive that the Catalogs were still not accessible and you had to start over. Please let us. know the answers. I'm always interested in learning more about how the program actually works.
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I'll post back if Support tell me anything interesting.
I had hoped I could run Smart Organise Search Mode on the PerfectBrowseCache to see if there are any duplicates, but it seems you can only Show Subfolder Contents on folders that have been catalogued.
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You don’t wanna mess around inside the PBC. All of that stuff is part of the database, and who knows what would happen if you deleted something, and then the database tried to read it.
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True and I won't.
The documentation is ambiguous about cache size. Mine is set to 5000MB, but the PBC is currently more than twice that. I seem to recall that before when I had almost all my folders catalogued it ran to about 30GB. So I am unclear what that slider really controls.
I am not actually that concerned since the SSD that holds my PBC is 500GB in size so there is plenty of space.
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There are 2 caches. The PerfectBrowseCache holds the rendered previews for images inside Cataloged folders. The other cache is memory cache for non-cataloged image previews. The Cache Size slider controls the size of the 2nd cache. The PBC will grow to whatever size is needed for all those previews.
The Knowledge Base article Catalogs and Caches - ON1 Photo RAW explains how they work.
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I had the greyed-out issue again a few days ago when I opened PR with my external SSD disconnected. Strangely, I have not been able to replicate it since and Support basically said there is nothing to do but re-catalogue everything from scratch. Which is what I am doing this weekend.
I am waiting to hear back from Support about whether restoring from one of my On1 backups would have resolved the issue.
Support were also very vague when I asked questions about the PBC. Either they don't want to reveal the inner workings or they just can't be bothered.
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You don't need to know the inner workings any more than you need to understand them for a Lightroom Library. The PBC is a collection of pre-rendered images for the photos in your Catalog(s). Yes, I know you know, I'm just being thorough. That cache is indexed by some internal database that ties the previews to their original edited image files. That's all there is to it really.
Restoring from backups is only as good as the data they contain. If the corrupt Catalog was backed up, restoring from that backup would also restore that corruption.
I feel your pain. I'm about to rebuild my catalog as well.
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One good piece of news. As soon as a folder is added to the Catalogue list, you can use Advance Search on all your Catalogued folders. You don't have to wait for everything to update in the PBC!
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But will it be able to find images which have not yet been read and added to the Catalog? That search option is probably being enabled just because you now have a Catalog but it doesn't know cataloging hasn't finished. Yes, you can continue to work while it does its thing in the background.
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I am adding folders bit by bit. I added a batch and then did an immediate keyword search for one of my cats. It found them all immediately.
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