Image Files Management and Retrieval

[Anonymous]

Seeking cautionary tales and guidance regarding images files stored in SP image library and filter by and retrieved to PA.

I inherited 3000+ .pdf files of all several different naming conventions.

I've given them all the same naming convention and converted them to .jpg.

I am prepared to upload them to an SP library, create connections to the library from PA, create a collection from which a condition in a Gallery will filter for the proper image(s).

Does anyone have any cautions or guidance regarding any of the above that will make my life easier, the upload and data management in SP and PS as efficient as possible?

Thanks!

[RusselThomas]

Hi @Anonymous ,

I've found filtering on libraries to be problematic, especially with large libraries - I always run into delegation issues, list view thresholds and with 3000+ images, it's highly probable you'll run into the same.  I stand open to correction as delegation on library filters might have been improved since, (and I'd be keen to hear how other people do it) - but I prefer to work with proper lists.

To this end, it's a bit more effort, so perhaps try with the library as is, and if you run into delegation issues on filtering the library, then you can try this;

Create a List called "ImageIndex" - the idea here is to create a list item in your imageindex list for each file.  Add columns "fileName", "filePath", "linkToFile", "fileIdentifier", "fileID" - you could probably get away with just "fileName" and "linkToFile", but I like to have options 🙂 - eg: I often add "fileSharingLink" in case you want to generate and store sharing links for the files or even other file metadata like tags or something.

Set the imageIndex list column you're most likely to filter on (probably "fileName"?) as an Index column in Sharepoint (there's plenty of references online on how to create a Sharepoint Index - this just helps).  

Then create a Flow - set it's trigger to Sharepoint "When a file is created in a folder" and connect it to your library/folder.  Then add a step from Sharepoint "Update Item" and connect it to your ImageIndex list.  Fill in the update fields from the Flow trigger dynamic fields that correlate to the fields you created in your imageIndex List.

To keep things tidy, you can add another flow to also remove the item from the list if the file is deleted, or update it if it's renamed or something.

Then dump your files in your Library 🙂

From PA you can connect to the imageIndex, and you'll find the filtering and lookups on "fileName" or other fields shouldn't give you the delegation issues you might experience connecting to the library directly from PA - you can also then Launch(linkToFile) to open the file from the library.

Hope this helps

RT

[Anonymous]

Thank you. 

All the things you've mentioned I have accomplished, except the Imageindex list.

I have a flow that does exactly what you recommend for new image uploads, saving the image to the document library and creating, or updating, the Main list, where the primary data retrieved to the Gallery is stored.

Regarding the images files themselves, they are currently on my local computer. I'd like to move them into the SP image library (does in matter whether its an 'Picture' library or a 'Document' library? I've already got a document library working in my test runs with the Main list 'Patch' and image upload, and the retrieval to the Gallery of said image.

Apparently, moving them to the library is not an issue; its how I access them once there (delegation issues, maybe) that is the concern. This said, is drag and drop the best way to get the images to the library? Shall I drag and drop them all and go get a sandwich? Or, only a few dozen, hundred...at a time?