Relative paths to images
Hi,
Today, when I add an image to the image library, OpenLP stores the absolute path of that image. This is problematic in a multi-user scenario. In my church, several users, each using their private machines, cooperate on creating and presenting services. To facilitate cooperation, we have put the data folder (the one referred to as Data Location under advances settings) under Google Drive, so that it syncs to all the machines involved. This works great for songs and custom slides, since they are located inside the data folder. With images, however, this approach does not work. An image added to OpenLP on my machine will not be available on any of the other machines, because of the absolute paths. We usually put the images inside the data-folder, so the images themselves get synced, but the absolute path in OpenLP has to be updated on the other machines for the image to show up in OpenLP.
How do you solve multi-user cooperation with images in OpenLP?
Feature request: When an image is added to OpenLP, OpenLP should make a copy of the image into the data folder, and remember only the relative path of the image in relation to the data folder.
Today, when I add an image to the image library, OpenLP stores the absolute path of that image. This is problematic in a multi-user scenario. In my church, several users, each using their private machines, cooperate on creating and presenting services. To facilitate cooperation, we have put the data folder (the one referred to as Data Location under advances settings) under Google Drive, so that it syncs to all the machines involved. This works great for songs and custom slides, since they are located inside the data folder. With images, however, this approach does not work. An image added to OpenLP on my machine will not be available on any of the other machines, because of the absolute paths. We usually put the images inside the data-folder, so the images themselves get synced, but the absolute path in OpenLP has to be updated on the other machines for the image to show up in OpenLP.
How do you solve multi-user cooperation with images in OpenLP?
Feature request: When an image is added to OpenLP, OpenLP should make a copy of the image into the data folder, and remember only the relative path of the image in relation to the data folder.
Comments
In order to update the image, as seen inside OpenLP, the user could do one of two things:
1. Locate the image copy inside the data folder, and change that image, or
2. Right-click the image inside OpenLP, choose "Load a new image", and select the updated image from somewhere on the disk. OpenLP will then overwrite the copy in the data folder with this new image
Option 1 is maybe not intuitive for non-technical users, but I think option 2 is.
Treating images this way will be more consistent with the way songs and custom slides are treated. Everything in the library should be stored in the data folder, in order to easily transfer the whole library to a different machine.
The way things are now, if a user needs to switch to a new machine, he/she will have to update the physical path of all the images in the library.
Plus one for this. Is there any progress to report?
The same issue applies to presentations -- we have to add them at the last minute on the day rather than remotely in advance, because we are syncing the data using dropbox across multiple users on their own machines. Worth noting also that these various users are using different OSs. (So simoncs's workaround would be no good for us - we've got users on Linux, Macs, and Windoze.).
Having to do things at the last minute on the day is really undesirable: it's adding in technical tasks for both technicians and pastoral staff at a point on a Sunday where we would wish to be freeing people up for personal interactions, not discussions over tech. That tech stuff is much better done by individuals outside of prime fellowship times. It also means that if any issues around how an image or presentation displays arise, these have to be solved at the very last minute. None of that is at all great.
I think we implemented something like this in 2.9.4, have you tried that version?
I am running version 3.0.1 so presumably should have the changes you mention being in 2.9.4
It appears for images this is now stored relatively if you put in from the data folder, but media isn't
A big help as media changes less often than images for us.
Are there plans to alter the media to behave the same way?