[Shotwell] Shared photo library and database

[Jim Nelson]

Hi Todd,

What you're trying to do is not supported by Shotwell -- the current design
relies on a single process accessing the data files in ~/.shotwell.  Sharing
this directory between multiple instances of Shotwell is not recommended
(and, in fact, will result in data loss at some point).

For now, I can't offer an easy solution to this problem.  Note, however,
that multiple users can have their own Shotwell libraries pointing to the
same set of photos (because Shotwell's editing system is non-destructive).
If you press Ctrl+Shift when dropping the photos onto the Shotwell window or
deselect "Copy files to Pictures photo library" from File -> Import From
Folder ..., the photos won't be copied but linked by the Shotwell library,
saving disk space.

I hope this helps,

-- Jim


On Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 1:54 PM, Todd Slater <dontodd at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I just tried Shotwell for the first time today and I like it! I like to set
> up one photo directory and database to share with my family. I'm trying to
> figure out the best way to do this on a linux box.
>
> I noticed that Shotwell creates its own ~/.shotwell directory with relevant
> files. I went to my wife's directory and just made a symlink to my
> ~/.shotwell, which I added to a group we share. As far as I can tell, this
> works. However, the first time I did it I was in the process of importing
> pictures and I believe it caused Shotwell to crash as none of the pictures
> had and "events" associated with them when I relaunched it.
>
> Anyway, is there a "preferred" or "safer" way to share a single library and
> database?
>
> Thanks and happy New Year!
>
> Todd
>
> _______________________________________________
> Shotwell mailing list
> Shotwell at lists.yorba.org
> http://lists.yorba.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/shotwell
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.zaftra.yorba.org/pipermail/shotwell/attachments/20100104/d2904da7/attachment.html>