Support keyword tagging (IPTC/XMP) instead of single-folder assignment

[shati89406]

Description
Note: The following was drafted with the help of machine translation and reviewed for clarity.

Currently, Automated Image Organisation restricts each photo to exactly one destination folder, which creates an inherent single-label classification limitation. This approach prevents a single image from belonging to multiple logical categories (e.g. a photo of a beach at sunset can’t simultaneously reside in both “Travel” and “Sunsets”), forcing users into cumbersome workarounds.

To improve flexibility and align with common digital asset management practices, I propose the following enhancements:

1. Enable keyword tagging

   • Allow photos to carry multiple keyword tags rather than move between folders.

2. Provide a default keyword list

   • Add a settings page section where users can define a “default tag list” of common keywords.
   • When an image is added to a monitored folder, the app can optionally suggest or auto-assign these default tags.

3. Embed tags in IPTC/XMP metadata

   • Write keyword tags directly into standard IPTC (Keywords) or XMP (dc:subject) fields.

Benefits

• Multi-category support: One image can belong to any number of tags.
• Interoperability: Tags travel with the file and are readable by other applications.
• Scalability: Users can build rich taxonomies without exploding folder counts.

Suggested Implementation

• Extend the metadata-writing module to include IPTC/XMP keyword fields.
• In the “Destination Folders” settings, add an optional “Default Tags” input.
• On auto-categorisation, apply both folder moves (as now) and metadata tag writes, with user-configurable toggles.

[dev-diaries41]

I've been considering some sort of tagging as its been requested quite a bit.

Do you mind telling me how you plan to use the tags - do you want it to be compatible with your gallery app or would you want some way to use the tags internally in SmartScan?

Reason I ask is because from my understanding not all gallery apps (e.g the one I use), support reading metadata tags.

[shati89406]

Thank you for considering the tagging feature! 😊

• You’re absolutely right that most Android gallery apps don’t support metadata tags, so having an internal “Manage Tags in SmartScan” option will be essential.
• Personally, I also rely on Windows to organize my photos, so I’d greatly appreciate support for writing keywords into the IPTC/XMP fields.

Regarding how I plan to use the tags:

• I frequently shoot and review cat photos, so I’d tag them all with cat. It would be great if SmartScan could automatically list only those images when I select the cat tag.
• I also take a lot of sky photos, so I’d tag them with sky and expect a similar pre-filtered list.
• Under the current folder-based system, a photo of both a cat and the sky forces me to choose one or the other—something I’d like to avoid.

Regarding the in-app browsing experience:

1. Streamlined “Search” UI

   • Instead of the current flow—selecting a “Similar Results” thumbnail, tapping “Clear Results,” then opening the photo via the gallery icon—I’d love a simpler approach.
   • Display only the “Similar Results” thumbnails; tapping any thumbnail would open the image in full screen with both the gallery-app icon and tag (plus tag-editing controls) visible at the top or bottom of that screen.

2. Remove the 20-Item Restriction

   • The current cap of 20 search results is too limiting. I have thousands of cat photos, but searching “cat” only returns 20 items—forcing me to sift through unrelated albums or resort to other CLIP-based tools like TIDY Text-to-Image Discovery.
   • I’d love to see the limit lifted entirely, or at least an “unlimited results” option so I can find everything that matches my query.

3. Add a “Tags” Tab to the Menu Bar

   • Currently only “Search” and “Settings” are available—please add a “Tags” tab.
   • In the Tags view, I should be able to list all photos by tag.

4. Bulk Tag Editing

   • In the Tags view or search results, allow selecting multiple images at once to add or remove tags in bulk.

Sorry for asking so much 🙇‍♂️🙏

Thanks again for your hard work—I look forward to seeing how SmartScan evolves! 🙏

[locuturus]

Aves Gallery supports XMP tags so those would be available to that app.