Working with centralized server projects 

Server projects are controlled by a database and allow files to be shared between Fotostation on Windows and Mac. For more information, see How to configure Fotostation to use a project server.

This topic explains the features available only in centralized server projects, as opposed to file system-based projects.

Note that when connecting to a server project, you will need to provide access credentials, such as a username and password. You will need to use a valid Windows or Active Directory account to validate the user.

Adding metadata to projects

When you access a side panel with server projects, it looks very much like a regular collection of projects. However, apart from cross-platform support for server projects, these projects have one major advantage over regular file system projects: the ability to add metadata to the projects themselves. This way, you can add descriptive information to your projects and make them searchable without making any changes to the actual files that are part of that project.

By right-clicking a server project and choosing Add Metadata, you can add as much descriptive text as you like to the project. This text is searchable using the search field above the list of projects (see the screenshot above). Enter your search words there, then press Enter, and the projects found will be listed below. Select X in the search fields to return to the complete list of projects.

Server projects manager 

On the server project side panels, you find a button at the bottom of each panel labeled Show all projects. Select this button to open the Projects window, where you can filter projects based on the metadata that's been added to them.

In many ways, it works as a job manager, allowing you to select columns containing metadata and sort them in ascending or descending order by clicking column headers. Then, you can select one or more projects in the list, and use Ctrl/Command-click to select several projects) and choose View selected projects to open and display their contents in the Fotostation grid.