Re: do searching in IM work for anyone?

Can you try this:

1) Selecet ONE image 
2) Search- "For Visually Similiar Images"
3) Depending on your settings, the search is done or the "Select
Builder" does pop up. Do manage, that the "Select builder" pops up. If
you have Results, than you must click on the icon "Select active
Selection template" somewhere in the middle above the Results
4) Now, this is now important: On the left side you have the white
field with the possible "Search-options". The used are bold black. The
first should be 

a) Result set Options. This is VERY important. Set this: 
-UNcheck: Limit the result set ...
-only show REsults with at least this similarity: 85% 
-Maximum Range: 5000
-Enable: Hide originals without matches (only to do it same like me)
-Enable: Combine property selectors ...
-Enable: Evaluate build in match

b) General Matching
-Enable: Color and Shabe
-Enable: Quick match
-BOTH sliders to the left (totally left)
-UNcheck: Emphasize Image center
-UNcheck: Check for mirrored ...
-UNcehck: Enable shortcut evaluation ...

All other settings on the left should be not enabled, so in fact there
are only Result Set Options and GEneral Matching enabled (bold).

5) OK?
6) Now we can do some tests. Your selected image should be still
choosen, hence now you can click on OK, and after every search we can
simply again let pop up the selection builder to alter some entries. 
Now lets try, here my stuff:

IMatch-Version: .30
Win98
Images total: 8644 (my test-database, not the real one)
Selected only ONE image for the search.
For better "testing" I have made before a copy of the selected image
to see, if IMatch finds at least this image, because this image IMatch
should find at least. This duplicate image has of course another name.

Result with the settings above: 1722 images

7) Too much. I alter nothing else then BOTH sliders push to the right side
Result: 399 images (this means: sliders to the right is more precise)

8) I change nothing else than: Enable: Fuzzy match (sliders still on
the right).
Result: 34 images

9) I change nothing further: Enable: Emphasize image center
Result: 1 image (well, this is my created duplicate)

10) Again back: UNcheck Emphasize image center
Result: 34 images (correct, as bevore in step 8)

11) Again back: Enable Quick match
Result: 399 images (correct, like in step 7)

12) Now I alter the "Result set options": "Only show images..." I set
to 90%
Result: 1 image (again my duplicate) 

13) uhhh, this has a lot of "impact".
I change the Result set option a bit back to: 88%
Result: 5 images

14) I go back to the General matching option and ENABLE: Color
similarity. A lot of choices like the sliders are now not more changeable
Result: 772 images

15) Uhh, a lot. Back to the Result set options: I enhance the percent
"only show images ..." to 90%
Result: 237 images

16) I change this setting to: 93%
Result: 18 images

17) I change it again: 95%
Result: 1 image (my duplicate)

OK, these are my short tests. It is easy, can you try this and confirm
some results? 
I hope you get some results like me. When I have time, I will try this
also on my real DB.

BTW: if you found some good options for you, I would create some new
selectors, name them and put your wished options in it. Finally you
have some selectors like

-Similar images with not precisely
-Similar images very precisely
-Similar images precise and emphasise

and so on.

Hope this helps a bit
Markus






--- In [email protected], "ktomeara" <OmearaK@n...> wrote:
> 
> NO matter what I do, what options I set, what search type I use, I 
> can't find "similar" pictures under IM. I've tried finding "exact" 
> (duplicate) matches, "similar" matches using the different search 
> modes, tried adjusting the sliders, tried "or'ing", "and'ing", and 
> everything else. No matter what, I seem to get every picture in my 
> database back, no matter how unalike they are, only limiting by the 
> number of results I've selected (200 default).
> 
> I can't really tell if the search is doing anything. If it is, there 
> doesn't seem to be a way to tell it to return the best matches first. 
> I can't even find "identical" images in the same directory.
> 
> (Incidentally, there is a program that does this type of thing very 
> well - D'PEG - if anyone needs something like this)
> 
> I've also mentioned that I've had very poor results with any of the 
> search functions (on the search window) in IM. The wildcard searches 
> either don't work, or use wildcards characters in a way I can't 
> comprehend - and I've been using computers since before DOS. It seems 
> like most of the search window features really doesn't work. Too bad -
>  IM is great for data entry, not so good for finding the data later. 
> I have had good success with setting up a virtual directory in the 
> categories tab, using formulas to filter results.
> 
> Maybe it's a dead issue with a new version coming out. Still, I wish 
> Mario would either categorically state that these search functions, 
> in the search window either worked, or didn't work. I don't care if 
> they don't function - there are work arounds - but then I wouldn't 
> keep on wondering if its just something stupid I'm doing. How about a 
> bottom line position on this from Mario or other users? Do wildcard 
> and "find similar" searches work in a consistent fashion in IM?





 
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