can't find .mov files

[timhoy]

I love the editing features of this program, and the idea that it indexes the photos instead of making copies.
But, where are the videos?
If I use Calendar to view there are no videos. I looked at the sort and filter and view options. I picked show all in all cases.
Please help me find my videos without having to look up the file name in a file manager or any other photo app, and then have to search.
Thank you,
Tim

[Greyfox]

..But, where are the videos?

(a) Manage mode, left hand pane, Catalog tab, right down near the bottom Special Items, click on Videos - Will display all videos that have been cataloged into the database.

or

(b) Manage mode, center pane, Quick Search entry box. Enter just the file extension type without the full stop, so for example mov

Make sure the button on the far right is set to "search the entire database" then press Enter.
ACDSee will display all video files with the .mov extension that have been cataloged into the database

or

(c) In Ultimate 2023 using Advanced search
Source = Database
Criteria = Filename/Ends With/Any of/mp4 (Use the cog to set for "include Extensions")
Options = Return folder contents only.

Click on Start. ACDSee will display all video files with the .mp4 file extension
(Advanced search can find combinations of file types, for instance with Criteria = FileName/Ends With/mp4: wmv; mts then ACDSee will display all files with .mp4, .wmv and .mts file extensions.

If I use Calendar to view there are no videos.

The problem here is that the metadata in videos is not the EXIF metadata used for still photos, and so ACDSee can't automatically set the Database Date to the EXIF:DateTimeOriginal as per Tools/Options/Database/Set database date to EXIF date. The result is that the ACDSee Database Date shows as "Click to assign a date". If you don't do just that, then the default calendar option of "Database Date" doesn't see the videos. Neither will the option of "Date Taken" which requires the EXIF: DateTimeOriginal and that isn't present for videos.

If instead you use the File Modified Date, it will show the videos (at their file modified date).
Incidentally a similar situation applied to grouping too and one of the "improvements" listed for the 2023 version was
"Fixed a grouping bug in Media mode; images and videos without EXIF Date/Time Original now fall back to grouping by Date Modified".

My 2 cents worth.
Using the calendar with Date modified option is not ideal, because Date Modified is a file date, and so can be quite different to the actual date taken, and if you use the File Modified date as the calendar criteria so you can see the videos, then it can result in some video clips and some still images not being seen on the date they were actually taken. But for now that is my understanding of how it is.

There are many video formats and containers past and present, and the metadata in them can vary significantly. I have for instance older videos that have no date metadata at all. I also have video compilations where the exported video metadata shows the date and time the compiled video was rendered, which is vastly different to when the component clips were actually taken. I don't see an easy one size fits all solution

For what it is worth, my personal choice at the moment is to manually set the database date for videos to the date taken where I can establish what that was. Longer term, bit by bit I am also using ExifTool to convert the video clip filenames to include the date and time taken, using the same filename format as our Samsung Galaxy smartphones (yyyymmdd_hhmmss). Given the large number of clips taken over many years, and the varying metadata that is an ongoing task when time permits.

[timhoy]

Greyfox,
Thank for trying to help me make sense out of this database nightmare of 100's of drop down menus and tiny icons. I'm sure its just me but I spent half the afternoon just trying to follow your very detailed and thoughtful suggestions.
The Manage Mode / Special items works well. I just tried to find some of the videos I needed and assign keyword words. That worked and will be helpful.
Quick Search seems to work most of the time for me. The Advanced Search never worked but now with your drop down guidance it makes more sense. Just keep clicking menu and menu until it makes sense.
I will keep on it. Thank you for helping me see some of the light.
Cheers,
Tim