I did one of these threads several months ago, when the site was new, and thought now was a good time to do another.

Message me if you

  • Want to try installing Linux for the first time
  • Want to try Linux but don't want to install it
  • Have some Linux-related problem you want another pair of eyeballs on
  • Want to learn a programming language
  • Want to build a computer
  • Want tutoring in any of the above
  • Need help with any old technical problem

(also play Arma with me)

  • Ithorian [comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    I run an online pathfinder game and I have like 50g of assets for it. Do you know of a way that I can add tags to the files? Like if I have a map tag it with Mountain, Day Time, Forest, Summer. Then if I need a day time forest map all those tags will pop up instead of me having to copy the same file to a half dozen folders to get everything organized. Windows or Linux would work.

    Also mad props for doing this kinda thread!

    • Bloodshot [he/him,any]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      ext4 and other Linux-native filesystems support extended file metadata, where you can put that information right in the file. I think KDE's Dolphin file browser has support for tags using these.

      What you're essentially asking for, though, is how to make a database that correlates those assets with some metadata.

      One solution is to use the filesystem as a "poor man's" database, like you suggest. I would recommend using symlinks for this: instead of copying the files, you just reference them in multiple locations. This has the advantage of all your tools supporting it out of the box, since they're just regular files on the filesystem

      Another is to use a text document of some format, essentially a spreadsheet, that matches metadata with file path.

      You could use SQL with a real database. This is a heavyweight and very powerful tool, might be overkill.

      Finally, there are probably third party tools geared towards this already. Think of something like itunes but more general. You'd probably be able to find them by searching for "Music tagger" or "photograph tagger".

      • Ithorian [comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Sweet thanks for the info, I'd had dolphin recommended to me before but haven't messed with it yet, sounds like now's the time. If that doesn't work I'm sure one of your other solutions will.