Files and photos

A row can link to a file on disk: a photo, document, audio, or video file. qrate never copies these files into the project. It stores the files folder’s path and finds each row’s file by matching it against that folder every time you open the project.

Linking a row to a file

Set the files folder in Settings ▸ Project. qrate then matches each row to a file by one of two rules:

• Exact filename. A column value that matches a file’s name, such as an identifier column, links that row to that file.
• Your own pattern. Configure a column as the Filename type to control which column and which matching rule qrate uses. See Columns.

If a linked file cannot be found, for example because the files folder moved or the file was renamed, qrate reports it as a diagnostic. See Diagnostics.

Viewing a file

The Details panel, in the right dock, shows the file linked to the selected row. It previews images, documents, audio, and video directly. Click the preview to open it fullscreen, where you can zoom, pan, page through a multi-page document, and search inside it.

PDF previews need PDFium and video frame previews need ffmpeg. qrate looks for both beside its own executable, then for the copies it installed itself, then on your system PATH. When one is missing, opening a PDF or a video offers to install it, and Settings ▸ Components lists both. Until then, qrate shows a file-type icon instead of a preview, and the rest of the app works as normal.

Gallery view

Switch to the gallery from the view menu to browse a collection as thumbnails instead of a grid. See The grid.