Some people who start with a cataloging application like IDimager currently manage their images on the file system only and use logical names as their folder names. These names are in fact catalog labels that "describe" the content of that folder. With IDimager you can read an existing folder structure to the catalog database. When you do so, every folder name from the file system will become a new catalog label in your catalog structure. Every sub folder will become a sub label in the structure.
The fastest way to read an existing folder structure to your catalog is by importing it to a category or an existing catalog label. Open the Catalog Explorer by clicking the spider web icon in the left Explorer Bar. Then expand the Catalog Labels branch. Now select the category that should contain the catalog labels as determined from the folder names. Optionally create a new catalog label that will contain your folder structure. Then select that new catalog label.
Once you have selected wither the category or a catalog label you can click the button "read an existing folder or disc into this selected label". Find this button in the mini toolbar of the Catalog Explorer.
Once the button is clicked you can point to a folder. Select the folder/sub folder on disk or point directly to a drive (e.g. your CD drive) and click OK.
IDimager starts reading the folder or drive to the catalog. A new catalog label will be created and it is named after the folder name or drive name that was selected. Within this label there are optionally sub labels created that represent the sub folders of the folder or drive. At the same time all images found in the folder will be added to the database and get the new catalog label assigned for each folder that the images are stored in.
Once this process is done, you can start reorganizing your catalog labels by dragging them to a more meaningful location in your catalog structure. It is not required to keep the structure synchronized with you hard disk or CDs. It’s the main power of the catalog that it is independent from any storage structure. The catalog itself will keep track where the original images reside: on your hard drive, a particular CD or wherever.