Catalog Your Disks With abeMeda

History of all released versions of abeMeda (and CDWinder)

As you can see, for more than 22 years, we have been constantly updating and improving abeMeda/CDWinder.

Current Version of abeMeda for Windows:

7.8 (July 17^th, 2024)

abeMeda can now identify and condense image sequences when cataloging.
- It will detect and "fold" consecutively numbered image sequences during cataloging. That is great and saves time for video producers with thousands of single frame files to catalog
added a new custom selection to the display filter
- you can now combine multiple item characteristics to filter your files
when creating or updating a catalog, abeMeda can now automatically update your keywords, people and annotations lists with those found in the catalog.
added the ability to import a keyword list, to insert an external keyword list file into your existing keyword collection.
- you can now also specifically remove or dissolve keyword groups
expanded QuickFind, which can now also be used to search a current selection of catalogs, instead of only always find in all catalogs as before.
added support for .ORI (Olympus RAW) image format
added support for .HEIF and .HIF image formats, which can now be read via IrfanView.
added support for Hasselblad image files .FFF and .3FR
added support for AVIF format, to be read via IrfanView (which added an AVIF plugin in v4.65)
abeMeda now reads NEV Nikon RAW video files
added handling for LargeFileSupport in exiftool
added a number of additional find commands for more inspector items
- especially for the resolution, many XMP fields, some missing ID3 attributes like Year and Bitrate, and also a few different finds for the EXIF recording date
added publishing date for ePub files - it gets cataloged, shown in the Inspector, and you can also find books based on their publication date or year
added a note to the export dialog, explaining that levels in Demo mode are capped at 5 to alleviate confusion with the export results during Demo mode.
if a file path in a catalog can not be found on the corresponding volume, the error message will now include the assumed path, so you can more clearly identify where a problem is and how to fix it.
improved compatibility with the new ffmpeg 7
included the new exiftool 12.87

fixed an issue where the people list could sometimes loose persons when gathering people from catalogs.
fixed an issue that could occur when copying a number of items via drag-and-drop. also added a progress to our own "Copy Items"
fixed issue to improve the quality of different imported catalogs
fixed an issue where "rescan item metadata" would discard an existing thumbnail, even if the rescan would fail to provide an updated one.
fixed a rare issue where a catalog folder could produce a number of doubles in the database each time the app starts
improved: converting/exporting photos now also deals with the image formats we read via IrfanView
fixed an issue where "Find Video Framerate" would not always find all matching files.
file folder icons now look a little nicer
fixed an issue where inexact GPS information stored in XMP, via PhotoMechanic would suppress the better EXIF GPS in the catalog
fixed some issues to improve the metadata and thumbnail accuracy for comic book formats.
fixed an issue where fallbacks (namely exiftool) were not fully utilized for video thumbnails and metadata if ffmpeg fails or is missing
abeMeda now also reads more metadata from exiftool alone, especially when ffmpeg is not installed.
fixed an issue where the AutoSync would sometimes not work correctly and/or ignore or fail on certain catalog folders
fixed a number of issues with finding certain annotations, that would not find what was searched for, fail when searching for an annotation that was not in the global list, or could even cause a crash
fixed an issue where JPG images with AVM metadata (like from the JWST) were not correctly cataloged.
fixed an issue with the sorting of catalogs during finding, which would not match the intended sort order
- now it is always sorted from newest catalogs to oldest, with already loaded catalogs being searched first.

and fixed a number of other issues as well

Previous Versions:

7.7.7 (December 12^th, 2023)

abeMeda now supports file and folder links in its library using Windows shortcuts (.lnk files)
- business license users can now further distribute their libraries by gathering and assembling different catalogs or catalog folders form different locations
- valid shortcuts will be seamlessly integrated into the catalog database and can be worked with just as the actual catalog files stored directly in the library.
- of course autoSync is also fully supported, so abeMeda will track changes on those catalogs and folders, and will react when the shortcuts are missing or changed.
updated the metadata capabilities for MXF files
- abeMeda now reads captureFps (which can be different from the actual movie Fps, e.g. in slow motion or time lapse clips)
- and also the maker, model and lens information, plus creation date
updated the metadata capabilities for RED/R3D files
item export can now also include the content attribute (for txt, csv & XML)
improved exiftool cataloging, for example when reading GPS in PNG
added .GIFV as new video format, utilising ffmpeg and exiftool
added GNU zip (.GZ) to the list of supported archive formats. it can be parsed with 7zip installed.
abeMeda now recognises .MD markup files, treats them accordingly and reads their content
made a number of improvements and fixed some issues with window coordinates and positioning
added "find empty/non empty" options to all the audio/MP3 fields, with changes in find editor and in inspector
- EXIF Lens Name Contains can now also be searched for not empty
added a new "on this day" find criteria to EXIF date in find editor. this is the same as "Date Is In Any Year", but always with today's current date
that way it can better be used in a SmartFolder without having to adjust the date every time.
added new "one Annotation contains..." criteria to explicitly find in specific annotations
added new "catalog file size" and "catalog data size" as columns in found items, making it easier to look for big or small catalog files
also added the whole "Catalog" column group to the found/album items column selection.
added the ability to update the free-space indicators in the Database sheet in Preferences with current values
added a number of additional formats that are supported when pasting or finding GPS coordinates found as text
- in addition to the decimal notations (DD) you can find in and copy from Google or bing maps, like supported to date, abeMeda now also understands the sexagesimal format (degrees, minutes and seconds - DMS notation: like 27° 10' 30" N, 78° 2' 31" E), in different styles, like they are found when copied from Wikipedia or Google Earth.
- useable e.g. when pasting geotags, in the mapInspector or directly to files, or when finding locations with QuickFind on the map.
- also added coordinates to the mapInspector context menu. you can now always see the current pin position, and the position you clicked on, shown in the menu.
added "levels" to catalog Items, to describe the level a catalog Item is in relative to the catalog.
- 0 is the root folder, so all items in the root are on level 1, those below in level 2, and so on.
- there is a level column in the details view now. So you can sort by level, and eliminate or isolate all levels you're not interested in.
improved findDuplicates, there is now also an option to restrict the scope of selected catalogs to certain levels, and the determination of unique items now works considerably faster!
added MP4/MOV metadata "category" to our capabilities, the values are now stored in the iptc:categories
added a new context menu command to "find files named" without extension
implemented an ability to have a license file installed alongside the app, and using that to unlock if found, especially to aid deployment for a large number of users.
added the whole range of "find all EXIF with" find commands for fStop/exposure/focal length/ISO in Inspector and the file context menu
also "find all EXIF with" commands for camera maker/model/lens in Inspector
improved the comic book reader, to correctly identify when the cover image has a different format than the rest of the pages. it will now show the image format of the whole comic
the people list can now identify and prevent double person names
improved the handling of encoded special characters in XML. This helps clean up the parsing of e.g. the Description in ePub files.
corrected and augmented the Spanish translation, where a number of texts were not correct yet
added the option to retry connecting to an unreachable network library folder before giving up and switching to the local default library.
added keyboard shortcuts to "reset window layout"
added "select All" & "select None" as tools menu commands to the export dialog - so you can more quickly assemble the columns you want.
added the ability to display and copy the size of items, catalogs and -folders, including a "Copy Size in bytes" command in the inspector context menu of size values.
most values in the properties dialogs now also allow copying them by double-clicking
added keywords and people to items' info tooltips in the main details view
added a number of additional QuickFind variants, to QuickFind in comments, people, or a number of different file types.

improved and adapted a number of error messages to better and more clearly indicate what happened.
fixed an issue where "update item metadata" did not correctly update the content of plain text files.
fixed formatting and display issued with the video and audio bitrate, and also adapting the sorting
fixed an issue for specific .DSF files where the contained coverArt was strangely saved in their ID3v4 tags
fixed an issue with the sorting of the keyword list, where sometimes the alphabetical sorting would not be consistent.
fixed an issue where pasting a very long comment to a catalog folder could cause an error.
fixed an issue with very long audio files, where the duration would not be reported correctly for a number of different audio formats (AIFF, DSF, MP3 and FLAC)
fixed an issue where finding items via the duration would not correctly deal with such long files.
fixed an issue where folders in ZIP archives were not cataloged, even if available in the archive files
fixed an issue where the "Copy file path" context menu would not copy the correct file path for found items.
fixed an issue where certain AAC files would not report the correct kbps yet
fixed a bug that could occur with the extended catalog format switch in the catalog scan settings in Preferences
when making the extended format the default in v7.5, we removed the switch from personal license users, and some could incorrectly remain in the standard format, rendering them incapable of working with extended format catalogs.
fixed an issue when manually adding "GPS in vicinity of" parameter to a query, instead of automating that via the the map inspector or GeoFinder, would not work
fixed an issue where finding in catalogs without label would not select the catalogs correctly
fixed an issue where the AutoSync option would not correctly work after switching the chosen library, only after restarting it manually in the options.
fixed another issue that would prevent abeMeda from reading and parsing certain ePubs correctly.
and fixed and improved a number of other minor issues...

7.7 (March 2^nd, 2023)

abeMeda can now use an installed IrfanView to read image previews during cataloging
- that allows us to support new formats previously unavailable, like WebP, HEIC (High-Efficiency Image Container), OpenEXR, and can improve support for SVG, PSD or EPS
- abeMeda now also adds support for DiCOM files (.DCM)
abeMeda can now read the Canon Cinema RAW Light (CRM) video format, and adds support for the new Olympus OM-1 ORF files (RAW)
and there is now also a reader for DSD Stream File (DSF/DSD) music files, to read metadata and stored cover art.
abeMeda can now rotate video files as well (MOV/MP4 are supported for now)
added new Inspector Settings to allow the user to specifically and granularly select which inspector sections and elements they want to see
you can now paste coordinates/geotags from other sources, besides those copied from your files inside abeMeda.
- specifically, you can copy coordinates from Google Maps and bing maps, and paste them into the mapInspector, or directly into your image files.
- QuickFind now also accepts these and knows how to handle them.
abeMeda now explicitly detects and reports RAR5 archives, specifically in comic books archives.
- Since these can cause issues in some readers, and are generally good to know, abeMeda now tells you which format your comic books have, and what kind of images are stored inside (JPG, or WebP?)
- adding support for WebP images now also allowed us to read WebP cover art for comic books that have no JPGs.
added support to read and store the bpm (beats per minute) value from ID3 tags. If you have bpm stored in your music files, abeMeda can show them to you, in the Inspector, and in a new column as well.
abeMeda now classifies movies and photos by resolution. It will show the resolution in the Inspector (megapixels for photos, and “Full HD” or “UHD” for movies) and allow you to search for media based on their resolution as well
added "Has No Created Date" to the EXIF criteria/operators.
added a new option in export to use the "qualified file path" if requested. this will result in actual useable paths to the files, not just the folder path inside the catalog for sorting.
- also added a new font size option to HTML exports, so you can choose whichever suits your needs best.
added "only items whose path contains..." as additional scope for finding duplicates. Should be especially helpful in limiting those searches to specific sections of the selected catalogs.
added better support for EXIF uniqueImageIDs. These can now be read reliably, shown in the Inspector, and searched for via the Find Editor
added text content handling for "descript.ion" files.

fixed a rare issue when creating a "New Catalog Folder"
fixed a couple of issues with updating catalogs, abeMeda recognizes more potential error conditions, and reacts better to them, preserving existing catalog data better.
- We also added more comprehensive error messages for the different conditions encountered.
fixed an issue that could cause problems with files containing trailing blanks.
fixed an issue with the catalog properties dialog failing for certain catalog files
fixed an issue where abeMeda would hang (indefinitely) on certain JAR archive files
fixed an issue where abeMeda would still read the mp3CoverArt, even if the photo image previews is switched off
fixed an issue where "update item metadata" would spend minutes on a single item
fixed an issue where abeMeda would sometimes leave behind folder in the designated Temp folder instead of deleting them when finished
fixed another issue where abeMeda would report a wrong duration for certain long audio files in some places
and fixed and improved a number of other minor issues...

7.6 (September 22^nd, 2022)

added the ability to schedule AutoUpdates for weekdays and/or weekends.
- for updates scheduled on an interval, you can now select whether to run them only on weekdays, or only on weekends, or both.

added new fields XMPAltText and XMPExtendedDescription.
improved editing and working with files via the Inspector
- editing controls in the inspector no longer grow bigger than the Inspector itself, let alone the screen, to ease editing
- they are also made fully visible when you choose to edit them directly.
- fixed an issue with input fields in the inspector that could show up too narrow, also adapted the heights of some XMP attributes and rearranged them
- added the annotation and the contact info fields to the multi item select inspector as well
- added new Inspector settings, where you can control some behaviour of the Inspector and its item editing.
- you can now choose to preserve the modification date when editing files. This will re-apply the previous modification date to your file(s) after writing your edits in XMP fields. And it also extends to GPS geotags.
- new switches for "show tooltips", and "show tooltips for input fields", in the inspector.
- the previously available choice to confirm multi-item edits is now also grouped in here.
- hiding Inspector sections is now more obvious and indicated. And when you choose to edit values on a hidden section, it gets shown automatically.
added new columns: "catalog is readOnly", "catalog format", and grouped the catalogs’ extra fields in their own new column group.
added "find in catalog info" to the QuickFind
added code to read Astronomy Visualization Metadata (AVM), which we found e.g. in the breathtaking images of the James Webb Space Telescope (#JWST).
the “catalog exists” dialog now shows if the existing catalog is readOnly, and reacts to that by no longer offering to update it.

fixed an issue where RAW files would not yet catalog the EXIF capture date with the seconds included, like for the other formats.
fixed a problem preventing embedded MP3 some coverArt from being correctly found and read.
fixed an issue with finding "Path contains" which got broken in 7.5.
fixed an issue where the inspector tooltip would show a wrong text for an attribute.
fixed a rare issue where certain updates or conditions during saving a freshly created catalog could result in a corrupted catalog file or database.
fixed an issue where an empty catalog name could cause problems. Made sure a catalog always gets a name.
added fallbacks when high-resolution thumbnail generation could fail due to dwindling resources. abeMeda now tries lower resolution before giving up and returning without thumbnail.
and fixed and improved a number of other minor issues...

7.5 (February 22^nd, 2022, #22222)

abeMeda now reads eBooks (ePUB) reader and comics (CBR/Z/7)
added support for Dublin core creator contact info in XMP
the people list is now global, too - to share it with other instances and NeoFinder
enhanced the TAR reader, to deal correctly with TAR archives using the "././@LongLink" method to encode long paths (standard TAR only supports 100 characters)
abeMeda now reads metadata and thumbnails from PowerPoint presentations (PPTX)
you can now show/hide the collections tree view, via a command in the View main menu
switched the GPS/map name search to OpenStreetMap, which works much better, and knows a lot more POI and information
improved editing and added "next field"/"previous field" and "next item"/previous item" keyboard shortcuts in inspector!
- you can use "SHIFT+ALT+Left & -Right" to switch between items in the main listView (catalog content or found items)
- and you can now better navigate between input fields as well, using the tab key
- selecting "Edit values" in the content context menu for an editable control activates that control and selects its contents for editing
added numerous more find commands to the content context menus in our Inspector - start looking for files based on the information displayed
- for movies, this includes shortcuts to find them on MovieDB, Wikipedia or IMDB; for Artists, you can find them on Bandcamp
- you can now also find movies by bitrate and framerate, in the find editor and also via the inspector
- also added these/similar content-sensitive find options in the find submenus of each item in our DetailViews
you can now also find catalogs via their volume name - finding in catalog info will turn up catalogs of any folders on volumes as well.
abeMeda offers options to modify file dates in the file system - set them to different other dates found in the items (creation/modification date, EXIF, XMP, depending on what is available)
- also works for multiple selected items: in that case, the commands are available in the context menu for the cumulated file size
abeMeda now catalogs the EXIF Capture Date including seconds
you can now select a folder level limit when cataloging, to limit a catalog to only contain items in the first couple of levels.
when dropping catalogs onto the application to add to the library, the operation is now done in the background and with a progress dialog
added "sort Library alphabetically" to the Library context menu as a shortcut for when it's too hard to find in the Options dialog.
added and allowed for copying attributes of multiple selected items.
- you can now select a number of catalogs or items, and copy attributes like names, paths, comments etc, concatenated and combined into one large list.
added a new startUp maintenance hotKey: press F7 to have the RCF return to default.
abeMeda now supports using the coloured labels with our albums as well.
- along the way other issues with albums/interoperability were fixed
findDuplicates now directly shows size and modification date for items in the duplicate items list
added three new columns: GPS Altitude, GPS Azimuth and GPS Tilt.
added the XMP persons to the multi item display in inspector.
added has/no EXIF and has/no XMP to the display filter
fixed an issue with the GPS vicinity find, where the coordinates used would not be shown in the FindEditor
fixed an issue where certain MP4/MOV video files could crash the metadata generator.
fixed some display issues in our DetailView - we now use the "comma separated" versions of the most notable multiline attributes (keywords/tags, custom fields, XMP categories and persons) when displaying in the columns. We also increased the maximum number of characters displayed for file names
fixed a bug in ID3, where the parsing was broken for some ID3v2.4
fixed problems in the keywords/people/annotations and autoUpdates lists when dealing with empty lists rsp. no data, or not keeping items added in specific ways
fixed a problem where "update item metadata" actually deletes an existing comment from an item
fixed another issue where "update item metadata" did not actually rescan and replace the item content
fixed an issue where the find criteria "AnyAnnotationContains/Is" would not work correctly
fixed a bug in the IPTC/XMP reader, where some specific files would fail
fixed a problem where the chosen sort order would only be remembered in the details listView style.
fixed an issue in MP4 movie metadata where the release date would sometimes only contain a year. These are now parsed correctly
fixed an issue with MP4 metadata, where files without "synopsis" rsp. "Long Description" were ignored, and their metadata not even read
fixed an issue where some find criteria would result in a number of false positives under certain conditions
fixed an issue where the item counter, especially with an active filter, would not correctly reflect removing an number of items from the found item results
fixed an issue where "find items with this keyword" failed on hierarchical keywords

7.4 (February 12^th, 2021, #12221)

abeMeda now offers shared hierarchical keywords
- keywords can now be grouped, and are stored with your (shared) database, and not each individual installation anymore.
- abeMeda stores keywords in tabbed text files, and also shares them cross-platform with NeoFinder!
added editable XMP annotations / custom fields
- you can define a list of annotations that will be offered for editing on every XMP-capable file. the list is also shared for all users.
- there are also new extended find options for these annotations
abeMeda now also catalogs "Events" and adds them to the respective item as a custom field.
abeMeda now finally comes with a french translation
abeMeda now reads and stores information about videos' bitrate, and audio and subtitle tracks
- allows for new search criteria like "has multiple audio tracks", alongside "has Subtitles", or "has one" and "has no" audio tracks
- added the new data to the display columns and the export (CSV, TXT and XML) as well
abeMeda now also offers MOV/MP4 Metadata cataloging via ffmpeg and exiftool.
- if you request to prefer embedded coverArt (via a new cataloging setting in the Helpers tab), we also gather stored metadata like a synopsis, the cast or director, and store it in the catalog!
you can now replace an existing thumbnail in the catalogs by pasting a new one in its place, if you don't like the one abeMeda created for you.
abeMeda now reads and writes XMP in WAV files
abeMeda has new search criteria to look for files based on time alone... you can find files modified at sunset or created in the wee morning hours
"Transmission/JobID" in IPTC is now editable, and writeable. It is now also included in the export and its own column in the details view.
the lossless image rotation now also offers "Rotate 180°" , "Flip horizontally", "Flip vertically" and "Reset rotation".
this version adds SRW (Samsung RAW) as new raw image file format, and also reads RAW images from the new Canon R5 (.CR3) and Nikon's Z7II (.NEF)
we also added .INSP and .INSV (Insta360 photo and video files) to the list of our supported photo- and video-formats
added an indicator to the infoBar to show whether content is currently filtered, to add context to the number and selection of items shown.
abeMeda can now accept lists of keywords separated by semicoli when copied into our different controls
the autoUpdate dialog now shows the colored labels for the contained catalogs in the autoUpdate list.
- and you are now also able to use the catalog selection in autoUpdate for the different options of the find submenu.
we now added clearer indications in the Demo version to explain which functions/features are/will be reserved for a business license.
the Inspector now reacts far better to any file errors/problems when writing back XMP data.
- the error message better explains what went wrong, and explains your options - discard the changes, copy your changes to the clipboard or a reset, or fix the file problems and try again.
- you return to your unsaved edits so you don't loose any work, and can decide how to proceed.
- you can now also decide whether you want to see the message confirming multi-item-edits message at all.
fixed and improved findDuplicates, improved the performance and the option selection, and fixed the actual fileCheck comparison.
fixed a problem in our XMP parser that could hamper NEF files
fixed a problem with opening/closing the keywords/people dialogs
fixed a bug in our options rsp. helper errors detection for ffmpeg
found and fixed a problem when generating thumbnails via exiftool, which would sometimes fail for certain files.
fixed and augmented the item export - you can now choose whether to use the exact size when exporting CSV/TXT or XML, and we addressed a number of other issues.
fixed an apparently older issue with QuickFind, where QuickFind would not get results from OLD CDWinder catalogs, while a "normal" find editor query would.
fixed a bug in the find window, where any metadata would not be updated when e.g. we would rescan an item
fixed a few problems in find editor with EXIF searches for focalLength and exposure would not reliably show the necessary criteria controls
fixed a problem with the sizing of the main window and its bars.
in Inspector, input controls are now also scaled to the contained text size
fixed an issue where the file dialog to select the folder to scan was mis–sing its description, not telling you what it was asking for, causing confusion.
fixed an issue with the XMP, where it would sometimes save malformed IPTC:Keywords alongside our own list
fixed a problem with MP4 videos skipping QuickUpdate, being elaborately rescanned every time.
fixed an issue with AudioCD cover art, which could cause abeMeda to crash when requested.
switched the freedb fallback for AudioCDs to gnudb.org, since freedb.org is no longer available.
added more default smart folders, and also added a command to (re)create these default queries if they got lost or were deleted somehow.

7.3 (April 20th, 2020)

abeMeda can now edit and write XMP people/person tag fields
we also added a global people list, and a separate dialog to manage it
- with the same functions as the proven keyword list
abeMeda now also includes support for XMP metadata presets
- store and manage your own collection of metadata presets to apply to your media files
- use existing metadata as templates, or paste existing metadata from files into your presets, and vice versa
- and of course use the Global Keyword List with presets, too.
added "Find Empty" and "Find NonEmpty" options to the IPTC fields and the Camera Maker/Name fields in the find editor.
- also, the inspector has corresponding commands in its context menus for these fields to trigger such searches.
abeMeda now reads XMP annotations written to your files by NeoFinder
- it will also import those Annotations from iView/PhaseOne exports
the AutoUpdate dialog can now be sized to accommodate your needs.
augmented the movie contact sheet settings - there is a new "add timestamps" setting, and the last used/preferred settings are now kept.
improved and reworked the handling of catalogs in found items - the displayed information and context menus are now better tailored to them.
added CR3 to the list of known RAW formats/extensions
added .toast as image file archive filetype, and enabled parsing it via 7zip as ISO.
massively improved 7zip processing times
added a "greater than"-rating filter and an “Has XMP annotations” filter to our displayFilter bar
added folder depth to the find Path criteria.
- also fixed an issue with the (CSV) export where it would not handle the requested folder depth correctly
added a new special import, for our own editable (meta)data. You can export existing catalog data to XML, and later re-apply that to a catalog to restore values like comments, tags and labels.
added better handling for long file names (> 260 character paths)
added a new hidden setting to ignore file creation dates when updating existing catalogs - to better compensate for some backup types and copied files when updating catalogs.
added a special hidden setting to toggle using exiftool when cataloging RAW images. exiftool in cataloging can add data, but slow things down considerably, so the user can control this as needed.
abeMeda now uses exiftool to try and get a thumbnail for PSD files, since QuickTime is no longer an option.
abeMeda now cares for a possible XMP sidecar file when renaming an item rsp. its original file.
fixed: a rare communications problem between the main app and metadata generator, that could lead to huge error logs.
fixed: another rare problem with the handling of damaged catalogs
fixed: a problem where some XMP data in files could crash the generator.
fixed: improved the handling of huge movie files
fixed: a problem with incoherent characters seldomly appearing in the people tags of files.
fixed: some issues with the stored window coordinates when abeMeda is maximized.

7.2.1 (June 12th, 2019)

added a number of new search criteria and find options: you can now find video codecs or aspect ratios, find specifically in EXIF camera maker, model and lens name strings
- and you can specifically search in the new Person tags (one person is/contains and no person is/contains)
added a new "last updated" date to our catalogs - from now on, the date the catalog was last updated will be kept separate from the last modified date, which changes whenever any item or attribute in the catalog is changed.
- the "last updated" date can be seen in the Inspector, the catalogs' properties sheets, and can be shown as a column in the Details View.
improved the handling of cover art in FLAC and other audio formats
fixed: a bug that could sometimes lead to cataloging failing with an unnecessary error message.
fixed: a problem that could cut short and thus prevent contact sheets for huge video files.

7.2 (May 14th, 2019)

added the new display filter - it allows you to further filter the items of any catalog content or found item results in the main window
abeMeda now offers lossless image rotation, clockwise or counter-clockwise, incl. their previews, in the catalog and the original file.
improved and extended our XMP editing - you can now copy/paste XMP data from file to file(s), and also modify the XMP date for one or more files.
abeMeda can now read and display People/Person tags in XMP, as written by Expression media, iView or NeoFinder 7.4.
augmented the keyword list handling, fixed existing and built more functions in the dialog, and more and better ways to interact with it
abeMeda now offers a "Show #[...] in instagram" in the context menu for keywords and tags.
improved and accelerated our startup process, when loading all your catalogs, albums, smartFolder and keywords
abeMeda can now duplicate albums and SmartFolder, via context menu
added support to read and display multichannel audio files correctly
added ".eit" to our text file contents formats
abeMeda now catalogs Affinity Publisher (.afpub) documents
abeMeda now reads compressed RAF images (Fuji)
augmented the noTagIs and noTagContains search criteria to better respect both Tags and XMP/IPTC keywords.
augmented the value lists for ISO, and added "ISO is lower than" and "ISO is higher than" to the find criteria.
the customTempFilePath can now be edited and changed via the preferences dialog
added a new "offline mode", to suppress connection attempts to unavailable servers. offline mode is ignored for autoUpdates, though.
added the ability to actually tag folder items in catalogs as well, including use of our keywords list.
augmented quickUpdate to correctly deal with changed items and preserve their labels/comments/tags - which is crucial for folders since they change far more often.
further improved our quickUpdate code and its performance again
- also, the progress dialog will now more accurately convey which files are actually being worked on during updates.
abeMeda now allows you to update and rescan the metadata and thumbnail of existing items/files/images in your catalogs.
added Alt+T shortcut to test a file with our different helpers, eg to find out why preview generation failed or to get more information
added a find command in the context menu to every keyword in the global keyword list, every selected keyword in the Inspector, and every other suitable media inspector item
abeMeda can now interact with 64bit versions of Google Earth as well. (with GE v7.3.2+)
updated exiftool to more recent rsp. latest stable version
added the ability to read embedded previews via exiftool as a fallback/workaround/additional alternative
improved & streamlined the handling of MP4 embedded coverArt - added exiftool and also upgraded ffmpeg support to better find and read them.
- this is now controlled and influenceable by the user via a hidden setting.
included (lines for) folder information in text export formats
- also added output for tags (in export as well as in display preferences, as selectable column)
abeMeda now catalogs more additional infos for images and audio files (e.g. exact Fps, lens name, and also huge WAV/audio duration, etc)
switched to libraw 0.19 release
adapted our existing command line parameters, and added new command line parameters to allow calling QuickFind, the execution of a saved query, AND exporting of found item results to a given file format rsp. location
- /qf "pattern" starts a QuickFind with the pattern given.
- /f "queryFileName" starts a find with the specified query file
- /efi:[format] ["fileName"] will ExportFoundItems in the format and to the file chosen
fixed and improved the recognition of the flashUsed attribute in EXIF for RAW images
fixed a problem with EXIF GPS parsing from XMP data and sidecar files
fixed a problem when updating files with XMP sidecar, which would always result in a rescan, even if unnecessary.
fixed a problem where dragging found items to the file system would fail
fixed a problem where fast switching between different smartFolders sometimes crashed abeMeda
fixed a problem with sporadic double results when searching for anyText and multiple search criteria.
fixed a problem with weekday intervals for the NextStartTime calculating incorrectly in AutoUpdate
fixed a problem wherein the "Find Rating" criteria would not always work correctly
fixed a problem that sometimes corrupted results when cataloging specific audio files
improved and augmented the duplicate item Find, further improving performance and results.
abeMeda now checks to ensure the temp folder AND the chosen target folder in the Library can actually be written into before EVERY scan, and will show an appropriate message if these conditions are not met, to prevent unnecessary scans that are otherwise doomed to fail.
abeMeda now also checks installed helpers availability and compatibility on startup, and informs the user if eg ffmpeg or meDaGen is not working or not found where its supposed to be, specifically when AutoUpdates is on.
fixed a bug where the mediaInspector is not (always) kept open when it is poppedOut and abeMeda is restarted.
fixed a bug when performing "Find all...in folder", and were able to speed up the process by factor 10x
fixed a bug where deleting items would sometimes lead to the catalog being reloaded.
fixed a bug where abeMeda would sometimes not find XMP data for huge files (larger than 4GB).
abeMeda now better communicates if a catalog is locked/readOnly due to the Extended Format not being active or supported - and offers ways to fix that.
fixed an issue when updating catalogs after newly configuring the ffmpeg or Xpdf helpers - abeMeda will now recognize that change and update the respective documents and videos even without forceFullUpdate
fixed an issue where 7zip would fail on certain archives, or hang on others. added a hidden setting to also read all ZIP archives with 7zip
fixed an issue where exports of whole catalogs (to CSV, TXT or XML) would not correctly observe the selected depth level
increased the size of multi line input controls in the Inspector, and added edit context menus where necessary
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

7.1.1 (February 2nd, 2018)

abeMeda now supports .jps and .mpo stereoscopic image files
fixed a bug that could cause abeMeda to crash after errors occurred during cataloging.
fixed a problem where certain archives (ePUBs, RARs) could cause cataloging to fail without producing a catalog.
fixed a bug Batch Cataloging where the cataloging options dialog could not be confirmed anymore to start cataloging.
fixed a problem where the custom fields for catalogs would not display correctly after selected in the Appearance options
fixed a problem with text encoding when reading the content of certain text files. Recognizing different encodings was improved and should give better results.
fixed a problem where the installer would sometimes fail to complete the installation of abeMeda.
fixed a problem where the import of WhereIsIt exports was too strict and prevented successful importing.
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

7.1 (December 19th, 2017)

added support for barcodes, rsp. the barcode generator zint for our catalogs in different areas of abeMeda:
- catalogs' properties received a separate sheet for displaying the catalogs barcode.
- also added a barcode option to the copy subMenu for catalogs.
- and we added barcodes as an option when exporting to HTML (lists & contactSheets) and XML.
abeMeda can now rename and delete not only catalog items, but also the actual files through our catalogs.
- you can also delete duplicate items now directly from the found results, if you want.
added new command line parameters:
- “/au" can force handling the AutoUpdates, even if switched off in the preferences.
- augmented the /x parameter with an optional minimumRunTime (in minutes), so you can control this instances' duration directly. abeMeda will stay open AT LEAST mm minutes, and then exit as soon as all scans are done.
abeMeda can now also remove geotags via the GPS context menu
autoUpdate now also calculates and offers "next Start Time" as a separate column - you can keep your AutoUpdateList sorted that way, and always see which update comes next.
added the ability to force FileExtensions in order to pair any exactly named file with a given extension and treat them as such. (eg. all files "title" shall be cataloged and read as ".txt")
abeMeda now detects external changes in separate "XMP Sidecar" files when updating a catalog
added support for Apple ProRes video format / codec.
abeMeda now reads the contents of RAR5 archives, if 7zip is installed.
abeMeda now creates previews for Affinity’s ”.afphoto" and ".afdesign" files
abeMeda can now catalog ".cof" files written by Capture One.
abeMeda now catalogs existing XMP sidecar files for RED movie files
the search for media files in folders and all subfolders (in the context menu) can now be applied to multiple folders simultaneously
added "Location" and "Usage Terms" to the IPTC find operators in the Find Editor and Smart Folders
implemented "APFS” and "LTFS" file system types and improved file system recognition
as always, we made lots of fixes and corrections to Update, AutoUpdate and saving of catalogs, to reduce and better deal with possible error conditions.
switched to current version of libraw, increasing the coverage of RAW file formats.
fixed a problem when sorting by Windows file kind, which was too slow in many situations.
added a fix when cataloging EXIF in RAW files, where the aperture was slightly off.
fixed a problem when dealing with password protected archives via 7zip
fixed a number of memory leaks
added fixes to our XMP cataloging increasing performance and compatibility with files that would sometimes cause problems.
fixed a problem where special characters (UTF16..., umlauts, ...) in QuickFind are not correctly transformed into the created query
abeMeda now tests tempPaths and the database folder before and during cataloging, and will give you the options of aborting if the paths are invalid or necessary access rights are missing. autoUpdates are discarded in any such case, and thusly logged in the AutoUpdate log.
fixed a problem where saving huge extended format catalog would sometimes fail and/or result in corrupted catalog files
added some specific tags icon for the keywords window
fixed several problems in batchCatalog
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

7 (March 29th, 2017)

abeMeda now offers editing and saving of XMP/IPTC metadata tags. You can now modify all the XMP data abeMeda reads and supports, and save them back to the catalog AND the respective files.
also added a controlled global keyword list, that keeps and offers your favourite keywords for tagging. also added keywords to the QuickFind options.
added support for ratings (also based in XMP) - you can add ratings to any image, video and prepress file, which is then stored either inside that file, or in an accompanying XMP sidecar.
added "in Year", "in Month", "in Month Any Year" to the available find operators, for more flexibility when looking for certain date ranges.
added "name or path contains" as search criteria - whenever you don't know whether what you are looking for can be found in each file name or just in the containing folder.
added our new Extended catalog format, that allows for catalog sizes above 4GB. This requires the 64bit version of abeMeda.
preview thumbnails can now even be 1024px, 2048px or 4096px in size (when using that new Extended catalog format)
improved stability, accuracy, and speed of updates
augmented AutoUpdate: you can now temporarily switch AutoUpdate on and off (without needing to clear your complete schedule). We added a lot more interval options, from "every 30 minutes" to "every 4 days". You can also now decide to run all your updates serialized (one at a time, so they don't interfere with each other, eg when on the same drive)
abeMeda now saves the last used cataloging settings in its catalog files. That way you can create specific catalogs for certain purposes without having to switch around the cataloging settings all the time. These settings can be respected when updating, and you can also choose to use/prefer them when scheduling AutoUpdates for the catalogs. When cataloging, you have the options of using the stored setting, the current defaults, or a selection of different presets.
abeMeda now also includes stored Lyrics in different export formats.
added hierarchical groups to albums and smartFolders.
added a new "Item" menu, grouping together ratings, labels and several other tasks and options for different selected item (types)
added "photo contact sheets" to create and export an overview of a selection of photos.
added "show Preview", which is now a separate menu command for items with thumbnail previews (not only available via double-click on the preview in inspector). There is also a shortcut (ALT+SPACE) for it.
added "SHIFT+ENTER" for File-Open, "ALT+ENTER" for File-OpenWith as global keyboard shortcuts.
added "show catalog file" as command for catalogs, to shorten the detour via its catalog folder.
abeMeda now reads and displays the video codec for video files
added reading of XMP metadata for videos from accompanying XMP sidecar files.
added a hidden setting to change the temp folder abeMeda uses when cataloging and exporting. (useful when you're in a space-constrained environment, and/or on an SSD)
abeMeda now also looks for and recognizes the 64bit 7zip path
fixed: we now only read XMP from sidecars for movie files, except when forced otherwise by "prfIgnoreXMPinMOV". Else XMP would load huge video files completely into memory to seek them for data. Especially cumbersome when cataloging network drives.
fixed: abeMeda now correctly treats anamorphic video files when encountered via ffmpeg. these would result in distorted thumbnails and dimensions in the past.
fixed: we can now read more metadata from ffmpeg results, compensating for the loss of QuickTime.
fixed: load times for albums are now much faster.
fixed problems with the prefix and suffix of the automatic serial numbers
fixed: findEditor now always adds a new criteria of the same kind as the one you pressed "+" on.
fixed problems with the databaseSettings, where ignoring of folders would not really work, but ignoring file suffixes would also ignore folders that happen to have that suffix...
fixed a problem with certain huge ZIP archive files that would still report the wrong size.
fixed a problem where certain damaged RTF files would cause abeMeda to crash when it tried to read their contents.
fixed problems in the ID3 cataloging with certain formats of Lyrics and other data.
fixed a problem with the automatic batch cataloging, where abeMeda could only eject the first installed disc drive, not the one selected.
fixed a couple of issues with the CSV export.
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

6.7 (February 2nd, 2016)

abeMeda now reads XMP metadata in MP4/MOV files!
Keywords (Tags) can now be added and/or edited for each catalog item.
That allows for additional information per item besides Comments and Labels
fixed and improved the tar archive reader
added .MXF and .webm to the list of supported video formats
improved the command line options and syntax - we now allow to start an update by specifying the actual volume path, and have abeMeda figure out the corresponding catalog on its own. That also allows for "create new if not yet there"
added a (hidden) setting to allow abeMeda to gather any failed files during cataloging, and present them as an album afterwards, for diagnostics.
added a "retract" button to the batch-scan dialog, and also added an eject and retract button to the cataloging progress dialog when in batch mode
added "Save As New SmartFolder", "New Empty Query" and "Load last used Query" to the find tools menu
modified the "ask for media" dialogs and process. You can now choose any valid folder path, and (re-)connect an unmatched catalog to that directly from the dialog.
the dialog for "existing catalog" now has more information, and can show and select the found catalog if requested.
the Find context menu for catalogs now contains catalog specific find options that can help find similar catalogs directly
added "Has No Tags" and "Kind is Comic" as find options
improved and corrected album handling and performance
added a manual save option to the Inspector - using SHIFT or ALT click on the Edit button will save the current changes without changing the edit mode.
fixed: fileCheck would not correctly identify missing (deleted) files on the associated medium
added a new function to export folders of existing catalogs into a new separate catalog file
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

6.6 (June 15th, 2015)

abeMeda now correctly rotates thumbnails based on their EXIF rotation flags.
added the reading of AudioCD CoverArt from CoverArtArchive for MusicBrainz, also improved handling of MusicBrainz results
improved & augmented AutoUpdate with more intervals (from hourly to weekly) instead of just daily.
IPTC keywords and categories are now sorted alphabetically in the Inspector
improved FindDuplicates, cleaned the configuration dialog, fixed some problems and inconsistencies, and added more information & options
further improved QuickUpdate performance and accuracy
deleting catalogs now has an optional confirmation dialog, to prevent unwanted deletions.
opening a SmartFolder for Edit (context menu, or now also shift-click) now selects the last criteria for quick modifications and finds
abeMeda can now read much more and better contents from RTF files
improved the quality of PDF previews via Xpdf, especially for higher thumbnail sizes
added PhaseOne RAW (.IIQ) picture dormat to the list of recognized RAW file formats
added DiskID to BrokenX importer
databaseSettings.xml now has a new section to exclude files (filenamepatterns) from scan completely
improved sorting for many more attributes, with better results (and some cross-attribute sorting, eg for recording dates)
improved and corrected DragNDrop handling, especially for multiple items
corrected handling of ZIP files with many contained items (or those from OSX' Finder)
suppressed the urge to keep creating the default smart folders after they were deleted
fixed a problem with exporting and importing the label configuration
fixed a problem when copy/pasting long comments into the inspector
added provisions to better deal with a filling up Temp drive

6.5 (November 28th, 2014)

vastly improved video recognition for metadata and thumbnails: abeMeda can now use ffmpeg to reliably read many more video formats!
of course the movie contact sheets benefit from ffmpeg as well - if installed, ffmpeg will be preferred over other frameworks.
abeMeda now also uses an installed 7-Zip to read more archives (7z, ARJ, LHA) and image files (ISO, DMG)
fixed a display problem with huge multi-monitor setups
fixed a problem that could make abeMeda seem unresponsive due to a misconfigured AutoSync.
fixed a problem with sorting folders in the Library
added commands to reset the window layout, or to deauthorize an installed application
added "Open" for multiple files, and an "Open With" dialog for any selected file
added display columns for width, height, duration and aspect ratio, and also catalog file size
added support for Apple's CloudDrive and Microsoft's OneDrive
fixed a problem reading certain EXIF, GPS & IPTC tags from TIFF files
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

6.4.2 (September 24th, 2014)

updated and improved catalog file handling, loading catalog files and and working with huge a library is much faster now
improved catalog display, and updated sorting. On Windows 7 and later abeMeda now better sorts numerals in (catalog) names.
improved ZIP and ZIP64 file recognition and parsing.
abeMeda can now read ISRC from WAV files!
fixed a problem adding catalogs to AutoUpdate in the 64bit version
fixed a problem communicating with Google Earth in the 64bit version
added commands to control and delete QuickFind history
fixed a number of problems in the inspector and the find window
improved cataloging and metadata recognition for many formats, like MOVs, MP4s, FLVs
fixed a problem when reading IPTC tags containing CR/LF
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

6.4 (May 19th, 2014)

abeMeda is now 64bit and runs natively on 64bit Windows – allowing us to use more memory, and work faster on 64bit systems.
our new “Find Duplicates” function that allows you to identify duplicate files in any number of catalogs. It offers several criteria for item comparison, and you can also find unique items (that only exist in ONE catalog, eg all files on a new disc that are not yet in your own collection)
the new “Movie Contact Sheet” function, to create beautiful contact sheets of movies in different formats – you can define the number of previews to show, and their arrangement and layout. Output comes as an image file in different file formats.
new “Find … in folder” context menu commands, to quickly find all pictures, movies, audio or – in general – media files in any given folder with a dsingle click. Allows you to compile and view all media independently of existing folder hierarchies
new selection for QuickFind type – you can decide if QuickFind works on Any Text (as before), or on Name, Comment, EXIF, IPTC or audio tags. Thus enabling you to accomplish even more taks with a single QuickFind. Also, it now allows to find a place on the map (like in GeoFinder)
Find has again grown faster and more stable
the Inspector now shows a lot more information fur multi-item selections, detecting if and how many audio or video files are selected, and accumulating their duration; or showing aggregations for folders and catalogs.
newly added support for huge Zip archives (ZIP64, > 4 GBytes in size)
improved support for FileCheck values – now allowing to check multiple files at once, searching for files or catalogs with or without FileCheck, displaying FileCheck as separate column in the detail views etc)
“Content” and “Preview” can now also be found in the Properties dialogs of files, offering that stored data for viewing outside of the Inspector. abeMeda can also show the stored preview in a separate popup window.
improved processing and recognition of huge TIFF and JPEG files
improved RAW support (new libraw version, with new file formats like CR2 or CRW)
added .css, .csv and .srt to the text file content cataloguing
added support for MTS video files, also looking for a preview if a matching codec is installed
added XMP for NEF and PNG files
improved and sped up updating of existing catalogs once again
improved UniCode handling for certain filetypes and folders
and fixed and improved numerous other issues.

6.2.2 (June 10th, 2013)

improved IPTC recognition, handling and display
improved quickUpdate and AutoSync performance and accuracy
improved and fixed find window criteria handling (added options, fixed a rare crash, missing criteria input controls and navigation)
improved and fixed HTML export and iView import regarding perfomance, data quality and fault tolerance
improved album handling
improved window handling and display issues
improved handling of several parallel scans
further improved AudioCD recognition and handling
fixed a problem with changing the database library in demo mode
and added a lot more smaller improvements and bugfixes

6.2.1 (March 20th, 2013)

fixed a number of smaller output and display problems (Hz/kHz number formatting for audio files, handling of very small file sizes, ...)
fixed a possible hang on startup due to certain find queries
fixed some errors in the ADC import
fixed a problem with a rogue logfile created on the desktop even though logging level was 0

6.2 (March 13th, 2013)

added reading previews of icon files - abeMeda will now create a preview of the largest available format in icon (.ICO) files
added beautiful colors to the existing labels - you can choose different sets, edit and save them, and tag any catalog or item with them. See them displayed throughout the application, or even switch them off completely in the options.
added a whole number of new export formats, that also cover presentation needs, not only technical data exchange:
new HTML contact sheets (thumbnail view), for a number of selected items, or even for whole catalogs (hierarchically, to click through interactively), including linked original images
new HTML report (detail view), also hierarchical
and a new XML export, also including previews.
new "Reconnect" command for existing catalogs - so you can reconnect a catalog with a renamed (or otherwise modified) or different volume...
added new icons for different volume and media types
added bing to our list of location based webservices for geotags.
added "Year" and "Genre" as editable values to the inspector for AudioCDs.
added new find commands: Path: "folder contains/doesn't contain" (for the immediate containing folder), and "Item In/Not In Archive" Comment: "has comment" / "has no comment"
added a list of recent library folders to the options dialog, allowing you to switch more easily between different libraries.
added an option to use decimal byte display (1MB = 1000KB = 1000 bytes) by default, abeMeda will still use 1024 bytes, just like Windows.
added better and clearer memory information to the database options
added cataloging performance counters that output their information to the log file
improved item handling in our detail views (when dragging, moving or sorting catalogs or items)
fixed a number of display issues in the inspector
fixed and improved AudioCD handling in cataloging and their inspector display
fixed and improved handling of large catalogs (> 2GB) while cataloging
improved recognition for large pictures and PDFs
improved metadata generator performance and results
fixed mapInspector to correctly handle & remember map choices
improved AutoSync and AutoUpdate handling and behaviour
fixed a couple of issues with batch cataloging, too
and applied a number of smaller fixes and improvements all over...

6.0.2 (April 23rd, 2012)

added support for MP4/MOV embedded cover art (requiring QT)
added new columns for item, file and folder count to the catalog details list view
added handling of relative paths ("..\") and environment variables (%USERPROFILE%) to our database folder path command line argument (/db). That way, portable installations of abeMeda can run right from an external drive (HDD or USB stick)
fixed freedb recognition, that was sometimes not called even if requested.
fixed a number of smaller issues involving the QuickFind control or the logfile path.

6.0.1 (February 14th, 2012)

found item lookup would sometimes lead to a crash
implemented freedb protocol level 6, for unicode text from freedb.
introduced geotag vicinity search into the findEditor, to make it fully accessible, and combinable with other criteria.
added support for unicode volume names
added a pause functionality to our progress dialogs
fixed movie recognition in our meDaGen !!
freedb & Xpdf settings were not correctly set in the options dialog
"Pack logfile" button in Logging dialog was always greyed out

6.0 (December 11th, 2011)

well, the new name, of course! abeMeda still reads CDs, but is capable of so much more, that we needed a new name to reflect that.
newly redesigned and integrated layout, using a single window
new Albums and SmartFolders allow for greater possibilities and flexibility when working with your files. Save your favourite Find Queries in SmartFolders for easier and faster access, or gather the files you need for a specific purpose or project in an Album to keep them together.
new mapInspector right in the main window shows geotag locations even outside of the GeoFinder.
mapInspector reacts to the (geotagged) items selected in the main window
plus, has a load of functionality in its context menu, like the new "Find All In This Map" for one-click geo-area search
new edit mode in the mediaInspector now allows for commenting or labelling directly from the main window.
The Inspector can also edit common values for multiple items directly. We now offer comment and label for items, and also Location and the catalogs' Extra Fields for editing when multiple items are selected.
new external metaDataGenerator makes cataloging even faster and fi¬nal¬ly immune to crashing - it will take the fall so abeMeda won't have to.
new improved cataloging of AudioCDs : abeMeda now asks MusicBrainz for information, and reads ASIN, ISRC and CD-TEXT when available.
new PDF thumbnails and content cataloging (via Xpdf) : abeMeda will query an installed Xpdf for PDF thumbnails and/or content to store that in the catalogs.
new AutoUpdate, enabling business license holders to select catalogs for daily automatic update.
new Copy functions for Name, Path, comment, MP3 tags, thumbnails and GPS tags to the context menus
also adding copy functionality to the inspector controls - anything displayed there can be copied for use elsewhere!
redesigned find window attribute list, and adding specific search in document file contents
added unit support to our find editor – now you see what unit is expected when entering criteria, and you can (finally) choose to enter sizes in MB or GB when searching for them.
improved QuickUpdate recognition and performance
added “force full update” to the catalog settings, allowing you to ignore QuickUpdate if really need be
added hidden setting to identify files without or with unknown extension based on their content when cataloging
added "Prepare packed logfile" to Logging dialog - to ease maintenance where mailing would not work.
fixed and enhanced the sizeGrip on the progress dialogs - double- clicking that will now maxmimze the dialog!
added new SatelliteWindows to view a catalog, catalog folder or album in an external window side by side to other contents
added a new Window menu to keep track of all the additional open windows
abeMeda has a complete new column handling for the main display
added loads of new columns (MP3 tags, EXIF, IPTC, …) to the detailed view
redesigned the column selection in our preferences to handle all these new columns
the column headers are now adapted to the new design and handling in Vista and Windows7 (especially regarding the sort direction indicators)
you can now also choose “None” as sort column, dropping all sorting and reverting to the order of items in the catalog. (via sort menu option, or by pressing SHIFT when clicking the sorted column header)
abeMeda can now save partial catalogs when you cancel cataloguing midway
extended abeMeda’s audio capabilities
corrected metadata reading for several filetypes
added an Audio Info section to the inspector for all files that do not have mp3tags.
added several additional search options to look for audio files’ bitrate, samplingrate, etc.
added the ability to search through Lyrics specifically
reworked the exports’ output and layout for better export quality and more data.
the find window and the Inspector can also be detached from the main window, if you prefer the old layout or need the space
added word parsing to the QuickFind – when typing several words abeMeda will create a complex find, searching for each word separately. To enforce the exact phrase, use quotations.
also, QuickFind in the main toolbar now stores your recently used and favourite search words and has a QuickFind button, too
we added a special dialog to select the catalogs to search for a query, instead of relying only on what was selected in the rest of the application.
we added support for thumbnails in Adobe InDesign CS5 and 5.5 documents
we also added a couple of visual enhancements to our icons, graphics and controls.
and handled a couple of other smaller issues and interface improvements.

5.7.2 (December 14th, 2010)

improved the FLV file metadata recognition, especially vastly increasing speed for large FLV files.
improved our WhereIsIt import to correctly care for UniCode characters.
improved export now also covers the MD5 FileCheck value.
fixed a problem with the editing of labels.
fixed problems with certain NEF files' GPS coordinates.
fixed problems with some "ends with" searches
fixed problems with tag recognition for certain MP3 files
fixed a problem with certain TIFF files that caused CDWinder to freeze.
fixed a display problem for empty video metadata in the media inspector.
and addressed even more smaller problems.

5.7.1 (September 22nd, 2010)

CDWinder can catalog the GPS tags in .MOV video files created by the Apple iPhone! That gives you the same geotag related features as with photos, such as starting a geosearch, or showing the point in Google Earth or on the built-in map
CDWinder now also reads the contents of Word files, code files (.c, .h, .cpp, .rc) and XML/HTML files.
CDWinder now includes the latest exiftool version (8.2.5), and offers correct feedback for exiftool status
improved EXIF and IPTC cataloging, and updated archive readers to use UTF-8
improved updating of existing catalogs – QuickUpdate is now even faster!
improved PDF cataloging by adding page count and PDF version
added a new catalog settings dialog - the catalog settings can now easily be set or changed for each catalog
added a scrollbar to the Inspector window, so all displayed data can be inspected without closing sections
added "Has No GPS data" to EXIF find options.
added tab navigation to the find window input fields.
CDWinder now has a new import dialog, allowing to choose the XML catalog file format to import.
ADC (Advanced Disk Catalog for Windows) XML Importer now reads the Category field and places it in the item comment
and we added new command key shortcuts to enable easier maintenance of CDWinder
fixed a problem with the saving of find queries in the German version.
fixed problems with the find window
fixed problems with the display of updated catalogs
fixed problems with the visibility of the inspector window
fixed problems with the tree-view and list-view display
fixed a crash that sometimes occurred after refreshing the catalog database.
fixed search results for catalog info - some information in catalogs could not be found in every instance.
fixed searching for/with Unicode data (e.g. Japanese characters)
fixed a problem with setting labels with the context menu for found items
fixed several problems with the layout of CDWinder's windows and focussing when switching tasks.
and addressed even more smaller problems.

5.7 (April 21st, 2010)

improved cataloging : faster, and more stable.
added detailed OpenStreetMap mapping to the GeoFinder
enhanced integrated GeoTagging capabilities with the GeoFinder alone
added photo export feature - convert photos in your database to a specific format and size
added text file preview cataloging for text files. The first 256 characters of RTF (Rich Text Format), TXT, LOG, and NFO files are read, saved, displayed, and can of course searched
added FLAC metadata cataloging, for all metadata and cover art.
added cataloging of metadata and thumbnails for Adobe Illustrator and InDesign files.
added cataloging of the contents of url and .webloc files, incl. finding and visiting the stored URLs
added importing of WhereIsIt XML catalog files.
fixed a problem with the importing of BrokenX catalogs
fixed problems with the sorting via the Order By sub-menu's
fixed problems with the image quality of our Locr upload
improved Drag'n'Drop capabilities and handling
improved volume recognition and (UNC) path handling
fixed a performance problem when cataloging thousands of RAW images, and several other stability issues during find and cataloging
fixed a problem with the handling of renamed catalog items
fixed issues with the slideshows when including folder names or still archived items that caused problems in the external tools.
added several switches to control the internal engines for cataloging - to turn off XMP, RAW, QT etc. individually.
added a menu command to swiftly show the logfile if logging is activated
improved display of and scrolling through large item collections or folders with many thumbnails.
and addressed and fixed even more smaller problems.

5.6.1 (July 22nd, 2009)

improved find : up to 20% faster now, and more stable.

enabled UNC for database folders, enhanced general handling of and awareness for UNC paths and folders
added confirmation before overwriting existing geotags in files
CDWinder now remembers the last used find query and the last cataloged path
improved the handling of the command line interface when scanning and updating, especially when running as a scheduled task.
added storing of Locr settings, including Locr user credentials
Expanded the URL handler. It now also offers:
cdwinder://find/audio/&genre=folk
cdwinder://find/audio/&composer=Bach
cdwinder://find/audio/&year=1970
added .MPV movies, and sped up thumbnail creation for mp4 movies
added a clipboard context menu to the findWindow input controls
fixed scaling of catalogued thumbnails for QuickTime-enabled movies
fixed a problem with BIGTIFFs that CDWinder can not handle yet
fixed and improved the doubleclick handling of certain filetypes
fixed the reading of certain TAR archives
fixed a problem reading cover art of AIFF and certain AAC files
and adressed some smaller problems.

5.6 (May 5th, 2009)

CDWinder now creates thumbnails for movie files! This uses DirectShow and / or QuickTime, and includes a number of file formats, such as avi, mov, mp4, m4v, mpg, flv, mkv, and more – if the required codecs are installed. We tested CDWinder with a DirectShow codec pack like CCCP. Also, CDWinder doesn’t use the first frame of a movie, but grabs a thumbnail at about 20% of the duration of the movie

With CDWinder you can now geotag your pictures with Google Earth (utilizing Phil Harvey's exiftool). If you create a catalog of an online volume, you can use CDWinder and Google Earth to geotag the picture in the catalog and in the file itself.
CDWinder now offers Locr-Upload capabilities. It works for photos with or without geotags, and you can upload single or multiple photos. Also, you can get a list of your albums on the Locr server, and place the uploaded photos in one of them or create a new one
CDWinder can finally catalog UNC paths (Network Places) without the need of a mapped drive letter
CDWinder can now also catalog the GPS coordinates stored in sidecar XMP files or XMP records in photos
New RAR code to catalog the contents of archives larger than 4 GB
KMZ Export has been improved with better KML content, an option to use the KMZ TimeStamp, and an option to include the metadata or not
You can now exclude files from cataloging based on their name suffixes, or folders based on their name. This is handled by a file named DatabaseSettings.xml in your CDWinder database folder.
CoverArt of AAC-Songs will now be cataloged again, supporting the yet again changed format introduced with iTunes 8
The Podcast info text of songs is now cataloged, and will be displayed, and can of course be searched as well
The comment inside JPG photos is now cataloged (that is the unique JPG comment, not the IPTC comment, which CDWinder can already catalog since version 2.5)
Due to popular demand, CDWinder now has separate sorting for folders, just like in Windows Explorer
Fixed a bug where finding IPTC or EXIF criteria in Found Items would not work
Fixed a problem with the genre of miscellaneous audio files
And, as always, we fixed several other bugs…

5.5.5 (February 11, 2009)

improved RAW support : added GPS from RAW EXIF, increased compatibility to more RAW thumbnails
added Spanish language
fixed : bug that could prevent CDWinder from starting up from a network database folder
fixed : problems with switching between display modes
fixed : some columns in the main window or find window were not correctly filled
and addressed some smaller problems.

5.5 (January 6, 2009)

CDWinder can now catalog all metadata of AIFF songs, including Cover Art, Lyrics and all other typical fields
CDWinder can read previews and EXIF data from RAW images
CDWinder now catalogs important metadata of movie files (avi, mov, mp4, m4v, mpg, flv), such as the size and duration, as well as the frame rate and codec
CDWinder now catalogs XMP metadata out of RAW, TIFF, PDF, EPS, JPG, and even sidecar files, increasing the compatibility to Adobe Bridge and all other Adobe applications
The new GeoFinder dramatically improves the Geo-Search feature: A fully interactive map allows you to specify the starting point for your search, and you can use the current Google Earth position, along with preset locations and a new place search
CDWinder can now export geotags into the KMZ format, including previews of the actual photos and important metadata, such as the location and camera parameters. That does of course work for any photo formats
All photos with GPS data now have the GeoTagIcon badged to their thumbnail in the CDWinder windows
When cataloging GPS data, CDWinder now also reads the azimuth, tilt, and distance values written by Graphic Converter and some GPS modules attached to Nikon cameras. This value is then used for "Reveal in Google Earth", as well as the KMZ export file
Added SmugMug, WikiMapia, Yahoo Maps, Geoudy, OpenStreetMap, and Woohpy to the GPS menu
Find can now also search by path
CDWinder can now handle a wide range of URLs, such as cdwinder://find/gps/&city=Berlin&distance=5000m or cdwinder://find/audio/&album=Crime%20Of%20The%20Century. You can use that to interactively integrate CDWinder into your web sites and more.
Extended the Export to include MP3, EXIF, and IPTC metadata of all found items properly
The IPTC metadata in any export now has no Return characters, but these are replaced by either a comma or a blank
CDWinder is now able to write a logfile, especially useful for identifying corrupt catalogs or rogue media files that mess up the metadata reader
The thumbnails in the detail window can now be scaled (64 - 512 pixels)
CDWinder offers a new light table view with a dark window background, that enhances visibility with media thumbnails
CDWinder can use IrfanView or XnView, if installed, to show images in a slideshow.
CDWinder now accepts its own catalog files with drag & drop into the catalog list. Any such files are now copied to the CDWinder database folder and used
Fixed a bug with the Batch Catalog Scan that caused unending loops when a catalog already existed in the database
And, as always, we fixed several other bugs…

5.1.1 (April 16, 2008)

CDWinder can now catalog all metadata of AIFF songs, including Cover Art, Lyrics and all other typical fields
MP3 Cover Art is now being read from ID3v2.2 format tags as well as the ID3v2.3 tags
CDWinder can now show more than one photo in Google Earth, and exports the GPS coordinates of all selected photos (along with their names and IPTC caption) into a KML file (to be used with Goodle Earth and other applications)
The GPS distance search window now displays the selected coordinate in a nice world map
All GPS related context menu entries now use the GPS icon from http://www.geotagicons.com/
The Inspector now also shows the alitutide of GPS coordinates
Fixes problems with the catalog serial number, and CDWinder can now renumber existing catalogs, too.
Fixes a bug in the GPS distance search, where a rounding error could sometimes produce incorrect results
Fixes a bug when some JPG photos with XMP metadata would prevent CDWinder from reading the IPTC comments of the file
Fixes a bug with navigating folders inside of scanned archives
Fixes a bug with the display of UniCode characters of updated catalogs

5.1 (February 26, 2008)

QuickUpdate: Updating existing catalogs in CDWinder is now about 50 times faster than before, because CDWinder now keeps the unchanged meta-data around
QuickFind: a search field in the main toolbar now allows to find any text in all catalogs directly and quickly
New extended Find context menus: Find files with the same MP3 artist, album, title or composer, or based on IPTC meta-data or date values
Vastly extended GPS geotag support: CDWinder can now also show the location of a photo in Flickr, Panoramio, Google Maps or MapQuest
Find photos based on their GPS location and distance relative to another photo
Cataloging ZIP archive contents is about 20 times faster than before, due to a new and improved algorithm
Cataloging of MP3 and AAC tags is now fully Unicode compatible as well
CoverArt in MP3 and AAC is now cataloged as well
Ringtone audio files are also being cataloged
CDWinder now optionally generates a FileCheck value for every file, and allows you to verify that at any time. Important for photographers and everyone else who wants to ensure that their data is still alive and unchanged
CDWinder can now import Broken Cross XML database files or export files and Advanced Disk Catalog (ADC for Windows) XML export files files as catalogs
And, as always, we fixed several bugs…

5.0.2 (November 11, 2007)

massively improved performance when scanning thumbnails (about 10x-20x faster)
improved the folder-browsing dialogs by preselecting the last used folder as appropriate
fixed problems with huge catalog files (larger than 2 GB), and improved file handling
fixed handling of empty catalog files
fixed inspector display issues (information was vanishing randomly)
fixed problems with identifying different AudioCD-catalogs
adressed a number of issues concerning stability and fault tolerance.

5.0.1 July 7, 2007

integrated "Show In GoogleEarth" for GPS-tagged pictures !
once an image is geotagged (either in the camera, or by additional software) and cataloged, it can always be located anywhere on the globe !
added a search for object kind (Folder, Picture, Movie, ...)
fixed several bugs
enhanced: cataloging of TIFFs, EXIF & IPTC records, ZIP archives
fixed: disappearing catalogs after restart
fixed: undeleteable catalog folders
fixed: catalogs' Extra Fields were not included in searching
enhanced: parsing of the command line
and others

CDWinder 5 22. May 2007

CDWinder can now catalog thumbnail previews for photo and image files of several types (JPG, TIFF, PSD, PNG, GIF, BMP)
Enhanced user interface: CDWinder's list windows can be switched between the list and a new icon view mode, to see all those thumbnails in full glory. Navigational controls and history ease your path through your data, and allow better control.
Full Unicode support: All new catalogs created by CDWinder 5.0 now contain the full Unicode file names, comments, and such
Date and number outputs are correctly locale formatted
Date inputs for search criteria use a calendar control
New additional run time parameters: CDWinder is now able to catalog media or update existing catalogs or folders by specifying parameters at startup. That way you can have CDWinder catalog every disk you burn, or update specific catalogs over night.
A number of bugs was fixed

CDWinder 2.6.1 18. December 2006

Some nasty bugs were fixed, e.g.
Improved the new AutoVerify function
AutoVerify interrupted normal operations
In some circumstances, the new AutoVerify would cause CDWinder use up far too much memory, or even crash
Exporting of different levels of catalog information didn’t work correctly and was rebuilt.

CDWinder 2.6 2. December 2006

Revamped and enhanced the Find window
We now allow the combination of several search criteria (up to 16) to find objects in the catalogs
Existing techniques as “find in found objects”, “add to found objects” or wildcards (with names) still exist and can be combined with the new mechanisms
Added custom fields and extra information to add to the catalogs
Automatic serial numbers for catalogs have been added
Up to 5 custom fields can be defined, that carry additional information for each catalog
Added Lyrics
MP3-tags now include Lyrics tag – lyrics are stored full-text in our catalogs and can be searched using Any Text
Enhanced the media Inspector in visuals and behaviour
Improved catalog file handling and collaboration with CDFinder
Several bugs were fixed, e.g.
MP3- und IPTC catalogging was corrected, existing catalogs are automatically verified and corrected
Changes in the catalogs are now saved correctly and more frequently
Labels are now changed and saved correctly
CDWinder is tested on Windows Vista, but no longer supports Windows 95/98/ME.

CDWinder 2.5 4. October 2005

cataloging of photo meta data : EXIF and IPTC
special search functions, to search items with these data tags
view and browse through the objects and their meta data with the new media Inspector
the Inspector displays detailed information for the currently selected item
it will also show a picture preview (only if the file is locally available)
enhanced the performance in finding and browsing, if only to handle all the additional data
several bugs were fixed

CDWinder 2.0.1 17. April 2005

Corrected several bugs, including
Preferences dialog would not accept a database folder on a network drive
Objects in CDFinder catalogs with danish or french characters were not displayed correctly

CDWinder 2.0 26. March 2005

Enhanced the user interface
Added details columns (comments, modification date, kind etc.) for the catalogs and objects
Enabled the user to choose which columns to display
Enabled rearranging of columns
Corrected and enhanced column based sorting
Made CDWinder remember all those options
Enhanced Drag'nDrop support
Folders and volumes can be dragged onto CDWinder to have them cataloged, even directly in specific folders.
Catalogs and catalog folders can be moved and copied to other catalog folders, several at a time, from the ListView
Multiple selected catalogs and catalog folders can serve as a source for search operations, or be exported all together
Enhanced archive support
Added RAR archive support
Added folder support for all archive types
Added a command line switch
By using the parameters /db in the command line, the current instance of CDWinder can be forced to use a specific database folder, instead of the one stored in the preferences (for registered users only)
Usage : cdwinder.exe /db "D:\myData\catalog files"
Fixed several bugs…

Changes for Version 1.9.1 (22. December 2003)

CDWinder now optionally comes with a Setup-routine (incl. uninstall) in a self-extracting EXE-File, if you prefer that.
CDWinder can now export in CSV format, too.
As a little christmas present we integrated scanning of JPEG image information. It's intended as a preview of the upcoming version 2.0, where we will scan extensive information incl. EXIF and IPTC for several image formats.
The sporadic problem with the immovable splitbar has been solved.
Our ZIP-Archive routine can now handle ZIPs created by Mac OS X.
An error in the MP3-scan, potetnially causing crashes with defective files, was removed.
Communication with the freedb-database was optimized and is now more fault-tolerant.
Recognition of existing catalogs was improved ans should be more precise now.

Changes for Version 1.9 (2. November 2003)

launching CDWinder is much faster now thanks to the new QuickLaunch Cache.
CDWinder can sync the database folder CDWinder and reflect the changes. That's very handy for network use, sharing a database folder on a server. (This feature requires a CDWinder Business License.)
The memory management of catalog data was improved. The amount of memory used by CDWinder for this data can be configured in the new database preferences dialog.
Cataloging of several volumes can now be done simultaneously
CDWinder allows updating of catalogs - catalogs can be updated to the contents of a volume without losing the input like lables or comments.
As always we have fixed some bugs and glitches (for example with the recognition of mixed-mode audio-cd's).

Changes for Version 1.8 (22. June 2003)

Cataloging of folders
Cataloging of WAV-files
Cataloging of AAC-files incl. Tags
Cataloging of Tar Archives
Improved Cab-Archive cataloging
Tooltips enabled for display of additional information on catalogs or media files
Fixed several bugs…

Changes for Version 1.7.1 (3. February 2003)

bugfix release, e.g.:
fixed several glitches in the new find functions
fixed the export-function
improved AudioCD-recognition in Win9x (MCI)

Changes for Version 1.7 (15. December 2002)

revamped and improved find functionality
added wildcard search
Name, Comment and Any Text "contains" now allows for wildcards!
added source selection
all catalogs, selected catalog or folder, found objects or catalog infos only and items with different labels can be chosen as search sources
items can be added to already found ones
added support for cataloging CAB-archives
added support for the MP3-composer-tag

scanning, display and find functionality.

added a toolbar !
added support for long(er) comments

Catalogs and items can carry virtually unlimited comments (was limited to 255 chars up to now)

Changes for Version 1.6 (31. March 2002)

support for labeling the different objects
we sport 15 different labels, configurable in the Preferences
labels are assignable to the different objects in the dialogs
we have label- columns and you can search for labels
support for CDFinder labels, and CDFinderFolderInfo
support for AudioCD’s, Extended-AudioCD’s through ASPI
improved recognition of (Extended-)AudioCD’s
added cataloging of ExtendedAudioCD’s (NT4+ only for now!)
freedb-support for Windows NT4
revamped and improved catalog export
new output-format
new export-dialog
selectable columns
definable output

Changes for Version 1.5.1 (19. December 2001)

The catalog view can now be sorted alphabetically, by using a new preference setting.
Media info is now included when exporting found items and catalog data.
CDWinder now detects duplicates before cataloging them and prompts the user for action.
Changes in catalogs names are now saved right away.
Slight imperfections in the freedb protocol were corrected.
The Batch Catalog function was improved for some glitches in Win9x.

Changes for Version 1.5 (25. November 2001)

The Audio Edition
CDWinder now supports cataloging AudioCDs ! The title and track infos are gathered by utilizing the internet CD-database freedb.org.
CDWinder now reads the tag info of MP3 files!! The artist, album, title, year, genre, comment, track, and encoding info is processed (any version of the tag!). Also the duration and the compression of every MP3 file is read. Of course, the Find parameters have been extended by adequate new values. The MP3 info is displayed in the new Media-Info column, or in the extended Properties window.
I have added a Batch Cataloging function, to simplify cataloging those piles of AudioCDs (and other media, of course)
The new Find parameter "Any Text" finds text in any of the fields name, comment, version, and MP3 info.
The new Find parameter "Duration" finds the duration of audio files (MP3 and CD audio tracks, later more...).
The preferences-dialog was adapted based on the new possibilites, of course.
Cataloging in Windows 9x (95/98/SE/Me) should be more stable now - resource-issues were eliminated and the handling of version information was improved.
A problem with cataloging in Virtual PC on Mac OS was fixed - CDWinder used to loop indefinitely on a special directory link...

Changes for Version 1.2 (29. July 2001)

enhanced system integration
added opening of files and displaying them in the explorer
we show the nicer and more detailed icons in the ListView, too...
enhanced media-handling
improved and faster cataloging
added driveEngine to identify accesible volumes
enhanced find-routine
added support to find the catalogs (names and comments)
added support for deleting catalog folders
added some minor enhancements
- improved the navigation and display in the TreeView
- we now have some general information in a status bar
- coordinates of windows and columns are preserved

Changes for Version 1.1.1 (29. April 2001)

fixed some bugs in the findEngine
findings with extended characters (e.g. german Umlauts) didn't work properly
findings with dates didn't show any results
added some minor enhancements
we now have some progress-information during startup and find operations
we show nicer and more detailed icons in the item property dialogs

Changes for Version 1.1 (24. March 2001)

added catalog support for Zip-Files
zip-files are scanned and their contents is added to the catalog
added support for version information
version of exe, dll, ... files is gathered and stored in the catalogs
added a preferences dialog for these new capabilities
added search functions for comments and version information.
added catalog folder support
- create catalog folders to organize your catalogs
- move catalogs between them (drag'n drop)
- rename catalog folders
- extensive information dialogs with statistics
- display of CDFinder catalog folder comments
added rename and comment capability for catalog-objects
added export-functionality
catalogs and found items can be exported to tab-separated text files.
added menu-shortcuts for the most important functions
added sorting capablities for catalogs in the list view

Changes for Version 1.0.1 (14. January 2001)

fixed: Problem with incorrect size recognition of large harddisks in Win9x
fixed: Problem with Volumenames containing characters invalid for filenames
added: usability of the find-dialog
Lookup for found items in the main window.
Min/Max-buttons.
key navigation (tab, return) in the find-dialog.
added: Splitbar between the main window elements...

First release of CDWinder 1.0 (18. December 2000)

abeMeda

The File Is Out There

History of all released versions of abeMeda (and CDWinder)