digiKam - cross-platform photo management

[Stephen Leibowitz]

These instructions are for digiKam version 8.1.0. It focuses on running the program from a portable (removable) drive. General instructions can be found on the digiKam website.

Download the Windows version in the .tar.xz compressed archive format from the digiKam download repository. You can use 7-Zip, PeaZip, Bandizip, or similar programs to extract from the .tar.xz file. Unlike the Zip format, there are two format layers. xz is the compression layer and tar is the archive layer. Here is the hierarchy:

  digiKam-8.1.0-Win64.tar.xz     (compressed archive)
    digiKam-8.1.0-Win64.tar       (archive)
      digiKam                              (folder containing the app)

Copy from the CODE box and create a batch file. It should be on the same drive as digiKam, but does not have to be in the same folder. It makes portable two folders: AppData\Local and AppData\Roaming. Running the batch file will set an environment variable and start digiKam.

Code: Select all

cd /d  %~d0\digiKam
:: %~d0 is the drive letter (including :) of the batch file.
:: This will set USERPROFILE to the digiKam folder.
:: The program uses this as the parent for the AppData\Local
:: and AppData\Roaming folders.
:: An alternative is to set USERPROFILE to a folder on the same drive,
:: but outside of the digiKam folder.
SetLocal
set USERPROFILE=%CD%
REM set USERPROFILE=%~d0\
start "digiKam"  digikam.exe

If you did not extract to the default folder (digiKam), then modify the cd command on the first line of the batch file to point to the folder.

The first time the program is run, it will start with a configuration assistant known as the “First Run Dialog.” On the “Configure where you keep your images” screen, the assistant will propose a location such as H:\digiKam\Pictures . It is the value of the USERPROFILE environment variable with \Pictures appended. Drive letter assignments can change for removable drives. To point to the removable drive, there should be no explicit drive assignment. In this case, delete H: . The next screen is “Configure where you will store databases.” To store on the removable drive, the user should similarly delete any explicit drive assignment.

What if you specified a removable drive, but forgot to delete the drive letter assignment? Here is another way to delete it:
Settings > Configue digiKam > Database
You should also look at:
Settings > Configue digiKam > Collections

You may store the images, and even the databases, on one or more network drives. The Windows Map Network Drive facility or the Net Use command can be used to assign an available drive letter to a network storage space. Here are specific instructions for Microsoft OneDrive. digiKam can then be configured with the drive letter and a folder. Another configuration option for the network storage of images is Settings > Configure digiKam > Collections > Collections on Network Shares.

For the sake of performance, the thumbnails database should not be on remote network storage. To set different locations for the individual databases, you can edit the configuration file digikamrc with a text editor while digiKam is not running. It contains a number of key-value pairs. In the Database Settings section four keys start with Database Name. The values assigned to those keys are the database locations.

The assistant will propose the folder Pictures for the image and database files, and offer to create it if it does not exist. The user can choose a different folder name. To increase the separation from the code, the user can specify a folder, new or existing, that is outside the digiKam folder. The user can also store the database files in a different folder than the image files. More folders can be added later for the image files with Settings > Configure digiKam > Collections.

[Stephen Leibowitz]

I have entered digiKam into the database with a status of private. I invite you to consider voting to make it public. The entry is at: https://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=3071.

There is a previous topic about digiKam in another TPFC forum.

digiKam writes to AppData. The approach here uses a batch file as a wrapper. Running the batch file will set an environment variable and start digiKam. By default, the environment variable redirects digiKam’s AppData entries to the application folder.

Alternatively, the user can modify the batch file to redirect to other locations. For example, the user may have multiple apps on a removable device, with a shared AppData folder on the device for them.

As an alternative to the batch file, some program launchers can set the environment variable, in addition to launching digiKam.

TPFC has approved apps, such as VLC, that write to AppData without redirection or “before run/after run” moving. Many of them could also use an environment variable to redirect AppData.

[Midas]

I have entered digiKam into the database with a status of private. I invite you to consider voting to make it public. The entry is at: https://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=3071.

There is a previous topic about digiKam in another TPFC forum.

As that other topic details, digiKam isn't natively portable -- the presence of such programs in TPFC's database is more of an exception than a rule, judging by the community's past preferences...

[Stephen Leibowitz]

Links to PortableApps.com are in 146 TPFC entries.
Links to   winPenPack.com are in   57 TPFC entries.

Those two sites take apps that are not natively portable and use a wrapper to make them portable. Here is what PortableApps.com says about their approach:

6. Host PC Modifications & Portability
During use, a portable app is permitted to modify registry entries and files on the local drive, however the registry and local files must be returned to their pre-run state on exit. This may involve backing up and then restoring the settings for a local copy (in either the registry or APPDATA) of an application on start and exit.

The environment variable approach I use for digiKam draws upon the folder redirection feature built into Windows. It does not need “before run/after run” moving. The AppData writing goes directly to the portable device. It has been said that it is a “straightforward portability workaround.” digiKam does not write to the registry, so with the redirection it is stealth:

What makes an application "stealth"?
For the purpose of this website, "stealth" means when an application is launched, used and terminated properly, it does not leave behind any entries in the registry or filesystem.

The redirection does not interfere with other apps that may be running at the same time.

The batch file will by default redirect AppData to the application folder, but the set line can be modified to redirect to a folder of the user’s choice.

[Midas]

Links to PortableApps.com are in 146 TPFC entries.
Links to   winPenPack.com are in   57 TPFC entries.

It's just my opinion but both PortableApps and winPenPack are reputable sibling communities, which among other benefits provide sustained updated portable packages and support. I'm not sure that is the case here...

[Andrew Lee]

At its core, there actually isn't much difference between the approach taken for digiKam, and what I did for FreeCAD. Heck, the structure and size of the batch files look similar as well!

I have taken the liberty of editing your entry to make it more succinct. I think discussion about how to redirect USERPROFILE to another folder can be discussed in the forum topic, instead of cluttering up the entry. If you don't like my edits, please feel free to undo by referencing the changelog.

I am also going to merge the digiKam topic with this one, and make it a submission.

However, I am personally not going to vote for this yet until I have the time and motivation to try it out.

Thanks for your contribution!

[webfork]

Update:

Version 8.0.0 is out with some amazing additions, including search, metadata, ocr, tons of formats, documentation, and more.

https://www.digikam.org/news/2023-04-16 ... ouncement/