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All the documentation, in one place.

The user guides of the Obscura Flow apps, chapter by chapter, and one search across all of them. Each guide stays published on its app's site, updated with every release.

    Obscura Trace

    Know where every photo lives. · 13 chapters

    Full guide
    1. 01IntroductionObscura Trace is a macOS app that inventories your photo disks, finds duplicates and helps you consolidate your archives to a new…
    2. 02Installation and first launchSystem requirements, installation, opening the catalog, disk access, updates.
    3. 03Tour of the interfaceThe window, the sidebar, the menus, the states of a screen.
    4. 04Analyzing a source: the Scan AssistantThe Scan Assistant: sources, file types, exclusions, analyses, start; pause, resume, cancel.
    5. 05Dashboard and ActivityReading the totals, following the history of operations.
    6. 06Reviewing duplicates: the Centre de revueThe Centre de revue (Review Center): filters, groups, recommended master, confidence, decisions.
    7. 07Transferring and consolidating: the Centre de transfertThe Centre de transfert (Transfer Center): dry run, plan, collisions, confirmation, execution, resume, report, manifest.
    8. 08Réglages (Settings)Permanent deletion, catalog location, updates.
    9. 09The obscura command line (advanced users)For advanced users: settings, review, plan, execution, resume, batch renaming.
    10. 10Understanding the conceptsExact or visual duplicate, master, confidence, companions, weak volumes, detected moves.
    11. 11What to do if…Disk unplugged, app quit, exFAT, NAS (SMB, AFP), unreadable files, error messages.
    12. 12Your data: location, backup, resetCatalog, manifests, preferences; backing up or starting over.
    13. 13FAQ, current limitations and glossaryFrequently asked questions, what is not yet delivered, vocabulary.

    Obscura Catalog

    The catalogue raisonné of your work. · 21 chapters

    Full guide
    1. 01IntroductionObscura Catalog is a macOS app to organise, describe and find your images, and to keep the catalogue raisonné of a photographic body of work: numbered works…
    2. 02Install and get startedThe licence and free tier, settings and updates, the main window, where Catalog keeps its data, backing up and restoring the library, moving it, keeping…
    3. 03Import a folderTurn a folder into a project, the SHA-256 fingerprint, duplicates, resume an interrupted import, locate a moved folder.
    4. 04Browse the libraryThe grid, the keyboard, the loupe, comparison, the inspector, ratings, flags and labels, versions and relationships.
    5. 05Collections, tags and searchManual and smart collections, tags, quick search, advanced search and saved searches.
    6. 06EXIF and XMP metadataWhat Catalog reads, editing metadata, the XMP sidecar, writing into the file.
    7. 07The thesaurusControlled vocabulary, hierarchy, synonyms, CSV import, CSV and SKOS export.
    8. 08Faces and similar photosOn-Mac analysis, naming, merging and splitting people, close photos and likely duplicates, privacy.
    9. 09Import a Lightroom catalogCatalog read without being modified, dry run, what is carried over, resume and report.
    10. 10The catalogue raisonné: worksWork and file, numbering, the record and its tabs (rights, relations, files, documents), the change history, statuses, completeness, creating works from files.
    11. 11Attributions, prints and provenanceCompeting attributions, editions and prints, conservation, the provenance chain and auction sales.
    12. 12AgentsThe directory of persons and organisations, authority identifiers, duplicates and merging, living persons.
    13. 13Exhibitions and publicationsExhibition history and bibliography, shared by the whole corpus.
    14. 14Batch editingEdit several works, attribute in batch, series values, undo.
    15. 15Importing a CSV inventoryWorks, exhibitions and publications: column mapping, dry-run preview, unknown agents, rejection report.
    16. 16Exporting the catalogueCSV in twelve tables, LIDO 1.1, CIDOC CRM, the full library export, the package for Obscura Vault, and the confidentiality rule.
    17. 17Certificates of authenticityThe signing key, issuing, re-issuing, revoking, verifying a PDF.
    18. 18ReportsPortfolio, catalogue raisonné and inventory as PDF/A.
    19. 19Troubleshooting and FAQFile not found, interrupted import, publishing refused…
    20. 20GlossaryThe words of this guide.
    21. 21Input examplesScreen by screen, what to type in each field, and CSV files ready to import.

    Obscura Vault

    Intact originals, and the proof that they are. · 17 chapters

    Full guide
    1. 01IntroductionObscura Vault is a macOS app to preserve your original files: bring them into a library with the SHA-256 fingerprint of each one, package them into signed…
    2. 02Install and get startedInstall, activate the licence or continue without one, the main window, the first import.
    3. 03Import a folderTurn a folder into a project, the SHA-256 fingerprint of each file, rescan a folder that changed.
    4. 04Create, verify and restore an archiveA project's .obf archive, compression and encryption, verification, restoring without overwriting anything.
    5. 05Verify integrityOn-demand or scheduled fixity audits, the dashboard, files to examine.
    6. 06Understand the verdictsVerified, altered, not verifiable, never checked; archive verdicts.
    7. 07Storage mediaThe inventory of disks and tapes, the 3-2-1 rule, the replacement deadline.
    8. 08Offsite copiesS3 or compatible storage, a remote folder; send, verify, restore.
    9. 09Back up the databaseBack up now, retention, restore a backup.
    10. 10Preservation certificatesWhat a certificate attests, issuing it, revoking it, having a third party verify it.
    11. 11The journalThe audit log and each project's preservation journal.
    12. 12The .obf formatWhat an archive contains, and why it stays readable without Vault.
    13. 13Keys and securitySigning and encryption keys, their backups, Obscura Flow's keys.
    14. 14Licence and settingsWhat needs a licence, the account, devices, updates.
    15. 15Troubleshooting and FAQNon-conforming archive, unknown key, folder not found, licence to recheck…
    16. 16GlossaryThe words of this guide.
    17. 17Receive a Catalog packageImport a package written by Obscura Catalog, the report and the missing originals, sensitivity, the record, giving back.

    Memory Atlas

    Archives described to the ISAD(G) standard. · 14 chapters

    Full guide
    1. 01IntroductionMemory Atlas is a macOS application for arranging, describing and preparing your archives for preservation. You build the tree of a fonds (fonds…
    2. 02Install and get startedInstall the application, the welcome window, choose the language.
    3. 03Create a repositoryThe .atlas file, the country code and the repository code, the repository identity.
    4. 04Build the treeCreate the fonds, its series, files and items; rename, move, filter, Trash; bring in a spreadsheet inventory (CSV).
    5. 05Describe a unitThe Essential and Complete modes, dates, extent, “Mark Described.”
    6. 06InheritanceState once, at the fonds level, what applies to all its descendants.
    7. 07Authorities and access pointsCreators, linked persons and corporate bodies; places, subjects, genres.
    8. 08The accession registerGifts, deposits and purchases, and how they link to fonds.
    9. 09Digital objectsAssociate files without copying them, create one item per file, find a file that has moved.
    10. 10SearchingGlobal search, its filters and the ⌘K command palette.
    11. 11Validating and transferringValidate a branch, “Prepare for Preservation”, track transfers.
    12. 12Export a descriptionThe description of a branch as EAD 2002 or EAD3; the export report; the finding aid to print or publish (PDF, HTML); the inventory as CSV.
    13. 13Settings and safety copiesLanguage, default mode, export folder, automatic copies and restoring.
    14. 14Troubleshooting and FAQRead-only mode, damaged repository, file not found…